Chapter 2

I met with Kent Brockman this afternoon, and he told me that I really needed to start working out. He was one of the people I talked to about Simpson and Flanders, and he had been divorced about three years ago and had found a very nice divorcee he was serious about, but they were both taking it slow. He said that women today, looked for fit men in their late thirty's and early forties. He found that being fit made a huge difference in being able to connect with today's single or divorced women. He even recommended a gym near me that could give me some individual training to get rid of my spare tire and give me the stamina like I had in my early twenties. He also said to pick up some generic aspirin and put them in an old prescription bottle, or he could create a very good fake label on the computer and all I had to do was peel and stick it on the aspirin bottle. We decided to do that, and I soon had a label for cyclobenzaprine tablets, a muscle relaxant medicine.

Since Janice might know what the pills looked like I would keep the bottle in my briefcase, which she knew I always kept locked. I told her it was due to classified documents that pertained to some of the processes for the company, once I told her that she accepted it. That was a long time ago, and I never told her any different.

I stopped by Walgreen's on my way home and picked up some generic aspirin and pulled the label off. I put my new label on the bottle, and I was home free for a few days. I should be able to milk the pulled groin injury for a couple of weeks, and by then she should have been served.

I got home around normal time, and Janice was just starting dinner. "Rob, I hate to tell you, but I have to go to Mobile and then Atlanta next week. I just got told today. I'll be flying out Sunday night and probably won't be back until late Friday evening. There are several of us going this time, so it won't be quite as bad as those solo trips I've been taking here lately. However, that will give you a chance to heal up and when I get back we can make up for lost time and opportunities, right?"

"Yeah Babe, we can have your entire birthday weekend to make up for lost opportunities. I'll look forward to it. I saw the doctor today, and he gave me some muscle relaxer pills, and he said I should be good as new in a week or so."

I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek as I went by the stove where she was cooking something for dinner. I changed into some sweat pants and a tee-shirt and sat back in my recliner and vegged out on something on the tube. About a half-hour later Jan called me to the table, and we ate and talked about our day. She said that the trip next week would have them teaching some new techniques for HR counseling. I said things were going well after the glitch I found last night and we generally talked about anything and everything, almost like normal.

Of course, I was seething just under the surface and trying to come up with what I had done three years ago that allowed Janice to think that cheating on me was acceptable behavior. I came up empty; I could not think of anything that I did or didn't do three years in the past or four years ago or even last week that would lead Jan to think I loved her any less, or that I didn't respect her or value her as a wife. So I guess this problem was all her and not me. She is the one who strayed, and because she got away with it once, she tried for a second time. Since I never caught on, I guess she felt she could continue, and I would be none the wiser.

It pained me deeply that she had just thrown me to the wayside; it was like she was dumping week old garbage into the can. I was like that to her. Somehow she lost her respect for me and our marriage, and she turned against me. I'm sure that there was still some love for me, or we would not be having sex so often, but that intimacy was now gone for me, circling the drain just like our marriage. God I'm so glad that we never had children. If we had I might have stayed for their sake, but then too they may not have even been mine, who knows.

I made my excuses and made a point to take my pill in front of Janice before going down the other hall to the spare room. I undressed and lay on my stomach and cried into the pillow. It reminded me of a couple of old songs, 'Tears on my Pillow' by Little Anthony and the Imperials and 'Cry me a River' by Julie London. I loved some of the 50s and 60s songs. The singers back then added more of their heart and soul into the songs than gimmicks and special effects. Mainly, they sang on live television, and they didn't have all the computer effects of today to enhance a song. Anyway, I laid there and cried until sleep overtook me.

Sometime during the night my mind was still at work and figured it out that she had the possibility to be unfaithful to me an average of 64 days a year. And just for arguments sake let's say that she has had a lover each of those 64 days a year for three years I'm looking at being cuckolded 192 times. How did I come to that conclusion, well let's start with her trips?: Three-day average for 12 months is 36 days, my travel averages four days every other month, so that is 16 more days, and she said when I would work really late she has someone over, so that adds maybe once a month so that is 12 more times. So you add 36 days plus 16 days plus 12 nights that is 64 times a year, times the 3 years it has been going on comes to 192 times at a minimum. I keep her satisfied 301 days a year and yet that is not enough. Most married couples would kill to have that many days a year to be satisfied with their mate, but mine; no she has to cheat on me with her boss and five of her co-workers. Now when she is gone, I could maybe see the temptation, but that's only about half the time, the other half, she is doing it in our home, in our marriage bed. That is just too much, she must really hate me. I must be the worst husband ever, according to her if she thinks that doing what she is doing is a good marriage. What kind of sick twisted mind would come to that conclusion? I don't know, but this poor sap isn't going to be kicked around like that much longer. I contemplated what I was going to do now as I drove into work this morning after reviewing what my active mind came up with overnight.

I have had an idea of something; I will call her work today, and I will see if I can find out where she is going to be staying and then see if Ned or Marge can get someone to bug the rooms that she or their group will be staying in. I will say that since her birthday is coming up, I want to surprise her with flowers and maybe even turn up one day toward the end of her stay, and we can stay over the weekend, just the two of us. 'Oh Rob, I never knew you could be so devious, ' came to me in my mind as I sat at my desk, thinking. Yes, that is exactly what I would do.

Around nine I called Scott's and talked to the receptionist, Mary Fields, and said, "This is Robert Sterling, Janice's husband. I need to find out where she is staying during her trip next week. Her birthday is on Saturday, and I want to surprise her. I want to send her some flowers when she is in Mobile, and I want to surprise her in Atlanta and book us a room and spend the weekend there just the two of us, but I need to know when and where she will be staying. Can you help me?"

"Oh Mr. Sterling, what a nice gesture. And how sweet of you to think of such a romantic thing. Most husbands wouldn't even remember a wife's birthday let alone plan something like this. Let me transfer you to Barbara; she makes all the travel plans for our company. Oh how I envy Janice, Mr. Sterling."

"Remember that she must never hear about this, or it won't be a surprise, okay?"

"She won't hear about it from me; I'll transfer you to Barbara." She giggled.

"Travel, Barbara Stanwick, how may I help you?"

"Barbara, this is Rob Sterling, Janice's husband. As you may know Jan's birthday is next Saturday and I want to surprise her by showing up in Atlanta on Friday for her birthday. However, since she will be gone most of the week, I wanted to send her flowers when she is in Mobile and then get a room at the same hotel in Atlanta as a surprise. So I need to know her itinerary so I can make my plans with the weeklong surprises I have in mind. Can you help me and keep this a secret?"

"Oh Rob, of course your secret is safe with me. I just wish my husband was as sweet and considerate as you are. Half the time he forgets my birthday or our anniversary. Can you give him some lessons in romance and date remembering?"

"I really wish it was that easy; most men forget such things, but I use my computer to keep track of special dates and events that I need to remember. Once I had all the right dates down, I scheduled them out for years to come. Now I never miss an important event or date."

"Now that is a smart way to do it. Maybe I'll mention it to my husband. Ok, here is her itinerary for next week. She leaves ABIA (Austin-Bergstrom International Airport) at 6:54pm on Sunday and arrives at 9:49pm in Mobile. They are scheduled to stay at the Holiday Inn - Downtown on Government. She leaves Mobil at 6:30pm on Tuesday for the Hilton Atlanta which is on Courtland. They should arrive about 8:47pm. She is scheduled to return at 2:15pm on Friday from Atlanta so you need to get there a couple of hours before that. I wish you both a wonderful weekend."

"Thank you so much Barbara, and remember it's a secret."

Okay, that is taken care of; next is to inform Ned and Marge.

I called Marge and told her everything I knew about Janice's trip starting Sunday and asked if they could get some surveillance set up for Mobile and Atlanta. She said she would and would charge it to my account. She did remind me that it would probably be another three to five thousand at each location. "Marge if it helps me get rid of the cheating bitch I would pay double that. Now don't go getting any ideas, okay?"

"No, Rob, I was just mentioning that for that type of surveillance it is costly. No problem, we'll keep the cost down as much as we can."

For the next three days, nothing much happened; we did get the paperwork ready to go to court. I slept in the spare room, and Janice was loving to me, as much as she could be, but she was still a little edgy, like she knew something was wrong, but couldn't figure out what. I just hoped that she didn't decide to change her cheating ways right now. She may even have a wild last fling planned to end her wayward times and try to be a loving wife like she should, if she suspected something. On Saturday, I took her out to dinner and afterwards dancing, although I did beg off dancing too much and let her dance with other men, and then I took her home, ate, and fingered her to several earth-shattering orgasms. I hoped that was enough to let her think I was clueless. Only time would tell.

On Sunday, I drove Janice to the airport and dropped her off like normal and then drove home. I stopped in at the sports bar and saw Brenda again. When she saw me, she poured me two fingers of my medicine and had the three cubes in the glass sitting in front of me before I had even settled on the stool.