“God damn you!” she whispered between tight lips. “I will get my own back…no matter what you say, I know you wanted to get a little “strange” that night. You will regret it Kyle Whitley…you will regret it. Kyle looked at his wife for a long moment before commenting.
“Peggy,” he said slowly, almost gently, “will you go with me to some couples counseling? Maybe we can work this out with a professional’s help. Would you go?” Peggy’s head was shaking before he finished the first sentence but he continued, knowing the offer had to be made.
“Screw you,” she said tersely. “There’s nothing I need to tell some counselor you’ll probably have primed to convince me I’m all wrong and you’re all right.”
“You find the counselor then,” Kyle suggested. “Find anyone you want. I’ll go with you, anywhere…anytime.” He assured her. Her head swung from side to side violently in refusal. Kyle gave up. It had been a forlorn hope at best.
“Fine!” he said forcefully. “Whatever,” he told her. “Well…maybe you can get some counseling on your own,” he said. “If you don’t find some way to control that anger, you’re going to give yourself a heart attack.” Kyle went back to his magazine after a moment.
His wife, her face nearly purple with a new rush of blood, stared at him coldly before rising and stalking stiff-legged out of the room. Kyle shook his head as he lowered the magazine to watch her leave.
********
Sex between Kyle and Peggy had been non-existent since the day he and Ann had admitted their blunder to Peggy. There had been no affectionate moments, no murmured endearments in the bedroom, and precious few periods of even common courtesy between them. Kyle got used to relieving himself of his sexual energies while taking a shower every few days after everyone else was asleep. He didn’t like it, but he wasn’t about to demand his conjugal rights from Peggy. He didn’t know what she did, or if she even felt anything from the lack of sex.
Inexplicably, things got better a few days later after Kyle’s suggestion about counseling. Dinner that Thursday evening was a far more cheerful event than it had been for almost a month. Peggy was bubbling over with news from her work and about Mandy and her husband Bill. They were one of the group of couples who gathered every few weeks for a nice barbeque or house party. Peggy knew Mandy from work; their desks were only a few cubicles away from each other.
Older than the rest of the crowd by twenty some years, Mandy and Bill seldom impressed their friends as being old. They had, however, just heard today that they were going to be grandparents for the third time. Peggy was going on and on about the new baby, wondering out loud if it would be a girl this time or not. Kyle watched her bustle around the kitchen, amazed at the transformation in attitude just since breakfast.
After getting the kids to bed, Kyle and Peggy sat together on the couch while they watched the latest installment of “American Idol.” Kyle didn’t know exactly what to make of the situation but he was willing to go along with the abrupt turnabout. Arguing and fighting all the time sucked the energy right out of a man; maybe it had been sapping her vigor too. He hoped.