John looked at his wife with a slight appearance of worry. “What did ‘Loose-lips-Lucy’ want?”
“Oh, she’s trying to organize a surprise birthday for the pastor in a few weeks and she wanted my help.”
She turned to her oldest daughter with the wrinkled face of a woman who had detected a horrendous odor. “Sweetie, I think I’ll take this little ball of energy down to the nursery for a minute to change that diaper. I’ll meet you all in the parking lot.”
Marcy did her nasty duty with the joy of a doting grandmother. Speaking to her squirming grandson, she summed up her experience of the last few moments. “I guess we should clean this poo off you, Sweetie. And Grandma needs to figure out how much poo Grandpa is in.”
*****
Marcy was a strong and level-headed woman. Her face and mannerisms displayed no signs of the news she received from Lucy. It was easy to keep her composure during brunch with all the family around. The rest of the afternoon would be no problem because she knew John would be planted in front of the idiot box during the afternoon while watching the Reds lose another ball game. Why he bothered with watching that team baffled her.
Most Sundays, John left her to her own devices and she usually took the opportunity to read a book that helped her escape the confines of their simple life. She enjoyed historical romances and often dreamed of the dashing leading men sweeping her off her feet. Marcy was not unaware that once she was an attractive woman. She noticed the looks men gave her. Sure, the farm made her rugged, but the tomboy in her seemed to attract many men. She was sure that if she were a countess in old England that she could seduce the handsome gardener into a tryst in the meadow.
This Sunday, however, she would be pretending to read while she considered how to deal with her potentially wayward spouse. She took stock of her husband’s good and bad points so she could decide the best outcome if Lucy spoke the truth. She loved the son-of-a-bitch, for sure. He was tall and good looking, and the farm had kept him pretty lean. And for a tough farmer, he used to be tender and loving with her. She wondered if things had changed, and if she was reading too much into his failure to confirm his love for her that morning.
It was the ‘bad column list’ that concerned and confused her. She never thought he’d stray simply because he was terrible in bed and usually didn’t seem all that interested in sex. Oh, she loved him and determined long ago that she could live with his shortcomings, but he was no ‘sixty-minute-man.’ She was lucky if he made it sixty seconds. He was well endowed, but what good was that when he had no staying power? In all their years of marriage, she never had an orgasm from his efforts.
She thought long and hard about various actions she could take. The big question for her was whether or not she could forgive him if he was stepping out. She had a lot of thinking to do, and only a few days to do it. If Lucy was correct and provided her proof, then Thursday afternoon there would be hell for John to pay. Defining the nature of the payment was the tough task that stood before her.