Story: Role with it (part 1 of 4)

Role with It (part 1 of 4)
by Varian Milagro

Copyright © 2015 by Varian Milagro
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

The cloying smell of cigar smoke assaulted me as I approached the door to the garage. I was going to kick my brother-in-law’s ass. He knew that Wendy didn’t allow smoking in the house, not even the garage. I opened the door. Wendy was showing off one of her power tools to Charlie and Roger. Sure enough, Charlie had a lit cigar. Then I noticed that Roger had one as well. So did Wendy.

I stared at her for nearly a minute. I watched as she lifted the half foot cigar to her mouth and wrapped her ruby lips around it. What an incongruous sight. My petite wife, dressed in a skirt and heels, her heart shaped face framed by her long blonde hair, her diamond wedding ring sparkling on her finger, her short nails painted the same shade of red as her lips, and a big fat cigar in her mouth. It looked so weird.

“What are you doing?” I asked Wendy.

“Sorry, I’ll turn on the fan,” Wendy said, smoke spurting from her mouth.

“Why are you smoking a cigar and in the house, for god’s sake?”

“We’ll smoke outside, okay?” Wendy put the cigar in her mouth, took her belt sander from Roger and set it on her work bench. “You could join us, you know. Charlie has another cigar.”

“I sure hope you’re kidding,” I said.

Wendy flashed me a slight frown as Roger and Charlie burst out laughing. I hit the button on the garage door opener and the door rumbled open.

Wendy stared at me for another moment and then said, “Come on you two. We can finish these on the back deck. I’ll show you the bench I made last week.”

I watched the three of them walk outside and then hit the garage door button again.

“He’s got you on a pretty short leash,” Charlie said as the door descended.

“You don’t know the half of it,” Wendy said. The rest was cut off when the door finished closing.

I walked back into the house, not understanding what I’d just witnessed. Wendy was an ardent non-smoker as was I. Why she’d suddenly take up smoking—cigars of all things—was beyond me. And on top of that she’d offered one to me. Why would she do that?

When I entered the kitchen I spotted the coffee carafe sitting on the counter next to the coffee maker and I remembered why I’d gone into the garage in the first place. I’d intended to let Wendy and the guys know that the coffee was ready. Wendy had stepped out to show off her wood working tools while the coffee brewed. Somehow she’d become a cigar smoker in the time it took to brew a pot of coffee. I filled the carafe and headed to the living room.

As I passed through the dining room I looked at the half eaten birthday cake sitting in the center of the table. Colorful streamers and balloons hung from the ceiling and a large sign wished Tyler a happy eighth birthday. Most of the guests had gone and the birthday boy was in the back room playing with his friends. I could hear Abbey and Holly talking in the living room. Abbey was my sister and Charlie’s wife. Holly was Roger’s better half.

I headed to the back of the aging, three-bedroom rambler that Wendy and I had bought six years before. I poked my head in the back room. My 14 year old niece, Janie, had her eyes locked on her phone. Her brother Evan was wrestling with my son Tyler and Peter, Holly’s son. All three were eight, in the same second grade class, and best friends. The boys were laughing and nothing seemed to be broken, so I left them alone, hoping Janie would say something if they got out of control. I rejoined Abbey and Holly in the living room. Holly held her six month old daughter, Katie, in her arms and Abbey was bouncing my eleven month old daughter, Lily, on her knee.

“Wendy still showing off her new tools?” Abbey asked as I refilled her cup.

“Yes, and you won’t believe what I just saw out in the garage.” I moved to refill Holly’s cup, but she put her hand over the cup.

“Sit down and spill the dirt,” Holly said.

I sat and told them about what I’d seen in the garage. Neither seemed surprised that Wendy had been smoking a cigar with the guys. Their lack of reaction surprised me almost as much as Wendy’s smoking.

After the guests departed and both Tyler and Lily were asleep in bed, Wendy and I made a start on cleaning up the birthday mess and then headed to bed ourselves. I stripped down to my boxers, crawled into bed and grabbed my book off the nightstand. I was currently in the middle of “Fight Club”, which I’d read twice before. As I pretended to read I watched Wendy out of the corner of my eye. She sat at her vanity and removed her makeup. She was wearing her pink nightgown, the one that stopped at mid thigh and showed off a delectable amount of cleavage, the one I’d bought her when we’d gone on a cruise a couple years ago, the one she wore when she was in the mood. After brushing her hair until it shined she joined me in bed. She slid up against me, one hand roaming my chest while she nuzzled my neck.

“God, you smell good,” she murmured into my ear. She pulled the book out of my hands and kissed me.

“I’m not really in the mood tonight,” I said.

“Come one, snuggle bear. I’ll make you feel good, I promise,” she said huskily as she rubbed my chest and nibbled on my ear.

“I’m tired.” I brushed her hand aside. “Entertaining guests all night is hard work.”

Wendy pulled away from me and propped herself up on her elbow. “Yeah, I know.”

“Really? As soon as the cake was cut you took off and spent the rest of the night smoking cigars and drinking beer with Charlie and Roger.”

“Is that what you’re mad about? Because I had one lousy cigar with Charlie? I’m sorry I smoked in the garage. I didn’t think the smell would get into the house.”

“Why were you smoking anyway? You hate smoking.”

“What are you talking about? I’ve smoked the occasional cigar since I first stole one from my dad back in high school. You smoke them, too.”

I suddenly had a memory of my father-in-law giving me my first cigar when Tyler was born. I also remembered smoking with Charlie whenever we got together. I really enjoyed smoking one while we shot a round of golf. Yet, I also remembered hating them and not understanding what Charlie saw in them.

“You’ve never smoked a cigar before tonight, Wendy.”

She sat up, a look of confusion growing on her face only to change into worry a moment later. “You’re right. I’ve never smoked before. Holy shit. I have all these memories of smoking cigars. Stealing my dad’s and then getting caught. The first time he let me smoke with him, he lit my cigar and I felt like an adult for the first time, like I’d made a rite of passage. I have memories of smoking at work and whenever Charlie came over. But that never happened. The cigar tonight was my first. Do you think I’m going crazy?”

“No, the same thing happened to me, but in reverse. I don’t think we both went crazy on the same night.” I tried to sound reassuring. I wanted to freak out, but my need to assuage my wife’s fears took precedence. “It is weird, but I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about.”

“You know, I never understood what you guys saw in cigars, but I do now. I enjoyed my first cigar immensely. I think I’ll join you and Charlie next time you have cigars.”

“You can smoke with Charlie. The mere idea of smoking a cigar turns my stomach.”

“Maybe you’ll change your mind when the time comes.”

“Maybe.”

Wendy lay down against me again, her hands resuming their exploration of my body. Her hand slid down my body and cupped my crotch. “Does big Steve want to come out and play?”

It was unusual for Wendy to be the instigator when it came to sex and if it had been a different night I probably would have been pleased. “I really am tired, sweetie.”

“Shit.” Wendy rolled over and we both tried to sleep.

***
I woke in the morning to a kiss on my forehead.

“Lily is in the playpen and Tyler is watching television,” a blurry Wendy said. “I have to go. Love you.”

I blinked my eyes and shook my head. My vision cleared and I saw Wendy’s backside walk out of the bedroom. I grabbed my phone and checked the time. It was a little after eight. I stretched and got out of bed. The first thing that I noticed was that I was only wearing my boxers. While I occasionally wore only boxers to bed I usually wore a nightgown. I could have sworn I’d worn one to bed the night before, the one that Wendy had bought for me. I shrugged it off, pulled on my terry cloth bathrobe and headed out of the bedroom to find the kids.

They were both in the family room, Lily laying in her playpen gnawing on a teething ring. She was still in her pink, fleece pajamas. I wondered if Wendy had even changed her diaper. Lily smiled when she saw me, her fine blonde hair nearly disappearing in the morning light streaming through the family room window, making her look bald. Tyler sat cross legged on the carpet, a half eaten bowl of cereal next to him. He was in his Ant-Man pajamas, the ones his aunt Abbey had given him for his birthday. He’d inherited my wavy, brown hair.

“Morning, champ,” I said. “You see where your mom went?”

“She left golfing,” Tyler said, not looking away from the television.

“Golfing, huh?” Both Wendy and I golfed, but neither of us were that into it. We golfed at the occasional charity event and sometimes with Abbey and Charlie, as a kind of double date. I couldn’t remember her ever going golfing without me. “You get enough to eat?”

“Uh-huh.”

“All right.” I leaned down and picked up his bowl of cereal. “Remember, no dishes on the carpet.”

Tyler looked at me this time. “Mommy said it was okay if was careful.”

“She did, huh?” I said, growing annoyed. It was typical of her. Let Tyler make a mess and then who gets to clean it up? “Go get dressed for church. Once you’re ready you can come back and watch cartoons, but don’t sit on the carpet in your church clothes.”

“Okay, Dad.”

I took the cereal to the kitchen. There was a half pot of coffee left in the maker. I filled my travel cup and took a sip. It was lukewarm, but was caffeinated so it worked for my purposes. I checked my phone. I had a text from Wendy.

“Sry 2 dash. Got 2 make tee time w/Charlie. Be back b4 dinner.”

Must be nice to just take off and assume I’d take care of Tyler and Lily all day. She worked hard all week and deserved some time to unwind, but so did I. Taking care of the house and two kids wasn’t a cake walk. When was my day off?

I headed back to the family room, picked up Lily and carried her to the master bedroom. Once I sat her in the baby jumper that hung from the door jamb to the bathroom, she let out a squeal and started bouncing. I sat on the floor in front of her, talking to her as she bounced. After a couple minutes I noticed my nightgown lying on the floor next to the clothes hamper.

Did I take it off during the night and somehow forget? I picked it up and sniffed it. It smelled like Wendy. I double checked the nightgown to ensure that it was mine. It looked exactly like the one that Wendy had bought me for our cruise to the Bahamas, except that it was way too small. Had it shrunk during the night? Why had Wendy worn it? While she wore nightgowns she wouldn’t be caught dead in one of mine. I stood and looked through my dresser for the rest of my night clothing. I came up empty. On a whim I went through Wendy’s dresser and found all of them. Like my favorite nightgown, they too had shrunk. Had Wendy done some laundry and accidently shrunk them? I’d have to ask her after she got back from golf.

After a quick shower I threw on a pair of dress slacks and a button down shirt, skipping a tie. There were guys who wore ties to church, but they were in the minority. While I wasn’t surprised that Wendy had skipped out on church I was disappointed. Church had always been more of my thing. I pulled Lily from her bouncer and carried her into Tyler’s room. He was sitting on his bed in his underwear, his pajamas in a heap on the floor. I sat Lily on his bed and helped him dress. Tyler was capable of dressing himself. If we were going somewhere he found exciting, like McDonalds or to the park, he could dress inside of a minute. When it was something he didn’t want to do, such as church, dressing became one of the seven labors of Hercules.

I let him watch television with the promise that he sit on the couch and not the floor while I changed Lily’s diaper and dressed her for church.

Once at church I deposited Lily in the nursery and Tyler in children’s church and then headed to the main sanctuary. I found Abbey in the front of the church and sat next to her. She joked that we were a couple of golf widows. After the service I held Ivy and chatted with Abbey. Janie sat in the car, playing on her phone, while Evan and Tyler tore around the outside of the church like a couple of cheetahs hopped up on meth. The sun felt nice and birds were chirping in the trees. The Azaleas that lined the church were in bloom, their sweet scent floating with the light breeze. It was a gorgeous day, the kids were healthy and happy and I should have been happier than I was.

“Is everything all right, Steve?” Abbey asked after we’d chatted for a few minutes. “Is something going on between you and Wendy?”

“Yes and no. She’s her usual sweet self, but I just feel so unappreciated sometimes. Last night I was beat and all I really wanted was a little recognition for my hard work putting the birthday party together. I made the cake and the dinner. I cleaned the whole house, put up all the decorations. I’d hoped that she might toss me a thank you, but she just wants to have sex and gets her panties in a twist when I say no. And then, this morning, she takes off to play golf with barely a goodbye.”

“You poor thing,” Abbey said as she placed a comforting hand on my forearm.

“I know that Wendy wants to unwind after working hard all week, but I work hard too, taking care of the house and two kids. I’d like to be able to take off unannounced and spend the day with friends, doing what I like.”

“I know what you need. You need a little retail therapy.”

“What I need to do is feed Lily and Tyler some lunch, finish cleaning up the birthday party mess, do some laundry, and then go to the grocery store to get some things to make dinner.”

“Laundry and cleaning can wait until tomorrow. Wendy can pick up some takeout on the way home from the golf course and Janie can make lunch for the kids while she babysits them, since we’ll be shopping at the mall.”

“That is tempting. I do need to buy a new nightgown.”

“I’ll spring for the babysitting.”

“That is very sweet of you,” I said. “You know, it would be rude to turn down such a generous offer.”

“And you don’t want to be rude.”

“Heaven forbid.”

Abbey and I spent the next four hours at the mall. After a quick stop at the Starbucks for some caffeinated goodness, we hit store after store and chatted about our children and spouses the whole time. In addition to a nightgown I picked up a pair of tan loafers, a package of boxers, and a new sauté pan. I also picked up a cute skirt for Wendy. I wasn’t sure that it would fit her, but if it didn’t, I could always return it later—and do more shopping.

Abbey was right. A day away from the house was just what I needed. Being able to have a little me time with my sister did wonders for my mood. On the drive home I realized that I’d forgotten to text Wendy about picking up dinner. I figured I’d text her once I reached the house. As I approached the house I saw her Ford F-150 parked in the driveway. There went takeout. I figured I’d just whip up some grilled cheese and tomato soup, one of Tyler’s favorite meals.

When we entered the house, we were greeted by the wonderful smell of Chinese food. I told Tyler to put the shopping bags in my bedroom before playing on his Xbox and then I pulled Lily out of her car seat. She struggled to get down as we searched the house for Wendy. We found her in the garage, hand sanding a piece of wood.

“Ma ma,” Lily said as she reached for Wendy.

As I watched Wendy kiss Lily I felt a pang of jealousy. Lily loved to crawl and explore and got antsy quickly when held, unless Wendy held her. She could spend all day in her mother’s arms. I waited a minute before interrupting the mother-daughter reunion. I wanted a little Wendy time of my own.

“Sorry Lily, but Daddy needs a hello kiss, too.” I leaned in, put my hand behind Wendy’s head and pulled her into a deep kiss. I tasted cigar on her tongue. The scent of it was in her hair and on her clothes. She’d undoubtedly smoked one when she was out with Charlie. I found the smell familiar and comforting. I couldn’t stand fresh cigar smoke on Wendy, it was too harsh, but over time the harshness faded and mixed her normal aroma. It was part of what made Wendy who she was.

“What’s that for?” she asked as we broke the kiss.

“You brought dinner home.” I said. I had a nagging feeling that something wasn’t right. I tried to put my finger on what it could be. It had something to do with Wendy and cigars. It was on the tip of my tongue, but it wouldn’t come to me. I blew it off, figuring that whatever it was would come to me eventually.

“It was the least I could do after being gone all day.”

“I love you,” I said and kissed her again.

“I love you, too. What did you do all day?”

“I went shopping at the mall.”

“You went shopping? At the mall?” She looked at me like I’d just said that I wanted taxes to go up.

“Yeah, it was fun.” I was confused by Abbey’s reaction. I shopped at the mall all the time. Sometimes Wendy joked that she should just give the mall direct access to our bank account. It would cut out the middle man.

“What did you get?”

“I’ll show you after dinner. Tyler and I are starved.”

We watched The Lion King while we ate. It was Tyler’s first viewing and it had been over fifteen years since either Wendy or I had seen it. After we finished eating, Tyler sat on the floor a couple feet away from the television while Wendy lay on the couch with her head on my lap and I played with her hair. We kept telling Tyler to scoot back and he’d obey, but them over the next ten minutes he’d move, nearly un-perceptively, closer to the television. Once he was too close for our comfort we’d tell him to scoot back and the cycle would repeat.

When the movie finished Wendy gave Tyler and Lily a bath. Afterwards I read to Tyler while she fed Lily a bottle and then rocked her to sleep. Once Tyler fell asleep I tracked Wendy down and pulled her into the bedroom so I could show off my purchases. I started with the loafers and boxers and then I moved onto the skirt.

“You bought me a skirt? Oh my god, that’s so sweet of you,” she said, a look of dismay on her face. “I have to try it on.”

I was a little surprised at her reaction. I’d purchased clothes for Wendy countless times over the years. Whenever I found something that I thought would look cute on her I’d pick it up. I’d bought her dresses, blouses, panties, you name it. Wendy swapped out her jeans for the grey, wool skirt. It fit nicely. She gave me a kiss.

“I have one more item. I’ll be right back.” I carried a shopping bag to the bathroom.

“Why don’t you change here?”

“I want it to be a surprise,” I said with a smile as I closed the bathroom door.

After stripping to my boxers I slipped the nightgown over my head and relished the feeling of its soft, silky material as it slid along my torso. I pulled on the hem, removing any potential wrinkles and then straightened its spaghetti straps. I liked the way my chest hair peeked out of its v-neck. Reflexively, I ran a comb through my short, brown hair before opening the door and striking a pose.

“What do you think?” I asked, confident that she’d find it as sexy as I did.

Wendy stared at me for nearly a minute, her face changing from confused to worried and finally settling on mirthful. “Ha, ha. You got me,” she said with a chuckle. She must have seen my face fall. Her expression changed to concerned. “Wait, are you serious?”

“You don’t like it.” I grabbed my bathrobe off its hook and covered myself. “It makes me look fat, doesn’t it?”

“I’m sorry, Steve. You took me by surprise; I wasn’t expecting you to come out wearing a nightgown. If it makes you happy to one it’s fine with me.”

“I’d keep wearing the one you bought me, but it shrank, so I bought a new one when I went shopping with Abbey. I wasn’t going to, but after church she talked me into it. She thought a little retail therapy would brighten my mood. I should have stayed home and done the laundry.”

“Steve, I don’t care that you went shopping with your sister or that you’re wearing a nightgown. What I don’t understand is why you think it is normal and why you think I bought you one.”

It was my turn to be perplexed. “I wear a nightgown nearly every night. You bought me the old nightgown on the cruise to the Bahamas. I was just replacing it since I’ve clearly gotten too fat to wear it anymore.”

“I’ve never bought you a nightgown, not on a cruise, not ever. You hate shopping in general, especially at the mall and the last time you shopped with your sister was when you were in grade school and that was with your mother.”

“Oh my god, you’re right, I bought you the nightgown,” I said as memories flooded into my head. Wendy was right. I hated shopping and thought that the mall was overpriced, crowded and annoying in general. Yet, I also remembered shopping there with Abbey at least once a month. I thought about the old nightgown. I remembered buying if for Wendy and I also remembered her buying it for me. What was going on?

I walked over to the dirty clothes and removed the nightgown from the dirty clothes pile. “This is yours, isn’t it?”

“I don’t wear a nightgown,” Wendy said indignantly.

“Yes you do. You went to bed in this one last night.”

A look of realization spread across her face. “What the fuck is happening to us?” Tears filled her eyes.

I pulled Wendy into a hug and held her head against my shoulder. “I don’t know, but I’m sure that there’s a logical explanation.”

Wendy pulled back and looked up into my face. “But, what if there isn’t? What if we’re cracking up?”

“I don’t think we’re going crazy. Come on, let’s go to bed and hold each other. There’s nothing we can do about it tonight.”

We crawled into bed. I lay on my back and Wendy curled up against me, her head on my shoulder. I wrapped my arm around her and held her close. Her hand rested on my chest.

“How did you do at golf?” I said after a few minutes.

“I shot seven over par.”

“Wow, you’re a lot better than I ever was.”

Wendy’s face lit up. After a minute she asked, “How did you like shopping with your sister?”

“It was so much fun and it was exactly the break I needed. I think we talked more at the mall today than we’ve talked in the last ten years.”

We lapsed into silence. After a few minutes Wendy started playing with my chest hair. We kissed and then her hand traveled south until it found my cock. She rubbed it through the material of my nightgown.

“That feels amazing, baby,” I said.

She propped herself up on one elbow and kissed me, her tongue sliding into my mouth. My cock rose at her ministrations. She slid her hand up and down its length, the friction from my nightgown generating heavenly warmth in my cock. I moaned as she climbed on top of me, her mouth never leaving mine. She yanked at my nightgown and sat down on my cock. I’m not sure when she’d lost her panties. As she bucked on top of me, bouncing up and down on my manhood wildly, I clutched at her back and panted from the pleasure coursing through my body. Her mouth left mine. She pulled on the neck of my nightgown, exposing my nipples; she alternated sucking and nibbling them. I came with a shriek.

She grabbed my wrists, pinned my hands to the bed and continued to fuck me. God, I loved how assertive she was in bed. Up and down she bounced on me. She nibbled my ear, her hot breath against my neck sending shivers throughout my body. I felt my second orgasm approach. She quickened her pace, slamming her pelvis into mine. Moments later she stiffened and roared. It threw me over the edge and my screams joined hers.

She released my wrists as she lay panting on top of me. I ran my hands along her smooth back and basked in our closeness. Much too soon for my liking, she rolled off me and went to sleep.

I lay awake and pondered our love making. It had been wonderful, but something felt off about it. It had something to do with her taking the lead, but she usually took the lead in bed. Didn’t she? And the multiple orgasms, I’d had those before, hadn’t I? After a few minutes I stopped fretting and fell asleep.

Role with It - Part 2