Failure To Communicate

Instead he did date a lot, and his preferences appeared to be the younger and more well built types.

The racing only lasted two seasons, it was like the two of them had done that and then lost interest. They sold the car and then were into boats, buying a 26 foot long thing with a cabin on it.

First they had suggested building and flying an airplane but Dorothy put her foot down about that.

Jack was a bit on the wild and crazy side, Denver was much more solid and Dorothy was thinking that Jack just might manage to get her husband hurt.

Weekends became trips to lakes, once even way out in the Ocean but the big waves scared her and then she got sick so she didn't want to go out there any more.

Then there was an over night beach party and Jack showed up with a pretty dark haired woman named Millie. She wore a bathing suit that left almost nothing to the imagination, Dorothy even caught Denver looking at her from time to time.

But then everyone was looking at Millie. Dorothy had on her green swimsuit, like everything she wore, it was conservative. She liked it because it was comfortable, and being one piece it covered the small bulge at her belly and the marks on her tummy that bearing two children had left her with.

Later that evening, they built a huge bonfire. Dorothy glanced up and caught Jack looking at her. She blushed when the thought of that one time Jack had kissed her popped right into her head.

She had a slightly nervous feeling that Jack was thinking the same thing.

Denver was in their tent, he had a few extra beers and had gone to lay down so she went in to join him. Dorothy lay there quietly that night, listening to Denver's soft breathing.

Then she heard what sounded like lovemaking, and realized that Jack and Millie were in the other tent just a few feet away and making love.

Millie was most certainly not quiet, and it went on for at least an hour. That by itself was amazing, Denver never did it anywhere near that long. Dorothy found herself feeling flustered at the sounds, she reached over for Denver but he was solidly asleep.

Later, she heard rustling sounds, someone got up and walked away into the dark. Dorothy realized that Jack must have needed to urinate. She heard him come back, then there was some crackling of the fire as he threw more wood onto it.

Dorothy got up and slipped on her robe since she couldn't sleep.

"Hi. Hey, sorry about all the noise." Jack said when he saw her come out.

Dorothy giggled at that, she couldn't help herself.

"It's OK. I am having trouble dozing off." She sat on the log a few feet away.

"It sure is beautiful out here tonight." Dorothy said after a few minutes. The sky was clear, stars were visible in vast numbers.

"Even more beautiful now that you are out here." Jack said with a smile.

Dorothy looked up at him in surprise, his face was partly in shadow, the flickering light from the fire lit up a portion of him. All he had on was his trousers, the night was only mildly cool.

Jack was well muscled, slender. She had seen him with no shirt on many times before, but somehow the way he looked with the light from the fire castings shadows made her heart skip a beat.

"Me? I am a middle aged woman, what is Millie, maybe 25?"

"She is 23, but the way you look right now is way nicer." Jack said quietly.

"Oh, stop it." Dorothy told him.

"Remember that day? Right after that race when I kissed you?"

Dorothy certainly did, but she didn't answer.

"I want to do that again." He told her, standing up.

"Jack." Dorothy stood up also, she was thinking she should go back to her tent. He was now right there, in front of her.

Jack took her in his arms and kissed her again, Dorothy was surprised and didn't react.

Then she felt his hand, it slid inside her robe and was cupping her naked breast. Her body betrayed her, she felt an involuntary shudder.

"God, your skin is so soft, so wonderful!" He slid her robe open as she stood there in surprise, her breasts suddenly bare in the flickering light from the fire.

Startled at that, Dorothy tried to say something but no sound came out.

As he leaned forward to press his lips to her bust, she pushed him back, gathering the robe quickly around herself.

"Jack. Don't." She told him. He dropped his hands and let go of her. Dorothy quickly turned and went back inside the tent. Denver was still sound asleep.

Her body had nearly instantly became on fire at Jack's boldness, her nipples puckered up and for a brief moment she had allowed Jack to touch her.

But when he boldly reached out and opened her robe, that had broken the reverie and she had pushed him away.

Then she heard the sounds once again. Jack and his girlfriend were making love? That meant he could do it again, and quickly? Dorothy's hand dropped to between her legs, she was suddenly wanting. Her other hand slipped up to her nipple, the breast that Jack had touched.

Denver continued to snore softly beside her. For the very first time since she was very young, Dorothy actually wondered what sex with someone else would be like.

That broke her mood, try as she might she could not climax. It was always a difficult thing anyway, but now feeling shame, she just could not.

Finally she gave up, turned and went to sleep.

Worried about Jack's actions, Dorothy made sure after that to not find herself alone with him, but he acted perfectly normal.

She did not dare tell Denver what Jack had done, they were so close and she was sure that it might spoil that.

So she just put that out of her mind, passed it off as some beer affecting him. Besides, he hadn't done anything, not really.

+++

It was several months later when she called Jack from work, asking him to help with the surprise party. By then she had mostly forgotten the two incidents, and Jack had not changed one bit in the way he was around her.

Jack readily accepted taking care of the details, since Dorothy was either at work or at home with Denver it was a problem for her to find the time to do any of it.

Jack rented the party room at a nearby hotel, found and hired a local band. Once he came by her office to pick up a check to pay some of the bills. They walked out together after work, chatted a little bit. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek like he often did and she drove home.

Then she got off work early one day and drove over to Jack's condo to work out the timing. She planned on her and Denver going out to dinner, then dancing at the hotel. The surprise would come when they arrived at the hotel, and two dozen of their friends would all be there.

It would be a fun and wonderful time, she was sure.

It didn't really take very long, then Dorothy and Jack sat and talked. They laughed at some of the things they had all done together.

Then Jack blurted out that back when Denver and Dorothy had started dating, he had wanted to date her himself.

"I am curious, if I had asked you, would you have gone out with me?" He asked.

"Yes, probably. Up until Denver and I...you know." She told him.

"Yea. When you guys moved in together, I didn't want to do or say anything because of Denver. But I always did love you."

That came as a complete surprise.

"Jack. I..I don't know what to say." Dorothy said.

"Denver told me that you were...that he was the first with you. That's really something, most women in today's world...?"

Dorothy blushed, she didn't know that Jack and Denver ever talked about anything like that. But she and Sara often did talk quietly about personal things, so two good men friends probably did also.

"Haven't you ever wondered?" Jack asked her.

"Wondered about what?" Dorothy knew very well now what he meant.

"What lovemaking might be like with someone different?"

"No, not really." Dorothy lied.

Jack laughed at that.

"Everybody does, at that beach party when I..touched you, I felt something in you."

"Jack, we can't..not even talk about anything like that, OK? Of course I like you, you are a nice guy but nothing like that can ever happen again. Denver would never understand, and he trusts you."

"Yea, I know. But I don't even trust myself when I am around you." Jack said.

"I better go. Thank you for helping with the party." Dorothy got up.

Jack got up, they stood looking at each other for a moment, then he leaned forward and kissed her.

Dorothy pulled back quickly, she had instantly again felt her body react.

"You are the reason I never got married." Jack told her.

Dorothy went out to her car, sat there for a moment to get herself under control. She never noticed Denver's car parked up in the top parking lot.

+++

Denver sat there thinking. His best friend in the whole world, and his wife? What in the hell was going on? He would never have dreamed that anything like what was obvious to him could ever happen.

He also had no idea at all how to broach the subject with her. Inside, he felt a quiet rage, it took every effort he had to not let it show.

Wednesday Dorothy woke him up for breakfast in bed.

As he ate, she said she wanted to go out on Saturday, maybe for a nice dinner and then some dancing.

"Sure, we can do that if you like." He told her. They both had to work, other than a breakfast tray the day was normal. That evening Dorothy had a nice cake she had gotten somewhere, they sat and enjoyed that.

Denver was being very quiet, Dorothy could feel that something was bothering him but she had no idea at all what it could be.

That evening Dorothy came to bed, expecting Denver to reach out for her, but instead he turned his back and went to sleep.

That was odd, Denver had begged off a few times over the years but today was a surprise.

When his breathing changed to the softness of sleep, Dorothy got up and went quietly into the bathroom. Looking at herself in the full length mirror, she turned every which way. The woman looking back at her was heavier, there was a slight sag to her full round breasts. She sucked in her tummy, lifted her breasts to where she thought they should be.

Maybe that was it? She was not young and firm any more. The woman looking back at her was obviously mature.

Dorothy sighed and went back to bed, slept.

Thursday he was the same, she thought perhaps Denver was upset at turning fifty? Maybe that was it? She knew that she would be fifty herself in just a few months, but somehow she didn't feel that old.

Saturday Dorothy did surprise Denver, when she came out of the bedroom. She had on a new peach colored dress she had bought just the afternoon before, it was fashionably short and had a very low cut back.

The bodice fit her upper body perfectly, and made it clear that she wore no bra with it. It was the sexiest thing she had ever worn.

"Wow!" Denver said when he saw her.

"You like?" Dorothy did a little whirl. She had carefully selected this outfit for the party, she wanted to look as sexy as she dared for him since it was his special day.

"I have never seen you wear anything like that before." Denver said.

"I just wanted to look good for you, honey." She smiled.

"Well, you sure do." He told her.

Dinner was nice, they had a table that looked out over the river. The lights from the other side made the water sparkle. Denver was still quiet however, it was like his mind was somewhere else.

When they walked back to what she told him was the dance floor, and pushed the double doors open, everyone yelled "Surprise!"

It certainly did catch Denver by surprise. The room was full of family and friends. There was a three piece band up on the stage, and very quickly everyone was having a good time.

Several people cracked some old jokes, Denver actually forgot about his suspicions and enjoyed himself.

Until he was over getting himself a drink and he looked up to see Dorothy and Jack headed for the dance floor.

Jack had danced with Dorothy hundreds of times over the years and Denver had not thought a single thing about it.

He stood and watched them intently, they were dancing and talking like they always did. There was no cuddling, no rubbing up against each other or anything like that at all.

The only thing different was that Jack's right hand was on Dorothy's bare back, Denver saw the splayed fingers, then as they turned he saw the fingers slide across her skin.

He would not have even noticed that before, but normally Dorothy would never wear a dress that left so much of her body bare.

Denver looked at Dorothy, saw her face had a flushed look. Then she tipped her head back and laughed at something Jack said.

Then as they turned, Denver saw that Jack's hand had dropped lower and was resting on her hip. Again she laughed at something he said, allowing his hand to rest there.

The look on her face, the expression was one Denver recognized. It was the same way she looked in those rare times when she reached for him, feeling desire.

That moment, combined with a few drinks was enough.

Denver exploded. He set down his drink, walked across the dance floor. Several people looked at him startled, seeing the expression on his face.

Denver walked up to Jack, jerked his arm loose, and knocked him flat with one swing.

Dorothy came to a stop, her mouth open, her eyes huge.

"You fucking BASTARD!" Denver yelled, standing over Jack.

"Honey? What?" Dorothy said.

"You know god damned good and well what! You have been fucking around with this cock sucker!" Denver yelled.

Jack looked up at Denver. He was taller and physically stronger, but thought it best to do nothing.

Denver turned and walked out, got into his car and left. In his rear view mirror, he saw Dorothy come rushing out with Jack right behind her.

It was well over two hours later when Denver calmed down. He realized he was on the freeway and at least 100 miles away from home.

Glancing at his watch, he saw it was just after midnight, so he pulled off at the next town, drove around and found a motel. He rented a room, planning to settle in for the night. He was well aware that he probably should not be driving.

By then he was back to his usual calm manner, but inside he was in turmoil.

Not wanting to be there by himself, he went outside and looked around, less than a hundred feet away was a bar, it's blue and red neon sign flashing.

Walking over there, he sat at the bar and proceeded to get blind drunk.

+++

The first thing Denver was aware of was his head hurt and his mouth felt like it was full of cotton.

Someone was pounding on the door.

"What?" Denver called out.

"Checkout time is 11 O'clock, buddy!" Someone yelled.

Denver looked around for a clock, saw it was nearly 11 now, then he spotted someone in the bed with him.

That was a shock. What in the hell? He swung his feet out of bed, saw that he was naked. He managed to stumble to the sink, drank some water.

Looking back, the woman was sitting up. She was naked, her heavy breasts hung down from her chest.

Her makeup was severe, she appeared to be in her forties, perhaps older. She stood up and walked over to the sink, got some water, then turned to him.

Her pubic region was bare, she stood there without showing the slightest concern over being completely nude. Her lower lips hung down obscenely.

"Who are you?" Denver asked her.

"I'm Kitty. Jesus, guy, you sure tied one on last night, didn't you?" She tipped her head back and laughed.

That sounded more like a cackle than a laugh.

"Hey, if you want me to stay it's another hundred bucks, OK? If not, we need to get the fuck out of here or they are gonna nail you for another night."

"Oh, God." Denver said. He found his clothes and dressed, all the woman had was a pullover dress which she had on in one smooth motion. She grabbed her purse and headed for the door.

"Thanks, guy. And hey, don't feel bad, most guys can't get it up very long when they get all shit faced like that. Damn shame, you got a nice dick on you. If you want to try again, come on over, I will be at the bar." With that, she was gone.

Denver stared at the closed door for several long seconds.

Then he walked over to the bed, jerked the covers back. The evidence was obvious.

After checking out, he got into his car and drove home.

There was no one there. He checked the closets, nothing was missing. Glancing at the answering machine, he saw the light was flashing.

There were over a dozen messages. Running the list, all of them were from Jack.

"Hey guy, call me. There is nothing going on, we gotta talk." Were about all there was to the messages.

Except for the last one.

"Denver, god dammit! When you get this call back. We are worried sick."

Then Denver heard Dorothy's voice in the background.

"He still isn't answering? Where can he be?"

Dorothy was at Jack's place?

He smashed the answering machine against the wall.

Needing to use the bathroom, he went in and sat down. It was over an hour later when he woke up, still sitting there. As he got up and started to pull his briefs up, he saw the ugly red lipstick stains on his underwear.

Just then the phone rang. Denver walked over and picked it up.

"Denver! Are you OK?" Jack's voice asked.

"I'm fine."

"Hey, we need to talk real bad. Dorothy and I ain't doing anything."

"What is she doing over there, then?" Denver asked.

"I drove her over to your house but you were gone, and since you were acting so crazy she didn't want to be there by herself. She stayed here."

Denver didn't say anything.

"In the spare bedroom, dammit!" Jack added.

Denver hung up, he didn't believe one word of that. The phone instantly rang again, he ignored it.

He went in and undressed, taking a hot shower. Then he went out and got into his car and drove down to a cafe for some breakfast.

Two hours Dorothy had spent inside Jack's condo, two solid hours. He knew damn good and well what had to be going on. Then she had planned and thrown that big party, which to his way of thinking made a fool out of him. Actually dancing with Jack, right in front of him, letting him rub her bare back.

After all this time, all these years? How could Jack do something like that to him?

As he ate, he thought about the hooker that had somehow ended up in his room. He had no idea at all how any of that had happened, but it was rather obvious they had done something.

He loved Dorothy though. Maybe if they talked, thrashed things out?

He decided he would give it a day or two before he talked to Dorothy, give himself time to figure out what to say or do. Right at the moment he wanted to smash things, hurt someone.

His life had become a fucking mess.

+++

Denver wasn't there when Dorothy arrived at their house. She jumped out of Jack's car and ran inside, calling out for him. Checking the closet, she saw his dark brown shirt he liked was missing, and a pair of his blue jeans but that was all. In a pile on the floor were the clothes he had worn the night before, the light blue dress shirt and jacket, Gray slacks. She picked them up to put them in the laundry hamper.

On the nightstand was a bottle of Aspirin, Denver had taken the cotton out and left it beside the bottle like he always did.

She picked up the cotton and went over to toss it in the wastebasket.

That was when Dorothy spotted his underwear, they were shoved down below some papers but a corner was sticking out. She reached in and retrieved them, why in the world would he throw perfectly good briefs away?

There was no missing the red lipstick stain.

Dorothy first felt shock, that quickly became rage. Denver would not even let her use her mouth down there, and now he had obviously allowed some slut to do exactly that?

Jack came inside just then, he looked down at the garment in her hand. She now had tears in her eyes.