All Comments on 'I Am Not A Wimp: Another Sequel'

I like happy endings and I thought this couple deserved one. I liked how you made both of them confront their faults and weaknesses. <p><p>

Even though Ive said right from the time the original was posted that both of them contributed to the problem, I do think you over-emphasized the husbands fears and down-played the wifes actions in this story a little. Seemed a little like everyone was just mouthing words about the wifes behaving stupidly while laying most of the blame on the husbands intransigence.<p><p>

I do agree that the husband was at least equally responsible for how far their problems went, but I dont think the wife was blameless. I dont understand why everyone was so eager to dismiss her actions as meaningless because she didnt have actual intercourse with the guy. I dont understand why nobody called her wrt to pda's with her husband and the seemingly illogical defense of having a secret boyfriend to make her husband jealous. There were many other little things that made things seem a little too one-sided imo. <p><p>

Anyway, its just nitpicking mostly. Overall, I was happy to see them together and to see love overcoming their problems (and the husband overcoming his demons). Thanks for writing.

<p>I really believe that this version concluding "I Am Not A Wimp" was about as good as it gets. In the end, both parties shouldered their share of the blame. Most importantly, they not only voiced their acceptance of blame to their partner, but ultimately understood within themselves what each had done to hurt the marriage and why.</p>

<p>Jenny's foolish semi-fling with Jerry would seem to be the more agregious error between the two, but it took her longer to truly appreciate her own betrayal of her husband. In the end she understood and accepted the depth of her guilt, even without the consumation of the 'affair'. She also understood that her reaction to her husband's overworking was unreasonable and self-centered. She came out of this a better person.</p>

<p>I think that was what made this story work for me. jack_straw found a way to make the reconcilliation not only believable but almost inevitable. After all, these are two high-powered, successfull business people. They must be logical. They must be able to negotiate to peoples' mutual satisfaction in their businesses. Why wouldn't those skills translate to their marriage?</p>

<p>Good story, well told.</p>

I liked jack_straw's ending to the story for several reasons. His prose is good, as we've come to expect, and he moves the story along at a nice clip. His Ted and Jenny are faithful to the characters as originally written, and that is a plus. The plot is believable and realistic, and the author does a fine job of exploring Ted's demons and Jenny's realization of her indiscretions. They both grow as people through their experiences, and their development is a pleasure to watch. Each of them comes to understand that they both contributed to the problems in the marriage, and both recommit themselves to making it work. Their reconciliation is realistic and well-done because neither partner's character is cheapened by their reunion.

<P>

My only gripe is with the author's thesis that "perception is reality." No, it's not. Perception is perception, and reality is reality. Whether you perceive the oncoming freight train or not, you will win a Darwin award if you don't get off the tracks in time. You cannot control what other people choose to believe. They will believe what they wish. Shaping your moral choices because of what other people will think is nothing more than moral relativism. It's a flawed philosophy and not one I accept.

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Good story, jack_straw. Thank you for sharing it.

You always let the bitch off the hook!

I am not sure either person is strong enough to be in the professional position described in the story. The wife was just a very stupid immature girl. The husband filled with anger and hurt. You dont love someone and run around on them no matter the reason. She knew that and he knew that. She chose to by choice and acted on it, it was disrespect and betrayal to portry it any other way is to manipulate the facts to reach a defined ending. There is no way a man in that emotional state, with the history he had, could or would forgive a woman who acted in such a callous manner. The brother in law who called him a wimp, was actually the wimp. There is no reason to have to work it out and forgive a person for their actions when they intentionally do them out of disrespect, betrayal, and in this case preceived infidelity. The brother in law was the wimp, peace at any price it is called. If all it took was working it out and forgiveness good old Jerry would still be working at his company and doing a good job and taking his wife out to dinner., When a company sends you inferior parts at the premium price, you dont forgive them and reorder more materials. You go and find a new supplier or you in some way find a legal solution such as filing on them for fraud. Now think of the woman as the supplier and grow up.

I said of the original that Ted's share of the blame was never acknowledged, now we have a version which gives him 99.9999% of the blame.<BR>

Jenny's tirade is just way too far over the top!<BR>

It took until the fifth or so paragraph from the end for Jenny to acknowledge her fault, and nowhere does she (or the author) acknowledge the crucial point of her very firm instruction to Ted about the keeping up appearances to her staff, then how she deliberately did to him what she berated him about.<BR>

Unsatisfying is about the kindest comment I can make. Add to that annoying in the nth degree about the way she turned the whole thing around on Ted.<BR>

Anyone out there willing to attempt a balanced approach to this one?

The wife in this case is a vice president of whatever corporation she works in. You don't get to that level of responsibility without a good share of intelligence, skill and ability to read other people.<br><br>

That being said, how on Earth was she so stupid as to pick the plan she settled on? She had to have known how crucial "image" and "reputation" can be in the corporate world, especially with a man like her husband (and if she hadn't discerned at least that much of his character in the time they had been married, she must not have been paying attention, which leaves questions about the state of the marriage before the "event" in question). She could not have been that blind to the consequences of her "mock affair" - it just does not make sense given the job she has.<br><br>

So why did she do it? Was she genuinely that stupid? Or was it that she secretly wanted an affair, only breaking off after a personal epiphany? Either way, it is an issue that needs explanation.<br><br>

The marriage was not unrecoverable, though IMHO she bears 99.95% of the responsibility for the trouble they had. Some serious issues to be worked out there - including trust issues that may well haunt them for the rest of their lives.

I cant see any way to fix a flawed story in a manner better than what Jack Straw has done here. This story -- as set up by Cageytee -- is not believeable at all. So there is only so much to work with.

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In the original story I made the comment that the premise was NOT believeable -- that TED and Jenny could be married all this time and she did NOT know ANYTHING about what had been a PIVOTAL event in Ted's life. My God...Ted was even arrested after beating up his Dad's wife lover. And Jenny had No clue? and Ted never talked about it?

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TED isnt a wimp he is a LOSER. I have 2 brothers & a sister. My 2 brothers have been married twice --each-- my sister never. I have kids ... they dont. They once me " rent you worried that you will become as bad of a parent as Mom and Dad were?" I said "No I am not" They asked why? I said "Simple... I remember what Mom and Dad did and I dont do that".

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duh....

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Once again folks we see the <b>Dear Abby thing </b> dragged out. This is one of the things really fucking pisses me off b/c most authors that use the Dear Abby thing about being better off with OR without the other perosn in the Marriage and use it as some sort of universal catch all for wimps husbands to take back ther amazingly awful multi cheating wives.

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That being said in THIS case since there was NO cheating the dear Abby DOES apply.

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The husband is STLL trying to SAVE his stupid dead drunk dad from himself. He looked at what hs dad went through and decided "I can save my Dad even if he is dead". That is exactly the wrong lesson to draw.

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For TED to make a leap after learning that his wife was having inappropriate drinks and some dancing with Jerry to images of his Dad's face in his 2nd wife pussy licking out another Mans cum .... shows poor grasp of reality .

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The war to save his Dad from his wimpness from his drunkness from his dad's own internal weakness is over . It cant be won. Ted was still fighting that war which is how and why he over reacted.

<br></br>

America's greatest General Sam Grant -- once said

" never have a battle on someone's else terrain...on someone else Plan or at someone else' time. You will Lose every time..."

<br></br>

and that is why TED in my opinion almost became a loser.

On another story an author scolded the readers because of their comments. I do agree that posters shouldn't personally bash an author, and that comments should be about the story or writing style. Still that scolding left a bad taste on my mouth. There is a symbiotic relationship between authors and readers and if there's going to be suggestions of what we can say or not by writers, including telling us whom and what to read...then the best thing a reader can do is to read and no critique. I'm just hoping the writer doesn't think it's indifference.

I do think that he let Jenny off the hook too much. Part of what I like about these stories is that it lets us see a wife showing her love for her mate after she screws up. Jenny screwed up, and it wasn't in the same universe as his.

Don't get me wrong, I think having Ted understand that he screwed up was brilliant. I also didn't want Jenny to be a wimp, she did a stupid thing, and in a moment of self-centered blindness didn't realize how wrong she was. Thus I wanted to see her understand that the scales didn't balance. She needed to make them so.

Finally, I loved/hated the pregnancy. As someone who is dealing with the idea of children, I don't like the idea that she would let herself risk children when she wasn't SURE that the family was stable.

Please understand these are minor quibbles, I loved the way Jack have finished the story, and I do think it's finished. Someone else can write a different ending, but it will be a different story.

as has ever been posted here

Although there are some weak points in this sequel, the author did an excellent job of taking us to the only rational conclusion for the story.

common sense writerif you pleaseperception is everything.what the hubby did was with the wife brother and can stand by itself.now what wife dining and dancing at night with another man not telling her hubby.who give a shit what happen he can't trust her.trust and talking to each other is what a marriage is all about.then she talks shit and hanging with a scumbag,fuck her.you as a writer make the hubby a wimp for him excepting her crap.

You really turned him into a wimp. Now the wife has won and she will always get her way till she too has his face shoved into her cunt by another man after he has fucked her. Shame shame.

I think Jenny could have been a little less forceful and a little more compassionate but still delivered the same message when she told Ted to crap or get off the pot, however, her dialogue (as written by Jack) was probably more consistent with her rather obnoxious and selfish character than being compassionate and understanding would have been. Pushing out a bunch of rug rats is also a great idea... To be honest, I think I would have moved on and found somebody else; overall, though, Jack's sequel is very logical, consistent with the original characters, and at the end, romantic. <p>I agree with Harry's comment - we do choose how we behave.

I think Average-Joe summarized the reactions of many people to this sequal. They were both good people but they both did stupid things--- her incredibly dumb make believe affair started the fiasco and his childhood fear of woman becoming a slut and humiliating him contributed to his refusal to forgive her. The only thing I would add to Joe's analysis, is that Ted's insistance on disappearing to build their dream house in secret after she had bitched about his continued absence made him as stupid as she was Fine conclusion by Jack Straw though

60 year old George

the character was purty adament about NOT wimpin' out, but the author pursuit him relentlessly, begging, demanding, threatening that he do it, OR, the author says to the character, you gonna miss out on a great woman in life, a woman you was gonna be miserable for the rest of your life without! <p>

okay, okay, author,,, I give up, you win! I'm gonna go back on my words and go down to my knees ---- although I hate it, I am telling you, seeing how my dad was made by that woman to crawl to her splayed legs, to suck out a vagina full of sperms from other men --- and knee my way back to her, now that YOU AUTHOR had her being so tough, so final, on me like that! <p>

readers respect authors more, when they create a certain character --- however flawed or admirable or with a combination of both --- and FOLLOW THROUGH and not cry big tears in the midst of things. <p>

if (1) it was truly the husband's PERCEPTION that mattered and regardless of whehter the wife had fucked (whether with FBI suspect Jerry or with a truly romantic guy without a lot of criminality who just wants a good married woman) and (2) that what HE perceived of her actions were betrayal, even she thought she was just acting cute to get his attention, THEN (3) his perception is the bedrock of his thoughts and foundations. <p>

his perception was NOT off or wrong: however a spouse like his wife was going to rationalize away her behavior ("you didn't tell me you're building this beautiful get-away house for me, for us... so you LIED to me too", ad nauseam), if what HE PERCEIVED was NOT appropriate, then he needed to stick to his perception. <p>

and going dancing and going to lunch with another man, who had been boasting at the husband's work about having fucked her...... "only a few times, and I was NOT going to fuck him" --- I mean, how the fuck did she know that? the guy was a criminal: he could take her, rape her, sodomize her and give her a disease, within minutes, had he wanted to, so what she wanted or not was irrelevant, with a man who was determined to fuck her because she made herself available to him in plenty of get-together, during lunch and after work) --- were DEFINITELY NOT APPROPRIATE behavior. <p>

there's NO LOGICAL equivocation between "I just wanted your attention, when I dined and danced with Mr.-I-Didn't-Know-Who-Was-An-FBI-Wanted-Man," on the one and, AND "You were also LYING TO ME WHEN YOU BUILT THIS BEAUTIFUL VACATION HOME, for me, so we both lied to each other", on the other hand........ but that didn't stop these authors from equivocating such vastly and improbably unequivocal things, did it, and come to some nice conclusion: "Okay, maybe they both made mistakes, so they should just apologize to each other and have wonderful sex and start a kid right away!!

supposed "Jerry" turned out to be some fabulously wealthy guy, not some white collar criminal on the FBI's list, and he truly wooed the wife and given time she would naturally drift away? in that case, WOULD Ted's perception be a good one to stick with? in such a case, the wife could simply say, "You know what, Ted? My lover has a couple beautiful vacation homes all over the world.... and, sure, it was a good thought of yours to build that little nice place, with my brother,,, but my new love and I are very happy together now... I DID NOT MEAN TO FALL IN LOVE WITH HIM; but it turned out, he's so wonderful, so attentive, so loving,,, I mean, you're still my hsuband and I still loved you, in some ways,,, but I am a high maintenance woman,,, and it takes a very attentive man to keep my attention focused on him,,,, you were, you are, not that man, I'm sorry to say. I am very happy with my new love now,,, and he's wealthy enough, with enough properties, he doens'nt need to prove any thing to me,,, all he needs is just me, he says,,, Well, I hope you learn your lesson and pay more attention to a good woman next time,,, before she started searching for a man who would pay more attention to her needs,,," <p>

supposed THAT turned out to be the case: would the AUTHORS still ignore Ted, the husband's, PERCEPTION of inappropriate behavior by a married woman, his woman? Authors need to use their heads, too, sometimes,,,

Your sequel fits very well to Cageytees story. You developed the story very well.

<p>Thank you for good entertainment</p>

<b>Nucleus</b>

<p>*Ted is no wimp but rather a man which jump over his shadow</p>

This is a fitting end to this story. They both screwed up, no doubt about it. Her selfish choice turning out to be the worst possible idea was the cause of the problem. How did they live as husband and wife for ten years without him ever telling her about what happened to his father? Equal fault and a proper ending. Thanks for this one!

A very nice ending to Ted and Jenny's story. It seems to me the only fitting way for this to conclude. Ted made it very clear to Jenny that she can't screw up a second time. She knows how stupid her actions were. The fact they did marriage counseling is a nice touch to the ending, and of course, the baby. Jenny did grovel for a while to have Ted come back, and then she stood up for herself as well once she knew about the cabin - and the fact Ted didn't tell her about his father and stepmother is totally unacceptable. This is again a great illustration of what happens when 2 people fail to communicate. But this is a good way to end their story. Love, betrayal, forgiveness and moving on.

Some accuse Ted of being a wimp because he went back to his wife. Being a wimp is taking the cowardly path, the easy way out...it doesn't matter whether the easisest thing to do is to lay the smackdown on an adulteress or walk away or to stay with them. Ted did a hard thing, he swallowed his pride and he wanted to make his relationship work. That is not a wimp, that is the picture of a real man. A good man.

Great Story, keep up the writing.

this ending to the others,it showed just what real love can achieve,but also made it clear that she could only be "forgiven" once and never again. A very well written story.

<p>Regardless of what happened to his dad, the issue is standalone here. Truly she made a stupid mistake. That is the kind of mistake that only very stupid people make. It shows that she is very stupid. The decision now is whether to stick with a stupid wife. My answer is usually no regardless of what kind of mistake exposed her intrinsic stupidity.

<p>To the other people who got bent up on whether perception is reality or not, business is perception. It is not reality. Try to market something perfect that everybody thinks is a piece of crap and tell me how it works out.

Thank you ,JS.Your ending was just what we all need once in awhile in this difficult world.

I think you could have spun off the friends and coworkers comments with a statment that the wife was helping with the FBI investigation.

<p>I just couldn't get past the first page</p>

<p>Guy I'm sorry, but even though Harry and I agree on the various points, we don't seem to agree on the rating. But that's what makes it intresting I guess. But I gave it 25% because I normally like your work, and because you took time to post a story, but no where remotely because of the content.</p>

<p>You totally made me dislike Ted. No, that's not <i>quite</i> right. You made me totally and completely <b>Hate</b> Ted by the end of page one. Was that the intent? If so you accomplished the goal quite nicely for me. I found it intresting that you managed to make Ted hated and create, as you put it, a backbone for the character that started the whole mess in the first place.</p>

<p>One thing that I think a lot of us readers will never agree on in this story was this: Was what the character Jenny did so wrong that she couldn't ever be forgiven? Trying to work around that "sole" point is what causes most of the major controversy about what most of us don't like in the story.</p>

<p>But here's the rub that you (and ever sequel writer seems to miss) at least for me: Jenny asked for, no I believe demanded might be the right words to use, a set of "personal rules" that she established early on in their relationship, that Ted would need to do to show her respect both at home and in the workplace that she didn't seem to have to play by when it came to him, if those same rules stood between what she felt she deserved, and Ted's public and private self respect needed to be sacrificed to get what she wanted. Almost all of the commenters seemed to missed that, to me, from the original story.</p>

<p>I could care less if it was a woman or man who gave out the rules. If one of them ask for the moon, and the other person tries to give it too them, then they should at least be willing to live by the same standards they ask from others. Jenny's character did not.</p>

<p>I'm not saying Jenny couldn't, or even shouldn't, be forgiven, but she never did anything that I've seen in the original, or any sequel for that matter, to show me she deserved it. After her very "public" humliation of her husband, she quitely tried to say "I'm sorry" and waited for it to all go away. She publicly embarrassed the husband in a manner she quite clearly "refused" to allow him to do to her early on in their relationship. Like I said in the original story, how was she expecting her husband to know she was spending time with this other guy, she quite clearly knew he dispised, when she did nothing to tell him or alert him to what she was doing? What did she expect people who saw them to think when she was out <b>dating</b> another man when her husband was out of town, when she was letting him take her to hotels for every time out? She wanted to be some where public so he wouldn't be able to force himself on her, but what she did was <b>publicly</b> give everyone the opinion she was quite easly cheating on her husband and that she didn't care who knew about it. Doesn't matter she didn't, thats a technicality. Not everyone defines cheating the same, but for me it starts at my wife "dating" another man. Her total "intent" was to make him believe she was by doing everything short of actually having sex, just so he would pay attention to her like when they first started dating. I'd say the character in the story totally accomplished the goal of getting Ted's attention, wouldn't you?</p>

<p>But I'd pose the same questions I asked on the last sequel I read, Jack since you also seemed to feel the husband was totally over reacting, it seemed to feel that you set out to make him look like the villan this go around. But answer me this question if you would, would Jenny's behavior have been acceptable if it was the husband Ted chosing to do this in reverse with a woman he knew Jenny didn't like, all because "privately" he had a problem with her working long hours?</p>

<p>Let's say after Ted came to where Jenny worked and tried to kiss her, and she told him how "unprofessional" it was to do that, he said "well if you didn't work so many hours I wouldn't have to sneak a kiss whenever I could find you". So Jenny promised to work less at the office. But Jenny had a major presentation that she needed to get out so she figured after this presentation she would work less, but meanwhile Ted has a <i>brilliant</i> idea. Since Jenny isn't available like she said she would be, he'll just ask out the rather strikingly attractive, large breasted woman, who works in Jenny's office, who is one of the junior executives who works direcly for Jenny. He knows Jenny doesn't like her because Jenny told him so, and Jenny alluded that she may be trying to sleep her way to the top. And he knows this woman has a "rep" for being willing to sleep with "anyone" regardless of marital status, because Jenny told him countless times on numerous occasion. But meanwhile Ted decides to start having dinner with this woman at the local "Holiday Inn" hotel on the nights Jenny works late, because he's lonely and wants Jenny to be jealous enough that this woman finds him attractive enough to want to date him, where he secretly meets her for dinner, dancing, and drinks. Many of the people from Jenny's office sees him when they take their spouses out because this other woman has been telling them she's sleeping with her bosses husband and he's hung like a horse, but of course he could careless who sees him during his plan. But after about 3 weeeks of Jenny not stopping the over time work hours and never noticing what he's doing, and of course Ted not leaving any clues to show what he's been up too, Ted gives up the ghost and decides to try something else, because while he was lonely without Jenny, he decides he doesn't really want to get caught by Jenny and he's not sure he ever really did. That after 3 weeks of acting like he didn't care if she caught him, now suddenly he believes no harm no foul regardless of what Jennys co-workers and bosses may have seen.</p>

<p>Then poor Jenny goes back into her office and notices that some of the folks are snickering behind her back. That even her brothers wife heard the rumors, but she is hoping that Ted gets it out of his system and that Jenny never finds out. Sure she's been working some extra hours, but the hours were to pay for the fishing boat Ted's been wanting on their anniversary. But later she's made aware that not only is everyone on the floor aware that this rather "slutty" lady has seen repeatedly been going out on dates her husband, where she was seen constantly rubbing up on him every chance she got, but he's also been seen meeting her at a local hotel where her Boss and some of the board members saw both of them till the wee hours when she was working late. And now there is a good chance this will impact her future career, but I'm sure if Ted has a good reason, Jenny wouldn't hold it against him regardless of how bad it looks. Poor, poor, Jenny is now heartbroken because a 5 minute coversation, if Ted would have said something before he carried out his plan to get her attention, could have prevented this heartache</p>

<p>So I guess in this senerio Jenny and Ted both are still equally to blame huh? Her for working hard and Ted for dating a large breasted slutty woman who he knows Jenny hates, because he wanted Jenny to pay more attention to him and felt this was the best way to get it, huh? All I did was flip the tables using what was in the original story.</p>

<p>I guess I'll get called <i>chauvinistic</i> because I think what Jenny did was far worse than what Ted did. She is redeemable, but not secretly as she is trying to do. Or in this story, not at all. What Ted character did from the original story, he did out of love and thought he was making his wife's dream come true. Like all good surprises he let everyone (her brother and his wife) in on the secret so he could make it happen. Jenny's character was motivated by selfishness. She wanted more of Ted's time in the marriage and that was not selfish in the slightest. But how she went about getting his attention was.</p>

<p>Sorry I just can't go for a story when you work so hard at making the victim the villan because you don't personally like how the story they were in ended. =(</p>

-Risq

I am truly humbled! Thanks for a great story. I can only wish that I might have done even half as well.

Good ending. It did seem a little extreme for him to be adamant about taking her back if she did nothing but the meetings with a man without the husband present isn't exactly nothing.. But it was resolved and ver ywell for all concerned.

You tied it all together. You got down to the work of looking into what strength (the opposite of ‘wimpiness’ I assume) means in a relationship. <P>

1. You showed that it means – first and foremost, being able to be intimate with another person (I don’t mean just having sex). <P>

2. You showed that being intimate means having the courage to take the risk and open up share your past as well as present with each other.<P>

3. You showed that it means a decision to interact as two adults; not as superior and inferior or as victim and victimizer. It gives both partners a lot of ‘agency’ –i.e. active power, but takes away ‘safe’ defenses each may have used and got used to for many years. <P>

4. You showed it takes the courage to acknowledging your own shortcoming, including the couple’s realistic limitations in that they don’t leave the follow up of their reconciliation for luck or inspiration but hey continue their process with professional help.

5. You presented an excellent point in showing that healing takes time and so do feelings. <P>

6. Therefore you showed how the couple accepts the fact that initially the results of the re-engagement are not perfect. But the couple trusts each other and the process they each committed themselves into. It shows their trust in the future impact of mutual work as only two people committed together could improve their relationship overtime through work. Usually, this trust in the process of mutual work is a very good predictor for a couple’s success to resolve an existing problem as well as staying married for the long run. I have to add that at the moment, I can’t remember this point being brought up in another story. <P>

I’ll admit, even if the story was a bit verbose and heavy on the telling rather than on the showing, given the context – an alternative sequel, and as it seems – loaded with many ideas to bring across, I didn’t mind it too much…After all it’s not often that you can splurge with a brainy, well thought through comprehensive coverage of a complex emotional couple’s issue. I would not mind more sequels or original stories of this brand coming my way any time...

<p>I've never seen a character in a storys actions minimized like I have seen the majority of the commentors here do</p>

<p>I'm sorry it's so long, but I had to address some of the comments I've seen both in your story and in the original story.</p>

<p>I've seen comments like:</p>

<p>-<i>"If Tom hadn't lied to Jenny she wouldn't have reacted this way"</i></p>

<p>But I challenge anyone to show me a line in the <i>original</i> story where Tom either lied <i>directly</i> to Jenny, or he lied to her by ommission.</p>

<p>What he did, from the original story, was start working hard in his own startup company to reach the same level of security that Jenny had already achieved as a corporate VP. Tom wasn't as finicially stable as Jenny was. One of the points Jenny was worried about, before they got married, was how to protect her assets before and after she married Tom. And Tom was the one who broached the conversation around him signing a Pre-nup so it didn't look like he was trying to sponge off her. But earn his way. The comment from the original story was: </p>

<p><i>"One night Ted raised the issue of dealing with some practical matters and to tell you the truth, my business sense was prodding me and I had been fretting over how to raise the subject myself.</p>

<p>I needn't have worried. Ted was as practical as I was and we seemed to comfortably deal with each issue.</i></p>

<p>And</p>

<p><i>I was a little alarmed at the pre-nuptial agreement we got back. It seemed so cold and impersonal for a document related to two people about to marry, but Ted seemed unperturbed and signed it after reading it carefully a couple of times.</p>

<p>That night he told me that he thought it was fair and appropriate and that we could always redo it at a later time when our circumstances changed and, of course, if we wanted to. We agreed we would like to have kids but we both realized that would have to wait as I wanted to pursue my career and he wanted to build his own business.</i></p>

<p>Jenny was clearly worried at first about protecting what she worked hard to get, but Tom didn't want her to worry about it and feel he was a gold digger, but he wanted to build his own business. But by Jenny's own words in the <i><b>original</b></i> story, all she said was that he fell back into his original pattern of working long hours again where he was trying to build his company. She didn't have to work as hard. She had clients, she had a basic outlined job, she had security, and when she went in, in the morning, she knew that as long as she did a good job she had a paying job tommorrow that she wasn't constantly competing against someone else who might take it away from her tommorrow. She was basiclly established in her career. Tom on the other hand was no where near where she was or had acheived the same level of security she had. He had to find customers, build a customer base, keep them happy, build a company from the ground up where none existed before, and in trying to build a company from the ground up he didn't always know if tommorrow he would "have" the same customers, so it took a lot for him to keep them. For those of you who have not done it, its quite hard to do. It's way different than walking into a corporation and "knowing" what your doing today. I have done both, and putting up with corporate politics way beats the frustation of not knowing if tommorrow you may make enough money to pay the light bills both at home and at your office (if your lucky enough to have one) Trying to find someone to pay you to work for them is way harder than already knowing your getting paid today just becaused you walked in the door. Jenny's character clearly forgot that, because as a corporate VP that wasn't really a concern of hers.</p>

<p>And not telling her he was building her a "present" is not a lie by him. Period. I challenge someone to show me where trying to suprise someone with a present is considered lying by anyone. Some folks may <i>want</i> it to be a lie so what Jenny's character did doesn't look so bad, but it's not. Which leads me into my next point:</p>

<p>-<i>Expectation to know what the other person was thinking</i></p>

<p>Problem I have again here, both with the original story and the countless sequels is this: Tom didn't know what his wife was thinking. How could he. He was working on a surprise. His wife decided to <i>make</i> him pay attention to her by using deception. How can I say that? What was her plan? Pick a guy she knew her husband dispised, make it appear that he was intrested in her, have her husband get jealous, and then her husband would be <i>soooo</i> jealous that Tom would work at monopolizing Jenny's time so that Criag wouldn't have a moment to get any of it. And various commentors don't see this high school stunt as the wrong thing to do? Adults don't deceive, or "trick", the person their married to into doing what they want. And certianly not by making them jealous with someone they know they hate. That's what high school kids do, not adults. Makes me wonder why so many folks "excuse" Jenny's actions as justified.</p>

<p>How as Tom to know what Jenny thought he was doing if she didn't "tell" him? A lot of you folks, including this author, want to fall back on "Because he was working the extra hours he told her he wouldn't he was lying" no he wasn't. Now if Jenny "asked" him what he was doing and he said he was working a job for a customer that would be lying. But all the original story just said was that he "fell back into his previous pattern of working long hours" that is not a lie by any stretch of the imagination. And had Jenny just spoken to "anyone" else in the family, her brother, or her best friend who happened to also be her brothers wife, or even Ted for that matter about her renewed concern it wouldn't have gone as far as to embarress Ted. But she didn't. The character in the story didn't give him the chance to <i>fix</i> what she felt was broken. She decided to make him fix it her way, and to do it she tried to trick him into it by using a high school stunt to do it.</p>

<p>Pretty classy. And I love how everyone from this author on seems to defend this, or at least mitigate the blame, by saying Ted is just as much at fault as Jenny's character was. Pretty classy</p>

<p>-<i>Tom's Past was what made him too harsh too Jenny</i></p>

<p>I disagree with that. Tom's actions <b>after</b> Jenny's intentional betrayal of his trust brought up why he couldn't forgive her dating another man, not anything from the original story suggested he gave less than 110% to Jenny's feelings. Including the poorly executed surprise. Before Tom met Jenny Tom was a player, and that was influenced by his stepmother. And from the original story, Tom didn't want to have any relationship that would leave him vulnerable to the same hurt he saw with father. But, from the original story, once he met Jenny he threw that all out the window and he started taking risk and putting trust in her that he didn't seem to beeing willing to do with the other women. Think about it: Jenny commented that he all he did was take her out and not make any moves on her. But Ted said that with his rep he didn't want her to feel he was using her for sex and wanted <b>her</b> to tell him when she was ready. He found a way to discuss their difference in finacial standing, sign a pre-nup to protect her assets, and make <b>her</b> feel comfortable about marrying him. When he kissed her in front of her employee's, and she corrected him for it, he didn't take offense. He agreed it might have looked bad and asked for her forgiveness. When he wanted to ask her to marry him, he wanted to make sure she wanted to marry him and decided to not put her on the spot in case she didn't want to marry him.</p>

<p>In all this was a stand up guy who went the extra mile to make sure that she wasn't inconvenienced by any of his actions. Was she inconvenienced that he was working harder? Well to answer that question ask yourself this, before you met your wife you were trying to make yourself a self made man by starting your own company. She's a corporate VP with way more money than you. You sign a Pre-Nup because you sense she's worried about all the money she's set aside, and possibly her house, disappearing if she marrys you. But to reach what she's saved and feel equal in what you signed in the pre-nup you need to work hard and build up your company and its assets. But she doesn't want you to do that, she wants you to spend most of your time with her, all while keeping her assets seperate from yours. I read nothing in the original story to suggest she dimissed the pre-nup and co-mingled their assets. And you guys keep calling "Ted" the selfish one. Go figure. He's actions about his stepmother came out "after" what Jenny did, not before. Before he tried to stay attentive to Jenny. Did it work? Nope, because the character, like most of us, was only human and possibly missed cues that could have told him what she was doing. But after years of trying to put her first, why the continued expectation that "he" couldn't slip up and try to reach the same level she was already at when he met her?

<p>-<i>It was a harmless meeting with another man who wasn't her husband, and people that don't see that are being harsh</i></p>

<p>Call a spade a spade will you? Jenny wasn't meeting this guy at the mall to have him help her pick out drapes. She wasn't meeting him for lunch to plan a surprise for her husbands birthday. She was going out for dinner, dancing, and drinks with a man she led to believe was going to have sex with her so that she could make her husband jealous enough to spend time with her. That's not harmless. That's cruel and deceitful. Thats the old saying "The ends justfies the means" or in otherwords, to reach the ending you want whatever means you have to do to achieve it are justified.<p>

</p>Lets look at that a second huh? She let Craig rub all on her on the dance floor. In original story she commented "<i>During the latter part of the first evening, I clearly felt his arousal rubbing my leg and my groin while we were dancing.</i> how close was she dancing??? That wasn't casual dancing? Who feels that letting their husband rub themselves on another woman or letting their wife go back for more and to repeatedly continue dancing with a man who rub's themselves on them ok? And if you honestly say that wouldnt' bother you, are you saying your mate would say the same thing? I know my wife would kill me in my sleep if I tried to do that. For three weeks Jenny was doing stuff like this. She was giving Craig a case of blue balls and destroying her husband career. And the people he had to work with (employee's) and potional customers (he was trying to build a self employed business) saw her. And she didn't care for <i>three weeks</i>. After that she decided it wasn't working and called it off. Well after the damage was done. That's not a "harmless" meeting. That was clearly "destructive" of the worst order. And after Ted working so hard to make her feel comfortable, she should have talked to him instead of publicly destroying him as she did.

<p>-<i>It was a harmless mistake that some commentors are blowing way out of proportion</i></p>

<p>I disagree again. Like I said before in the previous statement, she had an established career, she met Ted who seemed to worry that he should make her feel comfortable with him, she married him after he ensured that he wasn't trying to use her to further his career. So what happened? She felt he was working too hard to build a buisness he started before he met her and was trying to make as sucessful as she was before he met her. She wanted more of his time. She didn't have to work as hard to feel she was pulling her finical weight in the marriage. To me, while Ted didn't say so in the original story, he had to be aware of the differences in that or he wouldn't have brought it up and did what he did to make Jenny feel better about it. Jenny on the other hand, to me, only focused on what it would take to make "Jenny" happy. And choosing a man she knew her husband dispised to make him jealous so she could get him to spend more time with her, around when she was available (according to the original story) was clearly to me the more selfish of the two. At least in Ted's case he was trying to create her a present that he would never be able to buy, but in Jenny's case she did it because she wanted attention and felt this was the best way to get it.</p>

<p>It just boggles my mind that as the author, and most of the commentors, seemed to gloss over most of those points because Ted hated his stepmother, and most of you feel that giving Criag blue balls was ok because he was a creep. I guess I never will understand the world where a husband who continually tries to put his wife first is seen as a villan because her truely evil plan blows up in her face and he doesn't sit there going "Oh well you had a good reason for trashing me and my company publicly"</p>

-Risq

I can't say it any better (Hell, or half as well) than you. My sentiments exactly.

Im not saying the wife is blameless. Nobody is really. You seem to be hung up on appearances though. How other people view her actions. How his business associates will perceive him if he takes her back. If thats the most important part of this marriage, then you are right that its not worth saving. <p><p>

Like I said, the wife was stupid and did something stupid. Whether to try and forgive or not shouldnt be based on what you believe others will think of you for doing so though. It should be based on whether you think her actions are unforgivable. Does she love you or is this just her not wanting to lose her stability. Did she deliberately behave in a manner calculated to hurt you (or even deliberately dismiss your feelings). etc. <p><p>

I dont think that this story was perfectly balanced. I do agree that to much of the blame was put at the husbands feet and too many people tried too hard to dismiss the wifes actions as inconsequential. That doesnt mean that the wife in the story was a throw-away though. People do behave stupidly sometimes and intent is what really counts when deciding whether to forgive, not how it will look to your golf buddies. <p><p>

Anyway, I think its a testament to the story and the original that people can have such widely differing views. To me it shows that both authors did a fine job of making this story balanced and believable instead of the typical irredeemable slut and the saint story.

The author did a great job with the story based upon the set- up from the original author. Each character played out their respective roles but we were left with the feeling that the "stupid" wife failed to realize the amount of "dis-respect" she heaped upon her mate. Frankly, she suffered very little for her "stupid mistake" and he allowed her to get away with it. So- they are made for each other. Once again, "hats off to this author" for the good effort.

I would not aspire to change your mind and turn you into liking either the characters or the story. My sole purpose is to highlight the fact, to which you must be aware, that any work of fiction allows a range of interpretations which could be equally legitimate. By ‘legitimate’ I mean - those interpretations which adequately address the main cues offered by the story. Emphasis and assumptions would always differ though in filling the gaps. In doing the interpretations we import our disparate life experiences backgrounds etc. I would be surprised if we always had the same interpretation. There is some place though to argue which of the legit. Interpretations are more ‘elegant’ or ‘tight’ in providing more explanatory power with less extra textual assumptions. <P>

It seems to me that in your comments to this story you put a strong emphasis on what I would call (not your language) - a legal approach. You take an exchange, a promise; an agreement between the two and contrast it with later developments to claim culpability.

The marriage is a contract (of course it is), but it’s much more than a contract. It’s also a life long complex framework for the psychological intellectual professional development of two identities, of two people who gradually mature, learning by doing (including a lot of mistakes) how to stand in life as individuals and what is most difficult – as a couple. Any lawyer would tell you – you can’t put every aspect of life into the form of a contract. <P>

In stories which cover a life span worth of developments ( such as this story) the explanatory model which is better fitted-IMO, is that of assessment of the processes: the quality of the interactions and individual changes which inevitably take place (DIACHRONIC MODEL), rather than the SYNCHRONIC MODEL which is better suited for stories which cover shorter periods of time. With the latter model changes do occur, but the scope is more limited and arguments of the kind you bring are much more compelling. For example, the argument against the wife not sticking to her own pre existing code of conduct which she did impose on her husband. The reason I feel this kind of argument does not work as well here is the existence of multiple intervening factors such as changed conditions in the relations between the couple; passage of time and changed attitudes (including maybe of the wife herself). In fact, when the wife made her faux affair show, she was responding to other pressures in her life (not as in the original context of the code of behavior in public which was aimed at improving or maintaining her professional standing). At that point she perceived the marriage as running downward and out of control, probably could not care less about work etiquette. <P>

My main assumption in assessing stories which offer a long term (more than few years); definitely a life long plot, is to take into account that people normally change over this long period of time. As we read a story –even a relatively long one we experience a false sense of synchronicity –whereas life long developments seem to be put flat on the table and we seem to see the developments as if they happen next to each other at the same time or more likely with no regard to the time factor. It’s important therefore to control for this reading bias by reminding ourselves of the time scope of the plot. <P>

This story evolves with the character of the husband from his early childhood’s scarring experiences to the early experiences with women (not satisfying or normal by his own account), to the beginning of the relations with his wife; their court ship; their way of establishing their initial positions within the marriage; their initial agreements and contracts then the routines which lead them through avoidance and denial and through their pursuits of personal careers into the state of the main events of the latest crisis of the plot. <P>

In this perspective the most important aspect for me is to look at the process of change or at the way the characters are developed. Part of it is their style of coping or their way of working as a couple. That is the reason why no one particular statement or agreement made at one point in time could be held IMO as a challenge to another development which comes long time after – and rightfully claim to be the key to the couple’s problems. It’s just more complex than that. We have to ask: WHAT ELSE HAPPENED? What changes took place. What forced this woman to shift her initial attitude that much? Or what changed in their relations? Or what was missing in this couple’s life to create such big gaps of understanding about each other over time. None of it allows me to simply say: the wife was alone culpable because she did not adhere to her own decree to her husband. They both changed; they both could not work well as a couple. They both were pretty weak and immature in choosing to behave defensively rather than tackle their problems heads on. Escaping to work is a classic example. Being driven to acting out the way the wife did is another. <P>

The wife’s miscalculated acts were not those of a well planned sexual liaison. You ask why she didn’t allow him to know about it. I’d say –exactly! It was neither a well hidden plan of cheating, nor was it a well planned demonstration. For all that we read if someone’s actions are born out of desperation confusion and a sheer urge to protest it usually shows all the signs of confused and ineffective behavior –certainly for the purpose of having an affair. Bottom line, she acted out when the couple’s pattern of denial/ avoidance of dealing with either their mutual or their individual problems could not work any more (at least for her). Usually relations which are based on this kind of primitive defenses are a relations waiting for a crush into reality – it’s just a matter of time, and which of the partners will do it for the couple. Regardless, the problems are systemic to both. By definition –it takes the cooperation of two to maintain any ongoing life style of a couple, including that of denial and avoidance. The crushing –namely one partner’s provocative action, forces the couple out of their pattern and into dealing with the avoided/denied problems. After the fact, the wife recognized her actions as acting out and a mistake (compared with openly dealing together with a willing partner –which the husband was not – on the couple’s root problems. What else could she do at that point? <P>

The husband, on the other hand, had harder times separating his past traumatic experience from the problems he kept encountering with his wife. You could hear from him the typical: “yes, but” response. Namely: yes, I have problems with ever truly trusting a woman; I could never tell her why and yet it’s her doing’. I never liked “the wimp” title. The husband was dealt much worse ‘deck of cards’ in life compared with any of his surrounding circle of relatives and friends and therefore had much harder time coping with what others took as more or less a problem which one should be able to resolve with a bit of common sense. <P>

Still, my particular interpretation of the changes that occurred is not the main point, it just illustrates the fact that in stories which tackle multiple changes in people over long period of time, holding one agreement, or even counting all the missteps of each side separately, and claiming culpability as in a balance sheet, is not the best model for interpretation. It has to be responsive to the dynamics of the story: two people interacting in imperfect way and changing as they do so over long period of time. The sequel offered here went long way in using this model, which is the main reason why I was that impressed by it.

You did an excellent job creating the basis for a reconciliation. The problem with the "surgery" is that the patient, Ted the character dies. Am I saying that Ted could not forgive Jenny? No! But he bears the scar on his soul to Jenny in one discussion and she minimizes his pain so he thinks about it one night and boom - he takes her back! Your Ted is ok with being dishonest with himself by accepting that he does not really trust what happened between Jenny and Jerry. Your Ted somehow accepts an equal burden for the martial crisis. Your Ted is more concerned about what others think about him than what he has always believed about how he should behave in these situations.____

Jenny throws down the final demands and Ted wimps out. What I can not get around is that if she was trying to get Ted's attention why did she hide it? Remember in the original story she was trying to figure out how she was going to use Jerry to make Ted jealous. She is a corporate VP and it took 3 weeks to figure this out? Given that Ted's business was more vulnerable to rumors why could not she see how her actions could effect his business? Given Ted's history with women why would she risk driving him away? ______________________Bottom Line: Jenny's actions had less to do with getting Ted's attention and more to do with getting loving attention for herself. The shift of blame to equalize the harm and to minimize her betrayal only works if Ted was a wimp!______________________________________

Jack,

The most believable ending yet! The idea of getting Ted some help with the scars from chidhood works, otherwise he becomes a crochety old fart who has never and will never be happy again. Well done!

Whom I normally agree with:

"Alright Jenny, let's do it your way. To me our marriage was built on trust, mutual respect, and love. Let's take those things one at a time. There were times over the past weeks when I have given you every opportunity to tell me you had lunch with Jerry Craig, that you met Jerry Craig for dinner at the Havercroft and that you were at the Havercroft Lounge dancing with him while I was out of town. I trust that if you had nothing to hide, if you weren't doing anything wrong, you would have at least mentioned it. Did you?"

Before I could form the words to explain, he continued.

"Then there's mutual respect. Aren't you the one that once told me that we had to maintain some dignity around our own employees or was that applicable only to your employees, because Craig has been boasting for some time now around our office that he has been fucking you for a while. He even invited some of my staff show up at the Havercroft to see the two of you together and, as I understand it, at least one of them did show up and guess what she saw! My wife there in his arms while they all knew I was out of town."

"Oh Ted, I'm so sorry. I . . ."

"It doesn't end there Jenny. I got a call from Chuck and Susan Sanders. They were at the Havercroft two weeks in a row and saw you there without me and wondered if I was O.K. Some of my staff also spoke to Rob about you being there with him as well and when he and Diane talked about it Diane said some of her friends were asking too. They apparently eat at the diner across town that you and Craig have been using at lunch times.

Well how are we doing Jenny? That's trust and mutual respect down and 'love' to go."

Ted paused again as if to assemble his thoughts. "I do love you Jenny and these past 5 years have been the best of my life and for that I'm willing just to walk away without any more fuss."

Now I was desperate for something logical and profound to say. This was all getting way out of hand. "Ted, for the past several weeks I have been doing everything I could to bring us closer. I've come to your office to have lunch or just a coffee. I've been trying to bring us closer but you haven't helped much at all."

Somehow I knew as soon as I said that, I had dug myself in deeper.

"Well, about three weeks ago I came to have lunch with you and I saw you with him just leaving the sandwich joint near your office. I was sure you would tell me you had met him but that evening but you never said a word about it. Fool that I was, I trusted you even then and decided that meeting him was so unimportant to you that you just didn't get around to mentioning it. So, keeping in mind who you have been lunching, dining, dancing and God knows what else with, help me believe that it was really me you came to my office to see!"

He closed up the last of the suitcases picked up his overnight bag and headed for the door.

"Ted. Stop please stop. I'm sorry. I've made a terrible mess of things but I have never fucked Jerry Craig. I've never even come close to it and I never would. I've been trying to find a way to make you jealous enough of him to pay more attention to me. It worked the day you saw him with me in your staff lounge and I somehow thought it might work again. That was a great night and a great weekend Ted and I wanted more. Was that so terribly bad?"

"That makes no sense. You can't make me jealous when you hide from me who you're seeing. Jenny, I'm tired and I can't do this anymore. Just let it go. I'll send for the rest of my things tomorrow. I'm leaving now."

Did you forget all of this from the original? The wife, being all about "appearances" did this horrible juvenile game, and you say the husband was unreasonable?

This is aterrific story. I am not going to try to analize every inch of text. Love is not a yes or no thing. It is hard and painful sometimes. There are times when you have to forgive. It is not always easy. The fact that at the end of the story both Jenny and Ted saw a shrink is the most realistic ending I have seen in alot of stories.

Both characters are very highly driven and as such don't always take a step back and look at what is going on.

Amamzing story.

First, I dislike the premise of Jenny’s behavior in the original story. Subjectively, I cannot see Jenny acting in such an ill manner at all.

<p>

Yes I agree Kolkore, given the extended time period and behavior of her husband, she should have been acting in a frustrated and confused manner. However, the illogic of “the affair” does not fit “to her character”. Such a woman would use other means to achieve her goals. Simply, subjectively the chance of her “having this affair” is null and void, decimals behind the comma in a percentile equation.

<p>

Secondly, Ken has a quite well defined neurosis. I cannot believe that (in how many years of marriage?) it had not raised its ugly head before. Such a neurosis should be apparent in his daily behavior. The fact of him hiding this neurosis, in itself leads me to believe he was leading a “double life”, and therefore he has some extremely serious "other" mental problems.

<p>

So, even though I feel that Jack did an excellent job with the material he had, Ken did wimp out, and perceptively “gave into the dark side” of his neurotic psychosis. Given the details (described by Jack and Cageytee), I cannot see this in any other way.

<p>

Jenny’s revolt to his “sitting on the pot too long” was spot on. But, his turning 180, in such a short time, leaves me doubting the depth of his neurosis, and/or seeing him “giving up and falling into a state of self-debasement”. (Aka “wimping out”)

<p>

My logical conclusion would be that Jenny, in hearing his story about his mental problems and their origins, put finally one and one together. Their road back would be long and hard. With him seeking psychological help and only in stages them finding ways and means to regroup and reestablish themselves in their marriage.

<p>

Risq, I cannot see this story in reference to Jenny’s affair. I have to see this story pertaining to Ken and Ken’s suffered childhood abuse… and how this abuse raised its evil head in his later life. Jenny’s part in this story is irrelevant beyond the fact of her hurting Ken’s fragile balancing act with his own mental problems. Did she do a “big bad” or a “little bad” I cannot see being relevant. That Ken’s balance was toppled is all that mattered.

<p>

I enjoyed Jack’s version of Cageytee’s very interesting story. In examining the lives of abused children, too often it seems they growing into adults only to exist on a shadow plain of existence, never coming to terms, never able to step beyond themselves and lead happy productive lives. To see then a happy ending, even in fiction, make me feel good.

<p>

Fault I find in Jack’s sequel is the sequencing, the long talks between them, healing the wounds in Ken’s ego and mental makeup. Each step he takes on his journey. Each step they take together, freeing him from the scars and festering mental sores as they (a couple) start to grow back together, even progressing beyond their narrow egotistical existences of before the affair. Two steps forward, then one step backwards. (A truly heartwarming love story.) In that, the true story seems still untold.

<p>

I absolutely love the idea of Cageytee’s, of someone suffering from childhood abuse, and attempting to cope with the resulting problems in their adult relationships.

<p>

Only the breaks in character in this story leave me liking it as a story idea, hating it for its storyline.

<p>

Both Jack’s and Cageytee’s stories I love to read. They always have a prospective in them that I enjoy reading.

Still a wimp!

Jack,

Cagetee, left you a tough act to follow. I love reconciliation stories. Despite your well written story I couldn't buy it. Jenny was an idiot. I can't imagine her going to the grocery store alone much less being a success professionally. The 180 Ted did was hard to believe. Nevertheless I enjoyed your tale.

is to call one's own father a wimp because he broke down when his wife died suddenly, and then to run away from one's own cheating wife and then came right back to her when she said something as stupid as, <p>

"Ted I didn't realize my running around on you was hurting you and your traumatized psyche. oh, come here, my beloved hard working husband... I will never cheat on you and not tell you again." <p>

as someone else, this was fucking unbelievable.

She still screwed him, even if she didn't cheat. His business may never recover, and his personal public humiliation was never reconciled.

You don't need to fuck someone to be cheating. Stepping out meeting someone your spouse doesn't agree with, sharing intimate DATES with someone is CHEATING. Humanity has been around for a few thousand years, and during all but the lat 30, that behavor would have left the wife with her throat cut. Why is it we like to pretend that just in the last 30 years things have become so complicated? If you're married you don't cheat, if you feel you must you leave the marriage, if you don't you suffer the consequences.

A comment was made that "You don't need to fuck someone to be cheating."

Probably true, I'm not sure that there is a common definition of cheating. I suspect that "cheating" probably depends upon the customs and standards of your own hometown, and by what people agree is acceeptable conduct within a marriage and what isn't. In other words, cheating can be determined by a community standard, but this definition is subject to challenge too.

What happens if the wife or husband or both consent to extramarital relations? If they know and agree, is it cheating?

Well, if two people can create their own definition of cheating for purposes of their own marriage, is that wrong? Is it desirable? What if it hurts common morality? What if that definition screws up other marriages? What if children learn this minority definition and use it rather than the community definition?

In America, the answer is simple. We take um out and hang um! (At least we used to.)

Now, the social pendulum swings back and forth between: (1) Govenment needs to control what goes on in the bedroom to (2) Government needs to stay out of the bedroom (what happens in there is private).

Should a husband be able to forgive his wife? Yes. Unless he is drugged or otherwise incapable of making a reasoned decision, it's his life and not mine. Is he a wimp if he forgives her? The answer to that question probably depends on the strength of the man. If his wife has violated community standards, he is going to be living with a lot of shit for many years, but that's his choice. Sometimes making that choice and living with it takes more guts than giving in to community pressure.

After reading some of the many comments here I can only comment that the author has a real talent for invoking emotions.

I enjoyed this story most because it portrayed a couple where both had made serious mistakes and it presented one of the very few examples of a "fair fight" between husband and wife. The usual shtick that the husband is the tragically wronged perfect hero and the wife is the traitorous slut who only realizes how despicable she has become when it's too late. The husband righteously dictates the rules for the future while the wife grovels begging for forgiveness. In this story the wife readily admits her stupid mistakes but then calls her husband on his boneheaded actions and refuses to be a doormat. This is how mature people are supposed to argue.

You can aonize either way whether emotionally damaged Ted would have been able to chose reconciliation. I am comfortable with jack_straw 's outcome.

I also have to wonder at all the comments from readers who call this Ted a pussy and wimp for taking her back. For their happiness I hope these readers all live the pure and faultless lives that they apparently demand from their women.

Great writing from jack_straw as usual following on a truly rich initial story from cageytree. The number of comments alone is testament to that.

Her point of view about his weekends building their cabin is a powerful addition to the story. They were both taking immature risks with their relationship. She is a strong powerful woman; it is good to see her fight to save what is important to her and to them.

No way does everybody turn against the person who has morals, she dates someone that he works with while he is building a cabin for them.In the end she not worth his sweat and time,but that in the real world and this is your story.

But amazingly I have just read it. I find it interesting that people who commented on this story are still commentating on stories two years on. I guess these readers like this site. As for the story was he a wimp? I would say the only thing that made him awimp was letting his wife tell him what to do. After all TED did have the moral high ground here, he wasn't the one who was dating and dancing with somebody else. I do agree that they failed to communicate on several levels but then don't we all. As for the story itself, Jack and Cageetee and Fdk are great writers and they continue to be, so how could a mere mortal like myself complain about the writing?

I'm not sure about some of the negative feedback....I thought this was a good ending! I wanted it to work out because they're both good people. She did a stupid thing, but she was only using Jerry for attention and had no attraction to him. Dumb, yeah, but not damnable. Ted had no business marring someone without telling them about a massive amount of baggage he was carrying around, especially since it had to do directly with marriage and relationships. I'm glad they realized they had both made mistakes and that they still loved each other and that nothing they had done was unforgivable. Hot sex, and a happy ending. Makes me happy! Good job!

I recently re-read this story after reading another one of Jack Straw's offerings. He is one of the good writers on this web site. In this story, he kept the characters true to how they were written by Cageytee. The only reservation that I have with how Jack finshed his version was that I never felt that Jenny ever really showed that she understood the public humiliation that she had showered on her husband. The people who worked for him thought that she was screwing around on the Boss. Friends and family were thinking the very same thing. When confronted with it, Jenny blamed everyone else for thinking that she was a slut just because she had worked hard to make it appear that she was one. Everyone was supposed to have more faith in her than that. She even hit Ted with it. It was everyone else's fault. Her attitude would have been ok if it was only her reputation that had taken a beating. But she was making Ted out to be a fool while she was dating Craig, regardless of her intentions. Her defiance was a little tiring and a little dim witted. A touch more contrition on her part throughout the story and a paragraph devoted to discussing how she would try to correct the public perception that she had worked so hard to create would have been a good addition to the story. One the other hand, it was Jack Straw's story and it wasn't bad.

of his living his life controlled by a long-ago trauma easily matches her ignorance of the public effect her "running around" had.Actually worse as he had years to process it, she was living in the moment, hadn't had time to reflect etc.I actually think they were both pretty mature characters.Jack Straw, much like Ohio is one of the best expositors of humanity on this site.Pistolpackinpete.

A very good ending

This story was a wonderful part 2. The emotions were dealt with well and the characters emerged as real people with real strengths, weakness's and issues. I am confident in my opinion when great author's, such as Josephus, have expressed the same feelings.

Thanks Jack for finishing this tale. I was in the middle of penning one and was half way through when I found your sequel. Needless to say that apart from a bit of different conversation we seem to have had the same thoughts.

Again thanks

Amanda

in Another Sequel. I found the arguments plausible and sensibility won out. I especially liked Jenny's arguments. At least she knew she did was wrong . . . a betrayal without stretching definition. Thank you for a great read.

giving him creampies!

Great story thanks for a little sunshine

Old story..comments not worth anything except that this falls in the common pattern of wife betraying husband and he becomes the wimp. Sorry ending to what should of been a good ending.

To 3/25 Anon: comments only make sense if they relate to the story the comments follow. To simply throw stereotyped words that can apply to SOME "loving wives" stories is both dishonest and ignorant. THIS version is a logical sequel to the original and is faithful to the characters' personalities as described in the original. Good job.

Many more creampies to cum!

How sad.

This was a excellent ending to the original story by (cageetee). Once Ted explained his tramatic childhood Jenny had a clue as to why Ted was acting to irrational. The way she used how Ted was comparing Jenny to his stepmother among other things made Ted realize that it wasn't really a parallel comparison of the two and the two wrongs didn't even compare. The author did a excellent job with ending this tale. Nicely written and we thank you for your ending and sharing of this chapter.

This suckers in for a long & disappointing life because once a cheater, always a cheater looking for any excuse to cheat again. Poor sap.

My own live is much different, I deal with a ot of issues. here I am 62 years old and still dealing with the stuff dumped on me by Dad. It affected my married life, my dealings with my kids, even my job.

Luckily for me I got a good counselor. The single most important question she ever asked me is "When are you going to quit letting your Dad run your life?"

Guess the point I am trying to make is often the things that happen to you as a kid tab along after you where ever you go. He was simply over compsentating for Dad's actions

Something I have noticed here in this site is how everyone of you backbiters never sign your name.

very good sequel, you did an excellent job. keep it up on future stories.

My own comment has to do with the fact that Jenny never really was held to account for the humiliation that she had caused Ted with his business. She seemed to discount that whole issue. She admitted that she did a stupid thing but the perception that she set up by her actions was never addressed. She didn't seem to care what that did to him. Who cares what other people think about Ted and his business. She needed to be more contrite about that. She betrayed him. His childhood experiences were irrelevent. She betrayed him. She never admitted it and he never held her to account for it.

You got them back together and you kept the characters close to how Cageytee had originally drawn them. I appreciate your efforts.

I probably would have had them divorced in the end.

About the time Jenny started getting angry over the repercussions of HER screwup, it was time for him to leave.

Not because of her stupidity, but because she's a complete narcissist who thinks she deserves a pass for a gigantic error.

No, thanks.

but I am a cuck!Plenty of us like our fresh supply of creampies and will not stand for anything getting in the way.Pistolcluelesspete,

got angry at HIM because of her screw-up, it was time to leave.

And if, after my spouse spent several weeks dating another, my so-called "friends" told me it was MY problem, I'd drop them too, as just another pack of enablers.

Mind you, up till that time, I'd have considered reconciliation. But it was never Ted's problem that his wife was either cheating on him or preparing to cheat on him.

Weak! News Flash to you JACK...when a married person forms a relationship with someone that their not married to ( sex or NO sex ) they violate the terms of the marriage! Typical Cuck/Wimp writer that you are, you chose to lay blame on the innocent spouse. He "may" have neglected his wife but I don't recall Ted blaming his bitch wife for his mistakes and he certainly did not form a relationship with another woman that he wasn't married to! Wonder how long before she decides to do "it" again? She did the crime but in your "warped" view she certainly will not do the time! Why .. because in your pathetic little world, she didn't do anything wrong!! Thankfully, justice in real life isn't blind or fucked up like your stories!!!

The original was provacative and was left open-ended to great effect. You picked up the challenge and crafted a very satisfactory reconciliation. I think you addressed all of the issues that most reasonable readers of the original tale had about the couple. I also thought you stayed true to the nature of the characters. In short, I dug it.

That was a great sequel to a tough original. I enjoyed reading your version. Thank you. There will always be critics who do not share your vision of how real people can or would react.

once you have a cheating whore in the marriage she/he will always be a whore. knocking up a whore is never a good idea.

WIMP STORY!

It's a damned wimp story and nothing less !

I'd be crushed, pissed off, and filled with the need to avenge her actions . . . and I hope I'd ultimately find the resolution written here. No better than even odds that I could make that happen though. This version is nicely provocative. Thanks, JS.

DP

saratu is synonymous with cuckold

As "cantbuyme and others" have said - it is just another boring wimp/slut effort. If it walks like a duck and stinks like a duck - it is indeed still a frigging duck or was that cluck? Lousy ending!

You have to remember the old saying "Once a cheater, always a cheater." There is always the possibility, no matter how she feels now. So is he a wimp? Good question. Who gives a fuck.

HA

You definitely made him into a complete wimp.

I could see her being sadly resigned to splitting with him. There are such things as "irreconcilable differences," and "I'm sorry, I don't know any more ways to say 'I'm sorry,' so I guess it's time to pack it in." And then walking slowly away. And maybe he changes his mind.

But his keeping a secret dream cabin from her during its construction was an act of love.

Her keeping lunch, dinner, and dancing dates -- in public -- from him was a sign of utter disrespect, intentional or not. And then to get angry because he's more hurt that SHE thinks he OUGHT to be ? She needs to get over herself.

At that point, he should have said "I'm sorry if I can't just 'get over it,' as quickly as you want me to. It's too bad my anger and hurt at YOUR dishonesty, YOUR deception, and YOUR lack of respect for me and our marriage bothers you. Well, I won't bother you any longer."

If you are continuing a story called I am not a wimp, he should not be a wimp. His wife is mad that he is unhappy with her for what she did, and it intimidates him? The title is now a lie.

Wimp is as wimp does.

Wimp

Our hero goes back to his wife, thinks like a true man with his little head, tears off a piece and that's supposed to fix everythying? RRiiiight!

Sorry just another wimp tale.

Read it 2x. The title and supposition does nt match the plot of this tale.

Needs a retitle to bring it in line.

Just an idiot. Can't simply sit down and talk to his wife? It would have served him right if she had kicked him out.

Now it's his wife controlling him, not the dead stepmother.

Nothing has changed except now also an idiot (and a fool).

Now this is the right ending! Not like Cageytee's bomb. People give men no credit for having any kind of a heart which includes forgiveness in it. You'd think that none of the BTB crowd had ever made even a small, minor mistake or error in judgement. Thank you for ending this story the way it would have gone in real life.

Screw the commentators that thought he was still a wimp. He was a man. And he did the right thing!

He also noted that he might or might not write Chapter 2, but he invited others to give a shot at writing Chapter 2. This was a very good effort - the story ended the way it needed to end. I gave this one 4 stars while I gave Chapter 1 5 stars. Cageytee set the stage so a very good writer could bring the rest of the story home.

This story epitomizes what is wrong with the world today with the it takes a stronger person to forgive crap. When you make a promise or a vow you keep it end of story.

I really do think that reconciliation can and does happen every day, but with this story I think the husband is portrayed as an egotistical bastard just for expecting his wife to be faithful as he had not cheated. The story doesn't show that the wife committed adultery but it appears as though she is on the way with lying and secret rendezvous.

With that being said it is my belief that this story is lacking any real substance.

but he is still a cuck. TK U MLJ LV NV

I liked this ending better than the original or the other posting. It fits the characters better in the end. Dud she cheat? Yes, yet one has to ask if it was a degree to which a loving relationship couldn't recover. Did he cheat? Yes, in a way he did too. His lies and using a pattern of behavior he knew she detested in order to accomplish a "good thing" was obviously a miscalculation, a grave none at that. They both lied, they both abused the trust of the other, and they were both too stubborn to communicate their needs and even more so believed themselves to be too clever. I admit being in the company of another man and being seen by friends acquaintances and colleagues was more than foolish but there was no intent of betraying her husband physically, simply emotionally through a gross miscalculation. The "black and white" crowd won't agree but in this case I believe a little grey is acceptable.

He is a wimp; she is a cheater.

How any sane man would accept this is beyond comprehension. Author, get real. This is NOT a better ending but, rather, infinitely worse. It allows a low-life cheater to be forgiven and now live a happy life when, in reality, she should be allowed to live a life of shame.

The idea that, if he doesn't take this cunt back, he will live a empty, lonely and bitter life is ridiculous!

When he was building his "surprise", I thought he was incredibly stupid. Maybe the land, and the architect plans could have been the "surprise". But many people go for the "grand gesture", instead of putting in the day to day work. When the lies and evasions went on week after week, it confirmed my impression of the grand stupidity.

That having been acknowledged...,

This is a woman who complained that the man with whom she had a relationship hugged and kissed her in front of her subordinates. And she doesn't understand the power of perception???? With all of the people that were aware of her "sleazy" relationship, she doesn't understand that her immaturity, probably did irreparable harm to his reputation and business.

More importantly, there are the more intimate considerations. There is a saying that "no one gets out of childhood unbroken". There are no perfect people. And we all find ourselves dealing with each others "damage", and helping the other prosper in spite of it. In any partnership, we need to accommodate our partners "weaknesses" or "short-comings". In baseball, the shortstop moves to back-up the second baseman. After learning of his rather traumatic childhood, Rob's and Jenny's response, that Ted's reaction to Jenny's betrayal was a cop-out, lacked shall we say "compassion". Her "vague plan", was stupid and detrimental to any relationship. Given his history, her actions were unconscionable. The fact that not Jenny, or any of his "friends and family" understood the depth of his pain, means that he was all alone in the world. He would be better served to cut all ties and start over.

Both he and Jenny should have moved on. Each should attempt to find someone better suited to them.

Robert

jack_straw sure stirred up the cuck-nest with this one, those closet-cases bleating and squealing in the comments about stuff they know zero about: man-woman relationships.

Stick to being cucked by your blow-up dolls, you fucking closet-cucks have never and will never know shit about real men, real women, or real relationships.

She admitted it, she betrayed him. Additionally, she publicly humiliated him in every aspect of his life. They were both career driven people and she couldn't understand him working long hours? So, she starts dating another man? One of his employees? She was supposed to be a smart career woman right? She was acting like a dopey teenage girl with no education. He wanted to stay married to this gem? Why? Forget about sex, she was a emotional loser! Life empty without her? The ladies would be lining up to date a rich guy like him. He'd have his pick and more than likely would pick better the second time around. Goofy logic here.

Just a gutless wimp.