Independence Day

As he had every Saturday morning for the last several years, Ray climbed into his car and made the drive to the country club to meet up with his foursome. There was a group of 8 older men that reserved two tee times back-to-back and then mixed up the foursomes each week. Ray tried his best to focus on the game while knowing what was going on in his house, and he had no doubt what was going on. It wasn't his worst performance, but it was the worst in a very long time. He tried to smile at the good-natured ribbing he received but it wasn't easy.

[::::::::::]

Meanwhile, back at his house, Josie watched Ray climb into his car and leave for his golf game promptly at 7:00am. She tried to express some affection and give him a kiss goodbye, but he wouldn't speak and barely let her press her lips to his cheek. She felt bad knowing her husband was hurt but she put that out of her mind as soon as Luke came up the walkway.

She had asked him to park down the street and around the corner. She felt having him park in front of the house was a bit too blatant and would draw attention from the neighbors, but there wasn't anything to be done about him walking to the door.

She allowed him to knock before opening the door and then invited him in. She wore her robe and nothing else, and it was on the floor seconds after the door had closed. They greeted each other with a long, passionate kiss and then Luke easily scooped Josie up into his arms and carried her to the bedroom, laying her softly on the bed.

Luke stepped back and undressed. What he had told Josie was true. He genuinely preferred mature women to women his own age. He often thought of the women he had done favors for, and the favors they had done in return. While Josie was somewhat older at 59 than his usual partners, she looked closer to 50 and still maintained a youthful energy.

Josie admired Luke's physique as he undressed. He wasn't overly muscular but he was strong and in good shape, something Ray hadn't been in some time, mostly due to age, of course. Damn, she thought, put him out of your head. This isn't a competition.

Josie had always kept her pubic hair well-groomed but it was always there. She had never shaven it clean and had no intention to do so, despite Luke's requests. She sat up as his boxers went down, taking his ample cock in her hand before moving her mouth down around it. She had always enjoyed sucking a hard cock and Ray's inability to get one had been a disappointment on that level as well as the lack of intercourse. Luke had no such problem.

Josie tended to get Luke off quickly, usually orally, so that he was good for a nice long time the second time. As a woman nearing 60, not only did she produce very little lubrication but she was not particularly sensitive. This meant is usually took her a while to climax and she didn't want to interrupt the process to clean up after Luke. It was better to get him off quickly so he could go non-stop for her.

Thanks to the skills Josie had developed during her 4+ decades of sexual activity, she was able to get Luke off quickly again this morning. She'd never had a problem with swallowing a man's semen, especially knowing what a turn-on it tended to be for them, but Luke came a lot and she simply had never been able to take it all from him. However, a simple swipe of her fingers and she scooped the excess into her mouth. Like it always had, this made Luke hard again almost instantly.

Applying lube is a decidedly unsexy thing to do, so Josie made a point of preparing herself before Luke arrived. She made herself nice and wet using a flavored gel. Luke was never much for eating pussy but she used the flavored, edible one just in case. This morning was like most mornings in that Luke sucked her tits and fingered her but made no effort to bring his mouth to her crotch, which was fine with her. He had no issues getting his fingers inside her thanks to the artificial wetness. Josie simply closed her eyes and reveled in the pleasure.

Josie was never a dominant woman in bed. She always allowed Ray to take the lead and she enjoyed being in the submissive position. This meant intercourse was usually done in the missionary or doggy-style positions, or some variation. She could count on one hand the number of times she had been on top of Ray over the last 40+ years, and she had never done so with Luke.

Josie laid out flat on her back and Luke took the cue, getting on top of her and easing his impressive manhood into her pussy. The first few times had been a little uncomfortable for her because she wasn't used to someone of his size, but she had become acclimated now and accepted him easily. They eased into a nice, slow coupling, Luke ever respectful of the fact that was making love to a woman 30 years his senior.

Josie's body swallowed Luke's entire cock and she let out an unintentional moan of pleasure. She had missed this so much when Ray began to have his health problems, and the opportunity to get it again proved too much to resist. When Ray found out about it and she risked losing it again, it was too much for her to even consider. She regretted recruiting the family to help with convincing Ray but it had worked, and she was certain Ray would get past it.

After several minutes Luke began increasing the speed of his thrusts. In the past, Josie has been able to take the harder thrusts after the warm-up period and the same was true today. She spread her legs and accepted Luke's kisses, including his tongue in her mouth, as he pumped into her.

They changed positions after a few minutes, Josie got to her knees and pushed her ass into the air. Luke go behind her and pushed into her, immediately resuming the faster pace of moments ago. Josie clutched her pillow and reveled in the pleasure of a hard man fucking her. She pushed back against him to maximize the impact, letting out a small grunt with each thrust. God, she loved being fucked by this strong, young man.

She hadn't realized how much Ray's performance had changed over the years. Obviously, it's to be expected as one ages and it's so gradual that you just don't think about it. You don't think about it, that is, unless you get the opportunity to compare them at some point in your life. True, she and Ray hadn't had actual intercourse in some time, but it was still fresh enough in her mind for her to be aware of the difference between that and what Luke did to her. No, this was far too good to give up.

Their coupling lasted about 2 hours. Luke took a shower while Josie stripped the bed and started the laundry. He helped her put new sheets on the bed and then departed. Josie then climbed into the shower herself and made sure to scrub herself thoroughly, inside and out. She knew this was hard on Ray and it was important that there be nothing to remind him. She did not allow Luke to mark her in any way and she made every effort to make sure there were no signs in the house, either.

By the time 12:30 rolled around, Josie was more than satisfied that the house and her body were in pristine condition, ready to face her husband, who should be home any time. She had gotten her pleasure, fulfilled her needs, and was ready to dedicate her attention to Ray for the rest of the week.

He was usually home between 12:30 and 1:00.

When he hadn't arrived by 2:00 she was anxious but not yet too concerned.

By 3:00, she was getting concerned so she tried calling his cell phone. It went straight to voice mail.

By 5:00, having made several phone calls and sent several texts in the meantime with no response, she was getting quite worried.

Finally, at 7:00, after another 2 hours with no response from her husband, she called her daughter.

She explained the situation, and in just a few minutes Kristine and her husband, along with Josie's granddaughters were in the living room. Eric made a drive out to the country club just on the off-chance he could find some information. All they could tell him was that Ray had been there and had left several hours ago.

Kristine called the police and found there was no record of any accidents involving Ray, and that they were unable, at this point, to issue an official missing person's report. But they would make note of his name in case anything came to their attention. Kristine thanked them and hung up, with no confidence that would come to anything.

There really wasn't anyone else to call. Josie knew none of the men he played golf with, let alone had any of their phone numbers. There was nothing left to do but wait.

It was nearly 11:00pm when Julia, who had been sitting near the front of the house, announced she had just seen some headlights pull into the driveway. Then, perhaps sensing a confrontation was imminent, she and her sister escaped to their mom's old bedroom upstairs. Eric, who had always been an early riser, had sacked out long ago in Leo's old room. That left just Josie and Kristine to face Ray.

Ray walked in the front door, not surprised to see his wife breathing fire in the entryway and only a little surprised to see his daughter hanging back in the living room. He had seen her car outside but thought perhaps she'd leave he and Josie alone. She must be all-in in support of her mother getting some strange.

"Where have you been?" Josie spat.

"Golfing," Ray calmly replied.

"Not for over 12 hours, you weren't."

"That's true. After golf I had lunch at the club. Their Chicken Piccata is quite good. Then I went to see the new Dwayne Johnson movie. A little formulaic, but I enjoyed it. After that..."

"God damnit, Raymond, I don't want to know every place you went..."

"Well, you asked where I've been." Ray mumbled.

"...I want to know why you didn't come home after golf like you usually do and why you never answered your phone?"

"I never answered my phone because my phone never rang," he answered, showing his wife that his phone had been turned off. "And I didn't come home because I wasn't going to be in this house at the same time as your fuck buddy."

"That's ridiculous, Raymond. Nothing has changed. We were done and I had the entire house cleaned well before you were done with golf. There was no reason for you to come home late at all let alone be gone the entire day."

"That's how you see it, Josephine. I simply wasn't going to risk even being exposed to his...after-affects. Let me say again, I will not be in this house at the same time. Now, it's late, and I'm going to bed."

Ray walked past his wife, giving his daughter a hard look but saying nothing as he walked into the bedroom. He had expected one of the women to follow him but neither did. As he got ready for bed he heard other voices in the hall and realized Kristine's whole family had been in the house. Great.

By the time Josie had said good bye to everyone and come into the bedroom, Ray was asleep...or at least pretending to be. Josie couldn't be sure. She considered just waking him so they could talk some more, but instead just got ready for bed.

[::::::::::]

The following weekend played out much the same way, though this time there were no calls and texts. Josie simply accepted that Ray would be gone all day and she took the opportunity to straighten up the house in its entirety.

As it got later though, Josie began to get a little anxious about being home alone so she called Kristine, who agreed to come over to keep her company until Ray came home. Eric and their daughters stayed at home. Ray rolled in again at just about 11:00, surprised to see Kristine's car parked on the curb. He wondered if there was about to another confrontation.

He walked through the door but only to a pleasant greeting from his wife, a kiss on the cheek, and a smiling daughter in the background.

"Why don't you get changed, love, then you can tell me what you did with yourself all day," Josie said, leaving Ray a bit confused.

Josie made her way into the kitchen to get them each a drink while Ray went into the bedroom to change. The only conclusion he could come up with was that she had been well taken care of by her lover today so was in a particularly relaxed and good mood. He changed into pajamas then returned to the living room, where Kristine seemed ready to leave but apparently was waiting for him.

"Dad, I know this whole thing is hard on you, but I just wanted to say how wonderful it is that you're showing your love for mom by allowing her to do this. It's really made a difference."

'Allowing her?', Ray thought. Is that how they see it?

"Now I have something to say to you, Kristine. This is the last conversation that I'm having on this topic. The last one. Make sure everyone knows that."

"Oh, sure dad, I understand. Kind of hard to put it out of your mind if people keep talking about it. I'll spread the word."

With that she kissed her father on the cheek and left. Moments later, Josie entered with drinks for them both. It seemed to Ray it took a long time for her to get drinks and wondered if this had been planned to allow Kristine to tell him how 'wonderful' he was.

[::::::::::]

And so it went for a few months. Josie continued to enjoy her physical relationship with Luke, and Ray found himself experiencing, and enjoying, some new activities. He still golfed every Saturday morning, and he certainly saw every movie that interested him, but also made a point of varying his activities. He did some bowling, miniature golf, and even tried his hand at some arcade games. He didn't do well but he had fun.

Life at home was fairly normal, though the topic of Luke was carefully and meticulously avoided. They had dinner together each night and had pleasant, if generic conversation. The intimacy they shared had changed. Josie, with the belief that her relationship with Luke had no bearing on her marriage, continued to express her love and affection to her husband, and if she noticed that he rarely reciprocated anymore she didn't say anything.

Perhaps Josie just got too comfortable with the situation. Perhaps the fact that Ray didn't talk about Luke at all led her to believe he was more okay with it than he was. In any case, when Thanksgiving came along, Ray was in for shock.

"Mom, Luke's here."

That was Kristine calling from the front of the house. Ray had been in his recliner reading the newspaper (yeah, the printed version, very old school) when he heard this pronouncement. If he'd been drinking anything he'd have spewed it across the floor.

"Oh, good!" remarked his wife. "He hadn't committed to showing up for sure."

Ray slung the lever that lowered his footrest and leapt (as best he could) from his chair, which caught Josie's attention.

"What in the hell is he doing here?" Ray sputtered, quite irate.

"I invited him for Thanksgiving," Josie responded, as cool as could be. "He has no family in town and nowhere else to go."

"I told you I wouldn't be in this house at the same time as him. You know that's why I'm gone all day on Saturdays. And now you invite him into my house on a family holiday?"

"It's my house, too, Raymond, and it's not like he's coming over here for sex. It's no different than when the kids were growing up and we had their friends over. It's just a meal. And I expect you to be on your best behavior."

Josie turned and headed for the front door to greet her guest, effectively dismissing her husband and proud of herself for standing up for her...well, they were certainly lovers, but she also considered Luke her friend. And she thought this was an entirely appropriate gesture to a friend.

She greeted Luke at the door and introduced him to her children and their spouses, as well as her granddaughters. She took him by the hand and led him into the living room to greet her husband. She even started speaking before she rounded the corner.

"Luke, you remember my..."

But Ray was gone, or at least no longer in the chair he occupied just a few moments ago. She looked around and didn't see him, and assumed perhaps he had gone to the restroom. She started to walk into the bedroom when she heard the motor for the garage door opener kick in. She made it to the kitchen/garage door just in time to see the door start to come back down and Ray's car pull away.

"Was that dad leaving?" Kristine asked her mom.

"Yes, it was."

"Where's he going?"

"Who knows," Josie answered in exasperation as she stomped toward her bedroom to get herself together.

Luke walked up to Kristine as Josie closed her bedroom door.

"Is there anything I can do? Would it be better if I left?" he asked.

"No, Luke, it's fine. It's dad's issue, not yours. You are totally welcome here."

"I just don't want to be the cause of problems, but if you're sure..."

"We know, Luke, and we appreciate it."

The family and Luke socialized over the meal. Luke, being the new person, was the focus of much of the conversation, but he expressed an interest in the family as well. After the meal he joined Leo and Eric in watching football while the ladies went shopping. No one noticed when Ray's car passed by.

The holiday had long since broken up. It was nearing 10:00pm and the house had been cleaned, the dishes done. The ladies had returned from their shopping trip with a few things but nothing much. Leo and Eric had fallen asleep on the couch, and Ray was still nowhere to be seen.

Kristine roused her husband and children and told them to go home, with the plan of waiting with her mother and spending the night. She had always kept a few things here (nightgowns and changes of clothes) so she could spend the night at her parent's house as needed. Leo and Rebecca also took their leave, and Kristine sat to wait with her mom.

Ray finally came in at almost midnight. He had hoped Josie had gone to bed but she was waiting for him. She started to go at him but instead of stopping as he usually did, he simply kept on walking right past her. He went to his chair and resumed reading the paper, as he had been doing before he was interrupted. If he thought Josie would back down, he was wrong.

"Where were you all day?" she practically screamed.

"I went to Denny's for Thanksgiving dinner, then spent the rest of the day at the movies."

"We had a perfectly good meal right here, Raymond. Why on earth did you go to Denny's?"

"It wasn't the food, Josephine. It was the company."

"I can't believe that a 64-year old man can't be civil to a guest that I invited into our home. I would never treat anyone you invited that way."

"I told you I would not be in this house at the same time he was, ever. I didn't mean only when he's here to take care of your so-called needs; I meant ever, and you knew that and you did it anyway."

"It was just dinner, Ray."

"Maybe to you," said Ray, then raised his paper between them, signaling the end of their conversation.

There was about 5 minutes of silence before Kristine, his own daughter and apparent traitor to the cause, knelt next to him on the floor.

"Dad, please try to understand that he means a lot to her. She doesn't love him or anything but she cares about him and didn't want him to be alone on the holiday."

"And you don't see a problem with your mom's fuck buddy becoming part of the family?"

"He's not part of the family, dad. But he's a person in her life. A friend like any other friend."

Ray knew it was a lost cause.

"Sure, Kristine. I get it."

"I hope so, dad. I'll see you later."

With a kiss on his cheek, Kristine left. Josie did not reappear that night, and when Ray finally lifted himself wearily out of his recliner and went into the bedroom, she was in bed asleep.

[::::::::::]

Thanksgiving seemed to be the turning point, at least in some ways. The displays of affection were practically non-existent as Ray and Josie became more roommates that anything else. Josie felt she was justified in taking on a lover since Ray was unable to do the job and saw Ray's reaction as selfish and ego-driven. Ray simply saw Josie's choice as a betrayal of their marriage and life together. He managed to treat her kindly and they communicated as they needed to, but the love that had been built during a 40+ year relationship was ebbing away.