All Comments on 'Slow Separation'

all in all well written but not very real. keep trying.

When you opened the story with a comment about writing through a scenario I was expecting what I got. This story doesn't make much sense to me as characters reacting to situations. AS a writing exercise to find a through line for a thought experiment it worked better.

""No baby, I get off every time. You've never failed to make me cum. It's just that these days you're only good for a couple times a week and only a couple orgasms each time. You don't have the stamina you used to and your libido has waned a bit. We used to do it most every night for hours but now...""

So, he only fucks her a couple of times a week to a couple of orgasms each time and this is falling off? His inadequacy is that he doesn't have hours to fuck her every day? Seriously?

This isn't cuck shit. This is just plain stupid. Stopped reading right there. 1*

This is so bad it's actually offensive. I mean it's deeply offensive ....because the problem is that the husband can't make a connection between two plus two.

When the husband learns that she's been fucking other men for three years he never gets around asking her WHY ....why didn't you tell me that I was inadequate.? Wife's explanation that she didn't want to hurt his feelings was simply rationalization so she could fuck other men but more importantly it shows that there is something deeply wrong with her grasp on reality.

Why woukd Anybody want to be married to a person who thinks that way? The fact that she didn't think her husband should even get the chance to fix his fucking skills.... Is just stunning.

Wake up even worse. When the husband comes up with this ridiculous idea and suggest to the wife that he going to see other people she objects fiercely to it. The wife actually believes that it's ok for her to see other people but it's morally and ethically wrong for the husband to get the same consideration.

This point is completely ignored in the story. And it kills the story completely because nobody in their right mind would want to be married to somebody who has that distorted view of fairness and power inequality in the marriage.

Again notice that there's not a single comment about husband being a cuckold. In my view the author throws out the cuckold story/ comment so that everybody would react to that and ignore that is a seriously bad story with some monster plot flaws

and didn't even suggest a little blue pill before cheating? Sorry, especially in her position, not sitting down and talking and then asking him to try a little pill to help the situation is grounds for divorce in my book.

This was just a dreadful plot. First, the Bonnie character was totally preposterous. There may be women out there who will sacrifice good sex, a great marriage and a great relationship for hormonal insanity, but one seldom encounters them. Just an unbelievable character from some adolescent male fantasy. Had it been the husband who "needed" (a very ridiculous notion) more, it may have been a tad more believable.

Second, the sexual smörgåsbord was just outlandish and juvenile.

Third, the husband here was a very foolish man, and totally unlikeable. This author tends to the sensational, seeming to only write to provoke controversy and I don't care for the overtones. I regret having read this and plan to avoid this author in the future. Two stars for this mess.

I can't imagine why anyone would read it, either. I made it about halfway through the second page. A bunch of bullshit. One star.

I made it a page and half , I had to stop there .

This author obviously has had a bad experience and seems to want to relive here on this site to the tune of 50% of his storylines.

You used to have a few good stories , but me and Ray Charles can both see where this is going .

dumb cuck shit.

I wonder when authors will realise that women are not build this way,in fact many discribe what a guy would do or is capable of doing ,a woman having sex without having at least a sentimental attraction is close to impossible,i never met one anyway

It was obvious you were trying to come up with a new scenario. It fell kinda flat.

You seem to be getting a lot of flack for your story with commentators getting personally wrapped up in the story and with it's characters. Meh! I just figure it was a story you wrote. A fiction. I can dig that. Keep writing. I think you done good. Pulling a story out of your head, writing it and having it published, especially in this category, is not an easy thing to do so write on!,

wow these character are SO realistic! the initial confrontation is perfect!

NOT!!!

just a clueless slut and a wimpy man. 1* only cause I can't give you any less.

it's clear she loves him. you can tell by the complete lack of remorse, guilt or any trace of empathy.

But it just didn't ring true to me . First , if they were truly soul mates and so very in tune with each other , they both were extremely bad at it .

She's screwing around on him for 3 years and he's not got a clue ? Then she just is so casual when he finds out , hell apparently her pulse didn't even speed up when she saw his photos and PI report . Not what I'd call soul mate reaction in my book .

Then this middle-aged man who no longer rang his own wife's bell suddenly becomes the Cocksman incarnate ?

Then , after 24 years his wife just wishes him Bon voyage and pushes him into his new wife's bed ?

Nope , not very realistic I'm afraid .

Thank you for sharing . Hoping I'll have much better review on your next one .

Well writen, great characters, and wonderful story.

Thanks for sharing your talent

BigGuy33 is definitely in the Literotica's top echelon of writers . I saw him trying to break the mold and expand his range of expression . Fie on him for not choosing to write the same story for 100th time like Stang Star. Oh well.

I liked the big idea driving the story, but for this to work . Things needed to go more absurd then they did. Ann was so white bread . The black women emote much like their fair skinned counterparts. I get that the narrator is a romantic , but to attract so many women across the spectrum. He's got to have some verve, some game .

Lewis Carroll 's ' Alice ' would have been pretty dull without the Mad Hatter, the Red Queen , Tweedledum and Tweedledee ect al . To me , the narrator was a sweet soul falling down the Rabbit Hole away from his sedate , traditional life. Things should have gotten crazier then they did to make the new paradigm and this story an entertaining read.

I give props to author for trying something different. BigGuy33 is a quick study who pushes the Loving Wives envelope. His resume of stories has far more hits then misses and many more triumphs then the virulent critics, the minatory anons and the champion gnashnab of them all Harryin Va preceding me will ever have.

Bet on it.

dumb psychopath wife + dumb weak cuck.

what a treat!

i found this kind of strange. but ending how i would expect an open marriage to work out.

thanks for the read

I dont understand why people need 5 sites to explain shit!! Even its a fantasy it has to be recognizable at reality!! And thats your crap not!!! Only real brain sick people will act as your protagonist!! Be aware that remaining at a partnership due to to be unable to cope with the current situation is like beeing mental ill!!! And a slut who fuckes teenager after 22 years of marriage is in the strict sense of the word a slut!!! So your 5 site long flight of fancy is only a simple cuckold/wimp crap!!!

"Oh, baby, I'm positively devastated"

"I've always said you were the smartest woman I know."

"Henry, all I want is your happiness, because I love you so much."

"I'll always love you, Bonnie."

"I know. And I'll always love you. Now go call Ann."

Some brilliant stuff here! LOL

Another great story, weird. but great! Many thanks.

First the story. Long married female becomes so lust driven she allows herself to be passed from one young guy to next but claims she loves only husband. Lorddog takes a shot at StangStar and claims this story forges into new territory. Not really. And the Stang's are often quite humorous when dealing with this same or similar premise.

The self-proclaimed pig farmer's son claiming nobility has a condescending Anthony Weinert like attitude for comments by anons. However, anyone checking his profile will find he is as anonymous as those he attacks.

How do you mobilize your fans?? Its amazing how they all come out of the woodwork!! But its necessary!!! That crap you wrote is unworthy named as story!!! So the applause of your so called fans is important. So they convey an impression its a good story! Skip it, its only cheap!

I really like stories that attempt to address real emotions within the Loving Wives category. Thank you.

Whether it is realistic or not, I enjoyed the story.

She sure was a selfish bitch

I actually know a guy who is living this way. Their life has evolved into room mates with kids. Love is not involved any more. They don't share nor do they care what the other does when not at home. He spends a lot of time at the cabin fishing and camping with our crowd. When the kids are gone he plans to live in the cabin and end "the farce," (his words). Farce is an accurate way to describe such a marriage.

A different approach, well written, but I have to agree with @Crkcppr, and some other comments...All this seems to be happening in a parallel world...For instance the wife: She cheated for 3 years and even after her cheating being dicovered, she stayed calm and advocated her actions in a cold way, as cold as when she was served with the divorce papers. But it wasn't a bad read...3*

Definitely made me think.

Read pages 1 and 5 that will be enough and keep you from vomiting . # 1

original story handled with both sensitivity and creativity. My particular taste is for stories where the guy deals with shit, moves on and builds a new life. This one, in addition to being well-written and new, fills the bill.

There was also an extra nice, albeit hidden touch in the story that might be referred to as the sound of silence speaking with finality: during that first conversation, when she refused to give the boys up, at that moment, the sound you heard was the silence that only appeared once the machinery of the marriage stopped working, stopped moving at all, leaving in its place only a void that would inevitably grow in time, second by second.

I found that unspoken dimension kind of profound. Sure, I read it into the story, but if you reread it, I think you might find that it really was there, put there by the author when he first plotted out that his protagonist would not walk this path another step. Staying with her, but with separated sex lives, involved abandoning the old path and taking a temporary detour, not continuing either with what was or with her selfish change in course.

Most readers can accept trying to heal a marriage after a spouse cheats and tries to apologize, but when a wife cheats, intends to keep on cheating and states that she needs it and cannot live without it; what is left? She couldn't have slapped him much harder, and he came up with a compromise? He allowed her control of the situation. If the reader can go along with that premise, why worry about the guy bedding midgets and giants? When all is said and done, the divorce at the end was the only possible outcome in the real world, but in this alternate universe, anything could have happened. How many of us have always wanted to introduce our lover to our spouse over a nice dinner?

Defiantly "Cuck" Shit!"

At least it was well written and easy to read "Cuck" Shit."

I much enjoyed reading this story. Much different. Seems the best point in it is Henry related love and sex combined in the epitome of the best relationship between a wife and husband and/or a woman and a man. Bonnie apparently lost control of this in the need for sex without love to be what she needed for satisfaction. Since sex for her expanded while love diminished, the conclusion is she allowed physical satisfaction to over come the emotional fulfillment which leads to believe she is narcissistic. What happens when sex is no longer her satisfier? Old age sets in. Deep depression, loss of self worth? The doctor she married should know the answers and run....Henry and Ann made the right decision.

"Mature, complex"? That's what you call this crap? You must be as dumb as the author.

After reading the intro, I checked out the comments. I'm a BigGuy fan, so I WILL read this, and will try to keep an open mind, but one thing already troubles me: The intro comment about dealing with the husbands "inadequacy" as he ages. This reminds me of the Cheaters' Handbook rationale that women CAN have sex more often than men, and are therefore entitled to outside lovers, totally ignoring that many men have to deal with their wives decreased libido after menopause, yet are expected to keep it in their pants!

Ignoring the issues about the wifes thought process (a pharmacist who doesn't think of blue pills?) that everyone has already said my issue was that she seemed like a robot. I didn't get any emotion from her and to be honest, compared to your other stories, i don't think you did a great job with the husbands emotions either. They both felt way to static and flat for the things they were discussing and the actions they were taking.

Kinda felt like you tried to make them fit the plot and so they lost a bit of emotion.

she was a hateful callous cheating cuckoldress. as a pharmacist a loving spouse would have tried the little blue pill. she was a slut allowing her toyboys to pass her on when they were done with her.

a very difficult story to write, trying to keep her a "loving wife" means justifying cheating and thats impossible without making the husband an asshole, but well done for trying. it reminded me a little of some of matt Ms stories in that she was willing to toss away 20yrs of marriage for her itchy cunt.

anyway it was a good story, entertaining and easy to read, thankyou. 5*

this story brings out the real life of a marriage. all the trials and pitfalls of it. some people can separate feelings in sex from sex itself but i think most people cant do that. that is what makes a marriage knowing what the other wants and needs. communication is a must have in a marriage and in this story u see that it was put aside for her desires. glad that at the end of it they both got what they wanted. keep writing

Just like some others have mentioned, making her a pharmacist who doesn't suggest Viagra is bullshit. Yes, yes, she says it's his libido that's low, but again, if she actually cared for her husband, she'd have ACTUALLY talked to him about her needs before whoring herself out (and wtf with getting passed from one guy to the next?!?!?)

My biggest problem with this is that she really paid no price at all for her competent shitty behavior. I'd have been much more on board if it ended with him happily moved on and her miserably alone after her succession of toys decided they are done with an old whore.

Start with the characters. They are supposed to be intelligent people, yet you have them do and say things that are completely stupid and obtuse. Second, they seem to have no real emotions, and the wife has a lack of ability to empathize. Then you have them do ridiculous things, like stay together as wife and cuckhold for nine months. Except that he isn't the cuckhold kind, so that makes no sense at all. And of course, the reason for the wife's cheating is from la la land. So there's nothing here to suspend disbelief for.

Interesting enough to make me want to find out how it was going to end. Thanks for the entertainment. I'll always read your stories.

Some of the commenters seem to come from Mars. Working in the family relationships business I'd say this situation is in fact quite common. Often the children are younger than those in this story and, frequently the sexes are reversed but basically the guy says he is not getting enough sex and therefore he's cheating, the wife stays with him for the kids and the other benefits but sometimes refuses to sleep with him(much). These days, in my experience it's often the wife who is cheating, and quite open about it. There are a lot of 'wimps' about-men who simply don't care about the adultery enough to break up the family unit. Often, as in this story, the 'injured party' goes and gets bit a on the side themselves.

All this is far more usual in real life than the OTT BTB or RAAC scenarios beloved (or hated ) by Lit authors.

From the rather emotionless revealing of her infidelities to their amicable parting of ways your "Slow Separation" grinds like a glacier cutting through soft rock. It is cold, inevitable, and unstoppable. A little more passion, fire, desire would have thawed the main character, but it obviously wasn't you point, and it would have changed the whole dynamic. Not one of your best, but still thought provoking.

after a couple of paragraphs... Since they were billed as intelligent (ha,ha) people.

Great read, horrible story. Fantastic characters, stupid people. This is a very realistic scenario. Just sad.

Your story does flow nicely. I personally have never been witness to a non-contentious wife is cheating situation but they probably happen more often than casual watchers know.

My personal fetish is for the wife to switch over to just short of tramp behavior after being shown a grass can be greener field of play. A fetish which is much less factual than your character development but I own it. Makes no difference to me the interloper can be of either sex.

So in conclusion I have a clear image of the three primary characters and even of Ann's child. Nuances of reaction to a situation is how a writer of higher quality fiction flesh's out a well developed character. You receive high marks from me for that.

My friend parents were in same relationship for year and half. Unfortunately he couldnt live like that and they divorced. Untill today they dont speak to each other. Even their son dont visit her at all. In real life this kind of reletionships last not for so long and mostly there is no happy endings like in stories.

The first page was ridiculous. No one on the planets behaves this way. Snooze...

The writing and the story line are your usual solid craft. The story behind the plot line was easy to follow. And yes the events and actions of the couple are different from the usual format seen here in the Loving Wives cat.

But your stated goal of being 'realistic' missed. The biggest miss was in the emotionless couple. I know that there can be as many different responses that are possible in the break up of a marriage. Just as there are many different kinds of people. But to have 'both' partners in the break up of a twenty plus year marriage that emotionless. Just doesn't seem realistic.

His casual sex partners sounds like a bucket list for variety, again just not realistic. Come on, a 6'6" woman, a midget, a black woman, a double amputee. Again a miss on realism.

Bonnie's character has problems, both as a person and a story character. A woman in a twenty year plus marriage, needing more sex than a couple times a week. Being willing to risk giving up that marriage to her 'soul mate'. For non- emotional sex with various young guy's? Sex is not her problem. For most couples, in a twenty year marriage, that's a wish not a shortage.

To come home, have her infidelity spread out in pictures and reports. Then casually leaf through them??

I have you on my list as a author to follow, and I enjoy almost all your stories. I enjoyed this one too. It just seemed like a list of objectives with not your usual amount of meat on it's bones. *5

Hey BigGuy,

I've been a fan of yours for sometime and you bring a lot to your characters. I'm older and yes I'm a blue pill user, but that doesn't make me like a 20 year old. It hurts my pride sometimes that I can't go like I did in my youth and am lucky that my wife gets off with what I can give her. No she's not looking for something on the side, but I could relate to Henry's situation as you wrote it. He's not a cuck once he found out and gave her the choices. With swinging or cheating, one runs the risk of falling in love outside the relationship.

For those who are giving you grief over the story haven't live enough life to understand this type of story. Too bad for them.

Still a fan,

Santacruzman

Thank you for writing. I think the story was very well written, but the small problem I had with it, and that I kept going back to, was Bonnies devil may care attitude about her marriage. She stated a few times that she would choose an affair over her marriage. Even while discussing it, she really showed very little concern for her husbands feelings. I cannot see how the marriage could *ever* be considered viable with those two points. Thank you.

How civil, how mature, how intellectual, how unreal. Do you right about human relations while on LSD?

This is an interesting story that sounds almost like it can be true but then how unlikely that it would be so strange. If Bonnie had really, really loved Henry, and was a very good wife, this would have stopped very quickly (I think). On the other hand, it appears the phenomenon was worked out okay. We can find love in more than one place/person in a lifetime, usually most of us sacrifice the second, or third or ...

Tiny Tim

which was only to be expected, really.

The story was realistic, the characters all sympathetic.

Some people didn't like the realism. oh, well. There loss.

Very realistic and yet not but it was entertaining and worth the reading time! The title could have been slow divorce rather than separation but it works. Overall well written and you did do an excellent forward for the story to prepare readers. Since I haven't read many comments yet but I am sure there are hater I can only put my thoughts as 'fuck off' you were WARNED before you started reading the story and too many haters hide in Anonymous post (pisses me off). I have heard reasons for not having user ID but you can create a name to sign your anonymous post if not you shouldn't waste you time to post or to vote for that matter.

I planned to give at least four or five stars but I bumped my screen and marked lower - hopefully I can change my vote!!!

I do enjoy your stories!

Please keep writing and I will keep reading!

Thank you so much for your work. Being an "older male" I identify with Henry.. Bonnie is not a sympathetic figure. She should have worked a bit harder, and tried other methods before fucking college kids. Her rational is pathetic.

Keep writing and entertaining your fans.

I definitely liked this more than some.

Okay, benefit of the doubt, she didn’t tell him because she didn’t want to hurt him. But NOW he knows, he’s TELLING her she’s hurting him but she won’t stop?!

“I need you to understand how much I need this” – I’ve said this before: so, when she hits menopause, and HER libido drops, she’ll be fine with him having lovers, right? Right?

IF I was to take some time to consider, it would REQUIRE that she stop until I had either decided to accept it or to divorce her!

I would insist that their daughter be informed, so that if/WHEN they get divorced he’s not made into the bad guy!

For those who call for Viagra, I’m no expert, but I believe that all it does is give an erection, it doesn’t improve stamina, etc.

“But I'm young and want to experience a lot of things, a lot of guys, before that happens.” – That beats the women who get married and THEN try to have the experiences they missed!

“I was glad to have invested in the queen-sized bed.” – Doing it at home?

“she kindly asked that I not do that in public.” – Is it really “in public” if you’re in a dark car parked in an isolated spot?

“Things were starting to get a little complicated.” – Well, duh! Ann’s not a one-night-stand or a fuck buddy, she’s a relationship!

“If I were a different person I'd just cut the strings to Bonnie and that would be that, but I made a deal, however crazy, and I have to at least bring it to a resolution." – I don’t believe that he promised to continue on indefinitely! As he says, Bonnie’s never going to agree to dropping her lover boys, so just tell her it’s over!

“made me genuinely feel that she loved me” – Yeah, she loves you, like she loves a puppy! She doesn’t love you enough to sacrifice for you.

Sorry, I don’t buy Bonnie being so sanguine, even telling him to call Ann early and invite her for dinner!

I also don’t buy him being mad at himself for “not being there” for Bonnie, or her being so understanding. If she was THAT understanding, she would have either stopped when he confronted her, or accept divorce right then.

Another odd thing as that each of her lovers just happens to have a good replacement available!

Despite how gracious she was at the end, my BTB side wanted her to end up alone after she got too old to attract the young college guys, or the doctor cheating when she lost HER libido!

I'm torn on his hook-up experiences. Did we really need to hear about them all, particularly the amputee who wanted him to cum on her stumps? But, then, if he simply said I dated several different kinds of women over four months, the boo birds would be knocking the "boiler plate" of him "immediately" finding a better woman!

i mean like 8 years of having an insatiable libido for sex. come on man. plus she was very robotic. no emotion at all. and no remorse and vey selfish. i feel sorry for her next husband. when will she act up again? the husband is an idiot. nuff said about this clown.

Bullshit.

It violates the first law of relationships: for men it is about the sex; for women it is about the relationship. Hence a cuck story written by a woman (e.g. Nici) gets this correct. It is difficult to write something new in this category, and this author has sort of accomplished this. I thought it was an interesting and credible scenario. There is another story from years ago – I can't remember the name of it – where the wife is really into the swinging lifestyle and husband finally gives in and goes that route full throttle with her into swinging until she finally realizes she doesn't want to do it any more. By that time the husband is addicted to strange sex and the ending is ambiguous.

Pure selfishness in reality. That she bears little consequence for her evil acts of selfish desire harms everything she touches, including us.

Ack, got the characters mixed up.

I believe that there is a much better chance of this happening than most of the commentators think. In fact, if we look at the nobles in Victorian era England we would have good models to work with.. I was looking for Swingerjoe's approval of the open marriage.

But in my opinion what happened is what I would expect to have happen.

First off, for all those who are wrapped up in if the story is believable or close to real sounding, IT IS FICTION. It is a product of the authors mind. He or she could write about nine tentacle aliens falling in love with puppy dogs, it is make believe. You want real, go read non-fiction but keep in mind you are still reading someone else's interpretation of facts.

Second, there seems to be 1 or 2 standard formulas in the writing here. Either the protagonists accepts or BTB. BigGuy33 seems to try to fall within a 3rd style and that is to be some of both which is confusing to those who can only see 1 or the other.

Third, why in the story is it not asked what if the shoe was on the other foot, would she have been alright with him getting it on the side as she gets close to menopause and her desire falls off? Even in fiction it seems like a reasonable question.

Story seems to be thought out and was easy to read. 3 stars.

and preposterous and unbelievable in others. That is what keeps it from a 5*. The position of the wife, Bonnie, that she needed a steady side piece despite her tranquil and happy marriage, defies all belief. Twice a week marital relations,, multiple O's each time, is not enough? That has to be a very small minority of women (like less than 1%). I am in sales, know tons of people, and never met one like this, or who had this type situation

Because of this, was hard to get fully invested in the results of the marriage, or to generate much emotion about it's status. Kind of like the husband's journey for the reader-which actually is quite a compliment to the author.

Also quite good was the dialogue, his feelings and introspection, and the slow dissolution of the marriage through him finding another more compatible relationship.

This is probably one of your best stories posted.

You are right, total cuck shit.

Maybe MY math is off, but where do you get eight years? She said she had been cheating for three, suffered for a year before that, so that's four years.

Regarding "shoe on the other foot."

Yep, I asked the same thing!

i dont care about the negative comments are.......i give it a 10 i0f there was that7 number...i gave a 5.....and this wou9ld be a great chick flick for the lifetime channel and yes i would watch it.....again great7 story

You're mistaking the term "theme" for "cliche".

I know I'm in deep shit when I actually agree with Literotica's most strident, unforgiving, "the world is black and white with no shades of grey" critic ever - HARRYIN VA.

Since he was getting his on the side as well, I have no problem with the arrangement he set up with Bonnie. No, my problem is that the supposed root cause of the problem, Henry's low libido and lack of stamina, was never addressed by either party. They both just coasted along, acting like the problem would fix itself one way or another. And even though it did, there was no reason whatsoever for it to have gotten to that point.

Okay, so Henry is fine with sex once or twice a week, but Bonnie needs more than that. It's clear that she never sat down and got it out in the open, but did she take the initiative? Did she try things to get him in the mood more often? Sexy lingerie, read up on new techniques, maybe hit the gym, work on her appearance a bit? Apparently not; it sounds like she just passively took what she could get and tried to subsist on that until she was too pent up.

Henry doesn't have the stamina he used to, and can't keep up with his wife. Fine, it happens. 44 seems like kind of early to be slowing down that much, but whatever. But even after he found out he wasn't ringing the bell anymore, did Henry do anything about it? Did he get himself in shape? Improve his cardio? Study up on techniques that would allow him to last longer? No, he was like a turtle pulling back into his shell. And if it was an issue of him staying at attention, they make pills for that, which is something else no one ever even suggested.

Any sympathy I had for Henry's plight flew right out the window when he made zero effort to improve himself. He talks about the blow to his self-confidence, and later how Bonnie would likely resent him for taking away her "stress reliever", but never does he seek to get that confidence back with her and BECOME her stress reliever. He made the arrangement under the pretense of trying to salvage the marriage, but did absolutely nothing to that effect. He just let the problem fester and rot, and so did Bonnie.

This is nothing but stupid people doing stupid things, and I, for one, can't get invested in that. Henry may have started out as the innocent party, but in the end he became just as culpable as Bonnie, and the sex on the side had nothing to do with it. Instead of dating, he should've devoted that free time to a gym membership. Instead of looking online for pussy, he should've been looking for ways to improve his performance in the bedroom. That is, if he actually had any intention at all of saving his marriage.

This story falls flat with me. The solutions to the problem are plentiful, plain to see, easy to do and readily available. But both characters have their heads too far up their own asses to register the painfully obvious. It's a soap opera; nothing but fake tension, tired melodrama and a plot that only moves forward because of the stupidity of the characters.

2.5 stars, rounded up to 3 because I'm a fan of the author's other work.

44 and that's old??? Hell I could still do it 5x a day up till 60. You must be awful young!

Also he won't sleep with his wife because of the risk of disease but will bang anything on a casual pickup site............ really?

Other than that it wasn't a bad story. 3*

On the positive side, it was well written, easy to read and didn't introduce too many subplots or additional characters. BigGuy33 did a fine job, at least technically.

On the negative side, this hit several of the cliches that I really don't like in this genre. (1) Wife decides she is entitled to some meaningless sex on the side and won't give it up; (2) husband easily finds ready replacement who is seemingly better than the replaced wife with no real downtime; (3) neither husband or wife has any real trauma from the end of a 20+ year marriage; (4) the daughter just takes it in stride. Maybe I could enjoy the story more if one or two of these was hit, but with all four, it just was too much for this reader's liking.

That was a story

No one in story reacts with human emotions. Well written though

Although the cliche -"Different strokes for different folks" comes immediately to mind. People are different and Henry and Bonnie seemed like two fairly emotionless, rational people. Perhaps too rational and emotionless. The one thing that didn't jibe was Henry's sexual appetite. While he was "dating' other women, he seemed to be getting laid - a LOT! And he seemed to be having multiple orgasms with these women. How does he not have the ability to have multiple orgasms on consecutive nights with Bonnie thereby solving their problem? That seemed like the weak link in this tale. Once again a well written story. Once again an unsatisfactory ending. You have an irritating habit of doing that. While not as bad as your stories "His name was Jack" or "Of all people" this was, none-the-less a similarly unpleasant ending. Try again.

I still enjoyed reading it. Sure, some parts were kinda out there, but this is fiction so the author's mind sets the rules.

Big miss here.

I guess doctors marry cheating whores all the time?

What a stupid cunt.

And very well written. But I didn't feel like the emotion (or lack of) matched the reality of the storyline. Still, five stars.

I can see why a lot of people might have liked it. But I think Henry was the villain in this story. Bonnie's extra-marital sex was just sex, with no emotional entanglement. When Kim felt she might start to develop feelings for Henry, she moved on. Henry should have done the same with Ann. Bonnie may have cheated first, but Henry cheated bigger.

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but the characters were unbelievable. And I think Henry was the real villain of the story. Bonnie's extra-marital affairs were just sex, no emotional attachment. When Kim thought she might start to develop feelings for Henry she ended things. When Henry started to develop emotional feelings for Ann, he should have stopped seeing her. Bonnie may have cheated first, but Henry cheated bigger.

And what is the name of the dating site where Henry could find such a variety of bed partners at the drop of a hat?

These kind of situations end in restraining orders, broken dishes, and sometimes.. gunfire.

Started badly, ended worse. He can't even dump the selfish bitch in a way that at least pretends to have an ounce of self respect. Hell, if Ann understood how the end went down with the wife, she would not want his sorry ass.

I liked it. Unconventional? - to be sure. Far-fetched? - oh yeah, no doubt about it. Did it work though, was this a story that could go from start to finish and contain enough dynamics to say, "ok, I get it." Well yeah, I think it did.

If I were to wag a finger at any one section - got to be the Epilogue - c'mon man. Well, at least you didn't throw a Lottery win into the mix.

I can't agree with your knock on Henry for making no effort to improve himself. She had been cheating for three years, had no intention of stopping and had been dissatisfied for a year before THAT!

Since SHE was the one with the problem, who decided to seek her own solution behind her husband's back, the burden of coming up with a solution other than her cheating was on her!

I don't think he was seeing his dates more than once, MAYBE twice a week. He had been doing it with his wife twice a week, so no real change there.

The ending sucked.making another kid at 40&45 .now you have a crying baby your stuck at home. Her fiqure goes to pot. Your life changes with the infant , travel will be limited. Does she lose her income. To many obstacles in the way for this to work

BigGuy, I like most of your stories and this falls into that category. The ending was predictable, especially after your introduction. Actually, "Of All People" was the story that really turned me off, mostly because he went back to the family. You are one of the more talented writers who doesn't get the credit he deserves. You're like the Nickelback of rock and roll. Some people bash them, but the next day you hear them humming "Rock Star" when no one is around! Keep coming up with these original stories and I'll keep reading. There aren't many stories in this category worth reading lately.

I don't comment on many stories, and when I do I login and never leave anonymous posts. I personally think Lit should eliminate the anonymous posts so the trolls could get some feedback back to them.

And she told him why she cheated and why she was dissatisfied. Yes, it is initially her fault for not speaking up and never attempting to find an alternate solution. But once it was all on the table, what did Henry do?

He sat and sulked. "Oh, my pride", "Ow, my self-esteem", "My poor ego"; that's all I saw out of him. But instead of improving himself and making all of her excuses null and void, what does Henry do? He follows her example begins the pussy hunt. Wouldn't be such a big deal if not for the pretense of him trying to salvage the marriage. He even acknowledges that her stopping the affair wouldn't matter, because nothing will have changed at home. He still can't satisfy her and he knows it, so of course she would eventually start back up again. And Henry accepts that like there's nothing he can do about it. Both of them do, never bothering to put forth a single suggestion to take care of what's presented as the root cause of the whole issue: Henry not being able to keep up with Bonnie.

And as far as the narrative is concerned, that IS the root cause. Never is it even hinted at that Bonnie is just doing it because she can, or because she thinks he's too wimpy to stop her, or because fucking around is just her hobby. She's not evil, she's just after more sex. Not even "better" sex, just more. I already listed plenty of ways she could have gotten more with Henry, and they're all obvious and easily accessible. But neither one of them makes any effort at all to really address the problem. Like I said, they let it sit and fester, like an open wound.

Yes, Bonnie is the one to blame for putting them in such a bad place to begin with. But Henry was in the driver's seat the whole time when it came to the future of the marriage after all was revealed. Bonnie never argued with him, never threatened him with a nasty divorce, never really did anything but nod and go along with a terrible plan. It was Henry who was in control, and it was him who decided to "try" to make things work. Sure, he had little faith it would pan out, but he never really put in an effort.

And I don't know if it was intentional or not, but there are even things within the story itself that tell Henry what he could/should be doing if he really wanted to save his marriage. You had one girl who was looking to bring new things into the bedroom with her boyfriend, and another woman who was 60 years old but kept herself in such great shape that she wore Henry out even though he's 16 years younger than her. Solutions to the problem right there, staring him in the face: try new things in bed and get in shape. But still he does nothing.

Hell, if Henry was so sure the marriage was doomed, then he should've gone the self-improvement route just so his next missus couldn't use the same excuses Bonnie did.

So in the end Bonnie's affairs aren't what sank the marriage. Henry himself says that the affairs themselves aren't the dealbreakers; it's Bonnie's reasons for them. Reasons that neither of them ever address or even attempt to resolve, and thus are still present after all is said and done. So in the end, while not exactly 50/50, Henry deserves a good portion of the blame for how it all worked out. If he wasn't actually interested in trying to save the marriage, then he should've cut her loose in page 1. But without that fake tension, tired melodrama and stupid characters, there'd be no story. And that's just poor storytelling.

She was caught having dinner and holding hands with her lover.

That's not just sex.

No guy would have went thru this. So not realistic .

Contrary to what some think, this was all Bonnie's fault. She cheated for years and showed no remorse when she was caught. Bonnie chose more sex with others than her marriage. Plain and simple. She made a choice. Nothing is ever perfect. So what if she doesn't get sex as often as she wants. She had a loving husband, child and mutual interests with a husband of 20 years. She obviously was not in love with husband and did not care about her relationship. The ending of the marriage proved it. Hardly any sadness or emotion on her part. Just a slight bump in the road for her and her young lovers. A spouse has the right to expect monogamy unless they agree otherwise. Wife knew it and that is why she hid it and never made an attempt in advance to try to improve her sex life with her husband.

anon.1

My second wife never had kids and felt that was the low point in her life, not having kids. However, I had 3 from my first marriage so there was no way I wanted to go through that again. She didn't like it but we are still married 28 years later.

I find it funny when people knock a guy's ego when he's not accepting of cheating. How about we just go with the synonyms for ego? Self-esteem. Self-respect. Self-worth. Who needs those with cream pies on the menu, eh?

If I was a 3 humps and a dump kind of guy then I could go 6 times at 60 ! Lmaorotf

BG33,

Now maybe I am being too philosophical here, but I thought the story was very good fiction. Why? Well you took the normal reactions and feelings of Henry and examined them within a fictional story. Most men when confronted as he was, would be deeply hurt that she was cheating. They would be humiliated that they were not "enough" for their wife. They and they would KNOW the marriage was going to end. However, the counter balance is not anger, it is the knowledge that he still loved her. She had three years to sort her mind out...he did not. He loved her, he is comfortable with her, he shares a child with her. In short his life is her AND she is telling him that she still loves him and doesn't to end the marriage, which she could have because she made plenty of money on her own.

So you have set up the conflict, you know and we know how this is going to end when he finally gets it together. You allowed your character to explore his character and you created a very interesting story in the process. I think that is what fiction is about. It doesn't have to be real to be entertaining. You are growing and this was a nice try. I give you 5*. If reality was a measure of a good story, NO ONE would have gone to see STAR WARS. Or love HDK's Lady in Red, which is the finest story on this site.

Thanks

I actually enjoyed that much more than I thought. Bonnie destroyed their marriage, period.

Years ago my wife wanted to have sex. I was just finding I was developing 'performance' issues and turned her down a couple times. We were in our late thirties with two kids about to graduate from high school.

After the third or fourth time I begged off, she became incensed and swore she would find it somewhere else if I wasn't going to screw her. In retrospect I should have told her about my fears, but hell, I was scared.

I'm a big-game hunter and was in Canada for a moose hunt. It was cut short when we all tagged out almost a week early. The other three guys I was with wanted to head home, who was I to argue? Yep, the old clique.

My wife didn't expect me home for six day when I walked in and found her sound asleep. Unfortunately, there was a guy in bed with her, also sound asleep. I jerked the covers away and sure enough, they were both naked. They were frightened of me, I was frightened of me. Finally before killing them both, I drove away and didn't return for almost two weeks.

I chose a time when Liz would be at work, she was/is a paralegal and was famous for never missing a day. This was a time before cellphones so she had no idea how to contact me. By the time she came home from work, everything I wanted was packed in my truck. On the kitchen table I left divorce papers and my ring. Also a note to give her wedding ring to Cassie, our daughter. I didn't want my grandmothers ring on her skanky hand.

When it came time to sign the papers, back then it was done at the same time, Liz was already there and waiting. She asked for a few minutes for us alone and I'll admit, she looked awful. Like a three-day bender followed by a week of no sleep.

It was our first time together since I caught her in bed. She swore it was the only time and couldn't we just put it behind us, she loved me too much to sign. It was hard to listen to and I went ahead and explained about my few bouts of ED and pushing her away in fright. That made it worse for her, to know I should have confided and she shouldn't have went out and immediately spread her legs. Liz admitted he was someone she knew through work and hung her head when admitting they continued having sex after I caught them. She asked if she gave him up, could we could work it out? That was such a dumb question. I stared at her for a second, then stood and entered the lawyers office. Liz followed me and began crying when I signed.

I rarely see her now. We still live in the same county, two different towns, and only a function having to do with our kids will bring us together. It's been 26 years since that day, I've been married to another woman 24 of them. Liz? She's been married four more times and is currently looking for number five.

...but in that way, wonderful. She didn't pitch a fit, throw tantrums, become spiteful, belligerent, defiant or bitter, angry and hurtful....things that most wives in her situation become when confronted with the expanded knowledge of their extramarital activities. Henry was also wise in one way, foolish and fortunate in another. Putting off the filing or filing a formal separation agreement created a huge risk for him and gave Bonnie nearly a year to betray Henry and their marriage in many other ways. Like it is often said. The marriage was over, but for the shouting...they just had to work out the details.

She would have qualified for a BTB solution after betraying Henry's trust, her vows and the very foundations of their union.....for three years, before she got sloppy enough to get caught. But she did get caught.

So, she did take many things from the marriage. It just took awhile (owing to her efforts at stealth, which also compounded her betrayal with compound lies) for Henry or someone else that knew them both to discover her unfaithfulness.

No one lives in a box or a vacuum. Eventually, even the most careful cheaters get caught out. Maybe not with photographic evidence, but disrespect and disdain become part of every relationship that suffers from a cheater. They may be clever at hiding it for a time, but someone finds out. And if they care about the cheated spouse, respect, honor, commitment, love, trust....you know, all the things we marry to enjoy, they tell them or show them.

I got a phone call. And thank God in his heaven that there are decent people out there, whose friendship it is my privilege to enjoy.

This seems, on its surface, a kinder, gentler approach to divorce after catching a cheater, and Henry clearly took the high road, even if it was both foolish and dangerous to do so. But it in point of fact, was not.

With his discovery, he was no longer in a position to know what Bonnie might do. Indeed, he would have correctly concluded that he no longer really knew her at all.

This story was unusual, well written and engaging, if a little on the fairytale end of the spectrum. That, as much as anything else makes this a worthwhile read....not the fairytale part....the unusual and well written part.

Simply, I enjoyed it. I didn't stumble over shoddy writing, grammar or spelling, I didn't get lost trying to figure out where the story was going or who was talking....it was The tale of us have time to limes, and chronicling where they go through it. Fiction very worthwhile.

Thank you.

I really enjoyed the gentleness and respect that you showed all characters. You took a different approach at dealing with timelines of the relationships. I am normally a BTB type, but your aspect was not only easy but made for a well written story. It wasn't overly embellished with the mundane or the excessive use of sexual acts. You tread a fine line of cuckold and a man fighting for his own dignity with the absurdity that he was faced with. I hope that you accept this as a true accreditation to your writing skills as a writer. Look forward to more of your work.........Thank you..