Harry Ward sighed as he heard the door bell ring. Jesus, he thought, not Pam again! His wife's friend Pam was going through a nasty separation from her husband, and although Harry liked her, she seemed to be spending a huge amount of time at his house these days; his own wife, Hanna's shoulder constantly wet from her crying on it.
"I'll get it!" he called out as he rose from his comfortable arm chair.
He could see the outline of Pam through the glass in the front door, even before he opened it.
"Hello, Pam," he said, admitting the woman into the hall. "How are you today?"
"Oh, you know, Harry," she replied, her face, as usual, tear stained, her eyes a puffy red. "Could be worse, I guess. Is Hanna here?"
Harry pointed her in the direction of the kitchen and returned to the lounge to continue reading his paper.
He could overhear the conversation from the kitchen as he tried to concentrate on his paper. In his experience it was better, as a man, to stay well out of Hanna and Pam's conversations these days. It was a shame though, he thought, Pam and her husband Tom had been good friends of his and Hanna's. They would certainly miss the social evenings that they had enjoyed together as a foursome. Harry was still unaware of the reasons behind the split, he assumed that Pam had told Hanna, but he hadn't pressed his wife for details, preferring to wait until someone decided to tell him. He could hear Pam crying again from the kitchen and found it increasingly more difficult to concentrate on his paper.
""I... I... I just don't know what to do!" Pam's voice carried through to the lounge. "I know what he wants, but I just can't do it!"
"It's not really so bad, Pam," came Hanna's reply, "really, if you do it right it can be very exciting."
"Hanna! Really! You don't mean to say that you've done... that?"
"Well... yes. It's just another part of our sex life, but it's a private thing... you know?"
As he heard the word "sex", Harry's attention immediately switched from his paper to eavesdropping the women's conversation.
"Well, I just don't know," continued Pam. "Just the thought of him putting it there, in my... bottom... ugh! It just seems wrong, you know, unnatural!"
"Honestly Pam, its can be really good, and if its a question of saving your marriage..."
The conversation suddenly stopped. Hanna had obviously realized that Harry could overhear the conversation, and for the sake of her friend's modesty, had closed the kitchen door. Harry tried to resume his reading, but as often as he looked at the article on new gardening techniques, he knew that he wasn't really reading it. So, that was the problem, was it?, he thought. Hanna was right, every so often, just to keep a spice to their love life, they did indulge in anal sex, but Harry also knew that some women did find that practice somewhat distasteful. He felt for his friend Tom and also for Pam, it seemed such a shame to lose a marriage over a disagreement like that.
As Harry could hear no more of their conversation, and he had now lost all interest in his newspaper, he decided that he would get on with a few jobs that he had to do. He had for some time been building a new TV unit in the garage, and he thought that returning to this project would keep his mind occupied. Calling out to Hanna that he would be out for a while, he made his way towards his makeshift workshop at the rear of the garage.
Hanna heard her husband leave the house and knew that it would be sometime before he returned. She idly wondered how much of their conversation he had overheard, but knew him to be a reticent man who never spread gossip. Pam had stopped crying now and they both sipped coffee as they talked.
"If I'm honest," said Pam, "I think the trouble between me and Tom goes a little further than just that. I know you won't tell anyone, so I feel I can trust you."
Hanna was intrigued and waited for her friend to continue.
"You see, although I still love Tom very much, and enjoy making love with him... I seem to keep looking at... other women!"
Hanna was not shocked. She had seen the way that Pam had looked at her and other women when they had been out shopping. She had a soft spot for Pam as well. Although not a lesbian by any means, she had had a few bisexual experiences in her younger days and one since being married. She looked at Pam now. Pam's face was an open book, pleading for some response and praying that it would not be one of disgust or betrayal.