REAL ESTATE TRANSACTION
I remember it like it happened yesterday, even though it was a few months ago.
We had put the kids to bed and were sitting in our bed, watching TV. My wife had been very quiet, which happened occasionally when something was on her mind.
She has a very busy life, looking after our two kids (15 and 12) while being a part-time real estate agent. Our two sons were old enough to take care of themselves so Trish could often devote unusual hours to her real estate gig. I was working long hours, as well, at my job with an engineering firm. We were both working hard, but things were going well, financially and with our family.
My wife had changed for bed and was wearing a typical nightgown for her. I never ceased to enjoy seeing her breasts jiggle under her thin gown. She often slept without panties. I noticed she was wearing them tonight and thought she must be near her period.
"How was your day?" I innocently asked during a TV commercial.
Trish paused before answering, "It was okay. You know."
I said, "Same old stuff. Have you had any luck with that new client?" I knew she had been showing houses to some guy who was moving with his family from the west coast somewhere.
She said, "We found a place that he likes." She said it without the usual enthusiasm she has when she's made a deal.
I looked at her and asked, "Are you feeling okay?"
She was quiet. I could tell something was on her mind.
Then she said, "Something happened."
I blithely asked, "Oh. What was that?"
Trish (Patricia) wouldn't look at me and was obviously upset. "You remember that client I was working with, the guy from San Francisco?"
"Sure. You told me about him. What was his name again?"
I barely remembered. Trish would often prattle on about her real estate work or what the kids had been doing. I listened as best I could, but sometimes I lost track of what she was saying. Like many women, Trish talked a lot. She wasn't looking for answers; it was therapeutic for her to talk to me after her hectic daily activities. I thought she was a really neat person.
She said, "Pearson, Edward Pearson."
"Yeah, what about him?" I remembered her talking about the guy, remarking on how good looking and how successful he was.
She paused, then looked at me. "We had sex today."
I didn't say anything, waiting for her to elaborate. I was stunned.
"It just happened. We found this really nice house that he liked and we were in the bedroom and he touched me and we ended up in the bed."
"Did he force you?" I was angry and concerned.
She paused again, then said, "No. I didn't initiate it, but I didn't resist." Then she meekly added, "I participated."
I was wrapping my head around what she had said when she looked at me with a frightened look in her eyes. "I'm so sorry." She said, then pleaded, "Please forgive me. I'm just a weak person and don't deserve you." She was near tears.
I loved this woman with all my heart and my initial reaction was to forgive her and comfort her, but I was also trying to grasp the realization of what she had said. She had cheated on me. I was shocked. I had never doubted her fidelity and immediately wondered if she was being drawn away by another man.
She said, "It was just a one-time thing." But then she added, "I think."
"Are you in love with this guy?"
She quickly said, pleading, "No. It's nothing like that. I love you. It was just a situation and everything happened so fast. I was so foolish."
Of course, I realized the significance of what she had done. Many men would've immediately gotten pissed-off and thrown her out. But I guess I was not so insecure to be threatened or demeaned by the thought of my wife straying. Of course, her fidelity was important, but we had much more than that. She meant everything to me. We had a nice family and our lives together were wonderful. I was far from perfect myself. I'd had drinking problem and had made a mistake myself one time. Forgiveness has to be part of a successful marriage.
Trish was very worried and was crying. "I'm so sorry. I wouldn't blame you if you threw me out. I'm just a slut."
Now, she was anything but a slut. I had taken her virginity when we were dating and she had never been with anyone but me. I gathered that she was impressed with this suave, successful man and fell prey to his advances. I put my arms around her to calm her.
"What happened?" I asked and she told me the whole story.
"This guy, Ed Pearson has been looking for a house. His business, one of those software companies, was relocating him to Cleveland to lead their local division. His wife and kids are still in San Francisco waiting for him to find a house. Their kids are in school and they plan to move in June after the school year."
I nodded, now listening closely.
"We've been looking at houses for over a week and hadn't found anything he liked, but then today we found THE house. It's a four-bedroom, with a view of the lake, on a nice piece of property. The schools are good and the neighborhood has a park and trails with lots of kids around. After looking at more than a dozen places, we were getting discouraged, but then we found it. The house has just come on the market; it was in his price range and he immediately liked it. The kitchen has recently been redone with lots of counter space and new appliances."
I asked the 'male' question. "Does it have a basement and a garage?"
"You'd love it. There's a shop area in the basement and a big yard. Rambo (our dog) would love the yard-lots of places to sniff and dozens of squirrels to chase." She paused, "They have a yellow lab, Ranger."
She even knew the name of the guy's dog.
She continued, speaking rapidly, "We looked at the place and I called the selling agent. Pearson was willing to meet their price and just like that, we had a deal. The other family was eager to sell and we already have the preliminary closing set for Friday."