Fault Lines

Fault Lines

H. Jekyll

There is no sex in this story. Not a hint. If you're looking for sex, or payback, or something like that, then keep on walking. The story basically covers an afternoon's uncomfortable conversation/argument between fairly hostile exes who divorced the previous year. Maybe you've experienced something like that. You might try to decide who was at fault. Or who wasn't.

I welcome comments and discussions. I continue my policy of including all comments, including those insulting ones usually posted by "anonymous." If you post a comment under your Literotica account, I will try to respond directly (and I will not insult you).

I'm grateful to BlackRandi1958 for her editing expertise. Whether you like the story or not, she improved it. Think of what it would have been like!

*****

Nine months. It's not a year but long enough. Or maybe forever wouldn't be enough. Mary thought Phillip was thinner. Phillip focused on Mary's hair. She had cut it shorter, kind of a bob, and she had some make-up. Even 'some' was a lot for the Mary he'd known, nine months ago, when everything had blown up.

He didn't want to see her, but she looked good.

She wanted to see him and was afraid.

She simply showed up at his door, the door of his little efficiency. Why is she here? And how did she get my new address?

"Hi." She hardly looked at him.

He didn't invite her in.

"What do you want?" Oh, that was nice, Phillip! But her response went sideways, too.

"Have you gotten it ... never mind." She shook her head. "No. I'm sorry."

She began to turn away.

"You might as well say it. We're not going to grow further apart, and you took this much trouble to find me."

"The women. Have you gotten them out of your system?"

He considered slamming the door in her face.

"So. You tracked me all the way here to get some extra snark in?"

"That's not what I meant. Or, I did but... I don't know. I didn't mean it that way. I didn't. But I do want to know."

There's a trick, which is to answer a question with a question. Turn things toward your inquisitor.

"Are your boyfriends out of your system?"

"Can't you just answer my question?"

"Can't you answer mine?"

There were no 'boyfriends!' It was only him."

"That's it? Just the one?"

Silence. They stood at his doorway on the second floor, the railing behind her and the parking lot below; his hand on the knob, his body blocking the view of a couch and couple of chairs, a kitchenette with a tiny table and a few dishes in the sink, a laptop on a little desk and not much else. Yes, there was. There was a photo of Mary on the wall. Some things don't add up. Why does he have that?

He asked again. "What about him?"

Silence. Mary's silence told Phillip most of what he wanted to know.

"I'm sorry, Mary. Don't be so surprised. I don't hate you, not all that much." He caught a small laugh before it could completely escape. "Maybe you're easier to take in small doses. Anyway, I thought you could use a little happiness. Don't go looking like that! You don't have to disbelieve me. Even if it was with him. We certainly didn't have much."

Finally, she answered. "We did at first. But your question. He left. Or I'd have sent him away, so I guess it doesn't matter which way it went." While he considered that, she looked over his shoulder. "Why did you keep my portrait?"

"Target practice. Darts."

He finally let her in. They turned left into the dinette and passed the photo, which had a few pinholes, only one of them on her face. They sat at the dinette table, across from each other, and he poured some lemonade for each of them.

"I'll answer your question. I don't have a harem but there have been women. I'm not celibate and I don't have a wife anymore, so there's that. Is that what you wanted to know? For Christ's sake, why? And why are you even here?"

"I wanted to know... I'm sorry. I really should go."

She started to get up, but he raised his hand like a cop, and he told her: "Stop. Stop, Mary. Stop trying to leave in the middle of a question. Sit down. We can talk, and there's something you want to say. So, say it." And she did.

"I wanted to know... if you'd like to try being a husband again."

*****

Oh, Jesus! He stared at her. "You wanted to ask me that? And you decided the best way to ask it was to attack me? Yeah. That's pretty much the way you did things. The answer is 'no.'

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't know how to ask. I didn't try to be mean, but I guess it's a habit." He waited for more. "And I thought maybe you were having too much fun to settle for me. Like when you broke us up."

It was going nowhere.

"And you wanted to know if the philanderer wanted to move back in with the adulteress. Right? Well..." He shook his head. "Just so you know, he was before them. I didn't cheat first, you did."

Mary gasped and twisted in her chair and then stood and leaned toward him and yelled: 'You wouldn't fuck me anymore, but you started up with that slut!" He'd never before heard her use that word. "We didn't have any sex and you were never warm anymore and you couldn't even be bothered to talk!" She took two large breaths. "You weren't ever home. You were out fucking her, and I have the proof!"

It was silent again, except for her panting. It stayed silent for a moment. Phillip stared down into his hands and looked puzzled for a moment before nodding and looking back up at Mary.

"You mean Allison Watts?"

"Yes! Her!" Mary was having trouble controlling her breathing, "The marriage wrecker. So don't say I was first!"

Someone rolled a cart along the walkway, and a few seconds later came the sound of a child skipping past. A sparrow briefly landed on the window ledge. It was obviously looking for a handout, but the birdfeeder hanging above the railing needed a refill. The sun was shining merrily. It was a beautiful day outside, but indoors it could have been nine months ago. It was cold and dark, they were who they had been, and they were bitter. For some reason Mary didn't understand, she'd gotten the idea that they might try a second bite of the apple. Jesus H. Christ! Maybe it's what loneliness and forgetting just how bad it had been could do to you. Hadn't they already been evicted from the garden? How much further down could they go?

"You think that and you would still want me back? Yeah. Right." Phillip paused. "Only, you see, I wasn't diddling Allison." He smirked and looked up toward the ceiling. "Never even once. So, you got a PI? It starts to make sense. I imagine he saw us having dinner and me going to her place, and if I'm right, saw her give me a kiss. You put two and two together and decided it was time to get Eric Asshole to do you."

"You were fucking her! And his name is Eric Asensio."

"No. I wasn't. And stop using that word. Allison is a friend. She was holding my hand because my marriage was going to hell. And for your information, she's a goddamn lesbian! Your PI never checked that out, did he?"

*****

Time out.

They both sat quietly. Phillip asked Mary if she'd like some more lemonade and she said, "No thank you." He poured himself some. There didn't seem to be much more to say.

"Are you telling the truth?"

"I'll take you to her place and let her tell you herself. You can meet her wife."

Mary sighed.

"I'm sorry." She sighed again and stared down into her lap. "I guess I screwed that up, didn't I?

"Literally."

"I'm sorry. But... how? How did you know about us?"

Phillip shrugged.

"Just by chance. Monday night classes had been cancelled and I saw you two together, so I followed you to the restaurant." He shrugged again. "To his apartment. The next night I cancelled my Tuesday class and waited for something to happen. That was about it. It didn't take much planning on my part. I guess I'm surprised your PI didn't notice me following you."

"If I was with Eric, I'd already gotten the report." She laughed harshly into her hand and shook her head. "And I guess you saw us our very first time. But why didn't you tell me? Confront me? You could have done that. You could have called me a whore and set me straight on Allison Watts. You could have. I'd have begged you to reconcile. You let me tell you to leave and you just disappeared. You never came by, not even to yell at me. You didn't even come to court. You were never there... and you hadn't been for so long. My missing husband! Only there to stalk me!"

"Okay. Look. Let's step back a bit. This is us. You attack and I attack and you attack and I attack..."

"And never the twain shall meet." They both smiled for the first time.

"So. Maybe we can do a little better. Shit. I'll start. Let me admit something. You were first, but if you'd waited just a bit, I'd have been first. It wouldn't have been long. Hell, if Allison had been straight, I'd have been working hard on her. Let's just say we're about equally at fault on that part."

Mary gave another smile, a tiny one. "Okay."

*****

"And why I never came by?" Phillip moved his lips around like he always did when he was thinking. "Because then I'd have to see you." He paused and moved his lips around again. "I didn't want to have to see you. And for what? You were cheating and my marriage was over. Then I was cheating back. So, what were we going to do, just call each other names? The same with court. I wasn't there because I'd have to see you. Anyway, you claimed irreconcilable differences and the settlement wasn't terrible. If it had been 'adultery' I would have fought to protect Allison's name, though I didn't know until just now that you thought it was her."

He considered the situation. It didn't seem so long ago anymore.

"I thought you meant Elle. She was my first, ah, partner, right after you started with Eric. I wondered how you found out about her so fast, but now it makes sense. But whoever you thought it was, if you'd filed for adultery, I'd have fought it and probably countersued. Anyway. Back on the subject. 'Irreconcilable differences' seemed about right and didn't implicate anyone, so I thought it best to just fade away." He played out the word 'fade.'

Mary asked him the question that had brought her here, asked him in a small voice, "Do you still think our differences were irreconcilable?" Phillip just stared at her again.

"I'm not the one who filed. What do you think?"

"I don't know. I just don't know."

*****

"Why were you going to do it?" She asked. "With your 'Elle?' Before you knew about Eric?"

"Because all men are dogs."

"Dogs?"

"Yeah. Well, I'd spent the better part of our marriage trying not to be a dog. It wasn't easy. Then, I wasn't getting any at home..." Mary started to interject. "Wait. Stop. Let me finish my statement and then I'll let you have yours. Let's try it."

"Okay."

"Okay. Let's just say... for evenhandedness... that there was no sex at home. Okay? Okay. We can agree on that. And I was straining at the bit. It was going to happen. When I discovered you and Eric Assho-... Eric Ascensio, I told myself 'fuck it'... sorry... and a few nights later I stayed over at Elle's house. It happened just like that. Boom! And when did you start saying 'fuck'?"

"Eric used it. It sounded bold."

"Well, don't use it around me. It's not becoming."

"And who the fuck are you to be telling me how I should talk?"

"Oh Jesus! Here we go again. All right, talk any way you want. But please don't use it around me. As a courtesy. Okay?"

"Okay. I apologize. Just don't try to be so bossy. And if I'm going to stop using it, will you stop saying 'shit?'"

"I'll try. All right. Are we okay to continue? All right. Your turn."

"All right. So, before we start shouting again, let me say Eric didn't cause the end of our sex. It was you." Phillip was going to object, but she stared him down. "You wouldn't touch me. I kept waiting and you kept not being there! Anyway, Eric was holding my hand because my marriage was going to hell. But he wasn't gay, and one thing led to another. When I found... I thought... I'm so sorry... that you were cheating, I let it happen. I'm sorry, Phil."

"What kind of name is Asensio, anyway?"

"It's Spanish."

"Ohhhhhh."

"Stop that, damn it! He's not a bad guy. He was sweet and helpful, and he was loyal throughout the bad times, and at least he'd listen to me."

"Until he got into your pants!"

"Just stop it! I thought we weren't going to use snark. And I know. I know. I was easy. I was so lonely and frustrated because of you. No. I know what you're going to say. It was because of us. Us! There wasn't an 'us' anymore."

"'Us.' Okay. You're right about that. About no 'us.' But you're not together, you and Eric. How long did it last?"

"After the divorce? Maybe six weeks. I was on the rebound, so a relationship was a mistake. He was looking for a girlfriend, not a commitment, so the breakup was easy. We're actually still friendly. Not like you and me."

"But you want me to play 'husband.'"

"I don't know. That's not what I meant to say either."

*****

"You said it was only him?"

"Surprised?"

"Yeah. Kind of. I thought they'd be lining up to be with you."

"Well, there's quantity and there's quality."

"That's not as much of an issue if you're a guy. It's the dog thing."

"But you were faithful. Until..."

"Yeah. Until. It wasn't easy."

"Then why, if you're part dog? Why were you faithful for so long?"

"You can't figure it out?"

"I mean, until Allison... or I thought it was Allison... it wasn't that hard for me."

"I could certainly tell that!"

She sat up and gave him that stare, the stink eye one. "Just what are you implying?"

"Oh boy. Never mind. Forget it. Let's just move on."

"No! You started to say something, so finish it, damn it!"

"Okay. There's a bad, old joke. A guy says his wife likes sex, especially doggy style. His friend says 'Oh yeah?' and he replies, 'Sure. When I touch her, she rolls over and plays dead.'"

"I. Was. Not. Like. That!"

"It was a joke. A joke! Shit. I'm sorry. Really. I 'm sorry about the joke and about saying... you know. I shouldn't have gone there. I was being snarky again. But." He raised both his hands. "A joke can have some truth. The truth here is that if you didn't initiate the sex, you weren't... enthusiastic. And you initiated it less and less. And then... never."

"That's not true!"

"It's true. I'm really not being snarky. I learned it over time."

She sat quietly then, pensively, looking down into her lap again, her hands folded, bringing things up in her mind. Just thinking.

"Oh, fuck. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that. But, was I really that bad?"

"I'm the one who needs to apologize. I shouldn't have said anything."

"No. It's just that Eric said the same thing. About my initiating. Not those words. I'm sorry Phil. Not for the end. Toward the end I didn't initiate because I was mad so much. And when I wasn't mad, I was usually peeved. I'm sorry for before that. I never realized. And you never said anything."

"What? What do you tell your wife, 'Hey honey don't just lie there?'"

"If I'm not... I know if I'm not already in the mood, it takes time for me to get warmed up. I don't know. I don't recall your taking time with me. I don't know. If I knew... it would be something we could work on. I mean me and a partner. I don't know. I wish I'd known."

*****

The sun was low enough that its rays came through the living room window, across the floor, and into the dinette. It would soon be time for Mary to leave.

"You know, Mar? I'm glad we've had this conversation. For the most part. It's the best one we've had in... it's over a year."

"A lot longer."

"Maybe..."

"What?"

"I'm glad we've had it. Maybe..."

"Just say it, Phil!"

"I will. It's just hard to admit. When we were first together, you were so hot. So often. When things cooled down... maybe I could have tried harder. You know, played with you more. Maybe played with you and not even worried about the sex. Of course, there's always that dog thing. Anyway, it's not all on you. I'm sorry we ended like that. And I'm sorry I pulled away so much."

"I thought you were out running around. It's why I hired the investigator."

"I was still resisting the dog."

"Why?"

"You can't guess? No, you can't guess. Well, I didn't help on that score."

"Why weren't you running around? I know I wasn't helping."

"It was because I was trying to keep my commitment. And because I still loved you. I had a little hope until I saw you and Eric together."

Mary stopped breathing entirely. Then she took yet another large breath. She reached a hand across the little dinette table to Phillip's cheek and he held it there.

"Oh, Phil."

"Jesus, Mar. I cheated because you cheated because you thought I was cheating because your investigator followed Allison and me right before I'd actually have begun cheating. With probably the one woman I'd never cheat with. And all because we fought so much and so hard. We're just twisted, Mar. I thought if I stayed out more, stayed away, we could cool down. And I was a coward about the fighting. Turns out it wasn't a very good strategy."

"Can I say we had a fucked-up marriage?"

"Yeah. I think that's pretty accurate. I'm sorry I was such a fucked-up husband." He took her hand and kissed it.

"I'm sorry I was such a shitty wife."

"But Mar. About the husband thing. I don't think I could do that. Not now. Not after everything."

"Oh. Oh. No. Of course not. I'm sorry. I was just talking. I didn't mean anything. Of course you couldn't. Well, I should be going."

"Maybe..."

"It's okay. I understand. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to keep you."

"Wait, Mar. Wait. I'm not being clear. Oh, God, I'm such a dope! What I mean is... maybe we could just go out to dinner or something?"

"Dinner? I'd like that."

"I could come over to pick you up. Maybe 6:30? We could talk some more. No commitments. Just a date."

"A date? I'd like a date with you."

"And anyway. Anyway. If the dating worked out, maybe we could see a counselor or something?"

Mary rose and walked around the dinette table. Phillip stood and Mary raised a hand to his cheek again and stood on tip toes and kissed him. Or they kissed each other. Their first real kiss in over a year.

End.