On Wednesdays, we pound wine. By six o’clock, my wife and I are three or four glasses deep six depending on who you ask), as we lie in bed, our bodies a half-foot apart. There is no talking between us, for there is nothing left to say.
Silence has become the dog at the foot of our bed, a creature we’ve come to accept as the glue that keeps us together. Once we’re loose and ready, we shimmy out of our clothes and lazily fiddle with each other’s genitals. It always starts this way.
Ten minutes and a seventh glass later, I’m inside her. Missionary position, of course. There isn’t much else nowadays. She groans with each thrust while the mound of my belly flattens her into the bed. I can see that she’d like to comment on my recent weight gain but stops herself. She knows there’s no point. Instead, she tries to spur me on by whispering sweet, filthy nothings into my ear, but, as we both know, dirty talk is hardly her forte.
I close my eyes, thinking about someone else to stop myself from going soft.
The young blonde with the pert breasts and forever puckered lips from the office, Alicia, comes to mind. I close my eyes and pump faster, dominating. I feel like a God.
A sweaty, disgusting God.
But neither of us have ever been religious so she doesn’t expect much. A few pitiful pumps rob me of my breath and leave me helpless as I lie on top of her. She rolls her eyes and squeezes out from underneath me.
As I suck in air by the mouthful, I ask her if she came.
“Yes,” she says, lying as always. “How about you?”
“Of course, I did,” I say, still dreaming of Alicia. “That was amazing. It always is.” We smile and peck each other on the lips before inching back over to our respective sides of the bed. She flips open a book in which she never seems to make progress while I pull out a years-old crossword puzzle that I still haven’t figured out.
After a few minutes of gnawing on the pen and coming up short, I decide that I’m too tired to pretend tonight. I kill the lamp on my bedside table and get comfortable under the covers, knowing I’ll sleep well for once.
Until a soft, timid voice floats through the darkness and says, “Good night honey. Tell Alicia I said hello tomorrow.”
Bình luận