Allison’s alarm was far too insistent and way too early. Even the morning sun seemed sleepy as it seeped through the curtains. I blinked myself back to consciousness. I heard a long loud groan and rolled over. Emily looked back at me, her faced pained.
“I think I drank too much,” she said.
“I know you did,” I said.
I heard noises coming from the bed behind us. Mike and Allison were also slowly waking up. Two pairs of feet landed on the floor and loped off to the bathroom together. The shoji-style door slid closed with a rumble. The shower rushed on. I was pretty sure the two of them were talking, but between the thick door and the heavy water, I couldn’t clearly hear the words.
“Wait, did I kiss Jack?” Emily asked. But something about the way she said it made it clear she already knew the answer. “Fuck. I screwed up.”
Emily’s admission didn’t shock me, though the curse word kind of did. My wife wasn’t naive, but she didn’t cuss all that often, either. The casual nature of the word in conversation was yet another strange event in a recent succession of them.
“And you kissed Allison,” Emily said, abruptly accusatory.
I nodded. I mean, it had been a quick peck, but still. She’d also grabbed my groin (and Emily had felt up Jack), but I didn’t feel like it was worth reexamining the entire evening.
“I’m sorry,” I said. I’d been married long enough to know when it was time to whip out the magic words, even if I didn’t mean them.
“Everything that happened, it felt so scary and wrong,” Emily said, “But it also was so much fun because of that, too.” She giggled, then groaned. “Stupid brain. Anyway, it was neat. Different. I’m not saying we should be one of ‘those’ couples.”
I knew she meant Cassie and Jack. Their confession about an ‘open’ marriage had stuck with all of us.
“But it was exciting,” Emily said. “If we saw them again, I mean while we’re here on vacation. It wouldn’t be so bad, right?”
I wanted to debate it, but I’d be arguing against myself. While seeing Emily around Jack made me nervous, I had to concede it was exciting, too. Not to mention my own fun of flirting with Allison. A wide smile spread across my wife’s face.
“Oooh, you liked it, too, didn’t you?” Emily said, like she’d had a revelation. “Do you have a crush on my work friend?”
I shrugged.
“You do,” Emily said, “I can see it, sort of. Blonde and tall.” Emily looked down at herself — petite and brunette. “A little variety, maybe?”
I shook my head, no. It was nothing like that.
“It’s OK,” Emily said, “I’m not mad at all. Maybe a little jealous? But maybe that’s part of the fun of it, too. Look, I love our marriage. Our life. But sometimes…”
“It’s nice,” I said, “To do something different.”
“I’m sorry about the ‘kids’ thing at dinner,” Emily said. It was a sore subject for the both of us, so I was amazed that she even brought it up. I guess she really was feeling badly about everything. “I know you want them, and I do, too. Truly. Eventually I’ll stop taking the pill and we’ll start a family. And maybe… Well, maybe this might be a way where I could start to feel more ready for things like that. You know?”
I nodded. As a promise it was more of a muddle, but I understood what Emily was saying. She wasn’t ready to be a mom, she’d said that to me many times. A week like this one, where Emily was free to act not her age, I could see how that might help her feel better about everything that was holding her back.
“It’s weird, but everything that’s happened makes me feel closer to you,” Emily said, “More connected.”
“I will order the massage oils and silk robes,” I said, pretending to sigh in exasperation.
“Nothing like that,” Emily said, “Just little things, like last night. If it even happens again. Which it probably won’t.”
I nodded my agreement. The evening had been enjoyable. But even if I didn’t want things to continue, I didn’t feel like I could tell my wife ‘no.’ I knew she’d resent me if I did. Especially after her revelation that she’d only ever been with me.
So, better to agree and be the good husband. The one who trusted his wife not to take things too far. And what was the big deal, really? Were we going to be having wild, six-person orgies in Disney? I doubted it.
I heard a rumble as the bathroom door opened and Mike stepped back out. He had a towel wrapped around his waist, his blond hair dripping. He gave us a nod hello, then started digging through his suitcase.
“Allison’s going to want us to get going pretty quickly so we can rope drop,” Mike said.
Emily sat straight up and gave Mike a confused look, like a dog hearing a new command. Fortunately, she was still in her cover-up from the night before, so she wasn’t giving him a show.
“Sorry, I forgot you guys don’t know the lingo,” Mike said, “Rope drop means we get to the park before it opens. It’s the best way to beat the crowds for the rides.”
“What about breakfast?” Emily asked.
Mike responded by reaching into his bag and tossing two granola bars onto the bed. I realized he was serious. I forced myself to get up. I wanted a shower before we headed out; I felt gross with all the hot tub chlorine hanging off of me.
“Allison’s in the first one,” Mike said, as I stumbled past him towards the bathrooms. I’d thought it was strange that our room had two different showers, but for the second time I was truly appreciating it.
As I went down the short hallway, I thought about what I’d learned the night before. What Emily and I had agreed to.
Like I said, our marriage had reached the point where everything was expected. Routine. I wouldn’t say we were in a rut, but then not much had changed in the past seven years, either.
If I was Emily’s only experience with intercourse, I could understand her becoming curious about what might have been. And if a little experimentation led her to feeling better about a family…
So, yes, I was fine with Emily getting a little flirty. And, if I was honest with myself, I didn’t mind moving things forward with Allison if given the chance. But I told myself it was Emily’s thing to drive, not mine. I’d let my wife lead the way and, if nothing else happened beyond our hot tub adventure, I would be OK with that, too.
However, I was pretty sure we’d already reached the end. We weren’t going to keep running into Cassie and Jack in a theme park filled with thousands of people. And I couldn’t imagine things escalating beyond what we’d already done. I was fantasizing about my wife’s married best friend for God’s sake. What did I think was going to happen? I shook my head, wincing at my own silliness.
I walked up to the second bathroom door and slid it open. The air was fogged, and I guess my brain was too, because I didn’t put it together immediately.
Then Allison shrieked.