Joe Wheeler loaded the damp laundry from the washer, into a plastic, laundry basket, and carried it out to the backyard, with only one rueful, sidelong glance at the unused clothes dryer next to the washer. In the yard, next door, Charley Ferguson and his son, Bud, were raking early fall leaves. Joe nodded coolly, but didn't say 'Hi' or wave. He and Charley used to be good friends, but lately things had changed. They used to go camping together, in the fall, but last fall, Joe hadn't been able to make it. It was Nancy's busy season at work.
 
In the yard, Joe used a stepladder to hang the washing on a jury-rigged clothes line. Joe kept meaning to build a more permanent and substantial clothes line, but he had fallen into the habit of putting things off. Nancy thought that clothes seemed much fresher, if they were line dried in the sun, rather than by machine, and Joe usually did his best to please his wife, these days. Joe really couldn't notice that sun dried clothes were any different than any others, and he didn't look too happy at the chore.

"Heck of way to spend Sunday afternoon! Better than being at work, though, I guess?" Joe really detested his present job as a  bookkeeper, at a large auto dealership. He used to be the top selling salesman on the lot. They called him 'Joe the Wheel' and everybody knew him.

Now he was just 'whatchamacallit', you know, that guy who does the books!"

Joe noticed Charley put down his rake, and go into the back door of the Ferguson house.

"Game must be startling!" Joe though wistfully. He remembered how he liked to spend Sunday afternoon, watching the game, in the den, and maybe smoking a cigar or two. Course. he didn't smoke in the house, anymore. Nancy said it was a nasty habit, and she'd reminded him that cigars were kind of expensive. Now, that she made considerably more money than Joe, he was sensitive about that kind of thing. Of course, when he'd been selling, Joe had made as much as, or more, than Nancy was making now, but he barely made half that now. 

Just then, Joe and Nancy's thirteen year old daughter, Jill, came into the yard to practice her gymnastics.

"How about giving me a hand hanging these clothes, Honey?" Joe suggested, not too hopefully.
 
"No! Mom said I should practice! You're almost done, anyway, Joe!" 

Joe winced. Jill had started calling him by his first name, a while back, and it annoyed him. He'd called her on it, a few times. At first, she said. "Aw yeah, forgot!", but the next day would do it again. After a few days, she just laughed, when Joe mentioned it, and ignored him. He'd given up on it!

He might like to 'order' the spoiled brat to help with the clothes, but if her mother told her to practice gymnastics, he didn't want to get into a row with Nancy, right now. He had something important to discuss with her.

Joe had been trying all weekend to think of the best way to broach the subject to his wife. He wanted her in a good mood. Friday, Sam Winston, the owner of the auto agency, had come into his cubicle.

"Jesus Joe! What the hell do you want to do this for? I can get a good bookkeeper anywhere, but top salesmen are a lot harder to find! You were my ace salesman! How about getting back out on the lot? There's still a lot of customers coming in, asking for you by name! I see too many of them wander over to the dealership across the street, when they find out you're not selling, anymore!"

"Aw Geeze, Sam, I'd love to, but Nancy's awfully busy, at work, these days, and needs me at home!"

Sam frowned, but said nothing. At one time he thought of Joe and Nancy, almost like a son and daughter. Now he thought to himself: "Red haired witch!"

Still frowning, he went on. "Well we could work out more flexible hours, maybe! Don't give me an answer, right now! Think on it, over the weekend, and we'll talk about it some more, on Monday! You know Ned Olson's thinking of retiring as sales manager! Couple of years ago, there'd been no question who'd replace him! You might still get in the running, if you give me the right answer, Monday!"

Sam turned on his heel and left the cubicle.

Joe wanted desperately to accept the offer. He loved selling cars, not to put something over on customers, but because he really enjoyed getting people into the right car they could afford. It was the reason he'd built up such a loyal group of repeat buyers. He might never get another chance. He didn't do much without Nancy's approval, though, and he dreaded what she'd say. He'd  put off mentioning it all weekend. 

Joe didn't want to think about THAT, right now, not when he wanted to ask something from Nancy! It was a painful raw wound, Joe would give anything to forget it, but it was always there. He tried to keep his mind focused on hanging the clothes, but involuntarily, once again, as they had so many times, his thoughts were drawn back to that night, when things first changed, between he and Nancy, and what came after...

As they were undressing for bed, Nancy glanced at her husband's body.

"A little out of shape, aren't you Champ?" Nancy challenged, laughingly.

Joe had played football in College, and was still kind of proud of his strong physique. It was true,  lately he hadn't been exercising as much as he used to, because of his busy work schedule. Still he managed to get in some workouts, and hadn't thought he was really in bad shape. Of course, he had kind of noticed that Nancy's sleek, shapely form looked especially toned these days. She'd always kept herself in good shape, of course, and had a really great figure. Tonight, though, as he looked at her, Joe realized just how buff, Nancy had gotten; her tight abdomen was ridged firmer than his.
 
Nancy went on laughing. "If you don't watch out, I'll be stronger than you!"

"That'll be the day!" Joe laughed, maybe a little nervously. Much as he loved Nancy, something about the thought of his wife being stronger than he was, disturbed Joe.

"Yeah? Well, I bet even now, you'd have a tough time pinning me!" Nancy laughed, smugly.

Joe felt a sudden need to reassert his masculinity. "Well let's see?" He laughed, and grabbed his wife by the shoulders, planning to throw her down on the bed.

Nancy's body tensed, as Joe sought to throw her down. She moved like a graceful stalk of grain in the wind, adjusting to his pressure. The last time they fooled around like this, Joe enjoyed the feel of his wife's soft, yielding flesh in his hands, but tonight, her shapely curves had an underlying steely caliber, he didn't remember.

Joe bent forward to get more leverage, and Nancy slid her arms around his chest. With a supple twist, she used Joe's own momentum to toss him over her hip. Instead of landing on the bed, Joe made hard landing on the floor.

"Oops! Sorry! A little trick I learned in self defense class!" Nancy chortled, very pleased with herself, and not sounding sorry at all.

"Oh, you'll pay for that!" Joe manged to laugh, but underneath he a was little miffed,
 
"Will I? Don't count on it, Champ!" Nancy said confidently, and as Joe started to get up, she grabbed his wrist and elbow and twisted.

Joe tried to break the hold, by turning on his left side, but Nancy plopped down on the small of his back. She let her whole body weight drop hard, and the impact left Joe breathless. Nancy's sturdy body pinned him to the floor.

This was getting out of hand!

Joe struggled to get free, but Nancy shoved his arm higher up his back.

"Lie still!" Nancy ordered her husband, in no uncertain terms. She was hardly laughing any more! She didn't threaten, but Joe heard the throaty menace in her voice, and resented her tone of smug authority. He didn't like his wife giving him orders. 

Joe put everything he had into his wild struggle to get loose. He nearly bucked free, but Nancy grabbed two fingers of his trapped arm, and bent them backward.

"Lie still, I TOLD you!" Nancy ordered again, and this time the hard edge in her voice really sounded dangerous. Joe gasped at the sharp pain.

Getting mad, Joe resentfully tried to lever himself up with his left hand, but with the painful grip on his fingers, Nancy kept control his of right arm, with just one hand. With her other hand, she jerked Joe's left arm, out from under him. 

Joe flopped, face first, back on the floor, as Nancy twisted his left arm behind his back, too. A second later, she'd caught two fingers of that hand, and slid his left arm up his back, until it joined his right arm, in a very painful double hammerlock.

Joe managed one last doomed effort, to shove himself up on his knees, by pressing his face and head against the floor. Nancy just raised her butt a little higher, and slammed it down on his back, flattening him again. That hurt! Although, at first glance, she appeared slim, Nancy had a really substantial behind, with noticeably jutting, quite muscular, buns. Luckily her trim waist, and large, high-set breasts, were in balance, giving her a pleasing, hourglass silhouette. Joe never thought her butt was THAT solid and well-muscled, though.

Every  time Joe tried to get loose, Nancy rammed his arms up another agonizing half inch. Her slim, tense arms were irresistible, never easing the pressure. Joe's own arms were much stronger, and maybe he could have gotten loose, if she didn't have his fingers bent that way. Whichever way he turned, Nancy jammed his arms the other way. She bounced that solid bottom up and down on his kidneys, continually.  Joe's arms and shoulders ached, more than they ever had in his life, and became so numb, he could hardly move them.

Arms totally immobilized, Joe kicked his legs wildly, until they were just too tired to kick any more. By then, his abdomen ached as much, as his arms from the constant struggle.

Sitting confidently astride Joe's middle, with both his arms shoved up to his shoulder blades, a crafty smile on her lovely face. Nancy rode her husband, until he was completely exhausted and gasping loudly for breath. Nancy didn't bend his fingers, or twist his arms dangerously, but there was enough pain, that Joe had no choice, now, but to lie still. 

Joe hated having his wife out-wrestle and dominate him like this. It was the most humiliating thing that ever happened to him, but he realized it had given him a tremendous erection. It made his humiliation all the worse. 

"Had enough?" Nancy asked after what seemed an eternity.

"Yes, yes, okay..." Joe muttered, nearly inaudibly. 

"Can't quite hear you! Say 'uncle' and, so I can HEAR it!" Nancy cackled.

Joe hesitated, and Nancy twisted his bent fingers, a little harder.
 
"Ow, oww...UNCLE..." Joe yelped, in misery.

Nancy let go, and stood up, her face flushed with excitement.

It took Joe a little longer, to stumble painfully to his feet. When he did, he hung his head sheepishly, unable to look Nancy in the face. 

"Want to make it two out of three, or should we hop right into bed?" Nancy said huskily. "That really made me hot!" Nancy could plainly see by Joe's erect penis, that being dominated that way, by a girl, had excited him too.

It seemed unbelievable, that Nancy had completely, almost effortlessly out-wrestled and dominated him, so disastrously. Like something in a bad dream! Jesus, was he a total wimp? Was it a fluke? Maybe...? Joe realized he was afraid to find out the answer. He never felt like such a total loser!

"Yeah, let's go to bed!" Joe mumbled, ashamed of his cowardice; he knew he was scared he'd get beat, and see that contemptuous smirk on Nancy's face, again. He WAS incredibly horny, though.

Joe climbed into bed beside Nancy, although not with quite the same enthusiasm as his beautiful, red haired wife. 

When Joe took her in his arms, almost reluctantly, Nancy wrapped her arms around him tightly, and pressed her mouth against his, and began a long, passionate, french kiss. For a moment, Joe forgot his shame, and reluctance, and returned the kiss, with equal passion.

As she kissed her husband, Nancy began twisting and wiggling. The intense kiss made Joe giddy, and he hardly noticed the way Nancy was wriggling, until suddenly he found himself lying on his back, with Nancy straddling his thighs.

"Lets try something different, tonight!" Nancy whispered, seductively, in Joe's ear.

Their love life had been getting a little stale lately, and Joe knew he hadn't been THIS excited in a long time. He was, more than a little, afraid he couldn't roll Nancy off, even if he tried. She'd grabbed hold of his wrists, and had them pressed to the bed above his head, as she rubbed her breasts against his chest. He could hardly move his arms. It was certainly sexy, but scary, to know his wife could effortlessly keep him under her control, so masterfully.

 Joe mumbled. "Yeah, okay! Whatever you say; guess your the 'boss' tonight!"

"Oouu, yeah!" Nancy cooed. "I like the sound of that!"

Nancy did most of the work, riding her husband like a bronco buster, she came twice, before Joe ejaculated.  Maybe she'd done all the work, but even though Joe was exhausted, Nancy was just getting started.

"C'mon, Champ! I'm still horny as hell!" She cooed, and mounted him again.

Joe didn't try to resist, but submissively let Nancy take charge. 

After that, they treated it as a joke; that Nancy won a playful little, wrestling match against her husband. At least Nancy treated it like a joke; Joe would have preferred to avoid the subject entirely, if Nancy let him. Joe honestly didn't think it was very funny. He hated remembering, that he was totally under Nancy's control, and how awfully easy it was for her to get him there. He suspected she could do it again, anytime she wanted to.  The little, veiled hints, Nancy dropped, seemingly by accident, made Joe think she had no doubt, she could, either. 

The subject embarrassed Joe, no end, and the thought of anybody else knowing gave him shivers down his spine. One night in bed, Joe asked Nancy to swear she'd never tell ANYONE!

"Don't worry, Hon! It'll be our little secret!" Nancy whispered, patting Joe's behind. It seemed kind of like she was humoring a sensitive child.

Though they didn't engage in any more wrestling, their nightly love making seemed to take a definite new turn. Up until then, they had rarely engaged in anything but the usual "missionary position". Now, Nancy was more aggressive, taking the lead, and trying new things.

One night, Nancy crouched down over Joe, her silky, red hair brushing his body, and took Joe's penis in her mouth, and sucked it, passionately. Joe had to admit, he'd never felt anything quite like that before. Maybe this wasn't so bad, after all!
 
The next night though, Nancy said. "How about you do me, tonight?"

"What d'ya mean?" Joe asked, genuinely puzzled.

"Well, I went down on you last night! How about YOU returning the favor?" Even though she'd done it first, Nancy's tone sounded like, she was telling him, instead of asking, and she had gotten pretty bossy in bed, lately; and not ONLY in bed.

Joe was kind of uneasy, at the idea!

"Aww gee, Honey, I couldn't do that!" He replied blushing.

Joe knew some guys did it, and thought it was terrific. From time to time, he'd wondered what it would be like. Maybe, if he'd had more time to think about it? Tonight, he just couldn't bring himself, to try it. He felt guilty, of course, knowing Nancy HAD done it for him, the night before. Maybe, too, if he thought she was asking? It was humiliating to know he was kind of afraid of his own wife, and maybe, it was a way to assert himself, again.

"All right, all right!" Nancy snorted, clearly miffed. That night, their love making was more perfunctory. Nancy didn't seem too interested, and Joe had the feeling, she faked an orgasm, to get it over with. 

Things were a little stained for a few days, but gradually got back to normal, although their love making never reached the same intensity, it had there for a while. Joe felt guilty. He was almost going to try it, but somehow never got around to it.

There seemed to be a wall growing between them. Nancy appeared harder, and less affectionate. She became bossier, out of bed, too. More than ever she slyly reminded Joe, that she out-wrestled him, a lot more than seemed necessary. Joe cringed each time she did. He knew she didn't WANT him to forget it. When Joe would cringe, Nancy 'innocently' looked the other way.

Back when they were college sweethearts, Nancy used to call him her 'brave knight,' sometimes, when he did something right on the football field, because she knew he was only doing it to impress her. She always made a joke, of it, like she did everything, but the way she'd look at him, when she said it, kind of made him feel like a brave knight. Every once in a while during their married life, when he did something for her, she'd look at him like that, and he'd feel ten feet tall. Now, the looks she gave him, made him feel about ten inches tall, but of course Joe didn't feel very much like a brave knight. Nancy seemed more than able to slay her own dragons, him included.

One day, Joe was trying, unsuccessful to unscrew a jar, when Nancy assertively took it out of his hands.

"Here, let me help ya, 'Champ'!" She laughed, as she effortlessly unscrewed it, and handed it back to him. "Here ya go, 'Champ'!"

She was getting into the habit of calling him 'Champ" more and more, and Joe was sure there was always a sneering undertone in her voice.

Nancy had been working, part time until a few months ago when she got a chance to go full time.

One night, at dinner, Nancy said. "Joe, now that I'm working full time, do you think, MAYBE you could do a little more around the house to help out"
 
"Well, I'd like to Honey, but you know my work schedule! It's all hours! I never seem to get the chance!"

"I was thinking about that!" Nancy replied. "I heard that bookkeeping job is open at the sales room, and you did take accounting in College?"
 
"Bookkeeping? Jesus Nancy! That only pays half what I'm making now! Anyway, you know, I never liked accounting that much!"
 
"Yeah, but I'm working full time now! Between us, we'd be doing better than we were on just your pay!"
 
"I dunno?" Joe replied. "I'll think about it!"

"Yeah! Why don't you 'think about' it!" Nancy snorted.
 
Nancy kept bringing up the subject, while Joe tried to duck the issue. He did try to do a few more chores around the house, but evidently not as many as Nancy would like.

Two nights, later, in the bedroom, Nancy brought it up again, when Joe couldn't get away to avoid it!

"Well, have you thought it over?"
 
"You mean the bookkeeping thing! Yeah! I did, Honey, and I don't think its a good idea!" Joe said a little defensively, not in the mood for an argument. It had been a tiring day at work.

"It is kind of the man's place to make the money!" Joe added, sorry he'd said THAT, as soon as the words were out of his mouth.
 
Nancy's face got red. Joe could tell she was furious, madder than he ever remembered seeing her. 

"Well, 'Big Man'!" Nancy snapped, "I'm sick of working full time, and still doing everything around here, too, and I'm sick of nagging you to do anything! I really hate that! How about we settle it another way?"
 
"What d'ya mean? It's already settled!" Joe answered, still on the defensive.

"I'm not HAPPY the way it's settled, though!" Nancy nearly snarled. "I tell you what! How about we see who's 'The Man'? Let's have another 'little' wrestling match? If you can pin me, I'll never mention it again, but if I win, you TAKE that job!" 

"No way!" Joe replied angrily. "That's stupid!"

"Oh! I'm stupid, huh?"
 
"I didn't say you WERE stupid! I said the idea was stupid! You're the one who always says we should settle things by discussing them!" 

"I think you're scared!" Nancy sneered.
 
"I'm not scared!" Joe snapped back. "That night was an accident! You know I could beat the shit out of you, if I ever really wanted to! Geeze, I outweigh you by thirty pounds!"

Though Joe blustered, he wasn't sure at all. It still haunted him, how easily Nancy handled him that other night. Frankly, the idea scared him!
 
"What have you got to lose then, if you're SO tough? All you've got to do is pin me, and the issue's settled!"

As Nancy spoke, she took hold of Joe's arm, and started to twist it.

Joe jumped back, in alarm, pulling loose from Nancy's strong grip, with some difficulty.

"What d'ya think you're doing?" Joe blurted out, nervously, backing away from his wife. "I don't want to fight you, for real!"

Nancy ignored his protest. The fiery glint in her eyes was intimidating, as she followed her husband, like a cat stalking a mouse. Joe kind of felt like a nervous mouse.

Joe put up his hands placatingly. "C'mon Nancy this is no way to..."

-SMACK- "Be the 'man', IF you can!"

Before Joe could finish his protest, Nancy slapped him across the face with her open palm. Joe's' head snapped to the side. He felt a stinging pain, but that sneering jibe hurt even more.

"Goddamn it! That's enough! Don't you DARE ever hit me again!" Joe snarled, furiously.

"What are YOU gonna do about it? We both know you're scared of me!" Nancy taunted.

"All right, you little BITCH, I'll fight you!" Joe snarled, knowing Nancy would give him no choice. 

"WHAT did you call me?" Nancy snarled back. Her green eyes narrowed, dangerously.

"I'll teach you to call ME a 'bitch', you BASTARD!" Nancy cried furiously, as she came at Joe, menacingly. 

Joe grabbed his wife around the shoulders, as much to fend her off, as to try to throw her. Nancy locked her arms around his chest. They struggled silently. Toned as Nancy was now, Joe was still stronger, and a lot bigger. Joe's height and weight advantage, and greater strength, weren't enough to throw the shapely redhead down. She always anticipated his next move by a split second. Her flexible body moved with him, rather than against him, offsetting his efforts, and always keeping him off balance.

Joe used all his strength, but the harder he tried, the less good it did him. Nancy just moved with him, like his shadow. As Joe strained, without warning, Nancy slipped her leg behind his, and with a supple twist threw him down on the floor.

Joe hit the floor, with Nancy on top of him. He tried to roll her off. Nancy let him twist his body, until he was partially on his side. Then like springing a trap, she snaked her thighs around his middle, locking her ankles together. When Joe tried to push her away, she grabbed two finger of his right hand, one in each hand. That other time, when she'd got hold of his fingers, she'd bent them painfully, but was careful not to go too far. Tonight, in her fury, she didn't seem to care if she broke them. Joe screamed in pain.

When Joe tried to take a deep breath, he found Nancy's slim, strong thighs were coiled around him like pythons, crushing his middle. He gasped, unable to breathe. Holding her husband by the fingers, so he couldn't maneuver, Nancy stiffened her legs, and her thighs cut into his belly and back like steel cables.

Joe was caught in a vice, that was splitting him in half. His overtaxed trunk muscles quickly gave out. Feeling his resistance evaporate, Nancy tensed furiously, putting her whole body into squeezing her relentless thighs, with convulsive, excruciating jerks.

"Oww...Nan...(gasp)...for Christ's sake..." Joe whimpered hardly able to speak. A minute later, Joe couldn't even talk, he was gagging and gasping so badly for breath. His body collapsed, limply, unable to resist anymore. Nancy gave his body one more of those awful, convulsive squeezes, this one the worst yet. Joe nearly passed out.

Nancy climbed off her gurgling, gasping husband, for the moment, anyway. Able to take a breath, Joe floundered around trying to get up, but he couldn't move. Nancy looked down at him, a contemptuous sneer on her lips.

Nancy reached down, grabbed Joe by the hair, and pulled him to a sitting position. Still holding him up by the hair, she slid behind, and sat down. Letting go of his hair, she pulled his large muscular arm, painfully behind his back, and held it with one hand, while she wrapped her strong legs around his middle, her feet between his legs. She locked her free arm around his neck choking him.

Using her own svelte legs as levers, Nancy spread Joe's muscular thighs agonizingly far apart, until his whole groin area hurt like hell, and his scrotum and anus were on fire. His choked gasps of pain were nearer sobs. Nancy ruthlessly tortured him, until Joe was close to passing out, again.  When she felt him go limp again, Nancy jumped to her feet.

Joe flopped over on his back. Free for the moment, he panted to get his breath, scared shitless of what might be coming next. The room was going round in circles, as Joe tried to get his bearings. He knew he couldn't fight anymore; he was well beyond that.  If he could have gotten up, he would have fled in terror, from the red haired vixen he'd married.

Before Joe could escape, Nancy flung herself across his chest, a tigress pouncing on her prey. Her whole body weight crashed down, and flattened him. As she rolled on top, Nancy locked her heels, together, under the small of Joe's back. As Nancy pressed her body weight down on his upper body, she had all the leverage, and Joe had none, not that it would have done him much good, now. Nancy grabbed Joe's wrists. She could hardly get her small hands around his thick wrists.

Joe uselessly tried to pull his arms free, but he couldn't get them loose from those tiny hands. Joe's powerful arm muscles bulged as he tried to prevent Nancy pinning his wrists to the floor. He might as well have saved his strength. Nancy's slender girlish arms relentlessly pinned his arms down by the side of his head. 

Joe thrashed and kicked, frantically, but couldn't get loose. He'd stopped trying to fight back, long ago; he was just convulsively acting from mindless fear. As Nancy held him down, she mashed her sizable breasts against his face. There was a time, he would have loved having those gorgeous boobs, rubbing against his face, but now they were frightening weapons of feminine power. No matter which way Joe twisted, Nancy just shifted her weight, a little the other way, and rode down his frantic efforts.

Holding Joe down with very little effort on her part now, Nancy concentrated on her rib crushing scissors. She'd already nearly caved in his back and belly, with the first scissors; now she was doing the same thing to his sides and ribs.

The pressure of her tightly muscled legs never let up, and Joe couldn't get his breath. Those threatening boobs pressed down on his face didn't help matters, any, of course. 

Her total mastery over Joe was like heady wine to Nancy, maybe disturbing in a way, but...

Oh Gosh! It was so incredibly easy, and so thrilling, to completely dominate her own husband like this!

"Not even trying to fight back! Guess he likes it? THIS must be what he REALLY wants from me!" Nancy told herself, in justification, for the guilt, troubling her.

In fact, Joe HATED it! He would have been all too happy to fight back, if he had anything left to fight back with, but his wife had nearly destroyed him. This wasn't like that other time when Nancy pinned him. That night, even if it was an embarrassing revelation, to find out Nancy could out-wrestle him, he'd been able to tell himself, it was only a sexily exciting game. This was NO game! Tonight, was scarily, brutally real!

There was no question, that Nancy had accomplished her objective. She could have little doubt, herself. By now, Joe would be willing to do anything she told him, no matter how repugnant. He had stopped fighting altogether, and just lay there whimpering like a scared puppy. 

"I should stop now, but..." 

Nancy never thought she was a sadistic bully, but this bewitching feeling of power, was a hard drug to give up.

"Better make absolutely sure!"

In one fluid movement, Nancy pulled her thighs loose from Joe's middle, twisted around facing his feet, and plumped her weighty behind down on Joe's face, locking her thighs around his neck at the same time.

Joe couldn't see or hear, and he could hardly breath. This scissors was even worse than the others. As Nancy locked her ankles together, she lay forward across Joe's stretched-out body.

Joe's head was secured in the hot, wet vice of his wife's crotch. Nancy's thighs, strong as rubber inner tubes, were wrapped around his neck, strangling him, crushing his head. Joe panicked! He had to get loose! She'd kill him! 

In frantic desperation, Joe kicked his legs in the air. Nancy grabbed his legs, and tucked his ankles under her arms. She held Joe's straining legs powerless, straightening a little so her behind settled down on his face. 

Now, Joe had no chance to get loose; he'd only made things worse for himself. Nancy had all the leverage, and could keep him bent double with very little effort on her part. His jack-knifed body, labored and struggled uselessly. In this cramped position, Joe couldn't even suck in the little air, that reached his nose and mouth, through Nancy's all enveloping thighs. Her big, solidly globular buttocks were pressing down on his face too, and his nose was nearly buried between them.

Robbed of air, his useless struggles quickly drained him. He was already weak as a baby, anyway.

Nancy felt the trembling in her husband's legs as they strained uselessly in her strong
capable arms. She shivered in pleasure. 

Almost gleefully, Nancy rode Joe, until he was blacking out from lack of air. Then, she let his legs drop. They fell flat, just lying here, twitching a little. Licking her lips, she surveyed her husband's strong, masculine body, stretched out, and beaten beneath her, for a moment. Then she released Joe's head, and twisted around to sit on his chest.

As Nancy looked down gloating triumphantly into her helpless husband's face, she pinned his
arms under her knees. Oh! It was so easy; Joe had no strength left to resist! He twitched a little, unable to stop her. Joe twisted his head to one side. He couldn't bear looking his triumphant wife in the face. He wanted to cry. His eyes were hot and dry, and it was a struggle to blink back his tears. Mercilessly, Nancy took hold of his chin and twisted his head, so he was forced to look directly up into her face, a frightening face that had become hateful to him. He gulped back a sob.

"You KNOW who's BOSS, now?" Nancy's quiet snarl wasn't a question, but a statement of fact, but she wanted to hear her husband say it!  

"I-I!" Joe choked in another near sob.

That wasn't the right response; Nancy bounced her full body weight up and down on
Joe's half caved-in chest. Joe knew it was useless.

"Y-you're the boss..." It was nearly a sob. 

"And you're going to take the bookkeeping job, AREN'T you?" Again, it wasn't a question.
 
"Y-yes..." This time it was a sob.

"There's one more thing!" Nancy was on fire with greater sexual need, than she ever experienced. Sadism is such a powerful aphrodisiac!

She HAD to have release!

Nancy glanced over her shoulder, and noticed Joe's penis wasn't erect and eager the way it was the other time. It looked shriveled, and as scared as he did.

Well! he HAD to do 'something' for her!

"Guess it's FINALLY your turn to do me tonight!" Nancy said with a cold, merciless tone of authority. She pressed her crotch harder against Joe's face; her panties were sopping wet, and not from sweat.

"Oh Jesus! Not that, too, tonight! Why doesn't the bitch just castrate me?"

Joe looked up at his wife, in mute appeal.
 
In answer, Nancy pulled her wet panties aside, exposing her genitals.

It was Nancy, who looked ten feet tall, sitting astride his chest, glaring down at him. 

Gagging in shame, Joe ate Nancy's pussy, fearfully doing his best to please the cruel, bitch goddess. 

When she was finally satiated, Nancy climbed gracefully to her feet. She looked contemptuously down at her husband, as though he was a spot on the rug.

"All right! We're done, for tonight! You can get in bed now!"

It took Joe a while, to climb painfully to his feet. There were bruises all over his body, and everything hurt.

Joe stood indecisively by the bed. There were tears flowing down his face, mingling with Nancy's cum! If he had the nerve, he'd flee to the guest room. He never wanted to sleep with this terrifying, merciless BITCH, again.

Nancy said to get in bed, though! Joe didn't dare do anything to make her mad, again.

Miserably, shaking like a leaf, snuffling like a little kid, he got into the bed.

Nancy turned off the light, and lay down beside him, in silence. The light out, Joe carefully, fearfully eased away from her, until he was on the edge of the bed, barely clinging to the side...
 
 

Once Joe took the bookkeeping job, he seemed to have no spirit left, at all. Whatever, Nancy suggested, he just went along with. She never actually ordered him to do things, but when she suggested something, Joe didn't dare say 'no'. The thought of Nancy beating him up again, was just too scary to face. He lay awake some nights, in a cold sweat, remembering his face wedged between her strong thighs, his nose up her butt.

Nancy never abused him physically, again, or even threatened to, but of course she didn't have to. In Joe's mind the threat was always there. He flinched fearfully, whenever, Nancy came near him, for weeks after.

Joe's WIFE could beat the shit out of him, any time she wanted to! 

Their sex life hardly existed. To tell the truth, Joe was scared to initiate anything, although sometimes he still looked hungrily at Nancy, unable to deny how gorgeous she was. 

Nancy seemed equally reluctant to take the initiative, but some nights, she'd put her arms around Joe, hopefully. She was always exceptionally gentle, almost timidly so, even seeming to act submissive and kittenish. Joe told himself, THAT was an act, just because she was horny.

Those nights, Joe just let Nancy push him down on the bed, and he'd lie there, while she screwed him. Let her get it OVER with! At least, Nancy never suggested he go down on her again. Maybe she was ashamed, that she had gone too far that night? Joe wouldn't even admit it to himself, but deep down, he knew that, what she did that night was rape. His life was bad enough, without thinking of himself as a male rape victim. Of course, if Nancy told him to, Joe knew he wouldn't dare refuse; he was too scared of her, to do anything else.

One night, when they were done, Nancy seemed to be near tears.

"Jesus Joe! Could you at least pretend to act interested? I'm your wife, and I love you! I'm not THAT bad looking, am I? You could at least look at me once in awhile!" 

Joe had a lump in his throat. He wanted to tell her, he thought she was the most beautiful, exciting woman in the world, but that he was terrified of her!' 

Instead, he mumbled. "Sorry Nan! Guess I was distracted!"
 
"YEAH!" Nancy said and turned the light out, and slid over to the other side of the bed. Joe thought she was crying, but it seemed impossibly hard to believe that HE could hurt HER. 

There were times, Joe wondered if he satisfied Nancy better in bed, maybe she wouldn't be so bitchy.
 
A couple of months after Joe took the book keeping job, Nancy got a big promotion. It meant longer hours for her, but now, she was making more money than Joe, maybe not quite as much as Joe had made as salesman, but a damn sight more than the pittance he got now.

Of course, her longer hours meant Nancy expected him to do more around the house, and it seemed he was already doing most things. But, after all, she was the principal breadwinner, now, and their livelihood depended on HER job.

A few weeks after Joe took the demotion, Charley approached him about their yearly, fall camping trip.

"I don't think I can make it this year, Charley!" Joe replied, sheepishly.

"What's a matter, the 'missus' won't let ya' go?" Charley was just teasing, but Joe's face got red, and even Charley realized he'd hit a nerve.

"I SAID I can't make it this year!" Joe snapped. 

"Geeze Joe, I was only kidding! I didn't mean to' make you mad! Hey! How about I have the wife talk to her? Nancy always listens to Ruthie!"
 
"I said 'no' Charley! Let's forget it, HUH!" Joe snapped, taking out his pent-up misery on Charley. "Christ! Can't you understand English?"

Charley was big bear of a man. He was a good hearted soul. Underneath, he had a heart of gold, but he was inclined to bluster, and say things he didn't really mean. He was always apologetic and contrite afterward, but Joe's attitude kind of pissed him off.
 
"Shit! Fine Joe! I guess we don't need a pussy-whipped wimp, along in the woods anyway!"

Charley really had no idea what a tender nerve he hit. 

Joe's voice was calm and cold. "Get OUT of my house! And don't EVER come back!" He snarled.
 
As Charley trudged home, he could have kicked himself for being such an 'asshole'. A little slow on the uptake, it finally penetrated that what, he said in anger, might be ALL too true. Sure, he knew Nancy had a sharp tongue, but Joe never seemed to mind. He'd always seemed to take it as joke and laughed at her. Now, Joe seemed REALLY scared of her!

"Jesus! Not Joe! The poor guy!"
 
Charley tried to apologize, more than a few times, but Joe just glared, and went the other way.

One Saturday, Joe was in the kitchen, starting dinner, and Nancy and her friend, Liz, were in the living room, talking.

Joe was just as glad, not to be included in the conversation. Liz had an annoying sense of humor and a braying laugh. Joe never quite saw what Nancy saw in her, but always tolerated her, because she was Nancy's best friend in high school. Now, of course, he wouldn't think of questioning her choice of friends.

The water was running, and he couldn't hear the conversation. They were talking low; and anyway, Joe wouldn't want Nancy to think he was spying on her.

"Hey Joe! Would you be a Dear, and bring us some coffee?" Nancy called.

She always asked politely, but Nancy had gotten so used to asking Joe to do things, and having him rush to do them, that she hardly noticed she was doing it, anymore. 

As Joe put the cups down on the coffee table, Liz brayed. "Hey Joe, wanta wrestle? Maybe you can take ME?" 

Nancy's face got red, and she tuned her face away from Joe "Jesus Liz!" she muttered.
 
Joe looked like someone just hit him in the gut, with a two by four. His legs shaking, and his face white, he stumbled out of the room. Back in the kitchen, he leaned against the wall, until his legs stopped shaking. He could hear the rest of the conversation, there.
 
"Geez, Nan I didn't mean..." 

"You STUPID, big-mouthed bitch! You knew I told you that in confidence, because I had to talk to someone about IT! Get the hell out of here!" Nancy hissed.
 
A minute later, the front door slammed, and he heard Nancy mutter "Did it again Nan! Not Liz who's the 'big-mouthed bitch'!" Joe heard what sounded like a sob, after that.

Joe was still shaking, but he started peeling the potatoes.
 
A minute later, Nancy crept into the room. By now her face was ashen, but her eyes were red. 

"Joe, I SWEAR I never meant..." There were tears in her eyes, and she was nearly crying.
 
"Doesn't matter Nancy!" Joe interrupted, speaking harshly to his wife, for a change. "I suppose you've told the whole neighborhood by now, anyway!" 

"Just then, Joe's shaky hand slipped, and the knife he'd picked up instead of the potato peeler, gashed his hand.

Nancy grabbed a towel, and started to put it around his hand.

"Leave it ALONE!" Joe snapped, snatching his bleeding hand away. "It's nothing! I'll run it under the cold water, and it'll be fine!"

As he ran the water on his hand, Nancy watched, fidgeting nervously, tears running down her face, wanting to help, but not daring.

For a brief instant, the shoe was on the other foot. Nancy looked so pathetically sorrowful, Joe ALMOST felt sorry for her. 

For the next few days, Nancy went out of her way to be nice, doing things for herself, helping with the housework, and even cooking dinner a couple of nights.

Joe ignored Nancy's attempts to make amends. The damage was done! Nancy had broken her promise to him. One more knife she'd driven into his heart!
 
Gradually, of course, things returned to what had become normal; Nancy giving orders in the form  of polite requests, and Joe rushing to comply.

Jill was a smart kid, and it didn't take her long to figure out where the power now lay. If she wanted something, she asked her mother, ignoring Joe, like he didn't exist. Joe had always had a close relationship with his daughter, and her barely veiled contempt really hurt.

After 'that night' as Joe came to refer to it, in his own mind, he spent a lot of time down in the basement after his chores were done. He muttered something about 'puttering around', but he really went down there to avoid Nancy. He'd wait until she was asleep, before he crept up to bed himself.

At first, to kill time, he fooled around, some, with the old basement pc. In spite of a good deal of self-disgust, somehow he found himself regularly drawn to porn sites of women dominating men. That topic never interested him much, before, but after what Nancy did to him, it seemed to exert an irresistible fascination. Sometimes, reading about some bitch beating up some 'poor asshole', like himself, Joe masturbated.

"Jesus Christ! What kind of a sick freak am I?" He wondered, in self-loathing.

In disgust, he started using Nancy's exercise equipment, or maybe practicing some other things he was learning, to take his mind off that other subject.

"They always say exercise is a good way to get your mind off it!"

Some nights, Joe worked out for two hours, before he was tired enough to go to sleep without facing that temptation. Well, actually it was necessary just about every night; otherwise the temptation was too strong to resist.  

The bookkeeping job sure wasn't that demanding, just boring as hell. Joe did have longer lunch hours, and he started going around the local health club to relieve his boredom. Nancy had a family membership there from work. She was too busy to use it much herself, although, she always managed to stay in superb shape. She might be too busy to help any around the house, but she always found time for her strenuous exercise routine in the basement.

Of course, Joe always made sure, Nancy was done before he snuck down there. He'd wait until he heard the den door close. The den used to be sort of his, but now, of course, it was Nancy's prerogative to use, to do all the work she brought home.

At the health club, one day, Joe impulsively signed up for some Brazilian judo lessons. They cost extra, and it took most of the spending money Nancy thought was reasonable for his allowance.   Joe stopped eating lunch to pay for the lessons, but, what the hell? The lessons took up the whole lunch time anyway, and he lost a few pounds doing it.

The instructor was a woman. She didn't look anything like her, but somehow her fierce, relentless attitude reminded Joe of Nancy. Debby seemed to take delight in hurting and humiliating her students. She was a good teacher, though, and Joe learned a lot from her, at considerable cost in pain. Some days he could barely limp back to the office, after the lesson.

He was afraid he might have signed up for the lessons, just so he could get beaten on, and did his best to hold his own, even if that did earn him more bruises.

As the lessons went on, though, Joe started figuring out, a lot of things he'd done wrong those nights with Nancy. He began to suspect too, what happened was no accident. Nancy had known too much! The more he learned, the better he could appreciate, that, while Nancy might not be as good as a professional like Debby, she was one hell of a skilled amateur. Well, he was getting pretty skillful, and knew a few things now, too!

Not that it mattered! It was too late, NOW!

The judo lessons were only three days a week. The other two days, Joe started sparring with some of the guys in the boxing ring. Might as well; he couldn't eat lunch anyway. He'd been a fairly good boxer as a kid, and the skills came back. For his age, he got to be pretty good, showing some of the younger guys a thing or two.

Somehow, none of the other students, ever stayed in the judo class long, and Joe became Debby's star pupil. She devoted a lot of her time to teaching him, appreciating his dedication. Sometimes, if Debby wasn't busy, they worked long past his lunch hour. Sam kind of glared at him, or sometimes shook his head sadly, but let him get away with it. The accounts were always faultlessly up to date. Joe was conscientious and good at it, no matter how much he hated it.

"Screw it! Let him fire me! I hate the job, and Nancy is supporting us, anyway! She wanted to be the 'man' in the family! Let her!"

Over the months, Joe and Debby became pretty good friends. Once or twice, Joe came close to confiding in Debby. He would really like to, NEEDED to, talk to someone. Debby, being gay, might make her advice more objective, and easier to take, not too sympathetic, but not jeering at him like another guy might. He still couldn't quite get up the courage to talk about it, to anyone, yet, though, and he put it off. He'd gotten into the habit of putting off most things, especially decisive decisions.

"Oh Shit! If I could only really talk to Nancy, again, like we used to!"

Most of all, Joe missed those conversations with Nancy! They always talked every second they were together, or Nancy had anyway, not just about problems, but about everything. He used to love hearing Nancy rattling on, with her non-stop chatter. He missed that giggle, when he told her something, or when she said something slyly humorous, or just plain goofy!

And her infectious grin! 'Nancy with the smiling eyes', Joe used to call her, like in the old song. That sure didn't apply anymore!

Nancy had not only been his wife, but his best friend and pal, too. Now, of course, she didn't seem to be either. Sitting two feet away at the dinner table, they hardly said a word, both looking down at their plates, making sure their eyes didn't meet, hurrying to finish as soon as possible, so they could get away from the loud, icy silence. Instead, sometimes now, Joe found himself holding silent conversations, talking to himself, pretending he was talking to Nancy. He found himself doing it, even when Nancy was sitting two feet away.

SHIT! It was lonely without her!

For the last few months Joe had been more than holding his own against Debby, and a few weeks ago, he really turned the tables on his teacher.

"Oww....owww....leggo...enough...I give..."

"Joe jumped up. "Oh gee! I'm sorry! You okay, Deb?"

Debby looked up at him from the mat, with a rueful grin.

"I'll survive, Killer! And DON'T apologize! Haven't I taught you ANYTHING in a year? You're SUPPOSED to act that way on the mat to WIN! You KNOW I never say 'sorry', when I hurt you! Wait'll next session, and see! I LIKE to get even!" 

As Debbie got up, she said more seriously, "You know, Joe, there's not an awful lot more, I can teach you! You're getting really good! You've come a lot further, than most people who've taken lessons for years! Heck! I haven't heard your cute little squeal of pain, I'd come to love so much, in a couple of months! If you only had more self-confidence on the mat, you'd be unbeatable! Ya know something else, if I didn't like girls, I think you're the kind of guy, I'd go for!"
 
"Thanks!" Joe answered, his face a little red. He was really pleased by the compliment. Debby didn't give many! Joe knew Debby was too dedicated to her teaching, to mislead a student about that subject!

Much as he'd come to like Debby, on the way back to the office, he thought ruefully. "Great! I've become attractive to lesbians! Probably because I'm such a wuss! She only said that last thing to give me a little confidence, anyway! Oh well, she is really nice, once she lets you get to know her, and she IS REALLY...! If she wasn't...I might..." 

Then, just a couple of days ago, as their session ended, Debby brought up a subject, Joe was always reluctant to even think about.

"That MOUTHY, hot-looking redhead, with the nice rack, and cute bubble butt, that only comes in here every month or so, she's your wife, right?"

"Yeah..." Joe raised his eyebrows a little at the description.

"Aww, don't worry, I didn't a make a pass at her! Pretty sure, she's not my type, if you know what I mean! Anyway, I'm more than satisfied at home!"

By now, Joe knew Debby better, than to think she'd hit on a friend's wife or lover.

"Anyway," Debby went on, "she did come in here last week, late in the day. Probably, about the time you were home, cooking supper for her!"

Joe winced, realizing he'd let on a lot more to Debby, than he intended, over the months.

"She was with some other women from her office, and was teaching them, some holds and stuff!"

As Debby spoke, a snide thought went through Joe's mind. "Teaching them to beat up THEIR husbands!"

"I was ready to go home, but I stopped to watch from the doorway! Professional interest, you know! Of course, it does kind of bug me, to see somebody else, doing MY thing, in here, on MY turf! Especially, since amateurs usually get it all wrong! I had to admit, though, that redhead is REALLY good!"

"I know!"

"Was wondering if you did? Guys don't usually put up with the grief and abuse, I dish out, for a year, without REAL GOOD reason! She looked like she might be good enough reason! Anyway, I thought you might be interested in my professional evaluation?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, good as she is, I don't think her technique is as good as yours, these days! Of course, she's real cocky, and a LOT more self-confident than you, and that goes a long ways, as long it doesn't make you careless!"

Joe stood silently, lost in thought, at what Debby said.

"Time for you to hit the showers, and get back to work, isn't it?" Debby said, a little embarrassed, that she might have said too much.

Joe looked at the wall clock. "Oh yeah! Thanks Deb!" He wandered off, deep in thought.

Between the Health Club, nearly nightly exercise in the basement, and the missed lunches, Joe realized he was probably in better shape than he'd ever been in his life, even back in college. He knew a lot more about wrestling too. If he could only go back to that first night with Nancy, he knew things would be different. 

"Oh CRAP, if only...Aah, what's the use?"

It was too late, now! Joe was sure he'd never have the balls, to challenge Nancy again, even if she had both arms tied behind her back. No matter how good the odds, the thought of that final fight had scarred him forever.

"Guess I'll always be Joe the doormat!"...

Joe finished hanging the laundry, and was about to go inside to finish the preparations, he'd already started for dinner. Just then, Charley's son, Bud, laid down his rake, and came over into their yard, through the gap in the hedge, he'd been using for years.

Bud was two years older than Jill. Despite their age difference, Bud and Jill had always been pals; Bud treating Jill like a kid sister. Joe had the impression Bud's feelings were more than brotherly, lately, though, as Jill was filling out. 

"Hey Jill, ya wanta come over to my house? I got a new video game, you'd like!"
 
Jill looked at Bud with a sneer. "Can't you see I'm busy? Who told you, you could come over in our yard without permission, anyway? Why don't you turn around, and march right back where you belong?" 

"Aw, come on, Jill! I was just trying to be nice! It's a great game!"
 
"Hmmph! Yeah, for a simple minded adolescent, like YOU!"

"Jesus!" Joe thought. "Why does she have to be so snippy? She's turning into a real little snot! She gets more like..." Joe stopped himself before he even thought "...like her mother!" He supposed that was being unfair, although he didn't know to which one. 

"G'wan beat it!" Jill sneered. "I told ya', I'm busy!

Bud didn't move for a second.
 
"If you don't get out of here, you'll be sorry!" Jill promised, her voice low and mean, like Joe had never heard it, although, he had heard that tone in her mother's voice, on occasion.

"Yeah! What are you gonna do, beat me up?" Bud laughed.
 
"If I have to!" Jill said, really snarling, now. Then she hauled off, and smacked Bud across the face. 

"G'wan get out of here!" Bud took a step backward, rubbing his cheek, in bewilderment. There was a small, red hand print on his face. Jill had really smacked him hard.

"Geeze Jill! What's got into you lately? You act just like that b....like your mother every day!"
 
"WHAT did you say?" Jill yelled.
 
"Nothing!"
 
"I heard you! Don't you ever dare talk about my mother like that! Now I AM gonna beat you up, you little wuss!"
 
Joe had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. He really liked Bud. He was a good kid. Getting beat up by a girl at his age would be terrible for the kid. Bad enough at HIS age! Joe knew what was coming, of course. Everybody knew that in a fight, thirteen year old girls always beat the shit out of fifteen year old boys, even if the boys are top athletes, and physically mature for their age, and twice the size of the girl, like Bud was. 

Jill flung herself at the much bigger teenager, in blind fury. As she rushed at Bud, she knocked over the step ladder, Joe was using to hang the laundry. The step ladder, in turn, knocked the clothes line and the laundry on the ground.
 
"Jesus!" Joe swore, "That's all I need!", but his eyes were on the two teenagers.
 
Maybe everybody was wrong, or Bud hadn't read the script. He'd been taking judo and karate classes since he was eight. He caught the snarling girl, and judo tossed her. Joe was glad to see Bud broke her fall, so his daughter didn't get hurt.
 
Bud tried to help Jill up. "Come on now! That's enough! You're gonna' get hurt!"
 
Jill angrily shook off Bud's helping hand, and jumped to her feet.
 
"You're gonna' be the one gets hurt!" Jill snarled, and tried to kick Bud in the crotch. Somehow, Bud anticipated the move, and nimbly twisted to one side, so the kick missed.

Joe knew he should break this up, right now, but he'd lost the ability to decisively handle any kind of situation. Nancy usually took care of things, now!

Missing Bud's balls, made Jill all the madder. She flung herself at Bud again, scratching and kicking like an alley cat. It took some doing, but Bud caught her wrists, and immobilized her, holding her arms pinned to her sides. He stood half sideways, so she couldn't get in another crotch kick.

Unable to get loose, Jill snarled and called Bud every name in her childish vocabulary, which Joe noticed wasn't that childish.
 
Just then, like the avenging angel of death, Nancy came flying out of the house, her red hair flying, her green eyes flashing fire, her high set breasts heaving in fury, under her tee shirt.
 
"What the hell do you think you're doing to my daughter, you little bastard?" Nancy yelled, and smacked poor Bud across the other cheek. Now, he had the imprints of feminine hands on both sides of his face.
 
Bud let go of Jill, and backed away. Jill stood behind her mother. She knew HER MOM would FIX Bud!
 
Bud was embarrassed enough, already. His mother had brought him up to be a gentleman, and he sure didn't want to get into a fight, with a grown up woman.
 
"Aw Gee, Mrs. Wheeler! She started it!" Bud tried to explain.

Nancy ignored his protests, too furious to listen to reason. As Bud tried to back away, Nancy advanced menacingly after the boy, with that feline stalk of hers, her fists were clenched, and it was obvious, she meant to haul off and punch the teenager. 

"Nan, for God's sake, Bud didn't do anything!" Joe called.

Nancy turned on her husband, angrily. "You just shut up, and butt out, Mister! What kind of a wuss are you anyway? No 'MAN" would stand by, and let this little bastard bully his daughter! Well don't worry! I'll handle him! I guess I have to do everything around here, like always, since my husband's such a WIMP!"

Joe's face got white. Nancy hadn't said anything, so cruelly cutting to him in a year. In fact she seemed to go out of her way to guard her normally sharp tongue.
 
Joe couldn't argue, though. The words hurt, but Nancy was right! He was a wimp, even if it was Nancy, who made him one. He fleetingly wondered, exactly what else, she had done around here, lately, though.
 
Just then, Charley came running out of his house, and through the gap in the hedge.

"Hey! You Bitch! What do you think, you're doing? I saw you hit my kid! What the hell's the matter with you?" Charley hollered angrily, getting between Nancy and his son.
 
Bud shook his head, sadly, knowing what a hothead his father was. But he was glad to be off the hook.
 
"Jesus!" Joe thought. "Is the whole damn neighborhood going to join this circus?" He wished he was a million miles away.
 
Nancy wasn't intimidated by Charley's bluster.
 
"Get the hell out of my way, Charley! I'm going to teach that little brat, of yours, some manners!"

"Make me!" Charley bellowed, his face getting even redder, than it was.
 
As Nancy stalked around him, to get at Bud, Charley tried to grab her by the arms, meaning to shake some sense into her. Like a cat, Nancy grabbed his arm, and judo tossed him, much as Bud had done to her daughter, a few minutes earlier. Of course, Nancy made no effort to break Charley's fall, like Bud had Jill's.
 
Charley sat on the ground a second, a look of astonishment on his face. He looked up, and saw Nancy was about to spring on top of him.

Even though he knew Nancy was clearly in the wrong, despite all of the things between them, and even after the nasty things she'd just said, Joe was unconsciously rooting for her. How could he not? She was incredibly sexy; gorgeous, red hair flying, those, long, graceful legs bare, big, high-set breasts heaving with excitement, under the thin shirt. But even more than sexy, was the gallant thrill of her slim figure, poised fearlessly over Charley's hulking, brutish bulk. A fierce, little tigress defending her young! 

Then he saw it! "No, no! Watch out!" Joe thought in alarm! Joe caught something that would have gone right over his head a year ago. In her carefree, haughty self-confidence, fighting a clumsy oaf like Charley, Nancy was making a careless mistake, in that moment she poised to spring.

Charley hadn't taken the girlishly slim redhead, he'd known for years, seriously, as an opponent, or he might not be sitting here stupidly on the ground, now.

"Smart ass, little cunt! Thinks I'm stupid huh?"

In a fight, Charley was hardly the clumsy oaf, he seemed the rest of the time. He was big and awfully strong, and a lot quicker than he looked. He'd had a lot more than one barroom brawl in his earlier days, and knew a few tricks, himself. When he was mad, he fought mean and dirty. He was mad, now! A little slow on the uptake, maybe, he still saw Nancy's mistake, almost as soon as Joe did. Vindictively, the sole of his heavy, work boot struck the side of Nancy's knee, with the force of a cannon ball.

Nancy's knee buckled, and with a cry of surprise and pain, she went down on the other knee.

"Oh Christ!" Joe felt a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, as the fury drained from Nancy's face, replaced with a scared, hurt, little girl look.

Jill gasped in terror. "...m-mom..."

"Don't pull that shit on me, like you do on Joe, you goddamn, castrating, little CUNT!" Charley shouted, holding Nancy dangling, so she was on tip-toe, drawing his big ham-like fist back
to hit the helpless redhead, again.

Joe heard Nancy plead in a scared voice. "No, Charley....please..."

No! No! That moron might kill her! Nancy was the most important thing in his life!

In the split second left, Joe acted with fierce, decisive quickness. He grabbed Charley's arm, nearly tearing it off, as he jerked him away from Nancy.

"Get the HELL off her, you stupid ape?"

Charley might be a lot bigger, but Joe almost pulled the big man right off his feet.

When Charley dropped her, Nancy flopped down hard on her behind on the grass, with a gasp of relief. She just sat there in near shock, heart pounding, making no move to get up.

Charley turned on Joe, then. "You stay out of this, before you get hurt, Joe! I'm just doing what you should have done to this BITCH, long ago!"

Joe had guessed Charley was doing this for him. That made it all the worse! Even, if he wasn't man enough for Nancy, Charley sure had no right to hurt and abuse her, and nobody, called HIS wife a 'bitch', even if she was!

Joe's blood boiled. He gave Charley a shove, that knocked the bigger man backward three feet.

"You SHUT your filthy mouth, or I'll SHUT it, for you!" Joe snarled.

Charley gasped in surprise, and anger, at Joe's violent reaction.

NOBODY shoved Charley around like that!

Especially, not some goddamn, pussy-whipped wimp! 

Charley came after Joe, his fists swinging wildly. Joe backed up a step, his clenched fists raised in a boxer's stance.  

Nancy was still just where Charley dropped her; she was too scared to move, trembling uncontrollably. She fearfully watched Charley go after Joe. Charley looked as big as a rhino charging at Joe. Her green eyes, seemingly big as saucers in her white face, Nancy unconsciously clapped both closed hands to her mouth.

"Oh God! NO! What have I done, now? He'll kill Joe!" She moaned.

As soon as Charley got close enough, he started throwing punches. His fists looked like small hams, to Nancy. Maybe not even that small, 'big' hams!

For some reason, Charley found Joe was a hard target to hit.

"God damn it! Stand still ya little wimp!" He thought.

Joe flicked a left jab at Charley face. The punch rocked Charley's head.

Must be fluke! The wimp got lucky! 

Charley swung again, but Joe dodged easily, and flicked another left into Charley's nose. Blood spurted down his face.

Charley bellowed in rage and pain, but kept coming.

Joe avoided all the wild swings, and continued to flick hard lefts into Charley's face. Each punch brought a cry of pain.
 
Charley spread his arms wide, and jumped at the smaller man, hoping to get him down on the ground, where he thought he could deal with him better. He might have been in for a big surprise there too, as Debby could have told him, but he never had the chance to find out.

This time, as Charley charged, Joe didn't back up. Instead, he stepped in close, and shifting target drove a straight, deadly left into Charley's belly. The big man grunted; his jaw dropped open; and he gasped for air like a beached whale.

Joe threw his right fist for the first time. Charley was stunned, and Joe aimed carefully. He hit Charley square on the jaw, driving him up in the air on his toes. Charley's eyes rolled, and he pitched over, his back hitting the ground with a thud.

The stunned way Charley looked up, Joe knew he wouldn't get up, again.
 
Just then, Charley's wife, Ruthie came out of the house. Hands-on hips, she looked down in disgust at Charley, and shook her head.

Ruth glanced over at Joe. "Sorry about this, Joe! Are you okay? You gave the big moron, just what he had coming! By tomorrow, he's going to be really ashamed of himself, and I'll send him over to apologize! I hope, you can find it in your heart to forgive him? He means well, even if he IS dumb as dirt!"

Ruth looked over at Nancy, sitting miserably on the ground, still shaking, but said nothing. Her disapproving glance left no doubt, who she thought deserved the blame for the trouble.

"Both got what they deserved!" Ruth breathed silently.

Ruth was a short, plump, motherly looking, woman, who probably hadn't exercised since junior high. She usually spoke in a soft reasonable voice, but people always seemed to pay attention, and when she raised it, they trembled. Today, when she turned back to Charley, she did more than raise her voice, she nearly hollered.

"You! You stupid moron! It's not bad enough for you to brawl with the neighbors, you have to brawl with the NEIGHBORS WIVES! I saw you hit her! Lord knows, we all know Nancy is a bitch, sometimes, and more than once, I wanted to punch her, myself, but that's no excuse for any man to hit a woman!"

Charley was already ashamed of what he'd done, as he sheepishly let Ruthie pull him into the house, while the tirade continued. 

"You just ever lay one finger on ME, Mister, and my brothers will be over here, in five minutes, and they'll make what Joe did to you, look like loving kindness! You'll be in the hospital for a month! Your fifteen year old son has twice the brains you do! Bud just held on to that nasty, little brat, so she didn't get hurt! I will say, that little snot needs an old fashioned trip to the wood shed, if you ask me! She's getting just like her mother! The woodshed might not hurt HER, either!"

Still huddled on the ground, poor Nancy heard all of Ruthie's tirade, as she knew she was meant to, and hung her head, during it.

"Sorry Mr. Wheeler! I guess maybe it's my fault!" 

"It wasn't you're fault, Bud! JILL! Get over here, and apologize to Bud! I haven't forgotten, YOU started this whole thing!"

Jill immediately looked over toward her mother in appeal, but Nancy shrugged, and looked away, staying out of it.

Jill had partially recovered from the shock of seeing her mother beaten up, and being scared out of her own wits. Recovered enough to regain some of her accustomed impudence. She'd gotten out of the habit of taking orders from her father.
 
"I'm not gonna apologize to that jerk! Why..."

"NOW, Young Lady!"
 
"Oh, all right J... " At her father's glare, Jill corrected herself. "All right, DAD!"
 
"Sorry Bud..." She mumbled through gritted teeth. She glared and grimaced at Bud, as she said it, but made sure her father didn't see her. 

"Now! You can pick up that laundry you knocked down, and take it down the basement and put it in the dryer! Time that damned thing got some use, again!"

"Pick up...why should I..."

"NOW!"

"YES, DAD!" Jill grumbled. Her reply sounded a little sarcastic, especially the emphasis on 'Dad', but she sullenly started picking up the clothes and putting them in the basket. Joe knew it would take a lot of work to re-earn his daughter's respect.

Joe was just about to go over and help Nancy up, but she'd manged to stumble to her feet, herself, and limped slowly over to where, Joe was still standing with Bud.

Looking at the ground, Nancy said, in no more than a whisper. "I'm sorry too, Bud! I should have known you'd never do anything to hurt Jill!"
 
In embarrassment, Bud mumbled, "That's okay, Mrs. Wheeler!", and got back to his own backyard, as quick as he could.

Nancy and Joe were left alone. 

"I...I..." Nancy clearly wanted to say something, but didn't know how to say it.

"A-are you okay?" She finally asked.
 
"I'm fine! You should see the other guy!" Joe replied. For a change, he felt a lot more than fine, actually. "How about you?" He did feel a little guilty, not asking before this.

"A little shook up, and I guess my pride took quite a beating...if you hadn't...uh..uh...Thanks! 

Joe shrugged. 

"Joe about those awful things I said, to you a few minutes ago..." 

"Forget it!" Joe said, not wanting to be reminded. "We both know they were true!"

Nancy looked down at the ground, again, not saying anything more.

"Nancy there is something, I do have to say to you! If what you just said about me, wasn't true, I'd have told you Friday night!  Sam asked me to go back to selling! I was going to give him an answer tomorrow morning, but I'm going to call him now, at home, and tell him, 'Yes'!"

Nancy looked up at Joe, but didn't say anything for a second. She nodded her head mutely, in acceptance, than added almost meekly: "Okay!"

In place of the anger, he expected, and still dreaded, Joe almost thought it sounded like relief in her voice.

"Joe I..." there still seemed to be something else she wanted to say, but she still couldn't find the words, a rare occurrence for Nancy.

When Nancy didn't continue, Joe went on. "I'll manage things better this time, so I can still do my share around here, but you're going to have to do the same!"

Nancy nodded mutely in acceptance, again.

Joe glanced over at Jill, still resentfully picking up the clothes she spilled.

"You know, maybe our 'Little Princess' could do a few chores, herself!"
 
Instead of disagreeing, as Joe thought she might, Nancy nodded again, and almost smiled. "That'll come as a rude shock, I'm afraid!"  

"Finally! I haven't sat down all weekend! I got dinner started, but I was thinking of finding a cigar somewhere, and watching the rest of the game, after I call Sam! Thought maybe you wouldn't mind finishing dinner? You used to be a really great cook!" 

"I guess I can still find the kitchen!" Nancy replied; it HAD been quite a while since she cooked. "I better get started!" She added, and limped toward the house ahead of Joe. 

Dinner was subdued to say the least. All three of them were too embarrassed to talk, or even hardly look a each other. Of course, that wasn't unusual, anymore. The dinner, Nancy cooked, was excellent, but they were all glad when it was over.

"Like I said, you are a great cook!" 

"A little rusty maybe?"

When they were finished, Nancy got up, and started to clear the table. Joe noticed she winced as she stood up, and her knee looked swollen. Her eyes still had a scared, vulnerable look. The big bruise on her cheek, was much more noticeable now, too. 

"Maybe I was too hard on her?" Joe thought, a little guiltily. "But if I didn't start today, when I had the chance...Still!"
 
"Honey! Sit down a minute! I'll get that ice wrap in the freezer, for your knee!" Joe said, not noticing it was the first time, he called her 'Honey' in a long time.

As Joe knelt down in front of his wife, and fastened the wrap around Nancy's knee, he was still preoccupied with other thoughts, but for the first time in a long while, he saw those shapely legs as gorgeous works of erotic art, instead of cruel instruments of torture. Before he caught himself, he almost unconsciously kissed the creamy white flesh of her thigh, but Jill was still in the room.

Instead, Joe stood up and said. "I'll clean up, and put the dishes in the dishwasher! I know you want to finish that work you brought home!"

"Oh thanks, Joe!" Nancy said, nearly managing a real smile. "If I don't get it caught up, I'll be running behind all week! I am getting a new assistant, later in the week though, and I won't be bringing all this stuff home!" As she limped off, she seemed relieved to get away, though.

Joe was a little relieved to be left alone, himself, as Jill had already escaped, before she had to help.

"That's the last time, she gets away with that, I think!" Joe resolved. "But we've had enough excitement for one day.

As Nancy limped off to the den, Joe thought, ruefully. "People at her work will see that bruise, and probably think I'm a wife beater!" 

When he finished with the dishes, Joe looked out the window. It was still light out.

"Guess there's still enough light left to take down that goddamned clothes line! Makes the yard look like a trailer park!"

As Joe started out the door, Jill who'd been talking on her cell phone, caught up with him, and asked.

"Dad! If it's okay with you, I'm going over to the Fergusons to do my homework! Bud's gonna' help me with my math, and then we're going to play his new video game!"

Joe's eyes rolled in surprise, not just that Jill and Bud were already friends again, but that Jill asked his permission. That hadn't happened in some time.

Joe thought a second. He had some misgivings about Jill going anywhere near Charley tonight, but then he figured, he could rely on Ruthie to see things went smoothly, even if Ruthie's comments about his daughter were pretty harsh, this afternoon. 

"Okay, but not too late! You have school tomorrow!" 

Already half out the door, Jill turned her head and called. "Be home by nine, Dad! Promise!"

"Maybe there is hope!" Joe thought.

It was just about nine, when Joe finished dismantling the hated clothes line. As he got in the house, Jill came in right behind him.

Jill started right up the stairs, toward her room, but half way up, she paused and mumbled. "Night, Dad!" 

"Night, Kitten!" Joe called back. He hadn't called her that in a long time. 

Joe went upstairs, himself, and took a shower. The hot water was soothing; it had been some day, and it wasn't over yet!

Joe just put on his pajamas, when Nancy came into the bedroom. She must have heard the shower running in their bathroom, and taken her own shower in the guest bathroom, because she had a large bath towel wrapped around her slim, though very shapely body, and her flame red hair was damp.  

Alone together in the bedroom, they were both too embarrassed to look at each other. For the first time in what seemed forever, Joe had a raging desire to make love to Nancy. He'd never wanted her so much as he did now, but he didn't know how to approach her, anymore. He'd gotten used to Nancy taking the lead.

Nancy felt the same voracious hunger as Joe, but like him, she didn't know what to do about it. So many times in the last months, he'd made her feel like she was raping him. The guilty knowledge that she HAD, once, didn't help any, either. They'd become almost strangers, sharing the same bed, each clinging to their own edge, with as big a space between them, as possible.

Embarrassed or not, Joe couldn't keep his eyes off her graceful figure. As Nancy reached for her nightgown, she let the towel drop. Joe caught his breath. He couldn't keep his eyes of those long, fabulously shapely, legs, and the long catlike curve of her back, or the way her large, impudent buttocks moved with such sinuous grace. Half turned away, Joe just caught glimpses of those irresistible, coral-tipped breasts, set so high on her strong molded chest, that it was hard to believe how generously large they were in your hands, like ripe melons.

Jesus she's beautiful!

In an unconsciously seductive way, Nancy turned her head, and over her shoulder caught Joe's hungry eyes on her. Joe looked quickly away, sheepish that he'd been caught peeping, but not before Nancy saw the naked hunger, in his eyes, matched her own.

"Oh Damn his pride!" Nancy thought. "If he wants me as bad as I want him, why doesn't he do something!

"DAMN MY PRIDE!" Nancy acted impulsively, before she had time to change her mind. Without bothering to put on the nightgown, and without warning, she dropped to her knees beside Joe, and pulled at his pajamas.

"What are you doing?" Joe asked stupidly, but hopefully.

"It's MY turn tonight!" Nancy muttered, her face flushing, trying to make up for something that haunted her conscience every day and night, for a year.

Joe wanted her to do it more than anything in the world, but there was something wrong about Nancy kneeling at his feet, like that. It wasn't where she belonged, or where he wanted her to be.

"There's a better way!" Joe pulled Nancy gently but insistently to her feet. She looked at him, questioningly.

Joe pushed Nancy gently down on the bed so she was lying on her side. He lay down facing her, with his head toward her feet.

"OH!" She said, and didn't waste any more time.

As Nancy hungrily sucked his eager penis into her mouth, Joe's entire body vibrated at the delicious shock.  For just a second longer, Joe just stared, marveling at the beauty of the firm, pink lips, framed by that tantalizing, silky red thicket. Nancy must have put on perfume after her shower, and the perfume mingled, irresistibly, with the clean, musky fragrance of her sexual wetness.

Joe tenderly kissed his wife's beautiful pussy, and wondered what in God's name ever held him back. "Even be a pleasure, to be pussy-whipped by a work of art, this sweet!" Joe buried his face between sleekly rounded thighs, and plunged his tongue past the firm lips, seeking the right spot. He heard a squeal of pleasure, and knew he'd found it. Beginner's Luck!

Even with her mouth full, Nancy manged to mumble. "Ooooaaaa! You're RIGHT! This is much better!" 

It was quite some time later, before they finally pulled the covers up, and turned out the light. Joe did something he wouldn't have dared the night before, or any night for a year. He reached over and put his arm around Nancy's neck, and pulled her close. Her hair smelled nice. The center of the big bed was getting some use, for a change.
 
Neither spoke for a while, then taking a deep breath, Nancy broke the silence.

"Joe there's something I wanted to say this afternoon, but I couldn't get it out! You'll never know how happy it made me, that you're going back to selling! There's other things, I MUST say too, maybe a lot more! If I don't say them tonight, and say all of them, I may never have the courage again! Oh! I'm still so ashamed! I know I'm a spoiled brat who likes her own way too much! I knew in my heart, what I was asking was wrong! I knew if we sat down and discussed it reasonably...well I didn't!"

"I suppose, it started even before that first night we wrestled! A long time before, really, a couple of years! I just said something, once, about a couple of self-defense lessons! That was my first mistake; I never kept any secret from you, since the day we met! But I never told you how deep I got into it, and how intense, I'd gotten about winning, or how much time I was devoting to it! I was only working part time then, and had lots of free time!"

Nancy went on, trying to keep any emotion out of her voice, as though she were giving a lecture to new hires at work.

"People assume a big, strong person is going to beat a smaller, weaker one! But I'd learned size and strength have very little to do with it! It's ninety-nine percent technique! Of course, that can be a really humiliating shock to a bigger, stronger guy, who doesn't know that, and gets beat by a smaller person! Naturally, its even a worse shock, if the smaller person is a woman! I'm not dumb, and I could imagine, even then, what it would feel like,when the woman is the guy's wife, who has never warned him how good her technique is, or even hinted it! And, arrogant bitch, that I was, I knew I was really good! Of course, I knew very well, too, that I never warned you!"

Joe knew all this, now! He knew about technique, and appreciated how good Nancy's was, and that back then, he didn't even have any. He knew all about the rest of it, too. He'd learned about technique from Debby, but it was Nancy who taught him, about the humiliating shock. Lying there beside her, he was growing more and more uncomfortable. He might have beaten up Charley, and he knew how much he'd learned from Debby, but he knew he still wasn't over the humiliating shock. He had to keep listening, though, as Nancy's voice went on.

"Honest to God, Joe!"  He heard emotion creep into Nancy's voice, now, Pain! "That first night, I just meant to give you, a little wake up call, that you were getting out of shape! At least, that's what I told myself! I figured, I'd just use enough of what I knew, to maybe pin you once, and then we'd just wrestle around, and you'd win one or two, and then we'd hop into bed and..."

"You intended to throw the match!" Joe said it almost accusingly.

In the darkness, Nancy's face grimaced in pain. "NO...well...I don't know...I didn't think of it that way...well...YES! I guess I INTENDED to throw the match...maybe hiding things from you was making me kind of sneaky..."

"But not sneaky enough, huh? It's really hard to throw a match, when you're that good, and I know now, how good you are...especially if you're not really a sneaky person! So I was in the cage with a man-eating tigress, that I thought was a purring kitten!" He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Jesus Joe!...I thought...I thought I wanted to be a purring kitten...and I was sure sneaky enough, luring you into the cage...I thought...but NO, I wasn't sneaky enough for that...I really sandbagged you...Luring you into that cage was a rotten thing to do! NO! It was worse than THAT! MY first teacher taught me, that it was positively immoral for anyone of my greater skill level to even pretend to fight someone of yours, and would have thrown me out of class, forever!"

Nancy paused to get her breath!

"NO! I couldn't throw the match! I couldn't stop myself from going all out! Before I knew it, I had you pinned, and I knew you hadn't a clue what to do about it! If it was any one else, I would have stopped right then! If it was anyone else, I wouldn't have even started! Then! I couldn't stop! I mean, I just couldn't stop, myself! Something about it being YOU! Why? Why? I've asked myself a thousand times!"

"Guess you only hurt the ones you love!" Joe tried to sound a little flippant, but Nancy heard the pain.
 
"I DID love you then, and I DO love you now, MORE than anybody, or anything! But, well we both know I went too far, even that night! Even so, we could still have worked it out then, I think! You took it pretty well, and I guess in a way it turned you on, maybe not in a good way..."

Nancy paused a second, and Joe vainly prayed, she might be done, but...

"Th-the thing was, even though, I set you up, and sandbagged you, somehow I was kind of disappointed the way it turned out, like YOU let ME down! How's that for an illogical bitch? Then, after that, you were always kind of nervous around me, and I could tell I'd scared you! When I realized what I'd done, I should have done everything, I possibly could to...to...somehow...Instead, God Forgive Me, I blamed you, like it was your fault I scared you! That made it easier, when I started to kind of enjoy you being scared of me, enjoyed it enough, so I started going out of my way to intimidate you a little more, and keep reminding you! I knew how wrong it was, and what a bitch I was, but I couldn't stop that sick little game, I was playing! Maybe, THAT WAS what I WANTED, the first night, and WHY I went so much further than I knew I should? Jesus! Was I that big a bitch?"

Joe's body was tense, there was sweat on his forehead. "Nan...I...you d-don't have to...

Pressed close against her husband, Nancy could tell how tense and uncomfortable he was! With a half sob, she went on.

"Joe! Yes I do...I-I do...I HAVE to...I know it's just as painful and hurtful, for you to have to listen, as it is for me to say it, and I HATE hurting you any more, than I have already, but if I don't say it, it's always going to be there, and I'm so awfully sick of having anything between us!"

"Then, when I knew in my heart, that I was asking you for something so unforgivably out of line, that I had no right to even think it, I didn't let it go! For two days, I was obsessed by the thought;
'well even if it is unreasonable, if he's afraid of me..."

Nancy paused, just a second, for a deep breath, that sounded more like a sob, before she plunged on.

"Well...(snuffle)...I'll skip the details, you know them as well as I do..."

The memory of the sick fear that he tried to hide, as Nancy pushed him into the fight, that he knew in his heart he wouldn't win, couldn't win, came back, along with all THOSE hideous details. Joe had done his best to forget those details, but...The tears in his eyes were starting to overflow.

"Well...even after I knew I won...I didn't stop...a-and then, after everything else, then I made you...Oh Joe I-I..." Nancy broke into sobs.

Joe wrapped his arms around her, and held her close until the sobs subsided, trying to hold back his own tears.

"Anyway...(sniff)...as soon as we got in bed that night, I knew I'd done the LOUSIEST thing, I HAD ever done in my entire life, and TO the one person, I cared most about, in this world! You know I have a real bad temper, and do stupid things like this afternoon, but I didn't even have that excuse! I did what I did in cold blood, just because I knew I had that power!"

"Was I crazy, some kind of sick sadistic monster? But once you drive over the edge of a cliff, there's no way to turn back! I lay awake most of the night wanting, more than anything, to tell you, but too ashamed to even say it!"

"(sniff)... How could I just say 'Sorry' after the monstrous things I'd done? I know that would, at least have been a start...but I didn't even do that! And I kept telling myself: 'h-he wont do it...he'll never go through with it...he won't do it...' Then, next morning, when you DID do it, and...and I LET you...by then, my pride was in the way too! I just couldn't admit I'd done something so viciously horrible! Not me...NOT Nancy! It was impossible to even think about it!"

"Once I'd done it, there was no way back! I was trapped at the bottom of the cliff! I was too ashamed...yeah and too proud...(sniffle)...just no way to go back like it was...no way...no way..."

Nancy caught herself, and went on, trying to control her shaking voice.

"Some mornings, I nearly cried, when you'd go off to that awful bookkeeping job you hated, knowing I'd made you do it! When you were gone, on my way to work, I usually did cry!"

"I-I didn't know what to do! I needed help, and I didn't know where to turn! Of course, I was too damned proud to go get professional help! NOT arrogant Nancy! I sure couldn't go to you anymore! 'Oh Joe, your wife ruined HER own life, the same time she ruined YOURS, because she's a sick, little freak...can you help her, like you used to..."

"I used to go to Ruthie with a lot of my problems, but if she disapproves of something, she looks at you, so you feel like a dirty grease-spot, on her spotless, living room carpet! After you stopped speaking to Charley, she looked at me, like that every time she saw me..."

"I-I think Charley guessed, that's why I..."

"Yeah! I figured that was it! That made me feel even more of a shit! Anyway, like a real moron, I tried to talk to Liz! I knew for the first time in my life I was breaking a promise to you...I hid that one thing from you, but I'd NEVER broken a promise... but I was SO desperate...Of course that just ended up smashing things beyond ANY hope of repair!"

"A-a few days after that, I locked myself in the bathroom! For two hours, I sat looking at your razor, thinking we'd both be better off, if I used it on my wrists..."

"Oh my God Nan..." Joe felt MORE than sick; his heart almost stopped beating.

'Well I didn't! Not because I didn't want to! It came to me, though, if I was going to...I couldn't use YOUR razor, as if I was damning YOU, with my last dying breath...While I was trying to think of another way, I started thinking, 'I can't leave him and Jill alone, trying to sort out this awful mess, I made! I knew I'd made you such a basket case, by then, you couldn't cope with Jill, anymore, alone! I didn't have a clue how to sort it out, but if I couldn't fix it, I more than owed it, to the two of you, to share the misery, no matter how much it hurt! By then, too, I was losing my nerve...I didn't want to die! I wasn't sure, whether I was a bigger coward going in there, or coming out, but I came out!"

"After that, I guess I gave up hope of ever fixing it! D-didn't seem any way!...(sniff)...I just buried myself in my work, as much of the time as I could, so I didn't have to think! I could forget the pain there, or at least put it out of my mind, for a while! The other hours of the day, were bad, but I got through them one at a time, somehow!"

"Then, the guiltier and more miserable I was, the worse it made me act! Once you can't think of yourself as anything but a bitch, it's easier acting like one, I suppose! Burying myself in my work, left everything around here for you to do! I had never wanted you to treat me like a doormat, and I hated myself for treating you like one, but by then, 'what the hell', it was just one more thing to hate myself for!"

"Of course, it was just so easy to mention something, and have you jump to do it, and once I started that, I just couldn't stop, like being hooked on another sick, power trip! What was the difference, I knew you were going to be miserable, anyway! It was all so hopeless...so hopeless! Oh Joe! I am the world's worst bitch, like Ruthie said!" Nancy broke into sobs again.

Joe was ready to start sobbing, himself. He prayed Nancy was done, he didn't want to, couldn't BEAR to, hear anymore. In self-defense, he hugged Nancy consolingly, and told her "I don't think you're a bitch, Honey!" Joe almost crossed his fingers at that whopper, "Don't worry we'll work things out, starting tomorrow!"
 
"Oh if we can, I want to so much!" Nancy cuddled, trustingly, closer. She was drained and utterly exhausted, but a monstrous weight was lifted from her shoulders. Still sniffling, she started to doze off. 

Holding Nancy in his arms, Joe was still shaking, knowing they weren't done yet. Much as he wanted to, he knew he COULDN'T leave it until tomorrow. He'd left too many things, until 'tomorrow' and they never got done! If he was EVER going to be a man again, they had to finish this tonight!

He lay there a while, still trembling, trying to screw up his courage. Finally, he groaned, hoarsely. 

"Nan!"

"Huh...yeah wha..."

"You awake?"
 
"Oh sure, Hon!" Nancy answered, thinking as every spouse has. "I am now, anyway!" 

"Nan, if we are going to work things out, then there are things, I MUST say to you, too! After the way you opened up, I owe you ALL the truth! It's too important to both of us, for me to lie to you, tonight!"

"Yeah?" Nancy answered, tensely, dreading what might be coming.

"I'll start with the least important first! What I said a minute ago was bullshit!"

Nancy's body stiffened

"I manged to say you weren't a 'bitch', while making it sound like I really thought you were, but that I was being noble, and overlooking it! Shit! I know better than anyone that you can be a bitch, sometimes. I know too, that ninety-nine percent of the time you do your best not to be one! Every woman's got a right to be a bitch sometimes! They've got to live with guys, at least if the guy is lucky, like me! Even 'Saint' Ruth' was pretty bitchy, the way she walked up one side of Charley and down the other, and a real BITCH, the way she treated you! BUT, even if I might think you're a bitch, sometimes, it doesn't matter, because there's no way I could love you more, if you were an angel from heaven!"

Nancy relaxed a little.

"Probably an angel from heaven would be pretty dull, anyway, compared to you!"

"Yeah! Guess I'm not DULL!" Nancy sniffed ruefully.

"What, I've really got to say though is: Things weren't ALL your fault, NOT by a damn sight!
The morning after 'that night'" Joe paused a second. "Ahh dammit! I'm sick of pretending! The morning after you beat the shit out of me, I knew I should tell you 'go to Hell' about the job! If you wanted to 'beat the shit' out of me every night, I still wouldn't give up MY job!"  

"But I didn't do that! I just couldn't live with the fact that you beat me up for real, and I wasn't 'man enough' to do a goddamn thing about it! I HAD to get even SOME way! I'll admit too, I was really scared for you beat me up like that, AGAIN; that WAS an AWFULLY scary experience! Knowing I was scared to do the right thing, of course, made me all the more determined to get even! Well if you're a coward, there isn't any honest way to get even! If I was scared to be a man, like a jerk, I somehow figured: 'Okay I'll take the Goddamn job, and make myself miserable for the rest of my life, because of her, and let her live with THAT!"

"Those mornings, I saw you ready to cry, because I was going to a job you made me take, and yeah, I did know, damn well, how you were feeling, I didn't think: 'Gee she must really regret what happened; maybe we can work things out!' No! I thought 'Good! I guess she's really sorry now'!" 

"I should have known how desperately miserable you must be, when you had to go to an airhead, like Liz, for comfort and advice! NO, I'll be honest, I DID know it, and I was glad?"

"I did know that you were as sick over what she said, as I was! When you came out to the kitchen trying to apologize, I should have taken you in my arms, and told you it didn't matter, I understood! Instead, I used that cut finger as a weapon to hurt you, because I didn't have the balls to try to hurt you honestly, in a fair fight! To be honest, I don't think I actually cut my finger on purpose, but it did seem to happen at just the right minute, and I used it for all it was worth! By then, I was getting really good at being a martyr! If I couldn't be proud about being a man, I'd at least be proud about what a great doormat, I was! Especially, knowing that IT was making you feel really shitty!"

"Jesus, though, Nan, if I ever knew I drove you to that locked bathroom, I'd have thrown myself under a bus! I'll thank God every day of my life, that in spite of everything I did to you, YOU had the guts to come out of there for Jill and me! Don't EVER think you were a coward for THAT!"

Nancy sniffled a little, but didn't say anything.

"I'll always be really sorry and ashamed, too, for those nights you did everything you possibly could, to turn me on, and I just lay there, like a dummy, making sure neither one of us would enjoy it, and we'd both be miserable! God! What a waste! I'm sorry for the nights, I hid down in the basement, until you were asleep, so I wouldn't have to face you!"
 
"Is that what you were doing down there, with the exercise stuff? I thought you were planning on getting strong enough to beat the shit out of me!"

Nancy sounded interested. She had about stopped sniffling. At first, it was painful as hell, to lie there and listen, but Nancy knew she couldn't and mustn't stop this discussion! 

Now, maybe the worst was over. It was beginning to feel just a little like the old days, when they used to lie in bed together and talk. God knows, she'd wanted that every night for the past year. The pleasure of really talking to Joe, again, was starting to outweigh the pain.

Joe noticed the lightening of tension in Nancy's voice, and the note of interest in what he was saying. Like she WANTED him to go on. He was feeling the pleasure of talking to her, again, too. Maybe it was becoming a real two-way conversation, instead of two separate moans of pain. It was easier to go on.

"At least, THAT would have been an honest reason! You know, even that first night we wrestled, I have to admit, now, that having you dominate me like that, really turned me on! Of course you knew that! The thing was, I WAS awfully ashamed to be turned on THAT WAY! I never thought I was 'one of THOSE kind of guys'! I WAS really amazed at how good you were, too, but instead of admiring you for it, I was jealous, that you were so much better at something than I was, especially something the man is supposed to be good at! Later on, when it was too late, I did think, maybe if I'd only told you how impressed, I was, and asked you to teach me, too, things might have been different!"

"Yeah! You mean, if you'd made me responsible for teaching you that stuff, I never could have used it as a weapon against you!"

 "Yeah, and we could have had a lot of fun, maybe!"

"Well, what's done is done! What about now? DID all that stuff make you strong enough to beat the shit out of me, d'ya think? You did a pretty good job on Charley! Sometimes, I wished you could, and would beat the shit out of me, beat me, like I knew I deserved!"

"You DON'T deserve that, and I don't ever want to REALLY beat the shit out of you, Nancy! When I saw you on the ground, after Charley hit you, it made me sick to my stomach!"

"As to whether I 'could', I don't know IF I could? I am in better shape than I ever was, and I've been taking judo lessons, and doing some boxing! You'd have one hell of a time beating the shit out of me, now, and even if you managed it, you'd have as many bruises to show for it, as me!"

"Let's forget about beating the shit out of each other, though! Maybe one of these nights, I'll be man enough to ask you, if you want to try to pin me again? And if you win, it will turn me on, and I'll know enough to enjoy that, without feeling ashamed! Don't worry, though, I won't roll over and let you win, because it would turn me on just as much, or even more, to pin you! I know it would take a real man to pin a TIGRESS!"

"Grrrrr!" Nancy purred like a feline.

Joe almost grinned.

"Well 'Tigress', Debby, my judo teacher, said if I had more confidence, I'd be 'unbeatable'! I think she just said that, to GIVE me some confidence, though!"

Nancy had relaxed enough now, to say lightly, if a trifle suspiciously!

"Guess you have a few secrets too, huh! You HAVE a judo teacher named 'DEBBY'? Should I be jealous?"

Joe was relaxing too, now, and answered nearly grinning, again.

"No, but if she got YOU on the mat, I might have to be! With me, it's just 'my cute little squeal of pain,' she loves!"

"Is 'DEBBY' pretty?"

"I guess you'd say she's a handsome woman! You've probably seen her; she's the instructor at the club.

THAT'S 'DEBBY', I didn't know her name? Handsome woman, SHIT! She's 'drop-dead' gorgeous!"

"I hadn't noticed, THAT!" 

"Yeah I bet you hadn't! Now, I REALLY wish I'd been your teacher! It better be just your 'cute little squeal of pain', 'DEBBY' loves!  I've seen 'DEBBY' in action; she's a heck of a lot scarier than Charley! I don't want to HAVE to get in a catfight, with HER! Not even if they do say guys like to see their wives in catfights!"

"Hmmm!" Joe kind of liked the thought of Nancy fighting FOR him, instead of AGAINST him, unconsciously picturing it.

When Joe was silent for for a few seconds, Nancy guessed what her husband was thinking. "Who'd you be rooting for?" She asked suspiciously.

"Well, this afternoon, believe it or not, I was rooting with all my heart for you against Charley! You really looked sexy as hell, so small and fragile, kind of, but like my fearless little tigress, too!"

Nancy gave her husband a little hug of appreciation, but did notice he evaded her direct question. Maybe it would be best to drop that subject, but she stepped on a different landmine.

"Well, at least you weren't down there in the basement, jerking off to the internet, like I've heard some guys do!"

"Oh Shit! I guess there were a few nights that happened too!"

"Oh God! I didn't mean..."
 
"It's okay! I'm telling you it all, anyway! I might have been tempted to skip that part!" 

"Well, don't worry TOO much about ME knowing! If it makes you feel any better, there were some nights lying in bed alone...but I was gonna skip that one too!"

This time it was Joe who thought it best to move on to the next topic.
 
"Then, this afternoon! I felt like such a Big Man, strutting around the yard, just because I beat up that poor boob, Charley, that I didn't rush you to the emergency room, to make sure you were okay! Instead of picking you up off the ground, I had to make Jill apologize first, so you had to drag yourself over to me! And the only reason, I beat him up in the first place, was because of what he did to you! What kind of jerk is that?"

"Then instead of carrying you in the house, and having you lie down, I ordered you to go in, and cook dinner!"
 
"You didn't..."
 
"Didn't order you? Well! I'll admit, that WAS a little trick, I did learn from you! If someone is down and miserable, ask them in a reasonable, polite way, and they'll scurry off to do your bidding!"

"It wasn't until after dinner, that I finally bothered to notice how badly hurt and shaken up you were, and the way you were creeping around, like a scared, little mouse, looking the way I felt for too long, and I did think: 'Jesus! I'm sick of crawling to her, but I don't want her crawling to me either!' I THOUGHT it, but I didn't TELL you, like I should have!"
 
"Joe when you called me 'Honey', for the first time, in I don't know when, and sounded like you cared about me, my heart got all fluttery! You know, even though I've been hiding behind it, and really overdoing it, I love my job, as much as you love selling cars! I thought, though, you might ask me to quit, and I figured if you did, I owed that to you, after what I'd done! Instead though, you remembered how important finishing that stupid stuff I brought home, was to me! Sick as you must have been of doing chores, you sent me off to finish it, while you finished up in the kitchen. For the first time in a year, I started to dare hope, maybe we COULD work it out! Maybe, I..., maybe we together, could claw our way back up from the bottom of that cliff, I drove us over!"

"AND, you did crawl around down on your knees to me, to put that ice thingee on my leg! But I knew you weren't crawling because you were scared of me, anymore! I can't bear that ever! if I ever saw that look in your eyes again, I'd go back to that locked bathroom!"

Nancy stepped on another landmine, a bigger one.

"They say hell is getting what you wished for, and I tried to make you a little afraid of me, but then when you were TERRIFIED of me, I WAS in hell!"

Nancy felt Joe stiffen, at being reminded of what a coward he'd been. "Oh God, Joe! I didn't mean to! Jesus! I'm such a stupid bimbo, sometimes!"

"Never a 'bimbo' Love! Too much class! I know what you were trying to say!" Joe's voice was shaky, though.

Nancy was trembling again. "It's OKAY, Nan! I'm OVER being scared, even if I do love a Tigress!"   

"(sob)..."

"Now don't start bawling, again, or I'll be in tears, again, too, and we've both had enough of that, tonight! Guess I'm starting to see, if I was in purgatory, you were in HELL!"

"Nan, we're both going to say things without thinking for a while! Geez you know what a thoughtless klutz, I AM? A few twinges now and then, are nothing compared to the joy of hearing you talk to me again! Please, PLEASE don't stop!"

"Y-yeah?...(sniff)..."

"YEAH! Now go on!"

"Well...(sniff)...WHAT I was TRYING to say, in my stupid, tigerish way, was...I knew you were on your knees because you wanted to be! For a second, (sniff)...it seemed like my brave knight had slain a dragon for me, and was presenting me with its ears! Don't know what I'd do with Charley's ears, but it was so romantic, I started getting wet, and if Jill wasn't standing there, gawking..."

Even if Joe was lying down in bed, he felt ten feet high. He couldn't see Nancy's face, but he knew that old look was there. If he hadn't been so occupied with Charley, he might have seen it this afternoon. He hugged her hard, a lump in his throat.

"Well...(sniff)...if you hadn't been so sweet, I'm not sure, my stupid pride would have let me get down on my knees, a little while ago, and then, you were even sweeter when you wouldn't let me stay there!"

"Yeah! I WAS still scared of that, though! The most beautiful woman in the world was standing two feet away from me, gorgeously naked, begging me with her eyes, for at least a hug, and I sat there on the bed, like a jerk! I wanted to grab you and squeeze you, so bad it hurt, but I'd gotten so proud of being a doormat, it was hard to remember how to act like a man again, and treat you like the wonderful, sexy woman you are! If you hadn't done something, we'd still be tossing and turning on opposite sides of the bed!"

"Nancy when you did that, I knew my "bitch" was really an angel from heaven, in disguise, and my ANGEL didn't deserve to be on her knees, but on a pedestal! I should have gotten down on my knees!"
 
"Your way was a lot better, than either one of us being on our knees! More fun too!"

"That reminds me, I should have told you then!  When I ate your pussy, because I wanted to, it was as big a thrill, as you su...as you doing it for me!"

"Anyway, what I woke you up to say was, if you are a 'bitch', I'm just as much of a 'bastard'!"

"Okay! I won't argue, anymore! But if you are a 'bastard', you're MY bastard, and I'll never stop loving you!"

"One thing more, my Darling 'Bastard'! Charley may be a boob, but he's an of awful big, strong, mean looking, boob, when he's got hold of you, and there's nothing you can do, and that ham fist is about to take your head off! Dangling there in the air, I was so scared, I started to wet my pants! I had to change them, before I started dinner! How does that, make you feel about your 'fearless tigress'?"

"Like I wish I'd kicked that scumbag, a few times when he was lying on the ground! I ought to..."

"Joe, I didn't tell you, so you'd go over and punch him, some more! If Ruthie sends him over to apologize, maybe you ought to....We do have to live next door! And you and he used to be such good friends! And he did only do it...

"Don't remind me! I know why he did it, as well as you do! I'll think about it! See if the Moron knows enough to apologize to you first?"

"I'd really even like to be able to talk to 'Saint Bitch' Ruthie, again! Maybe, if I tell her, you took me to the 'wood shed', ya think?"

"We don't HAVE a woodshed!"

"Guess that's lucky for me and Jill!"

"I may be over being scared, but it'd take a braver man than me, to try to take a Tigress and her Cub to the woodshed! You sure got a provocative rear end, though!"

"Watch it! You know, that's a sensitive topic!"

"Mmmm!"

"That wasn't a snicker I heard?"

"Of course not!"

"Better not be!" 

Oddly enough, just about then, in the house next door, Ruthie was again reminding Charley, who was very much feeling like a 'grease spot on the carpet':

"You remember, and don't forget it! Make really sure you apologize to HER first! Make sure BOTH of them know you mean it! Make sure you keep on apologizing to her, until she accepts it! Stand there whining all day, if you have to, until she gets so sick of looking at your ugly face, that she'll say anything, to be rid of you! Otherwise, Joe is likely to kick you all the way back here through the hedge!"

"Geez Ruth! You know I mean it!"

"Make sure, she and Joe know you mean IT!"

"Geez, I will! I feel terrible! I said some awful things, and I might have killed that poor kid, if Joe hadn't pulled me off her! Ha, ha! Didn't think he had it in him, though! He really kicked my butt, didn't he? Lying there on the ground, I was really scared to get up! He had a real mean look, like he wanted to murder me! I was even scared, he'd pick me up, and do it!" Charley said admiringly.

Ruth shook her head, in disgust, thinking, "MEN!", before she went on.

"Lucky thing for you Joe, is a gentleman, even if you're not! Guess he really loves her! The way she was looking up at him, too, guess she was seeing it, and she felt the same! Haven't seen her look at Joe like that, for a long time, though!"

Ruth had seen the look, Joe was too busy to notice. She paused a moment, silently looking at Charley with some puzzlement. "Surely providence picks some unlikely tools, but THAT big ape?"

"Bud said Nancy sounded really sorry and ashamed, when she spoke to him, and he's smart enough to know the difference! Said it wasn't anything like that Jill, who made faces at him, so her father couldn't see, all the time she was saying 'sorry'! Course, Bud thought the little Brat was comical! He would! She must have been a little more contrite, when she called after dinner, though!"

"Well its a good thing your son's got a lot more brains than you do! He'll need them, if he gets mixed up with that minx! He'll never have a dull moment there! Just like her mother!"

Ruth paused a moment, thinking.

"Suppose I ought to tell HER I'm sorry, too! I was pretty hard on her this afternoon, and later, when I remembered, how sad and miserable she looked, it was kind of like I kicked her when she was down! She used to look at me when she saw me, sometimes, like she wanted to ask me for something, too, and I just glared at her! Maybe I'm not quite the saintly person, I like to think, either!"

"Kind of miss that mouth of her's, going a mile-a-minute, too! She IS a sketch, when she has a mind to it, least she was, before she kind of went over the edge, like she did! Maybe I could have helped her with that, if I tried? Growing up on the farm with all those brothers, I kind of got to thinking of Nan like a comical kid sister! Guess that's not the way you treat a sister!"

Ruth wiped her eyes. "Yep! I better tell her!"

Nancy picked up the thread of what she'd been trying to say: "Where was I? Oh YEAH? I had just demeaned, and lowered myself, FOREVER, in your eyes, with an utterly HUMILIATING, and totally DISGUSTING personal revelation! Ohh-HO, but wasn't THAT a HUMBLING confession, for an arrogant, prideful bitch to make?"

"How COULD the prideful bitch? You ask?"

"How?" Joe laughed. It seemed a miracle, Nancy was here in his arms, really talking to him, even making him laugh, again. Nobody could make him laugh, like Nancy.   

"WHY would the prideful bitch? You ask?"

"All right 'Why'?  Now get on with it, you NUT!" Joe couldn't stop laughing, now.

For a moment, Nancy did drop her playful tone, to say dead seriously.

"Clowning aside, the only reason I could EVER embarrass myself like that, was to make YOU understand, what a REALLY BIG MAN you looked to me, when you pulled that GORILLA off me! Maybe you were a doormat, who wouldn't stand up for yourself, but you SURE stood up for me! You sure earned the right to strut around like a 'big man' for the afternoon! Even if he'd beat you up, Joe, I'd still have been just as proud of you, for what you did!"

The way Nancy felt, it was hard to stay solemn long. The way she felt? "Good Gosh! I'm HAPPY!"

Nancy went on, with a near giddy giggle.

"Of course, if he had beat you up, I'd have run like hell, and left you to fend for yourself, before he came after ME again, but I still would have been awfully proud, while I was running!"

You WOULD NOT! Even down on the ground, you'd have bitten Charley's leg, or something!"

"Yech! Oh gross thought!"

"Yeah and I guess, since you mention it, it would have been nice, if you tried to take me to the Emergency Room! Of course, there's NO WAY you could have gotten me there, to tell the whole world, your 'prideful bitch' was brawling with the neighbors! Yeah, and you could have been as 'polite and reasonable' as 'pie', giving me that order, and I wouldn't have gone!"

"Anyway!" Nancy went on more seriously. "What was REALLY important, was to make that little snip, Jill, behave for a change! I'd trade a thousand trips to the Emergency Room for that! You did kind of back off responsibility, there! We used to take turns saying 'no', but lately it's been all me, and it's awful hard, ALWAYS being the bad guy, even for a 'bitch'! I just got in the habit of letting her do what she wanted! Guess I was backing off from my responsibility, too, huh?"

"Yeah, down deep, I did feel pretty guilty about that, Nan, but of course, I told myself, it must be your fault! Kind of convenient to have somebody else to blame for EVERYTHING, instead of yourself! I know I HAVE to do better with our daughter! You know where she went tonight, though?"

"Yep! Saw her through the den window!"

"She did ask permission first, though!"

"Well that's something! Of course, I know she really likes Bud, and her Mom was a pretty lousy role model for how to treat guys you really like?"

"I'll be more than satisfied, if she grows up just like her Mom!"

"Well, for that, I'll even tell you something, I wasn't sure, I should, or not! While she was watching me fix dinner, and I was too dumb to give her a chore to do, to help, she mumbled something that might almost pass for a 'sorry' for me getting hurt, because of what she'd done!"

"Of course I got hurt because we BOTH acted like red haired bitches, only I'm supposed to be the GROWN UP 'bitch'! I didn't tell her that, naturally, but gave her a little lecture, that equally applied to me, feeling like a real hypocrite!"

"About then, it came to me, it might be a good time, to get her started helping, some, when she said: 'Gee Mom! I didn't know Daddy was SO tough! He's almost as tough as Bud!' Well, you know how often I'm at a loss for words, but while my big mouth was gaping open, trying to come up with an answer to that one, she got away! She's kind of good at that!"

"Yeah, I noticed that after dinner, too! Hmm! Thinks I'm almost as tough as Bud, huh?" Joe thought. Maybe he had started to re-earn his daughter's respect.

 "Yeah, and so does her Mom! She's really not a bad kid, and if we both work on it together, I think she'll be fine!"

"Oh! One more thing you didn't mention! I saw you take that damned clothes line down, and trash it, and I was REALLY pleased at that! Jesus! I made one little, innocent remark, once, that 'I liked the smell of fresh clothes', and I had to watch that performance, twice a week, for a year. I DID know you were doing THAT to get even! Sometimes, I'd stand at the window, gnashing my teeth, wanting to scream: 'Put the clothes in the GODDAMN dryer, you Idiot!"
 
"How come you didn't!"

"Maybe I got so, that I liked being a martyr, and feeling sorry for myself, as much you did! It is kind of easy to enjoy it! I kind of got into the habit of whiling away those miserable hours, I had to get through, when I wasn't working, just feeling sorry for 'poor Nancy'! Maybe, if she wasn't so busy feeling sorry for herself, 'poor Nancy' could have got off her big butt, and used one or two of those hours to take a load of laundry downstairs, herself, and SEE it got into the DRYER!"

"God knows, Joe, I was scared this afternoon, and it took a while to wear off, but I think I was kind of enjoying, creeping around like a 'scared, little mouse' at dinner too, like: 'Okay, it's my turn now to be the martyred doormat! That's what I deserve'! Wait until he sees what a sorrowful penitent, I CAN be? I was really gettting into it! Heck! If you hadn't stopped me, I'd have been on my hands and knees, bringing you, your slippers, in my teeth!"

"I don't want teeth marks on my slippers, and you're kind of exaggerating, now!"

"Maybe a little!" Nancy giggled.

"But you know, if you didn't wake me up, to talk about these things, even though I had gotten a lot off my chest and felt better, there's still a shitload of guilt there..."

"I told you..."

"Yeah, yeah! I'll admit you made things even worse, probably a lot worse, than they had to be, and there's plenty of guilt to go around, but I can't forget, it was me drove over the cliff in the first place! Anyway, let's not get in an argument, tonight, who was the BIGGER jerk! That's kind of playing into that martyr thing, and we're both going to have to be awful careful about doing that, for a long time!"

"In fact, that was what I was trying to say! Joe I won't try to make things up to you, by creeping around like 'little Miss Martyred Mouse', her husband's pet bitch, on a leash! There are lots better ways, and most of them, lots more fun, for both of us! I'll never stop trying to make it up to you, Joe, but I'll do it with dignity, as your wife and equal! And I have no objection to you making up for the guilt you feel, the same way! Like I said, I know there's plenty of guilt to go around!"

"Okay! I'll try my best, to be your husband and equal, and not the mouse either! And I DO have a lot to make up to you, Nancy! I can't tell you, how much just being back in bed, with my wife, AS an equal, makes up for, though! Not just the sex, although that was wonderful, but because I missed my BEST FRIEND, just as MUCH as I missed my SEXY LOVER! It's so wonderful being able to talk to you again and hear you giggle! You haven't giggled in a long time!"

Nancy wriggled in pleasure.

Lying face to face, Joe pulled Nancy even closer to him, and she started tracing little circles on his back with her finger, sending pleasant shivers down his spine.

"Just remember, if you ever doubt you're a big man, don't you EVER dare doubt your wife and equal, thinks you are!"

Nancy's large breasts were pressed tight against his chest, now, and Joe felt her nipples stiffen.

"I'll never doubt my wife and equal is a pretty big woman, anyway!"
 
"Thin ice!"

"In all the right places, I mean!" Joe said, patting Nancy's provocative rear end.
 
"THINNER ICE!"

"Why do you always think your butt is too big? You got a perfect butt!"
 
"Perfect, as in, 'perfectly huge'?"

"Perfect as in 'cutest ass in the world'!"
 
"That why you're playing grab-ass, with BOTH hands, now?"

"I just can't keep my hands off it! Told ya how provocative it is, before!" Joe laughed.

Then suddenly, dead serious, he added. "Oh God NAN! It's so wonderful, to be able to grab it, again!"

Nancy felt Joe's stiff penis, thrust against her body.
 
"Well, don't abuse the privilege! Why don't you just get on, with WHAT you're really after, before you leave bruises all over my 'provocative, perfectly cute ass'? I got enough bruises today!"

"Oww, you BASTARD! DON'T pinch me!.....OOOOOUUUU YEAH...."