Family Before Sex

When we’d met for lunch two weeks ago, M asked if he could book another “hotel night” like we’d enjoyed before Christmas. I said I’d love to and we arranged an evening for this Thursday.
J suggested we’d tell the children I was away for the night on a work-training course.

So I left for work yesterday morning with an extra affectionate kiss goodbye for J, clutching my overnight bag, and promising him to “tell all” on Friday. I was excited all through the morning as I thought of the coming evening ahead. Early afternoon though I received a call from our school to say my daughter was ill and needed to be taken home. It’s been years since either of the children have been off school, so I knew it had to be serious.

I re-arranged my duties with my secretary and left for the school immediately. On my way to the station I tried to call M, but his phone went to voicemail. I hate leaving messages so I rang off. I tried again whilst I waited for a bus at the other end, on my way to the school. Still straight to voicemail, so I rang off again.


My daughter was clearly unwell and we got a cab the short journey home where I put her to bed. I tried to call M again and still getting his voicemail I decided a short “Call Me” text was probably the best solution. I was trying to give him as much notice of my unexpected cancellation as possible.
He called just after six. He’d been in a meeting all afternoon and had only just turned his phone back on. I could hear the disappointment in his voice as I explained why I couldn’t make it. I told him I felt terribly guilty and that I knew he’d probably already booked a room. He said he had booked the room, though not in the same hotel “I thought you might like a change”. I asked him how much it had cost, but he wouldn’t tell me. “I’ll just have to entertain myself for the night, thinking of you”, he said.
I promised I’d make it up to him and that I’d try and sort out an evening as soon as I could. We said our goodbyes and I rang off worrying terribly that he’d actually just been trying to be nice and was probably secretly seething.

When J arrived home he said I still had time to call M back and get down to the West End, but I explained it just wouldn’t feel right and that I wouldn’t be able to relax and be “my other self”. Family had to come before sex.

You can read my earlier entries at: http//www.edithsaffair.blogspot.com