PART ONE
Julie enjoyed a pampered life as a normal, modest (though highly sexed), suburban housewife. But now that all was changing, possibly forever, after her husband Brad suddenly lost his high paying corporate job. At first neither of them felt worried. Surely a man with his experience would easily find a comparable, if not superior, job before too long. In the meantime they made the most of their increased leisure time together. With a pandemic raging around them, much of that time was spent indulging themselves at home, quite frequently in bed. For them, there was nothing like a good orgasm to banish all of life's anxieties.
Living well and living frugally had long seemed a contradiction to both Brad and Julie. Money flowed through their hands as quickly as it fell into them. Eventually the spigot began running dry. Weeks turned to months, with just a few good potential jobs materializing, none of which Brad landed. What little savings the couple once had soon vanished, and one after another of their credit cards maxed out.
Brad would make it to final interviews, but inevitably get edged out .The last time that happened he took it particularly hard. A friend at a firm that was hiring had championed Brad for the position, assuring him that he all but had it in the bag. The final decision came down to Brad and one other applicant, a younger black man who was much newer to the field.
"Well, thank you for the consideration" Julie overheard Brad say into the phone. "Yes, of course, I would love to be notified if another suitable position comes open." He looks stunned, Jule thought, his face is strangely contorted. "Fucking black" Brad muttered angrily, once the phone call was safely terminated. "No way in hell he's as qualified as me!"
"Oh Brad" Julie reacted, reaching out to console him. "They made a real mistake not hiring you. You'll get a better job, just wait and see. I know you're upset now, but it'll be OK. I've never heard you talk that way before" she added softly. He must really be stressed out, Julie thought to herself. No one they knew used that epithet out loud. They were Democrats.
"I know, I shouldn't have said that. But Jack told me the guy they gave it to comes off like a smug asshole, like he was owed that job. I earned it and he got it. How do you expect me to feel?"
"Let me fix you a drink" Julie said, walking over to their bar. I need one too, she thought, pouring out two doubles. Brad's not really a racist, she told herself. We both had black friends in college.
As more bills went unpaid Brad's self confidence crumbled, until he was reduced to a shadow of his former self. Brad stopped applying for high paying jobs, fearing the seeming certainty of another crushing rejection. Daily he became less sure of himself, which showed up in the bedroom. Sex inside their marriage, which had always been carefree, ceased to be reliable fun, or more to the point, Brad ceased to be reliable. When Julie married Brad she swore to stand by him through thick and thin. Sex wasn't the glue that held their marriage together, their bond was much deeper than that, but when money was tight during those early years, sex would emotionally sustain them. Lately though Brad hardly wanted to touch her, let alone make love for hours like they used to.
With each job rejection Brad pulled back further from her embrace. None of it made sense to Julie. She could tell that stress was effecting Brad's libido, though he denied it and blamed work weariness instead .But sex was more than a physical act to Julie, it confirmed that someone really wanted her. Julie craved the sense of connection and intimacy sex brought her even more than the feeling of Brad's hard cock inside, though she had to admit that she missed that too. At her center Julie had a void which, since her early adolescence, she desperately sought to fill. Marrying Brad kept that hollowness at bay, for which she was eternally grateful to him. Her married world held reassuring substance for Julie, and Brad's love for her was tangible But now the emptiness was starting to return.
Julie enjoyed a pampered life as a normal, modest (though highly sexed), suburban housewife. But now that all was changing, possibly forever, after her husband Brad suddenly lost his high paying corporate job. At first neither of them felt worried. Surely a man with his experience would easily find a comparable, if not superior, job before too long. In the meantime they made the most of their increased leisure time together. With a pandemic raging around them, much of that time was spent indulging themselves at home, quite frequently in bed. For them, there was nothing like a good orgasm to banish all of life's anxieties.
Living well and living frugally had long seemed a contradiction to both Brad and Julie. Money flowed through their hands as quickly as it fell into them. Eventually the spigot began running dry. Weeks turned to months, with just a few good potential jobs materializing, none of which Brad landed. What little savings the couple once had soon vanished, and one after another of their credit cards maxed out.
Brad would make it to final interviews, but inevitably get edged out .The last time that happened he took it particularly hard. A friend at a firm that was hiring had championed Brad for the position, assuring him that he all but had it in the bag. The final decision came down to Brad and one other applicant, a younger black man who was much newer to the field.
"Well, thank you for the consideration" Julie overheard Brad say into the phone. "Yes, of course, I would love to be notified if another suitable position comes open." He looks stunned, Jule thought, his face is strangely contorted. "Fucking black" Brad muttered angrily, once the phone call was safely terminated. "No way in hell he's as qualified as me!"
"Oh Brad" Julie reacted, reaching out to console him. "They made a real mistake not hiring you. You'll get a better job, just wait and see. I know you're upset now, but it'll be OK. I've never heard you talk that way before" she added softly. He must really be stressed out, Julie thought to herself. No one they knew used that epithet out loud. They were Democrats.
"I know, I shouldn't have said that. But Jack told me the guy they gave it to comes off like a smug asshole, like he was owed that job. I earned it and he got it. How do you expect me to feel?"
"Let me fix you a drink" Julie said, walking over to their bar. I need one too, she thought, pouring out two doubles. Brad's not really a racist, she told herself. We both had black friends in college.
As more bills went unpaid Brad's self confidence crumbled, until he was reduced to a shadow of his former self. Brad stopped applying for high paying jobs, fearing the seeming certainty of another crushing rejection. Daily he became less sure of himself, which showed up in the bedroom. Sex inside their marriage, which had always been carefree, ceased to be reliable fun, or more to the point, Brad ceased to be reliable. When Julie married Brad she swore to stand by him through thick and thin. Sex wasn't the glue that held their marriage together, their bond was much deeper than that, but when money was tight during those early years, sex would emotionally sustain them. Lately though Brad hardly wanted to touch her, let alone make love for hours like they used to.
With each job rejection Brad pulled back further from her embrace. None of it made sense to Julie. She could tell that stress was effecting Brad's libido, though he denied it and blamed work weariness instead .But sex was more than a physical act to Julie, it confirmed that someone really wanted her. Julie craved the sense of connection and intimacy sex brought her even more than the feeling of Brad's hard cock inside, though she had to admit that she missed that too. At her center Julie had a void which, since her early adolescence, she desperately sought to fill. Marrying Brad kept that hollowness at bay, for which she was eternally grateful to him. Her married world held reassuring substance for Julie, and Brad's love for her was tangible But now the emptiness was starting to return.