Love & Disrespect: Bridal Advice

Author's Note: First short story in the Love & Disrespect series, a set of short stories focusing on varying types of disrespect in marriages and the resulting fallout. These stories will appear in various categories (primarily Loving Wives and Non-Erotic) depending on the story's sexual focus and if the story revolves around cheating or not.

Warning: These are flash stories, so most don't end all neat and tidy. The reader will clearly know what the immediate actions will be, but how it eventually turns out will be left up to the reader's imagination. If those types of stories bother you, skip these! Also, there is very little to no graphic sex in these stories.

My thanks to blackrandl1958 for her editing. Also need to thank outofshadows and Mostera1 for making this a better read. Any errors you find are mine... you know why.

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I walked into my sister-in-law's kitchen through the backdoor and immediately heard them. Their raucous laughter assured me they'd had a good time. My wife had joined her older sister, Anita, our daughter, Maria, and our niece, Toni, along with a dozen other women, for Toni's bridal shower.

Although only the four of them were still in the living room, their loud voices and cackling led me to believe the wine had flowed heavily that afternoon. They may not have been drunk but they were all feeling very, very good. They were so loud and involved with their hen party I was sure they hadn't even heard me come in.

I'd chuckled to myself, thinking of these four. All had dark hair and darker complexions, remnants of their Hispanic heritage. The reason I was chuckling was that, like many Hispanic women, the younger ones were thin, almost boyish, while their mothers had, umm... blossomed.

Betty and Anita would now be considered full figured. Of course, with those large breasts came a big butt and hips and a permanent large muffin top. Not that I'm going to throw stones, since I still find Betty beautiful, plus I've got a gut of my own. I'm a good thirty pounds overweight and my hairline is receding faster than a politician's campaign promise after an election.

We married in college and were now empty nesters. Our son, Juan, was in the Air Force and was stationed over in Germany with his wife and our only grandchild. Maria and her husband, Richard, were still newlyweds.

Basically, we're the typical couple living in suburbia, just average people trying to get to our retirement. We both work and make a good living and we'll own our home in couple of years.

It was good to hear my wife laugh, even if it was alcohol aided. The last several years had been rough on our twenty-two year marriage. For the most part it had been a good marriage; others may not have seen it as the type of marriage they'd have wanted, but it worked for us... except for one area, our sex life.

In many ways I guess I'm to blame for my current situation: every couple has one partner who's more dominant or aggressive than the other. In those marriages where those dynamics work, the couples worked more like a team with a team leader rather than a dictatorship.

While it might seem like I'm missing a backbone, you'd be wrong to think so. I am, usually, very quiet and somewhat passive. I also tend to avoid conflicts. It's a childhood thing that's nobody's business but mine. I don't always give in to my wife's wishes, but I certainly do most of the time. Mainly, I do it only to keep the peace, but also, because I really don't care about the final outcome. Where we eat? What kind of house do we live in? What kind of car we drive? Not life altering decisions to me.

Because of our personalities, Betty tends to be the one running the show in our household. To be honest, other than the sex issue, our marriage works for us. Usually, Betty isn't some overbearing shrew; she's just headstrong. However, on the topic of our sex life, she'd dug her heels in.

My wife had always had a low sex drive but it had gone completely dormant the last few years. She'd said it was menopausal related, but she'd refused to get any medical help. Although we'd had sex up until two years ago, we hadn't made love for several years before that. It'd just been sex, since it's hard to make love when only one partner is actively participating,

Now, I don't want to make it sound like sex was essential in our marriage, but it was still very important, at least it was to me. Without it, our relationship suffered heavily, especially in the areas of intimacy.

I shuddered when I thought back to the serious discussions that had started three years ago. Well, they started out as discussions, but soon turned into ugly fights. I was surprised at the vehemence with which my wife attacked my desire and need for sex.

She made it very plain that if all I was after was sex then we needed to look into a divorce. She said it would be a cold day in hell before she was going to be my own 'private little sex toy.' I said I didn't want sex, only wanted to make love with my wife. She informed me it wouldn't be making love unless both parties wanted it.

Those fights lasted for about a year, and then the Cold War began. I'm not sure when it actually started. It could've been years earlier, but after months of yelling and screaming, the silence was very noticeable. Soon, any touch or hug was treated like a sexual advance and I was promptly and very vocally rebuffed.

I made some decisions back then that've affected my life over the past few years. I still loved my wife, so divorce wasn't really an option. That meant trying to survive in a marriage which wasn't ideal.

My reasoning was simple; I'd taken a vow for better or worse. In most areas of our marriage things were better. In the area of our love life, this was as 'worse' as it could get. I wasn't ruled by my dick, so I knew I'd survive, though not as happily as I had hoped.

For my wife and marriage, I was willing to sacrifice. I knew in every marriage both spouses need to compromise into order to make it work. I thought we loved and respected each other enough to get over the issues that plague every married couple at one time or another.

Well, that was what I believed when I started to burst out of the kitchen and surprise the foursome. My niece's words froze me in my tracks; then my loving wife's response let me know she didn't share my viewpoint. Not even close.

"Oh my God, Aunt Betty," Toni gasped, "you've never had an orgasm?"

"Heavens no, I've had plenty of them," my wife cackled, "Just not with your Uncle Terry!"

One of them squealed and the others howled with laughter.

"Actually, that's not true," Betty continued, "Your uncle has given me a handful of small ones over the past twenty years, but, usually, I've had to fake it most of our marriage."

"Momma, I can't believe you cheated on Daddy!" I heard my daughter exclaim.

"Cheated? Oh no, honey," Betty replied, "I've never cheated."

"But you said..."

"All those huge orgasms were back in college with some of the guys I dated before I married your father. Actually, it was only two of my ex-boyfriends. They were very well hung and... well, let's say, they made your father look rather small! Both of those guys would make me lose consciousness!"

The room filled with snickers and snorts.

"I know one of them," Anita squealed, like the little sister she was.

"Hush," Betty hissed, then joined them again in their amusement.

"Okay, Mom, who was it?" Maria said, dropping her voice and trying to hide a chuckle.

"Leon!" Anita interjected. "It had to be Leon!"

"Oh, god yeah, Leon," my wife said breathlessly, swooning. "Damn, that guy could fuck."

"Mother, language!" my daughter gasped, then laughed.

"There's no other way to put it, honey; that boy could fuck! I had to be peeled off the ceiling after a night with him!"

"That's horrible, Aunt Betty," Toni sadly sighed.

"Oh no, dear, every woman needs to have at least one great lover in their lives. I've been fortunate to have had two, Leon and Douglas."

"Oh my god, Sis, not Douglas Kemp!" Betty's sister squealed.

My wife must've nodded because I heard both Betty and her sister laugh.

"Who's Douglas Kemp?" my daughter asked.

"Douglas was our dreamy next door neighbor," Anita explained. "But, Betty, he was as old as Papa!"

"Yeah, and he was very experienced, if you know what I mean!" Betty tittered.

"That's not what I meant, Aunt Betty," Toni stated calmly trying to redirect the conversation. "What I meant was it's horrible you've been trapped in a marriage with bad sex. I'm not sure I could do that."

"Oh, sweetheart, orgasms aren't everything and besides the sex with your Uncle Terry isn't bad. It's just not all that fulfilling. Yeah, I usually end up having to fake an orgasm, but he tries so hard it's cute.

"Actually," my wife cooed like she was talking to a baby, "It's so precious how hard he tries. There's nothing like watching a man give you everything he's got. It's one hell of an ego boost!"

All the women cackled while I fought the urge to throw up.

"Then why cut him off all the time?" my daughter asked, when she'd gotten control of herself.

"Maria!" Betty hissed.

"Come on Mom, I've heard the arguments since I was a teenager. I know that's about the only thing you and Daddy seemed to ever fight about. If Dad isn't that bad in bed, why choose to be celibate?"

"Honey I'm not celibate," my wife replied loudly. "It's just easier and more satisfying to use Leon the Lion every once in a while.

There was an awkward pause for a moment before Betty continued.

"That's the name I gave my big vibrator I have hidden in our bedroom!"

All the women burst out laughing again.

"Sweetheart," my wife continued, "I love your father, but in a marriage you have to make sure you're the one in control. You already know that. I've seen you doing it with Richard and you two haven't even been married a year. It'll take some time, but it'll be worth it. You'll get him trained."

My heart broke at the thought of my baby girl following in her mother's footsteps.

"As for your father and I, well, your father is your typical middle-aged man. Complete with an overhanging gut and a receding hairline. Let's face it, Maria, your father isn't as hot as he was when we first got married."

"Mother," Maria chided, "You're not so young yourself!"

"True, but I still have these!"

I listened to them all chortle and make sounds that they agreed. I didn't know exactly what my wife was referring to but I could guess, then Toni said something I couldn't make out.

"Why would I leave him?" my loving wife replied. "He's a great father and provider, and now that I've finally got him fully trained...

"Look, the best piece of advice I can give any woman getting married is to get your husband trained as quickly as you can. Use whatever you need to, screaming, pouting, crying, even sex if you have to, but get control and get it early!"

"Aunt Betty, that seems pretty cold," Toni said, softly.

"I wish I had done it earlier with your father," Anita interjected. "Then maybe he wouldn't have run off with that puta!"

"Momma!" Toni hissed.

"Well it's true. If I'd kept him on a shorter leash he wouldn't have thought he could sleep around on me."

"Oh good god, sis," Betty snorted. "Having that man fixed would've been the only way to keep that man faithful!"

All the women howled.

"I'm not sure even that would've worked," Anita snorted.

"Well it worked on Terry," my wife bragged. "I had him fixed right after Maria was born."

"Mother!" Maria now hissed.

"Oh don't 'mother' me. Facts are, you always have to keep your man on a leash and with a muzzle, if you can manage it," my wife said, continuing to bestow her matronly wisdom on the group. "There's always some bitch in heat, looking for a meal ticket."

"Yeah," Anita added, "just look down the street at Theresa. She's had three kids from two different men ..."

"Three," Maria corrected. "Three different fathers."

The women all gave a collective huff.

"And now, she's looking for a sugar daddy to help pay the bills," my daughter said with disgust.

"Problem is, she'll probably find one," Anita interjected. "She's only thirty and still looks like she's only twenty. That and her big tits aren't sagging yet!"

"Some of the girls down at the beauty shop said she's started charging for sex," Maria said sadly.

"Damn, I hope not," Anita stated. "That'll mean the destruction of some marriages in the neighborhood in the near future, since most men can't keep it in their pants."

"Let's face it," my loving wife added, "husbands are hard enough to housetrain, let alone take out in public without a leash!"

The women began to laugh until one of them snorted and sent them all into hysterical laughter.

I'd heard enough and stepped out of the kitchen. My niece was the first one to see me. It was probably the look on my face that caused her smile to disappear. My daughter and sister-in-law were next as I walked up from behind my wife.

With the other three no longer laughing, my wife turned around to see why. She looked at me briefly, dismissed me, and then turned back around.

"Oh, hi, honey. We were just talking about you," she giggled.

"So I heard," I responded coldly.

"Oh, honey," she said in a condescending tone. "It was just girl talk."

"If you say so," I replied, as I walked over in front of Toni and Maria. I got down on my knees in front of Toni and stared into her face. I could see her concern and fear.

"Uncle Terry?" Toni said her voice wavering.

"Hush sweetheart," I said gently. "I'm sure you've received a lot of advice today. I'd like to add a little of my own, if you don't mind."

She nodded slightly and quietly returned my gaze.

"I want you to take a good look at my face," I said flatly.

"Terry, please," my wife snickered, "why all the drama?"

I ignored her and continued talking to the young bride-to-be.

"This is important, Toni," I continued. "I need you to look at me and imagine this is your Thomas' face. Maria, if you would imagine this is Richard's face please. Got it girls?"

They both nodded. I stared at them with an intensity that surprised even me. My eyes filled with tears and I removed any pretense of masking my true feelings. All my pain and anger was evident.

I watched as both young women began to cry.

"Now, imagine this is the face of the man you claim to love. This is the face you'll see when he realizes the woman he loved, the woman he forsook all other women for, is nothing but a selfish manipulative bitch!"

I could the gasps behind me.

"Girls, you need to understand this will someday be your husband's face when he figures out he's wasted years of his life on a woman who has no respect for him. This is what you should expect to see if you lie to him and lead him to believe he is the love of your life all the while laughing behind his back."

"Terry, stop it!" my wife chided me. "You're making a fool of yourself!"

"I'm sorry, dear," I seethed, "Maybe you didn't train me well enough? Here's a little fact, if you beat a dog enough times, he'll either run away from you or attack your ass!

"Guess what, bitch?" I sneered, "I'm not running."

I watched the color drain out of her face as any traces of her alcohol buzz quickly faded. I was positive she now had a good grasp on how serious things had become. I'd never talked to her like that before, and certainly never referred to her publicly using those terms!

"Terry, that's enough," my sister-in-law interceded. "I won't have you talking like that to my sister!"

"Anita," I growled, "I'd be very careful what you say."

"This is my house, Terry," she snorted. "I won't be told what to do in my own home!"

"You're absolutely right; no one should dictate to you how to act in your own home!" I said glaring at my wife. "I guess my only option, then, is to leave... sort of like Carlos?"

I saw my comment struck its mark. My uncharacteristic aggressiveness had Anita shocked and silent.

"It always surprised me you'd wasted all that time and effort planning, scheming, to trap a feral piece of shit like Carlos. Everyone knew he had the morals of an alley cat. Why you thought getting pregnant and forcing him to marry you would change him is beyond me!"

"Momma!" Toni gasped.

"But, you're right, Anita," I continued. "This is your home. If I don't like being here, I need to leave... just like my marriage."

"Daddy, no!" my daughter cried.

"Sweetheart," I said softly. "I wonder how Richard will look at you after he finds out how well his mother-in-law trained her daughter?"

"Daddy, don't!" she pleaded. "Please don't say anything to him. I didn't even realize I was doing it to him."

"Maybe not, Maria, but he deserves to know."

"That's great, Terry," my wife chided, "threatening to ruin your daughter's marriage just because you got your feelings hurt."

"You're right, Betty, I am hurt but that's not why I'll inform Richard about this little discussion. I'll tell him because any husband should be made aware if his wife is trying to train him like some fucking pet!"

I could see the shock on all the women's faces. I'd never spoken to any of them like this. This was so out of character for me they had no idea how to handle it. Truthfully, I had no idea how to handle or control the overwhelming anger that was spewing out of me, either.

"I'm sorry, Betty," I said attempting to calm myself.

"Well, I guess it was somewhat understandable," my wife said in her condescending motherly voice, "I suppose it would've been a bit of a shock to overhear some of the things you did, even if it was just girl talk."

"No," I said coldly, "not about that. I'm sorry my dick is too small for you. If I would've known you were a size queen, I would've never wasted over twenty years of my love on you, trying to satisfy you."

I turned and looked at my niece.

"If the sex with Thomas isn't as satisfying as you want it to be, talk to him. Tell him your needs. Tell him what to do and how to do it so you'll enjoy it more. Sure, it might hurt his ego at first, but I don't know any husbands who love their wives that won't try to learn to please them in the bedroom. Most men would welcome the practice!

"Toni, every husband knows they can't satisfy their wife every time, but they have to believe they can most of the time. They need to believe their wife is content in the bedroom and still desire their husband's touch. If it sounds similar to what most women need from their husbands, it should. Both men and women want their spouses to desire them, and, usually, only them.

"It's the belief that their wife is satisfied with them that lets men do some of the things women typically enjoy. It allows them to sit through some chick flick and hand you a tissue or go shopping at the mall for hours and only buy one pair of shoes. It's the thing that keeps the man trying to be considerate and leave the toilet seat down or to cuddle after sex and not just roll over and fall asleep. It's called respect, and it is a form of love.

"So, I'm very sorry," I said looking back at my wife. "I'm sorry you confused my love and kindness for weakness. Trust me, it'll never happen again."

"Terry," Betty said gently. "I do love you."

"Oh bullshit!" I laughed humorously. "You don't treat someone you love like that. You don't make them jump through hoops just to please you!"

"Besides," I sneered, "now that I know your main desire is to be in charge at any cost, I'll never believe anything you say to me ever again. You don't love me; you love your perfect little life. What you really love is the control and lifestyle. Well, I'm afraid that's about to change."