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From: Lazlo Zalezac <lzalezac@yahoo.com>
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Subject: {ASSM} A Different Sort Of Lifestyle 02 (MF, rom)
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Date: Sun, 07 Jan 2007 17:10:03 -0500
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Lazlo Zalezac
http://www.asstr-mirror.org/files/Authors/Lazlo_Zalezac
http://www.asstr-mirror.org/files/Authors/Lazlo_Zalezac
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<1st attachment, "Life01-02.txt" begin>

A Different Sort Of Lifestyle
Chapter 2: A Hint Of Something Different
By
Lazlo Zalezac
Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezac, 2006

 "I finally paid off the car," Jim said absently while pulling away 
from the curb. He had written the check the previous night with 
considerable pleasure. It was one more monthly bill eliminated 
from his life. They would save the money for the next two years 
and use it as a down payment for his next car. 

His fellow carpooler was not impressed by the announcement. 
Only Greg, one of the four who shared a ride downtown, was left 
in the car with Jim.  It was widely accepted that Jim had the worst 
car of the carpoolers. It was small, cheap, and old. Greg said, "You 
should trade this in and lease a new one. You can get a much better 
car for the same amount of money." 

"I'm going to keep this one for another couple of years. A car is a 
way to get from point A to point B," Jim said, "I don't care what it 
looks like."

"You're just cheap," Greg said. He knew that Jim made good 
money, but you couldn't tell it from how he lived. 

"Not really. I just have better things on which to spend my 
money," Jim replied with a smile. He pulled over at the corner 
where a kid was holding out a bouquet of flowers trying to entice 
someone to buy. Fishing out a ten, Jim handed the kid the bill and 
accepted a bouquet of flowers in exchange. As usual, he told the 
kid to keep the change.

"You could buy a much better car if you didn't spend so much 
money on flowers. Twice a week you buy flowers here," Greg said 
shaking his head.

"Hey, it is only eighty dollars a month and I enjoy having fresh 
flowers in the house," Jim replied. It wasn't so much that he 
enjoyed the flowers as the pleasure the flowers brought his wife.

"What are you, some kind of closet homosexual?" Greg asked in a 
joking voice. He knew that Jim was married. 

Jim looked over at Greg and shook his head. He answered, "You 
wouldn't understand."

"You're right. You drive a piece of shit car and live in a dinky 
house, but buy flowers all the time," Greg said.

He asked, "Do you want me to drop you off at the sports bar?"

"Yeah, I'll have a beer or two before going home," Greg answered. 
It was his way of unwinding from a long day before facing a 
hostile home.

Jim came to the sudden decision that it was time to make Greg 
understand. He said, "How about I take you to my home and then 
you walk home after you've met my wife? It's only three blocks."

"This isn't some weird attempt to seduce me, is it?" Greg asked 
jokingly.

"No."

"Sure, I'll be happy to meet your wife." 

Greg knew what Jim's wife looked like. When it wasn't Jim's turn 
to drive, everyone saw her kiss him goodbye in the morning. 
Although she wasn't the prettiest wife, her goodbye kisses were 
definitely hot. It was a common joke among the carpoolers that a 
couple who had been married that long shouldn't be acting that 
way.

Jim pulled out his cell phone and dialed his wife. He let her know 
to expect a guest. When he hung up, he turned to Greg and said, 
"She's expecting you."

"Okay," Greg replied wondering what that meant. He wouldn't 
have called his wife to let her know that he was having a surprise 
visitor. Of course, he didn't have the nerve to have someone drop 
by without lots of warning. She would blow a gasket.

A few minutes later, Jim pulled into the driveway. Greg knew this 
was the smallest house in the entire neighborhood. He often 
wondered why Jim hadn't moved into a larger house, but had come 
to the conclusion that Jim was a cheapskate. He asked, "Are you 
ever going to move into a larger house?"

"No need. This is plenty big enough," Jim answered. It was a three 
bedroom house and his children had their own bedrooms. He 
admitted that they were small rooms, but they were plenty large 
enough for the kids.

Greg shook his head in wonder. He said, "You can afford better."

"It would be too much work to keep up a bigger house," Jim 
replied. A larger house would require his wife to spend more time 
keeping it neat. He would have to take more time to care for the 
lawn. Life wasn't meant to be spent taking care of your 
possessions, but to allow your possessions let you live.

He led Greg into the house and the living room. Pointing to a chair, 
he asked, "Would you mind waiting while I change clothes?"

"No, go ahead," Greg answered entering the living room. He 
looked around the room surprised by how Spartan the décor was 
and how neat it was. A simple sofa, loveseat, and individual chair 
were arranged around a large square coffee table. The open side of 
the arrangement faced a nice television. It was a much nicer 
television than he had expected.

He walked over to a small étagère that stood in a corner of the 
room. It was not quite filled; holding only a few small 
knickknacks. He turned his attention to it and was surprised to find 
that it was filled with little items that had been acquired on trips. It 
was a strange collection of items that included a keychain from 
Cancun, framed ticket stubs from a Broadway play, and a wedding 
picture. Used to the porcelain figures, glasses, and collectable 
plates that his wife kept on her shelves, the odd collection of 
trinkets didn't make sense to him. 

He went over to the loveseat and sat down turning his attention to 
the walls. The walls were covered with reproductions of Pre-
Raphaelite paintings. He wasn't sure what the style was called, but 
he had seen the paintings in other places. They were romantic 
pictures in which the women were soft and the men were manly. 
He was surprised the collection of paintings included nudes of 
women. It wasn't until he had been sitting for a few minutes that 
he realized there was classical music playing in the background. 

Jim came out wearing a suit. Adjusting the sleeves, he asked, "Are 
you ready to go meet my wife?"

"A suit?" Greg asked. He couldn't believe that Jim had changed 
from business casual to a suit on coming home.

"My wife will understand that you are a little under dressed. She 
knows that it was a spur of the moment invitation." Jim answered 
with a knowing smile. He picked up the bouquet of flowers and put 
them in a vase. Greg hadn't noticed that the vase was filled with 
water. 

"She would have expected me to wear a suit?"

Nodding his head, Jim answered, "I know that it sounds a little 
strange, but we like to do things a little differently around our 
home."

"I'm not sure that I understand," Greg said. 

Cryptically, Jim said, "You will."

Jim, carrying the vase with flowers, led the other man through the 
house and into the backyard. His wife, Ann, rose and held out her 
two hands to Jim in greeting. It was easy to see that she was happy 
to see her husband by the smile on her face. She said, "Welcome 
home, honey. I see you brought flowers."

Jim placed the vase on the table and went over to his wife. Taking 
her two hands in his, Jim answered, "I know how much you enjoy 
fresh flowers. I must say that it is good to be home, my dear."

The couple kissed and exchanged passionate words that 
embarrassed Greg to hear. He didn't think that old married couples 
acted like that. He wondered how they managed to keep the 
passion in their marriage. It had definitely died in his marriage. He 
couldn't remember when he'd been greeted with a kiss; much less 
words about how much she had missed him, on coming home. 

He examined Ann wondering how a middle aged married woman 
could look so attractive. Her hair was combed back into a bun, her 
makeup was tasteful, and her nails were perfect. He wondered how 
long her hair was. He liked long hair. She was wearing a very 
elegant gown with high heels. Being just a little overweight she 
had a bosom; that was the word that came to his mind to describe 
her chest. Her gown showed plenty of cleavage. It surprised him 
that he was physically excited by her.

When the couple ended their kiss, Jim said, "Ann, I would like to 
present Greg Anders to you. He's in my carpool. Greg, this is my 
wife, Ann."

Ann extended her hand, palm down, to Greg. Used to women 
extending their hands for a handshake, he stared at it for a second 
before realizing that he was supposed to accept her hand. He took 
her hand in his and wondered what he was supposed to do with it.

She said, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine," Greg answered. He wondered where 
that answer had come from. It had rolled off his tongue naturally 
although it wasn't the kind of thing that he normally said when 
meeting a woman for the first time. He realized that he was still 
holding her hand and released it. 

Ann gestured to a chair and said, "Please have a seat. Jim said that 
you liked beer. I took the liberty of pouring one for you. I hope you 
don't mind."

"That's fine."

Greg went to the chair to which she had gestured and noticed a 
glass of beer on the small table. He turned and saw that Jim was 
helping his wife into her seat. He sat down and looked at the 
couple seated across from him. 

Ann handed Jim a martini complete with an olive. She said, "I 
made your favorite."

Accepting the drink, Jim took a sip and said, "Thank you. It is 
perfect."

"You're welcome," Ann said. She pointed to a small tray of snacks 
on the table and said, "I've prepared a little something to take the 
edge off our appetites."

Greg felt as if he had entered a film made in the 1920s. He 
watched as Jim examined the little tray of snacks and said, "Oh, 
you made my favorite."

"I hoped you would enjoy it," she replied. 

He took one of the snacks and took a bite. After swallowing, he 
said, "Perfect."

"Thank you," she said. It had taken no time at all to create the 
snacks. The tray of Ritz crackers topped with a dollop of Cheese 
Whiz took a whole minute to prepare. It had taken another minute 
to arrange them on the plate so that they were presented 
attractively. She turned to Greg and said, "Greg, please help 
yourself to a snack. I know that it is a rather simple appetizer, but 
we enjoy them."

Greg reached over and picked up one of the crackers. He took a 
bite and chewed. There was nothing special about it and it made 
him wonder why they bothered to make such a fuss out of a simple 
snack. He washed it down with his beer. Seeing that they were 
watching him, he said, "That was nice."

Jim turned to his wife and asked, "Where are the kids?"

"They are out playing with their friends. They should be home 
anytime now," she replied.

Jim looked out into the lawn and said, "I see that Robert has set up 
the badminton net."

"Yes, I thought it would be fun," she said. It was common for them 
to do that on nice summer evenings in the middle of the week. On 
Sundays they played croquet since the lawn would be freshly 
mowed. 

Raising an eyebrow, Greg felt like he had entered the Twilight 
Zone. He asked, "Your kids play lawn games with you?"

Smiling at the disbelief evident in his voice, Ann said, "Of course. 
We've been doing this since they were little. I think they look 
forward to it as much as we do."

"You're kidding me," Greg said. His kids didn't want anything to 
do with him or his wife other than to request a ride to or from some 
activity.

"Not at all," Jim said. Smiling, he said, "Their friends are always 
trying to join in. They are always welcome, but we insist that they 
dress appropriately."

Greg took a sip of his beer and looked around the yard. It was a 
simple rectangular yard with a six foot privacy fence around it. The 
fence was hidden, only partially successfully, by flowering plants. 
A large oak tree with a swing occupied a corner of the yard. The 
rest of the lawn was neatly trimmed grass. He realized that it was a 
much lower maintenance yard than his own. He figured that Jim 
spent less than an hour on yard work every week.

The arrival of four kids was announced by a soft closing of the 
door. He turned and stared at the sight. The older pair of teenagers 
followed behind the younger pair. The oldest girl wore a dress very 
similar to that worn by Ann. Her hair was pulled back and held in 
place by a large white ribbon. The tall gangly boy with her was 
dressed in an ill-fitted suit. He was smiling and looking around the 
backyard with undisguised curiosity. The younger boy was 
wearing a suit that fit him quite well. The girl with him wore a 
simple dress that came down to her knees. 

Jim rose and said, "Welcome home, kids. I see you've brought 
guests with you."

The older girl said, "Hello, mother and father. I'd like to present 
Hal Johnson to you. He's a classmate of mine. Hal, this is my 
father, Mr. James Green and my mother, Mrs. Ann Green."

Jim shook hands with the young man and said, "It is a pleasure to 
meet you, Master Johnson."

Ann said, "My goodness, you are a handsome young man. I bet 
you have to beat the young ladies off with a stick."

Hal stood up straighter; an action that made his suit appear even 
worse fitting. He said, "It is a pleasure to meet you Mr. and Mrs. 
Green."

The young boy stepped forward and said, "Hello, mother and 
father."

The girl with him said, "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson. It's nice to 
see you again."

Ann said, "Hello, Miss Ables. It's always nice to have you drop in 
with Robert."

"Thank you, Mrs. Johnson."

Watching the action, Greg revised his estimate of what he was 
seeing. He decided this was some sort of scene out of a Victorian 
novel. He rolled his eyes convinced that Jim and his wife were 
crazy. What he couldn't figure out was why the teenagers were 
going along with it.

His thoughts were interrupted when he found himself being 
introduced to the kids. Jim had used his full name in the 
introduction. The children had been introduced as Master Robert 
Green and Miss Susan Green. The guests had been introduced as 
Master Hal Johnson and Miss Amy Ables. He felt weird 
addressing the kids as master or miss whatever. It was clear that 
the kids enjoyed the adult treatment. Once everyone was seated, 
Ann said, "Miss Ables. Master Johnson. I talked with your parents. 
They've given permission for you to have a drink."

Surprised, Hal asked, "Are you serious, Mrs. Green? I didn't 
expect that."

Walking over to a small cart, Jim said, "It is only a little wine 
spritzer."

Surprised their parents would allow teenagers to drink, Greg 
watched as Jim prepared four small glasses. The glasses were real 
cut crystal. He filled the glass a quarter full with wine and then 
filled the rest with soda water. Jim put the glasses on a small silver 
tray and carried them over to the kids. He offered the tray to the 
girls first and then the boys. Each kid thanked him for the drink 
upon taking a glass from the tray. Jim said, "Enjoy your drinks."

Each of the kids took a small sip of their drink. None of the kids 
drained the glass in one go. It was obvious to Greg that this was 
the first time Hal had ever had a drink in the presence of an adult. 
He was equally confident that the kid had probably chugged a few 
beers in the past. 

Feeling like a voyeur, he watched as the adults talked with the 
kids. The language was formal, but the attention the kids received 
was honest. They discussed events of the day, current topics, and 
the interests of each individual. For at least ten minutes, each kid 
was the center of attention. 

Throughout the discussion, Jim and Ann paid attention to each 
other. Jim refilled her glass of wine. She brought out another tray 
of snacks. This was nothing more than apple slices and cheese. 
From the freshness of the apple, he realized that she had prepared 
it during the three minutes she was in the kitchen. 

When the conversation was at an end, Jim said, "Perhaps you 
young ladies and gentlemen would enjoy a game of badminton."

Smiling, the kids took their leave and went to play. Greg watched 
Robert hand out rackets to the others. Jim smiled and said, "I hope 
you are having a good time, Greg."

"Very good," Greg answered realizing that he had actually enjoyed 
himself. He glanced down at his watch and realized that it was 
time he should be getting home. Gesturing to the kids, he said, 
"Your children are really well behaved."

"Why wouldn't they be?" Ann asked.

"Uh, teenagers tend to be a little rebellious," he answered. He 
thought about his kids and how difficult it was to get them to even 
say hello when they came home. 

Jim said, "I've heard that is often the case, but all of the young 
men and women our children bring over are very nice."

Greg finished his beer thinking about it. He wished that he could 
get an invitation for his kids to come over and spend an evening. 
Putting the empty glass on the table, he said, "I can't believe that 
they are playing badminton. I don't think I've ever seen kids 
playing that game."

"Would you care for another beer?" Jim asked.

"No, I had better be heading home," Greg answered. He rose and 
found that Ann and Jim had stood as well. 

Ann said, "It was a pleasure having you over. Perhaps we can do 
this again some time."

"I would love that," Greg answered.

Jim said, "Allow me to show you the way out."

Greg followed Jim back into the house. While they were walking, 
he glanced in at the kitchen. The kitchen was of the kind that 
joined with the dining room. He noticed a curtain rod traversed the 
width of the room. The table was set with China and the mass of 
forks and spoons that usually left him confused. There was a 
candelabrum on the table complete with candles that looked as if 
they were used. He remarked, "I didn't realize that you were 
having a special dinner tonight."

Noticing a gesture in the direction of the table, Jim laughed and 
said, "We believe in formal dinners in the evening. It would be 
nice if there was a formal dining room, but we hung the curtain so 
that we could make this a little more intimate."

"You do this every night?"

"Yes."

"China plates every night?" Greg asked incredulously. His wife 
brought out the China only on holidays and made sure that 
everyone knew that they were not to damage them. It made those 
occasions particularly tense. He said, "My wife is terrified that 
we'll break her China."

"Ann buys a new set when the old set is in bad shape. New China 
night is always a special occasion," Jim said. Usually they had a 
home cooked meal on those days. Most nights, it was simple meals 
that didn't require much time to prepare. Meals heated in a 
microwave oven, meals cooked in a crock-pot, or take-out were the 
norm. 

"Isn't that kind of expensive?"

"I can't think of a better use of our money," Jim said with a smile. 
He appreciated eating off the China more than driving an 
impressive automobile. He opened the door and let Greg out. He 
said, "Perhaps next time you can bring your wife."

"Sure," Greg said wondering what she would make of the couple.

Walking home, Greg thought about the time he had spent at Jim's 
house. Sure it was weird, but it wasn't uncomfortable. In fact, it 
was just the opposite.  There was a civility and calm assurance that 
all was right in the world that was missing in his life. There hadn't 
been the kind of tension that he associated with arriving at home.

He entered the house and looked at his wife. She was wearing her 
stretch pants and a tee-shirt. Her hair, cut short for convenience, 
hung limply. Like usual, she wasn't wearing makeup. Seeing that 
he had come home, she greeted him, "The Visa bill is overdue. 
They called today."

He sighed at the thought of the stack of bills waiting for him in the 
study. Three cars, a boat, a camper, and a four bedroom house with 
a formal dining room and formal living room were nice, but 
expensive. He said, "I'll take care of it after dinner."

"Take care of it now," she replied. With a hint of scorn in her 
voice, she said, "I'm tired of them calling all the time."

The kids came in and pushed their way around him without 
greeting. He said, "Hi, kids."

His son, the elder of the two, mumbled something in reply. His 
wife shouted after them, "Clean your room."
<1st attachment end>


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