My story starts with me being stupid. I strayed from my wife. Yeah, dumbass, right? Twelve years of marriage and then I went and had a one night stand. I guess at least I made it past the seven year itch. I shouldn’t joke, it was no joking matter. I thought my life was over.
So why did I do a stupid thing after twelve years? The reality is that I never had the opportunity to stray before. My wife Jodie and I both work from home so we’re with each other all the time. We have a good social life, but we’re not one of those couples where she has her friends and I have mine. Our friends are our friends, so when we go out, we go together.
Now I’ll admit to having a bit of a roving eye from time to time. I’m a red blooded man and it’s in our DNA, you hear me Joshua? My wife never seemed to mind, she said I was just checking out the market and that meant she didn’t have to feel guilty about eyeing up the young hunks on the beach. Everyone does it. There’s nothing wrong in it.
Except one day, just looking turned into something more.
My company sent me away for a team building thing across state. They wanted all the remote workers to get together and meet each other properly. We all communicate by email and Slack, but the management thought we’d be more effective if we could put names to faces. You can guess where this is going. Hell, you know where it went, Joshua. I spent a week in this nice lodge with a bunch of folk I knew without knowing. We talked every day on the internet but had never met. Only now we were all here in person, in this great place with a pool, hot tub, sauna, gym, tennis courts, climbing wall, all kind of stuff.
Out Of Context, Into The Fire
The first couple of days were great, getting to know everyone properly, putting those faces to names. We all had a blast. The food was great, there was entertainment in the evenings, live music, games, everything. It wasn’t like work, it was like vacation.
On the third day we got split into pairs for an exercise. I don’t even remember what the task was, but it doesn’t matter. I was put with a girl about half my age. She was called Claire. I’m not going to lie, she was hot. Even as I write this email Joshua, I can see her great body in my mind, I can see the tight little dress she wore, how it hugged her curves… And it wasn’t just that she looked good, she was a great person to be around, fun and bubbly and talkative. We got on like a house on fire.
By the end of the day we were all hot and exhausted, and Claire suggested a dip in the pool to cool off and relax. We followed that with the hot tub. Man, I can still see her getting out of the pool in her bikini. She saw me looking and gave me a little smile. I hadn’t seen a smile like that since Jodie and I had started dating all those years ago. I knew exactly what was on her mind.
After about half an hour in the tub, everyone else started to drift away to the bar or to bed, so me and Claire were alone in the bubbling hot water. And you can guess the rest. We did it there and then, in the water. And then we got out and went back to her room and did it again. We spent the night together, and neither of us got much sleep until the early hours. And I’m ashamed to say that I didn’t think of Jodie once. It was like I was in another world, a parallel world where I wasn’t married, where Jodie didn’t exist and I could do what I wanted.
The End Of The World
Well that world came to an end the next day when Jodie Facetimed me. She called every morning to see how I was. The call woke me up, and through habit I just tapped the green answer button on my phone. At first I couldn’t understand the look of absolute horror on her face (another image I will never get out of my mind). Then I realized. In the little square that shows what the other person is seeing I saw Claire, buck naked, peering over my shoulder. She and Jodie were staring at each other. I think I swore. I definitely dropped the phone. I heard Jodie sob just before it hit the floor and cracked.
I made some lame excuse to my manager and left the team building event that day. I drove four hours straight to get home, tears streaming down my face the whole time. I didn’t know what I was going to say to Jodie when I got back, and in the end I didn’t need to say anything. When I arrived home my bags were already packed and out on the driveway. I didn’t even try the door, I just picked them up and drove to the nearest motel.
The following weeks were the toughest of my life. Jodie only communicated with me through her lawyer. She made it clear she wanted a divorce, and because the damned phone had somehow recorded her call showing me in bed with Claire, she had all the evidence she needed. I was in pieces, Joshua. My friends call me the big man I’m not a small guy. People who don’t know me sometimes cross the street when they see me coming, but as big as I am physically, I’m marshmallow at heart. I don’t mind telling you those weeks tore me apart. The guilt, the crushing pain at the thought of what I’d done to Jodie…it was all too much and at one point I considered ending it all.
A Little Voice
But something inside me said to keep going. And it must be that little voice that led me to your website.
I’ve always tried to keep an open mind, so when I read about what you did for people, and when I read the stories on your site, I knew I had found a way out. I filled out your form there and then, and waited.
You kindly wrote me back Joshua, and told me you’d take on my case. I felt a wave of relief. Even though nothing had changed between me and Jodie, it felt like the wheels had been set in motion.
And I was right. A few weeks after you cast your spell, things started to change. It was slow to start. The first sign was when Jodie said she wanted to meet up. She said she was done talking through lawyers, it was time to speak in person.
Slow And Steady
We met the same day in a cafe in the mall. It was so great to see her again, even if when I looked at her beautiful face I remembered the look of horror from that fateful Facetime call. We kept things civil and talked about practical things like who would get what from the divorce. A pessimist might have seen that as meaning the spell wasn’t working, but I could see past the words. I could see her heart wasn’t in it like before. Meeting in person, her body language, this was a big change.
The change kept on over the next few weeks. She suggested things were going too fast, that there was no hurry to divorce yet. And slowly, bit by bit, she kind of fell in love with me all over again. That’s the only way I can describe it, because that’s how it was. There was no great moment of revelation where she threw herself into my arms, it was slow and steady. Over about six weeks or so, we went from only communicating through lawyers to me moving back in on a trial basis. And a month after that it was like nothing had ever happened.
That’s it, Joshua, that’s my story. Your spell saved my marriage and probably saved my life. I may be dumb, but I’m not dumb enough to imagine I ever had a future with Claire. I never spoke with her again after that. It was a stupid, stupid mistake and one I’ll regret for the rest of my life. But you know something? In a way, this whole thing has made me and Jodie even stronger. I really believe that. And it wouldn’t have happened without your spell. That you do this for people for free blows my mind. I thank you from the bottom of my heart, Joshua. You are the man.