Married But Bored Excerpts

Excerpt One

   Joe Beeler ignored the laughter of his two kids playing in the great room and the sounds of his wife, Anna, preparing dinner in the kitchen located next to the one room in the house that he claimed as his own sanctuary against the world and his family. It was the one room where he drew the line on his wife's decorating taste. He had stood firm when she wanted him to throw away his trophies that he had won playing in the men's summer softball league, the stuffed five pound bass caught at Horseshoe Lake and the stuffed 12 point deer head staring back at him from it's place on the wall. Her demands for him to sell his collection of guns stored in the locked gun cabinet standing against the wall and remove his small bar setup housing his favorite liquors still caused problems between them when she was in a bitchy mood.

Joe thought back to his single days when he always had time to hunt and to chase the women that flirted with him as he clicked on the web page link on his computer. That was before the children, his wife and his job took away all of his free time. The two things left that kept him feeling alive now was his bourbon and coke at night and his time on line surfing the chat rooms.

At forty-three years old, Joe thought about how he was growing bored with the everyday mundane routine of his life as the chat room Married But Bored opened on his computer screen monitor. He looked over at the entrance door to see if his wife was coming into the room.

Satisfied that she was still busy in the kitchen, Joe scanned the names of the women inside the chat room and then clicked on the female name JulieInNY. He clicked on her profile and started to read the information on the profile when he heard his wife's voice coming from the kitchen.

   "Joe, dinner is ready. Make sure the kids wash their hands!"

Excerpt Two

   "Eat your broccoli like your mother said," ordered Joe to his five year old daughter, Emily.

   "I don't like it."

   "I don't either but it will keep you healthy and you'll be able to run faster than your brother," baited Joe.

   "She can't beat me," bragged his seven year old son, Kevin.

   "She will if you don't eat all of your broccoli. Okay, let's have a race to see who finishes eating theirs first. We'll include your mother in the race!" offered Joe.

   "Sorry, I'm already finished," replied Anna. "I'll be the referee."

   "Mom is the strongest," added Emily proudly.

   "I agree. She always eats all of her broccoli," agreed Joe as he looked at his wife. Joe did love her and his children as he looked at them. He had counted his blessing many times that a woman as pretty and intelligent as his wife picked him to be the man to be her husband and to father her children. He was, he thought, a very lucky man yet he couldn't stop thinking about other women. Joe's thoughts were interrupted by his son's voice.

   "Come on mom. Start counting!" demanded Kevin.

   "One - Two - Three," counted Anna who added, "Go!" Anna smiled as she watched Joe act like he was trying to eat his broccoli faster than the kids. She fought the urge to tell the kids to slow down and eat their food properly. "How is the bid for the financing package coming for the Bio Medical Park?" asked Anna to show interest in his work.

   "I think we have a good shot at winning. My boss put me in charge of the project and promised me a promotion if I bring home the bacon."

   "I like bacon," piped in Emily who smiled at her dad.

   "Me too, sweetie," replied Joe as he smiled at her before lying to his wife, "That's why I need to work on the proposal tonight."

  "Okay, just don't forget our little talk we have planned for later tonight," teased Anna.

   "I win!" bragged Kevin who proudly looked at his dad.

   "Yes, you did. Emily almost beat you," answered Joe who then added, "I am proud of both of you. You both beat me." Joe got up from his chair as he listened to his son bragging about beating his sister.

   "Back to work," lied Joe as he thought about JulieInNY.