Things I Never Told My Wife
True confessions of a Shakespearean actor
Chapter 12
DAD COSTAS’S WORDS proved to be prophetic. June, my agent, called me on January eighth.
“Terry, Ashland isn’t renewing your contract for another season. What would you like to do next? Want me to find you another regional? Want to go show by show in New York? Want me to get you a movie deal? This is really a great opportunity for you.”
Great opportunity. Right. At least she’d waited until after the holiday to call. Crap! I was unemployed. Or I would be unemployed when the season ended. Which I pondered for a moment.
“June, what about the Moliere? Are they saying I’m not playing in it? We open next weekend and it runs through the summer.”
“Since your contract expires in May and they’ve chosen not to renew it, you can tell them they need to recast before summer. I wouldn’t do that now. As soon as you announce you’re leaving, they’ll recast it and you’ll be out a good performance bonus. You can work show to show for the summer. You’re scheduled in The Winter’s Tale, too, and it doesn’t close until the end of the summer. You’ll make about the same on a show to show basis as you do on your contract and we can focus on getting you something for September.”
“Okay. Let me give this some thought and talk to my wife. You know I’ve got two babies to think of.”
“Good luck, Terry. Let me know soon so I can get to work. Remember, when you work, I get paid.” She rang off and I sat staring at the phone. I heard a thump upstairs and Shelly started crying. She was seventeen months old and still got her head too far in front of her when she started running. There were a lot of thumps and cries. Billy, at six months was doing his best to emulate his big sister and was already pulling himself up on the furniture. I went upstairs.
There was no trail of blood, so I assumed everything was okay. Shelly was plopped in the middle of the floor and Billy was crawling toward her as fast as he could.
“Daphne?”
“Oh, Terry. Come and help me please.” I ran to the kitchen and found Daph sitting on the floor with potatoes scattered all over the room. “I dropped the bag.” I laughed at her and she joined me as I got down on my hands and knees to start gathering potatoes. Each time I put a handful in the bag that Daphne held open, I stole a kiss. That progressed to copping a feel. I bowled her backwards and was lying on top of her when we heard the front door open.
“Mr. and Mrs. Reichert! I’m here.” Daphne started pushing at me and I started picking up the potatoes that I’d just knocked out of the bag.
“The children are in the living room, Jodie. Check on them for me, would you please?”
“Yeah! What did you build, Shelly? Did Billy help with that? Oh! Now is that any way to welcome me when I get here after school? Not one but two dirty diapers? Come on, sweetheart, let’s go get changed.” I heard them all head for the babies’ room.
“Do you suppose she’d notice if we went to bed for an hour?” I whispered to my wife.
“Yes, she would. And she’s curious enough as it is. I don’t want her standing in the door with both babies watching us! Now, help me get these potatoes peeled. I barely have time to get dinner ready before you have to leave for call.” I stood at the sink peeling potatoes as Daphne put a pan of water on the stove and salted it.
“That reminds me,” I said, “June just called.”
“So late? It’s already after five in New York.”
“She works in all time zones and no one takes calls before ten, no matter where they are. Honey… I’m not being renewed at the Festival.”
“What? Are they crazy? You’ve got the lead in the Moliere and in The Winter’s Tale. Are they just kicking you out the door in the middle of a run?”
“No. June says I’ll go on a show by show paycheck until they close unless I quit them. She wanted to know what I wanted to look for next.” I reached over and squeezed my wife. She lay her head on my shoulder. “It will all be okay. She already has some ideas. We’ll just need to prepare ourselves for a move in the fall.”
“Seattle,” Daphne said firmly.
“What?”
“We both liked it there. It’s full of culture. And I know what jobs you’ve been looking at.”
“You do?”
“We share the same computer. When you’re away, I get on and do searches, too.” I was glad I didn’t routinely view porn on the computer.
“Well, it does sound like a great position,” I said. “Do you think I’d be a good teacher? I don’t even have a Master’s degree.”
“Professor. That school is far more interested in hiring people from the professions than from school. I’ve looked at their faculty list and most of them don’t have advanced degrees. All of them have experience in their field of the arts.”
“You’re pretty smart for a girl who’d consider marrying me,” I said, kissing my wife sincerely. “You really think I could do it?”
“I know you could. I’ve seen you speak to school tours in the theatre. I watched you as you directed a show. That’s all teaching. Hell, I could teach a class if anyone wanted one on the joys and sorrows of raising two infants less than a year apart.”
“I think you’re a champion at it and I learn from you every day.”
I sent off an application to the Pacific College of the Arts and Design—PCAD. They invited me for an interview. I managed to find three days in a row when I wasn’t on stage. We were dark on Mondays and I didn’t need to be back until the evening performance on Wednesday. We packed the little ones in their car seats and after my Sunday matinee we headed for Seattle.
As you can imagine, having the tykes with us meant this was not a romantic getaway. But they are well-behaved kids and get along fine together. Daphne wanted to tour some of the children’s activities in the area and dropped me at the college for my ten o’clock appointment. It’s almost five hundred miles from Ashland to Seattle and we hadn’t gotten in until midnight Sunday. I was glad Seattle had good strong coffee.
“Ah, Terry, it’s good to meet you at last,” Dr. Watts said when she came out to meet me. The president of PCAD was a smallish woman I guessed to be over fifty but under sixty-five. She was known to play the cello as well as administer the college. “Please come in and have a seat. I see you already have coffee.”
“Yes. Don’t know what I’d do without it. We got in very late last night.”
“It is a hike from Ashland. My husband and I go down nearly every summer for a week to see as many shows as we can get to. It takes us days to recover once we get back to Seattle.”
“You’ve seen plays at Ashland? I didn’t know.”
“Oh, yes. We’ve seen you on stage in several roles. I must say, one of my favorites was your performance as Pericles. Such a difficult show that is not often produced.”
“Yes. I believe they put me in any major role no one has heard of. But I’ve gained fantastic experience working at the festival for the past seven years. It’s time for a change.”
“And you believe teaching is the right move?”
“There are several factors involved, including giving my young family a strong and stable environment to grow up in. But I do enjoy both coaching and directing. In fact, both are similar in many ways. It is always a learning environment.”
We chatted in a rather relaxed manner for nearly half an hour and I had a feeling she was assessing what kind of man I was rather than just whether I could teach a class or direct a play.
“I believe Mr. Brooks is waiting for us. I’ll hand you over and he’ll give you the departmental tour and interview.” We walked to the school theatre which was most reminiscent of the Black Swan in Ashland. It’s just a big black box that could be configured in many different ways.
“Mr. Brooks, this is Terry Reichert. He’s interviewing for the position Cora is leaving. Enjoy your time together and don’t forget to feed the poor man at noon!”
“Thank you, Dr. Watts. I’m sure the rumbling of our stomachs will be a good reminder.” They laughed and I was in the company of the director of theatre. “Now, that formalities are over, Terry, I’m Jon and it’s a pleasure to welcome you to your new home in Seattle.”
Something about the way he greeted me made it sound like I’d already been chosen as the incoming professor. Perhaps it was just a presumptive close to make me feel at home. I was enjoying the tour, though.
“The Box, as we call it, is not where all our shows are performed. Most of the time it is used as a rehearsal space or for student-directed experimental shows. I think you are probably used to working in such a space in Ashland. Dr. Watts mentioned seeing you in a show at the Black Swan.”
“You have all done some investigating of me, I see.”
“Oh, yes. We even got a couple of your promo tapes. Very good. You see, we believe that the best instruction comes from people who are professionals in their field rather than from academics who have studied the field. Not that a certain degree of education isn’t required, but we are much more likely to hire a person with a BA or BFA and ten years’ experience rather than a PhD with no experience. Of course, there are subjects that benefit from an advanced degree, like Theatre History or The Study of Theatrical Literature. But where the rubber meets the road at PCAD is where we want a seasoned professional.”
We had a good chat that included tidbits of information like PCAD having a good relationship with several other theatres and having performances in different spaces like Seattle Rep, ACT, and Seattle Cascades University. Dress rehearsal was often the first time a student or director walked into a new space.
We had lunch in the school cafeteria and I was handed off to the current acting coach, Cora Johnson, who was retiring. Hers was possibly the toughest of the interviews. She felt very possessive of her students and wanted to make sure she was leaving them in good hands when she retired.
Daphne picked me up at five after a fun but exhausting day for both of us. And instead of being sensible and ordering room service in our room, we took the kids and went to Elliott’s Oyster House, a favorite restaurant we’d tried during our honeymoon. Well, you can probably guess how well that went with the kids. I couldn’t. They were angels! Who would have imagined that eighteen-month-old Shelly would love deep fried calamari with aioli? I thought we were going to share it. I ordered a dozen oysters for Daphne and me. Shelly took one look at those and went back to her calamari. Billy was happily enjoying mama’s left tit. One day, I’m gonna fight the kid for that. He was already eating baby food and practicing picking up cheerios. As soon as his first tooth came in, he was going to be off the nipple.
We had a nice time and once we got to our hotel room, we got the kids down and hit the sack. The kids zonked out so quickly and deeply from the day’s exertions that Daphne didn’t really object when I started kissing her and diddling her clit. We kept it quiet as I got on top of her and sank into her sweet sweet pussy. I kept kissing to silence her own noisy orgasm before I let loose with mine. Mmm. Life is good.
It was a few minutes before ten o’clock Tuesday morning when I was walking into PCAD for another day of questioning when I got a call from June, my agent.
“June, I’m on my way in for an interview at the Pacific College of the Arts and Design. Can I get back to you later?”
“I know where you are, Terry. You should warn me about these things. I could have been some help. I’ve gone over the contract and made notes on two points I don’t think they’ll have trouble accepting. I’ve faxed it back, and emailed you a copy.”
“What contract?”
“The one PCAD is going to offer you in your next meeting. I had to modify the date slightly so you could close A Winter’s Tale in Ashland. I also modified it so you could take other work, like commercials and even stage plays, as long as it didn’t interfere with your duties at PCAD. You should be set to go for your meeting.” I was still stuck back on ‘what contract?’
“You mean PCAD is going to offer me a contract? Now?”
“Yes, now. If you are serious about moving to Seattle, sign the contract. It’s a good gig.”
“Thanks, June. I’ll let you know how it goes.”
Half an hour later, I was at a conference table with President Watts and Jon Brooks. I was reading the contract they were offering. I knew June had read it and approved it but I always read through a new contract. Sure enough, I had a two-day break after Labor Day before I had to show up. The Winter’s Tale would close on Sunday. Most professors at the school were supposed to show up the week before and be prepared to participate in orientation. The start of my class would be delayed until Thursday. There was also a clause that exempted me from Equity rates when performing as part of my job at PCAD and in return clearing me to perform elsewhere at any time it didn’t interfere with my school duties. That meant that I could definitely pick up work during the winter break which extended to the end of January, and have my summer free unless I signed a separate summer contract. I’d be clear for jobs from June through August.
The pay was not as much as I was making as a professional actor at the Festival, but it was good pay and enough to get us settled in Seattle.
Daphne and the children met us for lunch at the college and I was glad to see everyone welcome her as warmly as they had welcomed me. Then we spent the afternoon visiting with a real estate agent, describing what we needed in a house and when we would want to move in.
“You did it. I knew you would,” Daphne whispered after we had the kids settled and were naked in bed. She kissed me and began rubbing my cock. Two nights in a row? God is good!
“I don’t know how they arrived at a decision so fast. It’s almost like the decision was made before I even got here.”
“Well… I might have had a little conversation with June. You know, she really does a lot for you. I was afraid you’d never think to talk to her about your application.”
“Ah, I see. I am being represented by my agent and managed by my wife. Well, right now, dear wife, you need to manage what you’ve got in your hands.” She managed it by putting it straight into her pussy and riding me until we both came.
That last summer I was in Ashland was pretty intense. By the end of May, everyone knew I was on a show by show pay scale and would be leaving on Labor Day. Pam caught me in the costume shop for a repair and suggested that we have one more for old times’ sake. I kissed her soundly. We’d been friends ever since I arrived in Ashland and lovers a few times. But we both knew that ship had sailed and sleeping together was just a naughty notion neither of us would act on.
There were others, however, who were hard to resist. There were actresses, technicians, and even our mother’s helper, Jodie, who made a direct proposition. I gently said no to Jodie and thanked her for how important she’d been to our family since she came to work for us. She sighed and just gave me a hug. Then she headed off to play with Shelly on the swing while Billy and I had Cheerios and waited for Mom to get home from the grocery store.
One of the actresses I worked with, playing Hermione in The Winter’s Tale, was a little more difficult to turn away. I played Leontes, King of Sicily, and Leslie Drake played my wife, Hermione. We spent a good bit of time working together and although our onstage marriage was tumultuous at best, off stage we got on famously. I would have to say, Leslie set about seducing me in June and took her time to make sure it was done right. We often hugged and shared little kisses. Gradually, the hugs became longer and the kisses deeper. I realized, however, that Leslie was always careful to initiate familiarity where there were no witnesses. We enjoyed some sensuous kisses and a little groping that way.
We closed the show on Sunday the thirty-first of August. Daphne had orchestrated our move to Seattle and had departed a week earlier. I’d moved to a motel after the furniture was moved out of our house and sent to Seattle and would be driving up on Labor Day in the Mazda I’d bought as a second car.
We had a little end-of-show party at the local bar which was as much a farewell for me as for the show. There was a lot of kissing and hugging going on, including a very sensuous hug and kiss from the young actress who played my daughter, Perdita.
“Perhaps I could visit you in Seattle sometime,” she whispered as we danced in the bar. Oh, hell no. I was not inviting anyone to ‘visit me in Seattle.’ I did get a nice squeeze of her buns in as we left the dance floor and almost reconsidered my resolve. But that was when Leslie captured me. That was the end of the story. We danced. By the time we’d finished our dances, the rest of the cast and crew had left the bar and we’d shared a delicious, long and intense kiss.
“I can’t let you go without inviting you home with me, Terry. We may never see each other again. Come and make love to me.” I’m sure she could feel my erection as we danced close together. I followed her out of the bar and we walked together the eight blocks to her apartment. I’m sure we looked like no more than a man escorting a lady home through the late-night streets like a proper gentleman. At the door, however, she grabbed my hand and pulled me inside. We were so involved in kissing and groping each other that it took her forever to get her apartment unlocked so we could get inside.
And inside was precisely where I got. Leslie caught fire when we were truly alone. She put on some music and began dancing as she sensually stripped off her clothes. I followed suit and we were soon dancing together with my hard cock trapped between our naked bodies. She pushed me to the bed and went down on me as I sat. I’d worked with this lovely woman for six months. She seemed to know everything about my body that she needed to and milked a come from me in a matter of minutes.
I didn’t know anywhere near enough about her body, so I set about exploring. I hadn’t seen a body I needed to explore in a long time. I mapped her contours with my tongue, paying special attention to the rose-capped peaks of her breasts. She was a bit older than me—maybe late thirties—but as firm and toned as a woman much younger. She’d often been called upon to play a much younger part. Her flat tummy was accented by a deep well of a navel and, of course, there was not a hair to be found on her body below her head. I knew the smooth slickness of the pussy lips I encountered to have been thoroughly waxed. The absence of hair let me chew on her pudendum as I worked my way down and into her slippery center. When I nibbled at her clit and drew circles on it with my tongue, she rode a wave of pleasure as it crashed into the shore of orgasm and called out her victory.
We both needed to catch our breath a bit after that and spent some time kissing and petting before she went to work on my cock, getting it good and stiff again. I could see she was about to straddle me, so I opened the condom I’d brought to bed and rolled it on. I’d learned a lesson from Pam and always had a condom in my wallet. As soon as I was covered, she was on me. I loved this view of her as her muscles undulated and her breasts heaved. She focused her efforts on rubbing her clit against my hairy pelvic bone as she rocked back and forth on me. She leaned forward and kissed me again as I held her breasts and continued to stimulate her nipples with my thumbs. Then she was all action. She bounced on me so vigorously I thought a few times I’d either pop out of her or get bent in half. Neither occurred and I rose with her actions until I was coming inside her and she jerked helplessly on my cock until we were both exhausted.
We slowed down then. I wasn’t as young as I used to be. There was once a time when I could go three or four times in a row—almost without stopping. Now, though the equipment was dependable, I’d learned to take my time to recharge between rounds. I enjoyed my partner and continued to enjoy her lips and her body as we lay together.
“I need to use the bathroom and get ready for the next act,” she whispered huskily. She got out of bed and I watched her naked buns as she did a perfect runway walk to the bathroom door. Then I shook my head to clear it.
“I… uh… only had one condom.”
“Bedside table drawer. Get out the lube, too.”
I guessed she was a little dry, though I couldn’t tell it while we were fucking. I’d make sure the condom was good and slick before we went into action again. Neither one of us seemed at all disposed to quitting at this point. In a few minutes, she came out of the bathroom and stalked toward the bed like a panther. She was stunning. And just as frightening. I froze like a fawn about to become lunch.
She kissed me lightly and then kissed down my body to my cock. It didn’t take much of her mouth working on me while my fingers were busy in her pussy before I was stiff and ready for Act III. Little did I realize what she had in mind. She pulled a condom on me and took the bottle of lube from me to smear it well. I hadn’t thought she really needed lube, as wet as she was. Then she put her hand behind her and greased up her anus. Oh, God! She crawled toward me on all fours and nodded toward her butt.
“I don’t have boobs big enough for you to fuck, but I have one more hole. Go slow when you enter.” I moved behind her and could see the slick little star of her butt hole. I lined up my cock and slowly pushed as she opened up to receive me. Once I was all the way in her bottom, I paused a few seconds to let her get used to me. Then she pulled and pushed back and I got the message to pick up the action. Her ass was tight, hot, and unbelievable. Being lined up behind her gave me an opportunity to hold her thin waist in my hands and use that grip to steady us as I pounded ever more forcefully into her back door. It didn’t seem Leslie was at all a stranger to this abuse. She was rising to yet another orgasm and I reached down to pinch a nipple and help her along. She exploded, burying her face in a pillow as she screamed. Two more deep thrusts and I held at maximum penetration as semen flew from my cock into the reservoir tip of the condom.
We collapsed forward on the bed and I managed to stay buried in her as we rolled to our sides and she turned her head to kiss me.
“Sorry it took so long to work up the courage. We could have been doing this all summer long,” she sighed.
“That was amazing.” My cock decided it wasn’t staying around for an encore and shrank out of her butt. I captured the condom and disposed of it. I kissed her again and went to the bathroom to piss and clean up. When I stepped back to the bed, she was lying flat on her back, giving me a great view of this beauty I’d fucked.
“I’d ask you to spend the night but I’m a bitch in the mornings and I know you have to leave early tomorrow. I’d rather you remember me like this than growling at you with morning mouth.” I knelt beside the bed and kissed her again, moving down to give a last little lick of the nipples she’d so kindly let me play with. Then I dressed.
“Thank you, Leslie. We had a great run together.”
“Mmm. Closed after opening night. Happens to the best of them. Travel safely, Terry.”
I left and walked to my motel. It was three o’clock in the morning and I planned to leave at six. It almost wasn’t worth going to bed. But I did. I flopped in the bed without showering—a task I could do in the morning—and thought back over the past three hours.
The night before I moved to Seattle, I’d taken my first trip around the world.
Of course, I never told my wife about that.
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