Chapter 4

Howard awoke to find himself on the sofa. There was nothing unusual about that; he often fell asleep on the sofa while watching television. What was unusual was that he woke up feeling that something was wrong, out-of-place. In all his life, Howard had never woken up feeling that way before. He led a perfect, trouble-free life.

"Honey?" he called out to his wife.

Silence answered him back. Howard looked at the clock on the wall. It was almost midnight. The basketball game was over and David Letter-man was now on television, trading playful insults with some curvy guest. Okay, Howard thought, Susan has gone to bed. She always went to bed around this time. There was nothing to worry about. Nothing to worry about at all.

Howard thought that he should try sleeping in bed for a change as well. With a groan, he got to his feet. He was getting too fat, he realized, looking down at his stomach.

None of his old pants fit him anymore, and that was cause for sorrow. He had been in such excellent shape as a young man, proud of the body that had almost taken him to the professional leagues. Now, he felt tired all the time for lack of exercise. It was the desk job he had that was the cause of all this, he thought, somewhat bitterly. Sitting in a chair ten hours a day, pushing papers around, was not healthy for a human body.

Howard turned off the television set and started off down the hall towards his bedroom. He hoped that Susan would still be awake, perhaps reading a book. It had occurred to him that he had not had sex with her for a long time. His brief nap had given him some energy for a little nooky; he was actually looking forward to it this time. His cock began to swell at the thought of his sexy wife waiting for him in bed, breasts bared, wearing nothing but panties—her usual bedtime garment.

He saw that the bedroom light was still on and smiled. He opened the door and said, "Honey, I—"

He stopped. Susan was not in the bed.

Perplexed, he did a quick search of the house, calling out her name as he went along. She was in none of the other rooms. Nor was she in the garage doing laundry. Finally, he went searching outside, and that solved the mystery. Her car was missing from the driveway; she had completely left the house for some reason.

But at this time of night?

He scratched his head. Where could she be?