An Act of Kindness, Wife’s kindness to coworker pays BIG dividends… It all started out innocently enough. I can’t believe I let it happen. I’m not that kind of woman. I would never… Well, I did, and truth is, I enjoyed it!
I’m 32, a devoted wife and mother of three beautiful girls, ages 5, 9, and 11. My husband and I have been married 12 years and attend church regularly. I teach a Sunday school class, he is a deacon. We have a storybook marriage, really we do. We always talk out any problems that come up, we always agree on major purchases, we love and respect each other. I don’t think I look like a woman who’s had three children, because I try very hard to take care of myself. I exercise every day, I eat right, and I think it’s working. I’m 5 feet, six and weigh about 115. Curves in all the right places, not too many extras. When my husband and I go out, and I’m dressed up with makeup on, I still get second looks from men who see me. I have shoulder length brown hair, a pretty face, nice legs, and slightly larger than average breasts. I don’t think I’d ever be thought of as a ‘knockout’ but I do ok, considering.
A few months ago, I took a job in a local factory as a temp, running a machine. All that was available was on the evening shift, from 3 to 11, so that really put a crimp on our family time, since my husband works in the insurance business from 9 to 5. We arranged for day care after school and then my husband spent the evenings taking care of the girls. Sometimes, though, he would have to go on a business trip and then his mother would keep them until the next morning – so they could sleep all night and not have to wake up to go home when I got off work. She lived near their school so it was no problem for her to get them to school in the morning.
I would never admit it, but I was actually enjoying my time ‘away’ from my family. I found that I looked forward to going to work every afternoon, because it freed me from the constant demands that were pulling me this way and that – the girls needed me to do things for them, my husband always had something he needed me to do. I was getting burned out, and this job provided much needed relief. Let him take care of them for a while, let him see how hard I work every day just to keep our family fed and school work done, clothes washed, the whole thing. Let him take care of all that, and he might appreciate me more.
There was one man at work who I became friends with. He was around 45, John was his name. He was in great shape for a man his age. I wasn’t really looking, but I did notice that he seemed solid and muscular. His job was to keep all the machines running, and he would have to come around to work on mine sometimes. It started out that we would talk when he had to come to my machine – then he started coming around at break times and then lunch. We got into a routine where we would spend all our breaks and lunchtime together. We enjoyed each other’s company and found that we had a lot in common. You know how, with some people, you just don’t ever ‘feel’ that you can trust them, and you talk about trivial, meaningless things? Not so with John. I found myself completely comfortable talking with him about everything. I felt no need to be ‘on guard’ or careful about what I said. With John, we could talk about deeper meanings, thoughts, ideas, and dreams. He was non-judgemental and let me talk when he saw I needed to. He was a good listener, and offered only insights, never criticism. I looked forward to my talks with John. He paid attention to what I said, and he picked up on the unspoken thoughts.