Mistress

Lots of men have affairs. It takes a different sort of man however to acquire and maintain a mistress.

By mistress I mean a woman who knows that it is her sole purpose to provide the man with sexual gratification and to fill up his voids with love, on demand.

In order to have a mistress, the man must also be married. A mistress who hasn't the competition of a wife is more of a girlfriend, or a fancy bit on the side. A mistress is a second wife. A mistress is the free spirit you wish your wife was.

I once heard a story about a man who had a wife, children and a mistress. Each knew of the other, and as there was no divorce on the cards or children threatening murder, each accepted it. This had me thinking.

Why would somebody do it? What might possess a woman to open her eyes to competition and to embrace it, to accept it without so much as a question why? Of course, every woman wants to know why her husband can't be faithful to her. Every woman wants to know why, when she can give birth to his children, she doesn't deserve his love for as long as she lives.

The story I'm referring to had full acceptance. The father had a mistress who he'd known for a number of years. Weekends away would be spent with his mistress and the family would know precisely where he was and what he was doing. The reason the wife said nothing was probably as she was thankful knowing that whatever her husband was doing, he was at least safe. Once she had made it past the hurdle of fury and resentment, she saw it for what is was. Something over which she had little control. She always knew he would never leave her, for she was the one who woke up early in the morning so that he was fed and watered before he went off to work. The mistress would do no such thing. That's the thing about being a mistress, you can take complete charge. You're at the top of the hierarchy from day one. Of course, a long term mistress seems to fluctuate between love and lust quite rapidly. There must have been a day when she either wished that the man in question would leave her alone or that he would leave his wife and become hers forever.

Mistresses are clever women of course, and they all fear the same thing. If he could have a mistress with her, he can have a mistress with me. Mistresses never want to be the wife hanging by. Once a man has had the joy of a mistress, it's almost as though he can't do without one. It's as though he needs two points of view over his life. And choice, the man feels he deserves a choice.

So, why doesn't the wife leave him? Why doesn't she try to find somebody who'll be faithful to her?

1. She no longer trusts men.
2. For the children (no matter how old they might be)
3. Because sometimes it's better to be secure in the knowledge of where your husband is going, rather than cut yourself up wondering which bitch he's screwing this time. Consistency can make infidelity seem so much nicer. Not nicer, sorry, more acceptable.

And I can't help but wonder, is a life in the shadow of a mistress really a life worth anything? When you hand over your joy and sanity to a woman more powerful than you ever were, is it like offering her a pistol and opening up your blouse to reveal a target. Or are you simply taking a loan out and paying interest for all of eternity?