Young wife drawn to the superior, older alpha male next door

[000zing]

I have this thing about "neighbourhood affairs". The latest to occur to me is one where the wife in a young family has a feckless husband who immerses himself endlessly in his hobbies - something she hadn't realised was part of his character before their marriage.

She finds herself left to shoulder the bulk of the child rearing together with looking after the house. All the husband does is go off to work every day. Their lovemaking is perfunctory, short and, to her, unsatisfactory. She realises this is partly her fault after "going off" sex subsequent to giving birth... but now she needs it as never before.

One day their neighbour - an older (60s?), military type with a stern, no-nonsense bearing - comes round to talk about some issue affecting the neighbourhood or maybe the two properties. He keeps himself in good shape, is tanned and muscled and is often to be seen outside doing heavy work on the garden or maintaining the house. She hadn't realised before he was so attractive and finds herself increasingly staring at him discreetly from behind curtains or over the garden hedge.

That's as far as I've got with the preamble. What I need is something credible in that "coming over to chat" situation which entails her and the neighbour having further meetings. The idea is that age is irrelevant and the female finds herself drawn ever more powerfully by the neighbour's personal magnetism... until she gives herself wholeheartedly and with relish, abandoning the hopeless husband to a very distant second place.

 

[LiverpoolMaster]

Ooh... yes. You've outlined the very story I've already penned as a collaboration. It was handed on to a third party, much adapted, as neither of us was much interested. As I recall, the "something credible" revolved around getting a common driveway/approachway laid between the two houses - it was the wife who was left, as usual, to do all the liaising with nice guy next door. Lucky her!

 

[LiverpoolMaster]

Forgot to add that I enjoy stories where people discover belatedly their true wants and desires. In life, they often feel themselves obliged when young to follow a predictable and conventional path. The pressure comes sometimes from family or friends... sometimes even just from within... and only later do they find out that what they really want is something else. Therein lies the scope for a lot of storytelling! The current King Charles and his marital history is a case in point, methinks.

This "self discovery" was the only aspect of the collaboration which interested me. The hackneyed "person next door" business killed it for me.

 

[Magineer]

Ooh... yes. You've outlined the very story I've already penned as a collaboration. It was handed on to a third party, much adapted, as neither of us was much interested. As I recall, the "something credible" revolved around getting a common driveway/approachway laid between the two houses - it was the wife who was left, as usual, to do all the liaising with nice guy next door. Lucky her!

Of fond memory. I thought the thread title seemed familiar. Didn't get much of a thank you from the recipient, so that was a lesson learned! Unlike you I had no problem with the man next door thing - it was more the way we had to keep adapting it it to fit his requirements which became boring.

Anyway, I definitely give the thumbs up to the idea of people realising their own needs and breaking out of the unnatural mould into which they have been forced. It's the breaking out which is the nub of any tale.