The Accommodation

It was a Tuesday, so they made love. She thought it was a fair compromise. Fridays, Saturdays, and Tuesdays were for making love, though special events such as their anniversary, his birthday, the reception of extraordinarily good news, occasioned modifications to the calendar. She thought that he was happy with this arrangement, and it was an arrangement that had worked well since their daughter had left for college three years ago, so she was particularly surprised when he announced that he wanted to take on a mistress.

“It’s just for Wednesdays,” Richard said, and eventually June agreed that his request seemed reasonable enough, and because the expense and inconvenience of a New York City hotel, though easily bearable, seemed completely unnecessary, Loraine simply came to their penthouse on Wednesday nights, staying in one of the guest rooms with Richard.