The Ideal

     THE FIRST THREE YEARS

Emily could not have asked for a better relationship with Howard.  They were lovers.  They were friends.  They each catered to the whim of the other.  Theirs was an ideal relationship in every sense of the word.  Emily knew how to please her man.  She thoroughly enjoyed being pleased by him. 

      THE NEXT SIXTEEN YEARS

Something went terribly wrong.  Love turned to obligation.  Obligation turned to boredom.  And boredom turned to perpetual disappointment.  Emily tried to fix their relationship, but Howard was emotionally absent.  When Howard tried to meet her halfway, Emily was nowhere to be found.  Emily considered all the options from divorce to suicide.  She settled for nothingness.

      THE NINETEENTH ANNIVERSARY

For a strange reason that neither understood their nineteenth anniversary was the make it or brake it appointment in their marriage.  Would Emily put Howard above all her other options?  Would Howard stop his persistent hounding of her short falls?  Would Emily regain her physical satisfaction?  Would Howard be a husband in every way? 

        THE WEEK AFTER

A date night to celebrate Emily and Howard's anniversary was not enough.  Their route to an upward spiral of joy and resolution would involve a mysterious stranger on the computer, an attack on a neighbor, and the F.B.I.  Emily had to blossom and become the vibrant woman she never was.  Howard needed to learn a hard lesson.  For the both of them this could finally be a dream come true.  But would it?