I suggested a quickie but Amanda said she was exhausted and soon we were both asleep.The following week we had been invited to a house party at some f...iends of Amanda's. I had a late afternoon meeting in London on the Friday and expected to be back around 9pm so I suggested that I would quickly get showered and head over to the party and meet her there. The hosts Richard and Wendy weren't close friends of mine but I got on well with them. I would have been quite happy not to go at all as I was. The food was good, and the service attentive, and I felt a good deal more relaxed than I had when I arrived. On my way from the dining room, I could hear a band playing a country-dance in the function room, so I called at reception.“Is there a dance here tonight?” I asked, and was told that there was a monthly barn dance at the hotel, which was open to residents. Would I be going? I shook my head.I asked directions to Judith Connor’s cottage, giving the address to the receptionist.“Oh, that’s. We sat like that for a few minutes when a sudden doorbell jerked us back into reality. 'If this is Veronica, she got here faster than I ever did,' I thought, looking at my watch. “It's open, ironically,” I said with a smile, that did nothing to lighten the mood. Veronica stormed in and saw us at the table. Mark and I were still naked and Susan still with her coat on and still clearly upset, no, mad. “What in the hell is going on?” My wife exclaimed with her usual subtlety.I offered her a glass. She held it out and turned it upside-down for emphasis. Apparently, I hadn't even left her a drop. I decided the puppy-face wasn't going to cut it! "Oh, sweetie! I forgot to tell you... you're out of ice cream." I smiled pathetically, hoping that if I brushed the matter aside off-handedly, I could change the subject quickly and distract her. She set the evidence down on top of the bureau and pulled open the top drawer, fishing around for something hidden amongst her underwear. I was starting to.