The Dance by Alison G. Bailey

came down harder and harder each time it landed on the key, thinking somehow that would help me gain access.
    Aware of my limited time, I gave up on the folder, opened the browser, and quickly searched the history. With my hand over my mouth, I read the list of websites Will frequented. There were a few construction related but the majority of the sites had the word porn in their address. One address that came up a lot was for a website called Virtual Life. I quickly put two and two together, figuring this was what VL stood for on the folder I couldn’t open.
    The sound of footsteps and throat clearing jolted me into action. I powered off the computer and put it back in the bag, making sure the bag was exactly as Will left it. I sprinted to the other side of the kitchen and began making a pastrami sandwich. I prayed that by the time Will reached the kitchen any physical evidence of my nerves would be gone.
    As Will rounded the corner, I stole a quick glance in his direction. He had changed into his favorite pair of worn jeans and blue T-shirt. I loved when he wore simple causal clothes. Somehow they made him look like the boy I knew in high school.
    He’d recently gotten his hair cut. Not quite a buzz cut but close. At first I wasn’t sure about the new style but had to admit it looked good along with the scruff peppering his strong jaw. At this moment everything about him looked sexy, cozy, and comfortable. As if on cue, my heart fluttered, brushing away my doubts for the moment.
    “Is my sandwich ready?” He asked.
    I placed the slice of rye bread on top and cut the sandwich in half. “Yeah. I was just getting ready to dish up some potato salad. Go ahead to your office. I’ll bring the food in to you.”
    Will slid the plate with his sandwich away from me. “That’s okay. All I want is the sandwich.”
    “I’ll bring you a piece of cake after I finish frosting it.”
    He grabbed a napkin and another beer. “Don’t worry about it.” He tossed the words over his shoulder as he left the room.
    I didn’t see or hear from Will for the rest of the night. I thought about getting on my laptop and investigating what the Virtual Life site was all about, but decided it was better to do my snooping when Will was out of the house and I was alone. So I cut a big piece of cake, crawled into bed, and flipped through the TV channels trying to find anything that would redirect my thoughts and keep my imagination from running wild.

 
    As soon as Will left for work the next morning I hopped on my computer and searched Virtual Life. From what I could tell, the user created a persona and then role played anywhere on the site. The real person controlled every aspect of their character—the actions, the words, and the feelings. There were different scenes and worlds a character could step into. Since I wasn’t a member and didn’t plan on becoming one, I had limited access. I did notice there were areas on the VL site marked adults only. I decided to do a Google search on cyber-sex. Within seconds I had a screen full of websites, articles, and videos on the subject.
    I clicked on a short documentary titled Wired for Sex . I watched in disbelief as a husband told the filmmaker how his wife of ten years had ignored him and their two children for months as she developed an intimate relationship with another man through VL. Sometimes spending as much as fourteen hours a day online with this man. A man she had never physically met. The rest of the film showed how these virtual characters can do whatever their creators want them to do, including having full-on graphic sex. The technology was so advanced that the appearance and movements of the characters were extremely realistic. By the time I’d finished my crash course in virtual adultery I felt like I needed to disinfect my eyeballs as well as my body.
    I spent the rest of the day with my head in a stagnant fog. As I robotically ran errands to the post office, dry cleaners, and