*A/N Guys, I have sinned. I feel so guilty for committing adultery against Paric because they are the ship I will sail forever. However, Palcide is the little day sailor I pull along behind my ship of all ships. I am SO SORRY. Anyway, this is pretty Bridges of Madison County inspired. If you can forgive me for the sin I have committed, please read it… and if you're feeling extra forgiving or just want to tell me what an awful thing I've done, review it please. As always, I don't own them and sadly never will.

"I'll be back in a few days, Pamela." Eric said as his lips grazed her cheek and he stepped out onto the porch.

"Take care of yourself, Eric." She said with a smile. "I'll just be here missing you."

"Oh it won't be that bad, Pam." Eric replied. "New Orleans isn't that far, and besides you'll have time to be a woman of leisure. You'll have four whole days to sit around and do nothing."

"I'm sure nothing is EXACTLY what I'll do." Pam said, managing to refrain from rolling her eyes.

"Take some bubble baths. Go to lunch with your friends. Spend my money. It'll be like I'm not even gone." Eric told her as he stopped off the porch and walked towards his car.

"You be careful!" Pam called after him as she walked back inside and shut the door.

She pulled out a kitchen chair and unceremoniously plopped herself into it. Eric could have at least ACTED like he would miss her while he was gone on his business trip, but she'd come to expect being inconsiderate from him. He seemed to think that his dutiful housewife did nothing more than eat bon-bons and watch soap operas when she wasn't out buying new shoes, which of course was completely untrue. She did plenty around the house of which he barely took notice. She had grown accustomed to his selfishness, but that didn't mean it didn't irritate her.

They had started off as hot lovers, but a wedge was dividing their marriage further and further apart more and more every day, and Pam sometimes wondered to herself if he was giving all the love, affection, and attention that he once reserved for her to some other woman. If such a thing was true, she didn't know if she could take it. She may not like Eric all the time, but she would certainly love him forever.

He didn't seem nearly as attracted to her as he once had either. She was still a beautiful woman and worked hard to keep her luscious figure, and put great effort into her flawless appearance, but Eric only showed sexual interest in her about once a week or sometimes twice if she was lucky. She craved his touch and his love, and didn't get nearly enough of it.

She began to wonder what she really would do with herself while he was gone to New Orleans. With him gone, there was no point in cooking meals that only she would eat. She could call up some girlfriends and see if they wanted to go out for dinner and a few drinks, but she didn't much feel like socializing. The state of her marriage weighed heavily on her mind, and she need to do something therapeutic rather than drowning her worries in alcohol. That had never been her style.

Her flowers out front could use some attention. She took pride in keeping her home looking magnificent. She gathered the tools she would need and went outside to work. She busied herself with tending to her flower beds and lost herself in her thoughts. She didn't even hear the vehicle pull into the driveway and almost jumped out of her skin when she heard a deep, husky, masculine voice behind her.

"Ma'am, sorry to bother you, but I'm lost and in need of directions. Think you could help me?"

Pam's eyes nearly bugged out of her head. Standing before her was a tall, dark, and incredibly handsome man. This magnificent specimen of masculinity made her inner thermostat rise quickly enough to burst the glass and give her mercury poisoning. Aside from Eric, she had never seen a more gorgeous man. She tried to gain her composure and stood to greet him.

"Surely, I can." She stammered out. "Won't you come inside a minute? I'm Pamela Northman, by the way."

"Alcide Herveaux." He said taking her hand in his.

"Oh he's Cajun." Pam thought to herself. "And he's gorgeous. Calm yourself, Pamela. CALM YOURSELF."

She was a married woman, and had always been faithful to her husband, but she immediately found herself lusting in her heart and her loins for this handsome stranger. She was just going to have to write him down directions for where ever it was that he needed to go, and send him on his way. Or at least, that's what she told herself.