What's in a name - or, rather, a term?
What, exactly, is a mistress? The girlfriend of a married man? (My translation of Proust continually mentions St. Loup's mistress; meaning, presumably girlfriend, since St. Loup isn't married).
What is an affair? Do you have to be married to have one? Presumably otherwise you'd simply be dating.
(An ongoing disappearance case here in California involves the vanished woman's husband and his girlfriend. The media first called her a girlfriend, later a mistress. The relationship was first described as an affair, later as a sexual relationship, I believe. I'm not sure that they ever admitted their relationship was sexual - but hey: it was an affair, right?)
I hope you all had a pleasant Valentine's Day. Here's some timely fiction:
"You know," he said, "I really enjoyed those times we spent with Holly - especially that weekend we all went down to the ocean. We had that nice little condo we rented."
"Yes, I liked that too," Ellen said simply.
"We made a nice dinner," Albert said, "Then we all snuggled in. You and Holly watched TV, and I read Hermann Hesse. Then we all went to bed and it was wonderful. Remember?"
Ellen smiled. "Yes," she replied. "We left the window open. You could hear the waves crashing onto the shore. We must have been about fifty feet from the water."
"It was a full moon, I believe," Albert went on. "But, the next morning, the fog had come in, remember? We walked along the beach, the three of us; holding hands and dreaming..."
"Ah, Holly," Ellen reflected wistfully. "She wanted a normal marriage and children. She was willing to settle for us in the meantime. Then she latched onto Eric, and had no use for us."
"Those Saturdays we'd stay over," Albert said, a glint in his eyes, "and drive in to church together...and sometimes have lunch..."
"Those were some days," Ellen said with finality.