by Jamela
“You know, I don’t really talk much online. Besides, by the time I use the computer to work, it’s the last place I want to be for fun or recreation. Anyway, Ray should be here in a few minutes. Did you drive or take a taxi?”
“I figured it would be much easier to give the address to a taxi driver than for me to get lost trying to get here. Besides, I didn’t wanna take up anybody’s parking space. I’m meeting Stan after I’m done visiting you. I figured I might as well kill two birds with one stone. Girl he came up for the weekend and we had such a good time. That is, until his wife surprised him and came up with their daughter. He only spent one night at my place, but he came over the next night for a lil’ while. And you know I put it on him! I wanted him to realize how much he’s missing by not divorcing his wife. I mean he acts like he doesn’t love her anymore. I don’t know why he stays, unless it’s for his daughter. But she could live with us. I always wanted a little girl.”
“Well maybe he’ll realize all of this when he gets back home and starts thinking about things.” Remarked Samantha.
“I sure hope so. I love him, but I don’t like the fact he’s cheating on his wife. He makes her seem like such a bad person. Like she doesn’t do anything for or with him, but surely it wasn’t like that in the beginning. See, you have a loving husband, so you wouldn’t know what I mean. You should hear the way he talks about her. He doesn’t even tell her he loves her anymore. If I were her, I’d be so hurt and sad knowing I’m losing a man I love. Then there’s the daughter, what is it going to do to her? I wanna be with him, but he’s got to get some things together first. I messed up my life once when I was young and I’m not going to make the same mistakes again because my heart tells me too. I’m gonna think things through this time and make smart decisions. I want this to last. You know we’ve been together almost three years. But…I don’t know. He’s just got to get some stuff straight.”
“Well, good for you. At least you are one of those people who learn from your mistakes. I’m going to get something to drink, would you like something? I have iced tea, orange juice, soda and water.”
“I’ll take the water, you know I love water.” Liz said smiling.
Samantha walked off into the kitchen and Liz got up to look around. The house was nicely decorated in tans and off whites. The front room was spacious with greenery all around. As she was looking at the selection of books on the bookcase, she heard a key in the door. She turned around and couldn’t believe her eyes. Stan came on in and walked over to her, “What are you doing here?” He hissed through clinched teeth.
“I was invited. Are you following me? What are you doing here? I’m not supposed to meet you until later. Oh wait a minute. Wait a minute! Oh my God. Don’t tell me this is your house. Please don’t tell me that. Stan is this your house?” Managed Liz with a hurt expression.
“Yes it is.” Said Samantha from the doorway. “Liz meet my husband Raymond. Oh, but you two look like you know each other already.”
Stan backed away from Liz and looked at Samantha through narrowed eyes. “How could she have known? I never thought she would be this devious. Not the Samantha I know.” He sank down into a chair just staring off into space. Samantha walked over to Liz and gave her the glass of water. “Here, you’re probably gonna need this.” She said taking a seat across from her and sipping her coke.
“Now, who wants to start first?” She said and paused. “No takers, Okay. I’ll do it. Liz, first off I apologize to you for not coming clean. You see I discovered that my husband, Stanley Raymond Burch was having an affair. The phone records were the first clue, then came the late night cell phone calls. Then finally, I overheard a few conversations between the two of you. So, I did some research and discovered who you were. I had planned to tell you that he was married with a child and to beg you to leave him alone. I still loved him at that time and wanted to try to save my marriage. But after talking with you in emails a few times, I liked your personality. Surprising, huh? I actually liked the woman my husband was having an affair with.” She said with a small chuckle.
“Then you began to tell me about your boyfriend. You told me every time you guys made plans to be together and something happened and it didn’t work out. You told me all about the things he said about his wife. You even asked my advice about being in love with a married man. You said I’d known since I was married and had a child. You wanted to know how I would feel so you could imagine what the wife would be going through if she knew. I thought you were compassionate to consider the feelings of his wife, even though you weren’t breaking off the affair. At least it showed you had some kind of heart with a little good in it.
So, I took all of this information and kept it. I decided there would come a time to use it. When Stan’s Aunt died and he planned on going to the funeral, I never once mentioned I would be going with him. Instead I told him I had a lot of work to do because my deadline had been moved up and I needed to get it finished. He left the address for me to send flowers as usual. You know how they do. You play secretary and they tell you that you don’t do anything, but you handle all of their business and then some. Anyway, I decided I would attend the funeral after I got your email telling me your boyfriend was spending the night. I knew Stan wouldn’t be expecting to see me and I wanted to see if he was going to be man enough to admit he didn’t want the marriage anymore. I really was shocked at his behavior, though, when he saw me with his old friend after a business meeting. It almost sounded like he was jealous. But I realized it was just his ego. So, I emailed you before I left asking you to come for a short visit knowing you would eventually meet Stan. And here we all are. Isn’t this cozy? But for the record, Liz, I like you as a person.” Samantha finished. “I don’t like that you helped my husband cheat on me, but .. anyway.. do either of you have anything to say, ask or comment?” Sam questioned smugly.
“Okay. So, you led me to believe you were someone else? No, actually you didn’t. You just didn’t tell me that your husband and my boyfriend were the same person. How could you let him keep it up for so long? Didn’t you wanna just burst my bubble and tell me?” Asked Liz in puzzlement.
“Simple. As I told him yesterday, I was just giving him enough rope to hang himself. When I first found out, I was going to put a stop to it right away. I think I was feeling sentimental and overly emotional. He hanged himself this past weekend. And, by the way, Stan, thank you. I saw my attorney today, and I am filing for divorce. You should be getting served within the next couple of weeks. Now if you wanna go home with Liz, help yourself and I hope you two have a wonderful life……”
“No! He’s not going home with me!!” Interjected Liz. “Remember what I just told you. He made you seem like the worse wife in the world. And I can see for myself that’s not the case. I don’t think you talked to me online for a little over two years and never allowed the real you to come out. I remember you telling me about stupid fights you had with your husband. I remember you telling me how you wanted to spice up the bedroom action and you even got some suggestions from me! When I think of all the times I told you about my boyfriend and some of the things we were doing, I just can’t imagine how you must have felt. So, no! He’s not going home with me. If he could do this to you, what is he gonna do it to me down the line? I’m not giving him a chance to break my heart.
Yeah, Stan I’m in love with you. But I’m also scared to death of heartache. You know that ‘cause I’ve told you time and time again. Been there. Done that. Besides, your wife is a nice person. She’s gonna make some man really happy one day, but you’ve lost out. I’ll eventually get over you. I’ll cry over you, and pine away for you for a while. I don’t know how long it’ll take to get you out of my system, but I’ll eventually do it, because my heart is not something to be played with. I can’t believe I was so gullible. How could I let this happen? You even warned me about the tricks married men play and I said Stan wouldn’t do something like that to me. I just knew he wouldn’t ‘cause he loves me
. I was so wrong!
You know, I made this trip to see her.” Liz said pointing to Sam. “Seeing you was a bonus. But I’m glad I came here first. Renee, or do you prefer to be called Samantha?” Asked Liz.
“Samantha is fine. Or you can call me Sam, Stan does.” She said calmly.
“Samantha, I owe you an apology from the bottom of my heart. You know this weekend has been a roller coaster. I never meant to hurt you. Having an affair with a married man is always bad, but especially when it’s a good person at home. I’m just sick ‘cause I know I can never make it up to you. I’m not gonna even ask you to forgive me. But if you could ever find it in your heart, I would like to remain your friend more than anything. May I use the phone to call a taxi, please?” She said through embarrassed tears.
“You don’t have to call a taxi. I’ll take you where you wanna go. And for what it’s worth, I can see what Stan saw in you. I forgave you for cheating with him a long time ago, which is why you’re here today. If I hadn’t you wouldn’t be in my house. Oh I was enraged in the beginning. I wanted to beat you into a pulp. I thought of all kinds of ways to get back at you. But, that wouldn’t have solved anything. I realized my anger should be directed at Stan because it takes two. You only went on what he told you. You couldn’t have done it alone. True you shouldn’t have gotten involved with him after you discovered he was married. But I also know how Stan can be.
It’s up to you if you want a relationship with him. I can’t guarantee a friendship with me if you stay with him, just because there is a lot of anger toward him. I haven’t managed to work through all of it, yet. But I am well on the way to healing from all of this. So, if you want him, you’re welcomed to him. You can stick a fork in me, ‘cause I’m done.” Sam said plopping into a chair.
“Well, this is all very lovely, but I have something to say about all of this.” Interrupted Stan jumping up from his seat.
“You two are talking like I’m not even here.” He said in amazement.
“So you two became friends, huh? I guess that just shows I have great taste.” He walked over to Samantha and took her hand in his. Gently he said, “Samantha, I don’t want a divorce. I decided this morning on the way over here I want to go to counseling or whatever it takes and try to work things out. I was gonna tell Liz we have to stop seeing each other. I saw another side of you and I like it. You can’t just kick me out of you and Alicia’s life. There’s a lo…..”
“Yes I can, because you started it.” Blurted Samantha. “I don’t have the same feelings toward you anymore Stan. You made sure I fell out of love with you. So just move on. I don’t want a pretend marriage with you anymore. In the back of my mind, I’ll always wonder, every time you get on the computer, if you’re developing a new relationship based on lies with someone else. Every time you get a call on your cell phone, I’ll suspect you of being unfaithful. I can’t live like that. I just can’t do it. It’s over and there is nothing left to discuss except who gets what. You did this to yourself, so live with it!” Screamed Samantha.
She paced a few steps and said, “I know I will never trust you again, no matter what. You don’t know how many times I’ve cried and plotted. You don’t know how many times I’ve wanted to confront you. But after all of your rejections, I realized you were doing exactly what you wanted to be doing. You were living the life you wanted to live with someone else. You didn’t want to include me in things, if you had, you would have tried to understand. I’m not saying I’m the perfect woman or wife. Obviously there was something lacking for you to go outside of our vows. But I did my best. I was faithful to you the entire marriage. Even after I found out about Liz. For all I know, she may not be the first. I made countless compromises for you, but you didn’t do the same for me. I tried to work on this relationship. But I couldn’t do it alone. A marriage is a give and take and all you did was take. So, take your lame excuses and move the hell on!” She said with her hand on her hip.
“That’s right, Stan, you did this to yourself.” Liz hissed. “You had a good wife, who works hard, takes care of her family and was willing to please you, but you ignored her and made her feel unloved and unwanted. I’m sure you guys had normal ups and downs as all marriages do. But, at least she tried. Did you? Now you decide you still love her because she calls your bluff? You see her with someone else and think she’ll forget all the hurt you’ve caused her? What’s wrong with you? It’s too little too late and typical of a cheating man. You would think in my profession, I would have seen this coming.
Being a paralegal we get cases like this all the time. I can tell you what you’ll do. You’ll be good for a while, then you’ll get bored again and just like she said, you’ll find someone else to have an affair with. You don’t value relationships and you aren’t willing to work at them unless it suits you and what you want. You probably won’t do it online, but you’ll do it just the same. I can’t believe I let my heart blind me to this for so long. I should have known when you told me how different I was from your wife what you were really like. It’s gonna take me a while to get over you, but I’ll be able to do it. I’m not gonna give you a chance to play me any further. I feel like the dumbest person in the world.” She turned away from Stan and looked at Samantha. “Samantha, I’m ready to go, if you’re still gonna take me.” The two women grabbed their purses and walked out together.
Stan was left staring at them through the bay window as Sam backed out of the driveway. His wife and his girlfriend are climbing into the car and getting along. He looked around at the empty room. He fingered the picture of Sam in her wedding gown. He slowly walked over and picked up the plaque Sam and Alicia had made for him. To the Best Father and Husband in the World July 24, 2009. Damn! I have absolutely nothing. I can’t believe I got played. He slowly walked to the bedroom. He reached into the closet and took out his suitcases. He opened the first dresser drawer and began to put his clothes inside. “I guess my weekend wasn’t so good after all. There really was a funeral.
The End
It’s My Money
Jessica walked down the stairs, rounded the corner and ran to her car. She fumbled for her keys and opened the door. As she started up the lil’ Honda Prelude, she pushed the gearshift to reverse as she pressed the clutch. Screeching to a stop, she put it in 1st. By the time she was half way down the block, she was up to 55 mph.
“How could he? How could he just causally mention that he’s moving out? Like we haven’t got a relationship at all. Well, I guess we don’t have one if he’s leaving. Fine, if that’s the way he wants to play it. There is more than one way to skin a cat. He proposed, I accepted and he’s gonna marry me.”
She drove over to her best friend’s apartment and parked in one of the assigned spaces. She opened the door with her key and called her friend from the phone in the foyer. “Shelly, I’m at your place. It is okay for me to stay here for a while? Josh and I are having a, umm, situation. No, I’m okay, just a little ticked off. I may not be here when you get home. I gotta go get my stuff. I had to get away from him. No, I’ll tell you about it later.” She said and hung up.
Okay. Now that I have a sure place to stay, I can get everything else out of the way. She hops into her car and drives to Josh’s job. She walks in smiling, “Hi, Claudia. Is it possible for me to speak with Josh for a minute?”
“Hi Jessica. He’s in a meeting right now, but I’m sure he wouldn’t mind you sitting inside to wait. How are the wedding plans coming? The big day will be here so fast.” She said smiling and giving Jessica a hug.
“Oh, everything is moving along nicely. I’ve got the place reserved for the wedding and the reception. The bridesmaids and everyone in the wedding party are outfitted and the invitations go out in two weeks. You will be coming, won’t you?” She questioned.
“Oh sure. I wouldn’t miss this for the world. He thinks I’m his mother, rather than his secretary, you know. But I am happy for him and certainly for you.” Said the older Claudia.
Jes
sica patted her on the shoulder and walkd into Josh’s office. She glided over to his desk and began to thumb through his daily planner. She noticed he had lunch dates with a salesperson, M. Mason. She scanned a little further and discovered the complete name was Markita Mason. She noticed there were a few evening appointments with the same person. Is this the reason he wants to move out? If I find out he’s having an affair…ohhhh!
She walked over to the sofa and sat down. After crossing her long shapely legs, she realized she was tapping her foot like streaks of lightning. “You’ve got to settle down. You don’t want to talk to him and let him see how distressed you are.” She sat up straight, took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Just then the door opened, “Hi. Before you say anything, I don’t want to squabble with you. If that’s what you came here for, this is not the time or place, Jessica. I’ve made my decision.” Josh said striding to his desk. He took a seat and pointedly looked at Jessica.
“That’s not why I’m here. When I left this morning, I was visibly displeased. You wanting to move out hurt me. But, later I realized you shouldn’t have to move. It’s your apartment. I’ve made arrangements to stay with Shelly until we work things out or I find a place of my own. You said we needed some time, but that you still love me, so I’ll take that to mean, I don’t need to call off the wedding?” Jessica stood to brace herself for his answer.