by Zita Weber
‘But, what about Judy?’
‘What about Judy? She has a boyfriend she’s mad about. He lives with her in the apartment, except he’s away for a few weeks now. Why would Judy give me a second look – she’s got a young lover. We do work together well and she’s an asset to the firm, but it goes no further. Now do you believe me?’
Sally sat silently. She was confused. With Kevin in the room and his soothing voice reassuring her she was unsure what to believe. Part of her desperately wanted to believe there was no Judy, no other woman, yet, there was a niggling doubt still.
‘Honey,’ Kevin was next to her now, putting his arms around her and kissing her cheek. Sally had no inclination to pull away, although something told her she should have. Her resistance was now down.
‘Sally, honey,’ he said with warmth in his voice, `These stupid suspicions of yours are making you ill. Perhaps you need to see a psychologist, you know, about that inferiority complex you know you have. Maybe it all stems back to your childhood. Look, tonight was just a coincidence, you do believe me, don’t you? If you’d phoned ten minutes earlier or later, I wouldn’t have been there – it was just pure coincidence. Look at me and tell me you believe me.’
‘Yes, I believe you,’ she whispered as she lay her head on his chest.
‘I want to hear you say you believe there’s nothing between Judy and me, please, honey, say it.’
‘I believe you Kevin, and I believe there’s nothing between you. It was just my silly suspicion. I should have known better and trusted you.
Kevin tried to conceal his surprise as he looked down at Sally. Maybe she was changing at last. Sally’s obsessive jealousies and suspicions had come close to ruining their relationship before. But this was new. In the past, it had taken days to get her to renew her trust in him. As they sat cuddled together, there was no sense of any discomfort or unease about the future.
She was smiling at him now. He put his arms around her tenderly and kissed her.
‘You know I love you Sally – I always have,’ he whispered.
‘Yes, I know. And I love you too,’ she replied.
‘Why don’t you slip into something more comfortable. I’ll dash out and get some champagne – and then we can really celebrate. Do you feel like being ravished?’ he added mischievously.
Sally walked into the bedroom and opened her lingerie drawer. Yes, she had just the right sexy underwear for their celebration. She saw her reflection in the mirror and smiled wryly. She still looked good in black lace and she was in a mood to be appreciated! How wrong her instincts had been. How could she have doubted him? He was right, her suspicions had been silly and unfounded. Maybe she should take up his suggestion and see a psychologist.
Down in the street, Kevin looked around quickly and headed for the nearest telephone booth and dialed 568-000.
Suspicion – 2008 Style
She put down the phone and smiled to herself. She’d done it and she felt vindicated.
It had been all the tell-tale signs that had given him away. They always think they’re being subtle but really they’re showing their hand even as they think they’re being so clever. Men!
Sally sat back and contemplated her options. Revenge at its most ugly was not her style. There would be no putting prawns into his underwear drawer or slashing his entire wardrobe of designer shirts and suits. Too crude for her taste. No, she’d have to come up with something much more quietly stated, but much more hurtful.
She looked down at her notepad and took in the words she’d jotted down: ‘Your husband was seen leaving a woman’s apartment on six occasions over the past two weeks’. As she’d suspected. Despite his strong denials and protestations, she’d known it in her bones. He was seeing another woman. The private detective had been referred to her by a friend who’d used him to check on her husband. Soon, she’d have all the evidence she needed. She would have the full report on her husband’s activities over the past month in her inbox. It would make for some interesting, if irritating, reading.
Fighting back her tears, Sally thought about their five years together. How much she’d given up, all to support him in his career. Okay, it had been her choice, of sorts, but she had expected some loyalty from him. Was that unreasonable of her? Of course not. If she had given up some of her career ambitions to support his, she was well within her rights to expect something back. Fine. She had a nice life and she worked part-time as a teacher. But what about all that talk about children? How could she plan to have children with a lying, cheating bastard of a man?
What was worse, she’d believed him when he came over all misty-eyed and said how much he loved her and wanted her to be the mother of his children. Only a few months ago, she’d gone off the Pill and they were ‘trying’ for a baby. At least she was trying for a baby. What had given him away initially was his increasing lack of sexual interest even when she’d told him it was the right time of the month and they should go at it harder for her to conceive.
Excuses, she’d heard them all. He was tired. He had to work back. He had an interstate conference to attend. He had a week-end away team building session to run. He wasn’t feeling well. He had even pleaded a headache! Now there’s a turn-up for the books, because in popular thinking it was only women who resorted to the headache excuse. She was almost getting used to his clichéd responses.
The final piece of evidence to fall into place for her was his change in showering habits. Where once he showered in the mornings, he now showered in the evenings, often immediately after getting home. To remove her scent, she thought. But he wasn’t as clever as he thought.
Last week, he’d worked back almost every night or so he said. She’d like to know what kind of work he was doing. Working on her, she suspected. He’d waltzed through the door, in that way of his, so easy-going, so casual, so deceitful and given her a quick peck on the cheek. And that was when she smelled the remnants of a cloying scent. There was no mistaking it. She’d gently pulled him back to her and he’d reluctantly given her a more decent kiss and her suspicion was confirmed. It was Obsession.
She knew this because she used to wear Obsession once. How appropriate! A scent named Obsession and he probably very obsessed with this woman. Sally tried not to think of the woman as her rival, but every now and then, the thought sneaked in.
Reframing, Sally said to herself: ‘No, she’s not my rival. She’s a slut who wants my husband and is doing the dirty on another woman.’
Sally snorted to herself when she thought about Judy. Judy Spring was the woman’s name. Talking aloud, Sally said, ‘Judy Spring doesn’t deserve the label of ‘rival’. A rival is someone you can see, you can challenge and may the best woman win!’
Letting out a sigh, Sally wondered about her mental health. She knew that whenever she was feeling vulnerable she talked out loud to herself. Gritting her teeth, she was determined to not let her cheating husband push her over the edge. She had to maintain her control.
‘You’re strong Sally,’ she said to herself and smiled. Yes, she was feeling strong and determined to win.
Sally was feeling strong because she knew something about her husband which she suspected he didn’t suspect. She was sure that he was completely in the dark about her knowledge of his fooling around. Smiling to herself, she relished this idea of having the upper hand.
When he came home tonight, she’d be all sweetness and light. There would be no ugly scene, nor any questioning. She was not going to give her hand away.
Sally moved to the study and unlocked the drawer where she kept her personal and financial papers. She pulled out a set of photos, every one incriminating and one more revealing – huh! she laughed at such an appropriate word – than the next.
The previous private investigator she had hired had done his job well. Several dozen photos plainly showed her husband in compromising positions with four different women. He’d always been a greedy man but when she’d learned he had been so busy – imagine having four women
in three months – even she was taken aback.
Of course he’d denied it all. No. He had admitted to one affair, which he’d called a ‘sad mistake’. Sally hadn’t showed her stash of photos to him. Her challenge had been verbal. But now, she couldn’t wait to share her photo collection.
Selecting an elegant ecru-coloured envelope, she chose six of the best – photos in which her husband’s face as well as the sexual activity was well presented, and placed them neatly in the envelope. She thought about sending it anonymously, but then had second thoughts.
In her beautiful hand – Sally had always won the ‘best handwriting’ prize at school – she wrote out her personal message. As she licked the envelope and pressed it closed, she wondered what the recipient would think.
Her husband had sent her a text saying he would be home around 8 o’clock. She had 20 minutes.
Sally got her coat and left the apartment. It was only a short stroll to the nearest post box. Before dropping the envelope into the slot, she stopped and savoured the satisfaction of certain victory. Judy Spring would get a surprise she wasn’t expecting. And Sally would have her husband back – until the next time. To Sally, it had become a challenge, almost a game and she was sure she’d always have the upper hand.
Her husband had always said he hadn’t married her for her money. But it was her money that kept him coming back to her. Yes, she felt like the winner.
Fortunately, he’d forgotten his keys that morning. She would have to let him in.
When he rang the doorbell, she adjusted her hair, smoothed down her dress and answered the door with a welcoming smile. She would bide her time, until she was ready to end their relationship. There was no point in alerting him to her recently acquired knowledge and hard evidence. Just when he least expected it, she would call it quits. The very thought of her husband’s shock at losing his comfortable lifestyle made her smile all the more.
‘Hello, darling,’ she cooed as she pulled him in towards her. She imagined she felt the relief in his body as she pressed herself against him. He responded by kissing her tenderly.
‘How was your day?’ she asked without missing a beat.
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