Chapter 28
Infidelity
As Nia seemed so content in her mothering role, Simon distanced himself. It started as an evening with colleagues once a week. His mood would lighten on those days, as he was looking forward to his weekly work function. It began to seem odd to Nia that he was taking more time than usual to get ready for a colleague function. His appearance seemed to matter more to him as he would shave for the second time and applied cologne before his evening out.
To be honest, Nia also looked forward to his Thursday ritual out of the house because it gave her some time that wasn’t constrained by his silent unrest. She had time to live without judgement for a few hours and go peacefully into sleep, knowing that he would come home late and not expect her to be awake when he returned.
This routine worked for them both for some time. However, Simon’s “evening out” started to extend well into the early morning hours. Nia heard the front door open, followed by Simon going downstairs to shower. This seemed odd to her. Why would he be showering now? He always showered in the morning, not before he went to bed. One question led to the next inside her head. Nia got up to check things out. His clothes weren’t dirty, and they didn’t smell of smoke. His colleague, Jim, was a heavy smoker, so why wasn’t there a smell of old cigarette smoke? She went into his wallet to see how much money was left or what dinner receipts he might have to explain his late whereabouts. She found no money in his wallet, despite knowing he had been to the bank machine that day. What she did find was some yellow lined paper, neatly folded in his wallet. As she unfolded the paper, a key fell out. On the inside was printed a name and an address:
Marilyn Connor
2079 Park Road
Apartment 612
Everything was suddenly very clear to her. Without a doubt, Simon was cheating.
The water turned off, and she heard Simon drying himself. Nia scurried back to bed and pretended she was sound asleep. Quickly after Simon came to bed, his breathing slowed, and she knew he was fast asleep. At that moment, Nia wanted to kill him. She could feel her weathered love for that man transform into the stench of loathing. The winds had changed.
The following Thursday night, Nia planned to execute her plan. She carefully prepared the last meal of the day for Simon, but there wasn’t a response when she called him to come to dinner. The children were hungry and impatiently waited for their father to join them at the dinner table. Frustrated with Simon’s lack of response, Nia decided to pick up his plate of spaghetti and meatballs and place it, still steaming hot, into the freezer. Without any hint of remorse, she proceeded to feed the children and enjoy her meal. Her dinner tasted especially delicious that evening.
When Simon finally came up from the basement recreation room, he was surprised that his food wasn’t at his place on the table. Seeing his bewilderment, Nia stood from helping Aviana scoop her own vanilla ice cream and proceeded to the freezer to retrieve his food and place it down in front of him. His look at her was colder than his plate, and he angrily left the room to get ready for his rendezvous.
Nia continued with the usual routine of bathing the children, getting their pyjamas on, and reading each a story. Following storytime, instead of tucking them into bed, she fastened them into their seat belts of the old car. Simon had left a half-hour before, so she knew he would be at “Marilyn’s place” already. The children didn’t seem distressed by the change in routine and were happy to go on an evening car ride.
When she arrived at the address, her heart was racing. In the parking lot, she momentarily reconsidered her plan. It was dark, and the children were slumped in the back seat fast asleep, still in their seat belts. From the corner of the parking lot, Nia could see Simon’s van parked close to the building entrance. The parking space next to the van was vacant, and she pulled into it and turned off the car. With the children asleep, Nia had the opportuny to expose his infidelity. The plan was cued up; all she had to do was play the next scene out.
For a brief moment, Nia wanted to abort the mission and retreat as if it was all a bad dream—but of course, it wasn’t. She opened the car door and locked it behind her before proceeding to the entrance of the controlled entry foyer. With the lights at the building entrance and her car parked close, she could still see the children fast asleep.
Nia quickly found the name on the panel with the corresponding button. She pressed hard on the button without releasing it until she heard a female voice say in an irritated tone, “Hello? Who is it?” Nia responded with, “I know my husband’s in there. Have him come down right now, or I’ll come crashing into your door.” Nia didn’t get a response, so she leaned on the button again and again.
After fifty pushes on the button and no emergence of Simon, Nia headed back to her car. Seeing the children still sleeping, she opened the trunk of her car to retrieve his fishing knife. Fuelled by her wrath and anger, Nia slashed all four of his van tires. Shocked by her sweet revengeful actions, she drove home, amazed at her newfound inner strength to stay true to her mission.
After a period of quiet, Simon, still shell shocked by hearing the “caught in the act” voice of his wife, returned to the parking lot to find his slashed tires. Instead of his usual spontaneous eruption of anger, he stared at the destruction, dumbfounded and filled with a foreboding sense of fear.
The next morning, Nia awoke and went through her usual routine of getting the kids ready for school. She had called her boss and left a message explaining that she was sick and wouldn’t be coming in to work.
When Nia was putting the kids and their school bags into the car, she could see that the van wasn’t in its usual spot. An hour later, after taking the kids to school, she returned to the house and knew Simon had been there to change into his work clothes. Nia was relieved that Simon chose to sneak out before she returned.
It was nine o’clock, and Nia was ready to implement the next step of her plan. She called the locksmith and had every lock changed. Only she would hold the new set of keys. Nia then went into his den downstairs and smashed his Meat Loaf album collection with a hammer she had found by the back door. The house felt peaceful after the pile of destruction was left in the basement. She returned upstairs and searched the divorce lawyer listings in the yellow pages.
Nia knew she was finally done. She’d lost all trust in the man she loved since she was fourteen. The thought of him being touched by another woman revolted her into dry heaving.
By two in the afternoon, Nia was sitting in the lawyer’s office. An hour later, she left the lawyer’s parking lot with a solid legal game plan.
At three-thirty, the kids were happy in their seat belts, telling Mommy all of the excitements of their day as they made their way home. Life as they knew it was changing for them too. Nia had no way of saving them from this ordeal, but she had to make a choice. Simon had pushed her back against the wall only for both of them to discover the mother grizzly within.
By 5:00 p.m., the van, as predicted, pulled into the driveway. The kids were in their bedrooms playing: Aviana with her Barbies and Andrew with his race car set. Nia heard Simon trying his key in the front door over and over again. She then heard the rumbling and the cursing at the side door and then back to the front door.
The diatribe of obscenities continued, and the children came to find their mother holding her ground quietly in the foyer behind the solid steel front door. The kids realized it was Daddy yelling on the other side of the door. Nia knew this was going to be the hardest part of her plan. To Nia, she had little choice but to act quickly, as she knew firsthand how violent Simon could be. Despite their sad little faces, they didn’t question the bizarreness of the situation and its uncertainty.
Still holding her ground without making any response to his deafening demands, Nia finally heard the van start up and pull away. Momentarily relieved, she took a deep breath only to turn and see tears rolling down the cheeks of her children. Nia crouched down to pull them into her, patting their backs. She explained t
o them that their Daddy and Mommy were unhappy with each other, and Daddy needed a “time out.” There was no way she could concentrate on anything but staying on her course of separation. She’d have to learn how to be a single mother, even if it was by the seat of her pants.
After two weeks, Simon’s anger turned into regret. He’d gone to a lawyer and signed over all his rights to the marital home and agreed to child support. Simon was hoping his efforts of goodwill would be enough to win Nia over, or at least for her to try forgiveness and allow him back into their lives. Nia had always done what he wanted, so why was this any different? Simon had never seen such fury in the actions of his wife. She wouldn’t even release a suitcase of clothes for him. He realized his betrayal flipped Nia’s characteristic submissive behaviour into a lioness, ready to kill him to protect herself and her cubs.
During the next few weeks, Nia was faced with the reality of managing her children and household alone. With great determination, she was getting the hang of the yard care and the maintenance of the swimming pool (albeit baptism by fire). She endured the shouts from the other side of the door saying, “There’s no way you’ll be able to stay in this house! The weeds will be up around your neck, and the pool will be dark green with algae. You’ll never succeed, you stupid excuse of a woman!”
Nia met those words with the inner fortitude of a powerhouse. Simon was right; she had no idea how to do these things; however, she had the resilience to learn. After the kids were in bed that evening, she went into the pool house to start the pool backwash, only to have the lever come off into her hand. That was the final insult to injury. For a brief moment, she felt like caving in, like she couldn’t find the strength to go forward into the wild, uncharted land of being a single mother with a big house, a big mortgage, and a big swimming pool to look after. Everything seemed too overwhelming.
She could feel the panic set in but realized that panic attacks pass and that she could right all of her irrational thoughts. She turned off the pump and turned off the light, went inside, and went to bed, knowing she could be resourceful after a good night’s sleep.
The next morning, she called the pool company. They sent over their serviceman, who gave her the basic instructions to manage the pool with ease. He also replaced the lever. The pool guy quickly realized what was happening with this household. He didn’t charge her for the service call, hoping she would call him back. Of course, she never did.
Chapter 29
Nia Learns to Play
Nia had every other weekend off that first summer after her separation from Simon. The court granted him child access as the non-custodial parent. The kids missed their dad, and it was hard for Nia to see their sad faces while trying to navigate the territory between living with Mom and every other weekend with Dad.
Despite this emotional pull, Nia was beginning to feel her world lighten up. She decided to reinvent herself, to find out how exciting single life could be. Outwardly, there was no sign of a wilted flower. She began to feel an increase in confidence and self-worth. Nia wanted to exercise her new attributes.
From work, she had developed friendships with a few single women who knew how to party. Nia began to look forward to her every other weekend being wild and single, followed by being the fun mommy who had the kids’ friends over to have fun in the swimming pool.
The summer lightened the emotional load, and Nia found herself dancing on the pool deck to Whitney Houston’s new song “I Want to Dance with Somebody.” Nia could feel herself getting into the moves, wearing her new teal coloured bikini. She danced with a huge smile on her face and didn’t care if anyone was watching.
Over the next three years, Nia’s activities became more expansive on the professional and personal sides; sometimes, she even blended the two. In 1988, Nia met her French lover in Houston at a neurosurgery conference where he was a keynote speaker. They met at a glamorous champagne reception in a posh hotel. Nia felt lavished by the fancy party with ice sculptures, caviar, and chocolate-covered strawberries. Servers silently moved about the room, ensuring everyone’s champagne flute never reached the half-empty level. For a poor little girl coming from Sault Ste. Marie, that degree of glamour exceeded her childhood daydreams. There were the sounds of many languages, the elegance of the views, and a vast array of designer-dressed, beautiful people. The spectacle made Nia feel she was in a sophisticated movie scene. The event was surreal and foreign to her; however, she wasn’t going to shy away from the opportunity to “taste” this rich experience.
Nia excused herself from her group of colleagues and moved toward a French group. She could hear the romance of the language while they were discussing where they would go for dinner following the reception. A man in this group caught her interest. In her black, off the shoulder, somewhat provocative evening dress with long ribband earrings, Nia could feel her simple beauty profoundly standing out in the crowd. Approaching the man from behind and allowing herself to move into his personal space, she whispered, “Bonsoir.”
Without turning around, he knew there must be an intriguing woman behind him who certainly was not from France. “Bonsoir” was the first and last French he ever spoke to her.
“Hi, my name is Nia. I’m from Canada,” she said, speaking into the back of his neck.
“Ahh, I love Canada, but their French is not so good,” he said as he turned around, delighted to see such a beautiful woman before him. “It hurts my ears, your French-Canadian language,” he said with a beaming smile on his face. “My name is Christophe, and I am enchanted to meet you, Nia.”
“Have you been to Canada?” Nia asked, having no interest in his verbal response. She was much more interested in his body language and the allure in his voice.
“Ah, yes, Montreal,” he replied, definitely wanting to keep the encounter going.
“Yes, Montreal is a beautiful city. I’ve been there a few times. I especially love the old part of the city.” Nia had been there with her children, but she had no intention of referencing being a mother that evening. Nia wanted to seize this fantastic opportunity to display and savour mutual attraction with a foreign stranger. She’d turned on and turned up her enticing sensuality, as it was familiar and pleasing territory.
“It sounds as if you are planning to go out for dinner with your colleagues,” Nia inquired.
“Yes, but my plans might change. I think it is with you I will eat. Shall we go now?” The French gentleman was anxious to take this rendezvous to the next level.
“Well . . . . Your friends might be disappointed that you’re not going with them.” Nia had no idea why she said that, as she, too, wanted to leave with her new French distraction.
“Ahhh, no. They are, how do you say? Envious.” His reply was in alignment with his plan. He leaned into her, smelling her fragrance with silent acknowledgement and delight in her fresh, untethered nature. “Let us go from here. I want to speak English with you. I want to learn more about Canada. I do not want to be with French people tonight.”
Nia nodded and enjoyed how he pressed his body against her side while holding her arm, leading her to the hotel lobby.
He motioned the doorman to hail a cab and opened the cab door for her.
As she readily slipped in, the only dubious professional thoughts in her mind were about the surface anatomy of this exquisite specimen.
“Ahhhh, you are so beautiful, not like French women. Your skin is so soft and, how do you say? Pink.” He stroked her cheeks gently and touched her lips lightly, tracing their shape.
Nia used her subtle seduction, accepting his refined forwardness, and responded with a kiss.
He briefly detached from the kiss and angled forward to give the driver the name of a nearby restaurant. He returned to the kiss while caressing her blonde, shoulder-length hair. Once the cab stopped at yet another hotel, Nia had to unfold her legs off his lap, exposing the lace at the top of her sheer, thigh-high black stockings.
“I’m not really hungry after the reception,”
Nia said coyly. She wasn’t interested in food any longer. She wanted to continue exercising her sensuality.
“Shall we drink?” he asked.
“Yes, I’d enjoy talking with you and learning more about you,” Nia conveyed with a slight fluttering of her eyelashes.
A smirk grew on the Frenchman’s lips. “Yes, to talk. Drink, what shall you like?”
Not knowing anything about French wines, Nia decided to stay in familiar territory. “Gin and tonic, please.”
“Is this a Canadian drink? I do not know this gin and tonic.”
The drawn-out “s” sound when he spoke made Nia feel giddy inside. “Not really. It’s a drink my grandmother liked. Most Canadian men like beer.”
“Tell me more about Canada. I want to know more about moose.”
“Yes, we have moose,” she said playfully.
“Ahhhh,” he responded with apparent disinterest.
Nia could see he was no longer thinking of moose, and neither was she as she marveled at his dreamy eyes.
As the evening progressed and the gin and tonic glass was emptied, Nia’s Frenchman rose from the table, taking her by the arm to the foyer, where he hailed another cab. Nia knew the next location would be his hotel. The passion was intense while travelling to the next destination. The newness of the encounter was outlandish to Nia, but she leaned into the experience, knowing she would be open to it.
The cab pulled up to the entrance of yet another beautiful hotel. With an air of natural sophistication, he said, “Cointreau” to the bartender, as he held up two fingers. Two liqueur glasses were handed to him, which he held in one hand. His leather bag containing his research papers was slung over his shoulder as he looked at Nia. She knew this was her final opportunity to change her mind—or not.
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