8 Weeks (2 page)

Fuck.

I grabbed my overnight bag and reluctantly opened the car door.

When I opened the door and saw Shelly leaning against the counter in the sexiest little dress I’d ever seen, I wanted to rewind the last couple days and not go on the Vegas trip.

I looked around the room, noted the candles, flowers, and the sweet smell of my favorite dinner on the stove, and felt like I’d just been punched in the gut.

It was our anniversary.

I’d been so wrapped up in my misery, I’d forgotten. I had a gift that I’d bought a few days ago for her in the closet. Man, that seemed like ages ago.

My face must have betrayed my despair, because Shelly pushed off the counter and came to me, her hands coming up to immediately cup my face.

“What’s wrong?” She asked.

I closed my eyes briefly and breathed in the sweet smell of her. I pulled her into my arms and held on tightly, knowing that in a few minutes, she wasn’t going to want me to touch her.

I wished momentarily that I could lie to her. That I could just forget what happened and enjoy my wife and our anniversary, but I knew I’d never be able to live with myself. So I allowed myself the comfort of her body and kissed her lips softly before pulling away and saying, “Oh, baby, I’m so sorry.”

Chapter 4 – Shelly

It’s crazy how much things can change in an instant.

One moment, I was eagerly awaiting my husband’s arrival. I was feeling excited and sexy, and anticipating an evening filled with love and great sex.

Then, with a few words, my whole world came crashing down around me, and my life changed.

I went from being a whole person, to having my heart shattered into a million fragmented pieces.

I was looking into my handsome man’s face, my lips still tingling from his kiss, when he started to apologize.

I’d known something was up when he walked in, but I’d never imagined the depths of what was wrong.

“Sorry about what?” I asked tentatively, unsure if I wanted to know the answer.

“Let’s go sit down,” Cal said, but I shook my head.

“Just say it.”

“I don’t remember what happened last night, apparently I got really drunk and left the guys in the casino and headed back to the room. The last thing I remember is them razzing me about being a lightweight.” I smiled at him; he’d always been kind of a lightweight. The look on his face caused the smile to fall from mine. “When I woke up this morning, I was naked with a killer hangover, and there was someone else in the room.”

“One of the guys?” I asked, suddenly filled with dread.

Cal shook his head slowly, and my arms dropped from around him. I stepped back, the look in his eyes telling me what he was going to say before he said it.

I shook my head in denial.

“It was a woman,” he said softly, his voice strained. “I don’t know who she was or how I met her, but I’m pretty sure I slept with her.”

“No,” I replied sharply. “You wouldn’t do that.”

Cal brought his arms up as if to touch me and I stepped back farther. He dropped his arms sadly and responded, “I know. I wouldn’t consciously sleep with someone else; you’re the only one for me, Shel, but I was so messed up …”

A hot ball of tears began to form in my throat and I turned on my heels, walking back toward the bedroom.

I had to get out of there.

I walked into my closet and pulled my backpack down from the shelf. I was stuffing clothes into it when Cal came into the room.

“What are you doing?” he asked, his voice filled with desperation.

“Going to my dad’s,” I said stiffly.

“Shelly, we need to talk about this.”

I stopped what I was doing and glared at him. “What is there to talk about? You
cheated
on me. On us.”

“I know, baby, but I didn’t know what I was doing. You have to believe me.”

“Is that supposed to make it okay?” I asked, tears falling freely down my cheeks. I had the sudden urge to punch him in the face.

“No, of course not, but you can’t just walk out. We need to talk this through.”

I zipped my backpack and threw it over my shoulder, then walked purposefully past him and out toward the garage.

“Shelly,” Cal called out.

When his hand touched my arm, I yanked it away and said, “Don’t touch me.”

He held up his hands as if in surrender and said, “Please … Don’t go. Don’t do this.”

“I didn’t do anything, you did. I can’t stay,” I sobbed. “I can’t stand to look at you.”

I turned my back on the hurt look on his face and slammed the door on my way out.

I got into my little Ford pickup and peeled out in the driveway in my haste to get as far away from Cal as possible. As I drove on autopilot, the enormity of the situation weighed heavily on my mind.

The only man I’d ever loved, who I’d always trusted implicitly, had just made a mockery of everything I’d thought and felt over the last six years of our relationship.

I was in shock.

I’d always believed that Cal and I would be together forever … That we’d have children and grow old together.

That he would never hurt me.

Well, he hadn’t just hurt me. He’d crushed me. He’d crushed
us
.

I pulled up to the home I’d grown up in and had barely turned off the car before I was catapulting out of it. I ran up the steps and put my key in the door. I flung it open, sobbing and crying, and looked around frantically.

My dad came out of the kitchen, his face covered in surprise as he looked at me. I was still in my anniversary outfit and must have looked half out of my mind.

I was.

“Shell Bell, what’s going on? Are you hurt?”

“Oh, Daddy,” I cried as I rushed into his arms and held on tightly.

He patted my back and murmured that everything would be okay. And although I knew that this was one thing my father wouldn’t be able to fix for me, I allowed myself to be soothed by his words.

Chapter 5 – Cal

I dropped to my knees after she walked out the door. I’m not sure how long I stayed there, staring at the closed door, willing it to open again and to have Shelly walk back in. It never did.

When I got up and walked around the dining room, followed by the kitchen, my stomach clenched at the effort she’d put into the evening. I could feel the love and happiness that had gone into the planning and execution of our anniversary celebration, and it killed me that I’d ruined all of it.

I walked back to our bedroom and sat on the bed. As I stared at Shelly’s open drawers, I grabbed my cell phone out of my pocket and dialed Scott.

“’Lo,” he said after one ring.

“She left,” I said simply.

“I’m on my way,” Scott said. I could hear his keys jingling as he hung up the phone.

Scott had been my best friend since the moment we both rode up on our Huffy bikes on the first day of sixth grade. We could count on each other in good times and bad, and he was the only person other than Shelly that I could go to when I needed to talk.

I thought about the look on her face when she realized what I was about to confess. I never wanted to put that look on her face, and I was torn apart that I had.

The first time I saw Shelly, my initial thoughts were not of marriage. I was sixteen years old, and she was the prettiest girl I’d ever seen. Her green eyes made her entire face light up, her long brown hair had been pulled back into a ponytail, and her body was to die for. I wanted her. Badly. It was that simple.

“Dibs,” I’d called out to Scott and TJ when I saw her. They’d both followed my gaze and TJ’d replied, “Shit … She’s fine.”

I don’t know where I’d gotten the courage, but I walked right up to her and started talking. I’d asked her out for that weekend, and she’d said yes. We’d been together ever since, and I’d never wanted anyone else. This was why I found it unfathomable, that no matter how wasted I was, I would’ve cheated on her. I just couldn’t believe it.

“Cal,” Scott yelled from somewhere in the house.

“Back here,” I responded.

“Dude, what’s up with the spread?” Scott asked as he walked in.

“It’s our six-year wedding anniversary,” I responded miserably.

“Fuck. I forgot.”

I nodded, then looked up at him and repeated what I’d told him earlier on the phone. “She left. She wouldn’t stay and talk about it.”

“Bro, I’m so sorry. I’m sure she’s hurt right now. Give her some space, and then explain everything. Beg. Grovel. Whatever you have to do. It’s you and Shel, man, you’ll work it out.”

“You think?” I asked, hopeful.

But he hadn’t seen how I’d crushed her.

I shook my head.

“I don’t know. It’s a pretty unforgivable thing.”

“Hey, if anyone can get past this, it’s you guys. Just give her some time and then do whatever you have to do to make it right.”

“I don’t want to be here,” I said, looking around our bedroom. Shelly had taken such care to make our home special, and there were reminders of us everywhere.

“C’mon,” Scott said, gesturing toward the door. “You can crash at my place as long as you want.”

“Thanks, man,” I said as I rose from the bed.

I grabbed a pair of jeans and a shirt, along with my work clothes, and threw them in a bag, then I went into the bathroom and got what I’d need for a couple days.

When I walked into the kitchen, Scott was putting everything away.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Just trying to help out. I didn’t want either of you to have to come home to a mess that would remind you of today.”

That’s why he was my best friend. I could always fucking count on him.

“Thanks, man.” I clapped him on the back, then started clearing the table.

We were done a few minutes later and headed out the door. I followed him in my Mustang, since I’d need it to get to work in the morning.

I worked in a garage with TJ; we had worked there since our senior year of high school. Neither of us were the type of guys to go to college and get some big business job; we left that to Scott. We were more than happy to be turning wrenches and coming home dirty every night.

I loved the feeling of fixing something that was thought to be broken. I even enjoyed the mundane tasks, like changing oil and rotating tires.

Shelly had always been proud of my work, just like I was proud of her work at the bank. We were happy. At least we
were.
Now I didn’t know what was going to happen, and that scared me.

Our future had always seemed predestined. We met in high school, got married, and focused on our work and our life together. Now that we were both pretty established at our jobs, we had been talking about starting a family. It was perfect.

I felt lost, and not just a little afraid. I couldn’t imagine a future without Shelly in it. I didn’t want to.

I knew that I had to do whatever I possibly could to get her back. She had to listen to me, and she had to forgive me. There just wasn’t any other alternative.

We were meant to be together.

Chapter 6 – Shelly

I cried for two days. I called in sick to work, turned off my cell phone, and hid out in my childhood bedroom. I just kept hearing him over and over in my head, “I’m pretty sure I slept with her.”

How can you be “pretty sure”?

By the time the two days were over, it no longer mattered to me. All that mattered was that Cal slept with someone else.

He was not the man I thought he was.

My first order of business was to take a shower. I reeked.

Once I was scrubbed, shaved, and squeaky clean, I went out into the house in search of food. My dad was sitting at the kitchen table, reading the paper and drinking tea. Judging by the darkness outside, it was nighttime. I looked at the clock and was surprised to see it was eleven o’clock.

“What are you doing up?” I asked my dad as I opened the refrigerator door.

“Hey, Bell,” he said, grinning at me from around the paper. “It’s good to see you up.”

“It’s late, why are you up?” I asked again.

“I figured you’d have to get up eventually, and I wanted to be here in case you needed to talk.”

I put the carton of eggs on the counter, then walked over and kissed him on the head.

“That’s sweet, Dad, but you should get some sleep.”

“Nah, I’m retired. I can sleep whenever I want.”

“Alright, do you want some eggs?” I asked.

“No, I already ate,” he responded.

He continued to read his paper as I made my eggs, and I found his presence comforting.

When I sat down at the table next to him he said, “Cal’s called a few times.”

“I don’t want to talk to him right now,” I spat out. Just the sound of his name made me lose my appetite.

“That’s what I told him,” my dad replied. “Gaby and Sasha have also called a few times, I guess Cal told them you were here. They were worried because they haven’t been able to get a hold of you.”

“I turned my phone off,” I explained as I pushed the eggs around on my plate.

“Well, you should give them a call, let ‘em know you’re okay.”

I nodded. Sasha and Gaby were probably exactly what I needed right now. Great friends.

“You need to eat those eggs, not just play with them.”

“I’ll try,” I said softly.

My dad stood up and gathered up his empty cup, then he kissed me on the head, mimicking my earlier gesture.

“You’ll get through this, sweetheart. You’re a strong woman, just like your mother.”

“Thanks, Dad. Goodnight.”

I sat there staring at the plate in front of me, wondering what I was going to do. I guessed that I’d have to go back to work; now was not the time to get fired. Plus, I needed to start thinking about money. Cal and I had always kept our money together and paid our bills. Now, we’d have to decide who was going to get the house and pay the bills, and divvy everything up. I was always the one who paid the bills, so Cal was going to have to start worrying about that on his own now.

I’d already decided that we would have to get a divorce. There’s no way I’d be able to stay with him after what he did.