And I Trusted You (13 page)

“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.

Jessica 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.

“No, you don’t need to call of the wedding. I am still in love with you and I do want to marry you. I just have a couple of things I need to work on before we get married. This is about me. I’m sorry if I’ve hurt you, Jess. That was never my intention.” He whispered holding her hand.

Jessica smiled and walked toward the door. “I’ll have all of my stuff out of your place by the time you get home from work.” She informed him as she opened the door.

She said her goodbyes to Claudia and left the mortgage company. She drove straight to the apartment she and Josh had shared up until this morning. She called a moving company. They could do the packing and everything. All she had to worry about was paying them, and that definitely wasn’t a problem thanks to her father.

Once she’d made the arrangements, she began to get her things out of the drawers. As she was reaching into the night table drawer, she found an envelope. Wasn’t something she had put there, so her curiosity got the better of her. She carefully opened it. She took out the contents, which, she can tell, are photographs. She placed everything on the bed. There are cards and letters and, yes, pictures. Josh with a woman hugging at a club, kissing in the park, swimming together. Oh, my goodness, who is this? She turned them over to check for dates. There are none. But the letters and cards are dated. Some of the dates were as recent as last week. Oh God, how could he do this? Even today, he said he loves me and still wants to marry me. Oh, god, what am I gonna do?

She gathered everything and carefully replaced them just as she found them. She left a note for Josh. Just as she was completing this task, the doorbell rang. She went to the door to let the movers in. It only took them a couple of hours to move her stuff out. She escorted them over to Shelly’s place and they take her things inside placing them where she requested. During all of this, she was thinking about Josh, the pictures, his daily planner and the events of the last couple of weeks. There was no excuse and nothing he could say. But she needed to clear her head. After the movers left, she drove to a theater having decided to see a movie. There was really nothing good playing. She in actuality just wanted to think but she didn’t want to be alone.  She had a whole row to herself, until about half way through the movie. A guy sat a couple of seats from her.

She watched the movie and when it was done, got up to leave. The guy did the same. As he was walking out behind her, he said “Excuse me, this may sound like a line, but what is a beautiful woman like you doing at a movie alone?”  He looked at her so intently that she automatically said feeling sorry for herself.” Then quickly walked off.

When she got outside, she realized the guy had followed her. “Please don’t tell me you’re a stalker. That’s the last thing I need. This just hasn’t been a good day for me. Please go away.” Jessica said as she looked around for a security guard.

“I apologize. I’m not a stalker”

“Uh, excuse me, all stalkers probably say that when they’re stalking.”

“No really. I’m not. I just noticed you sitting there and you looked so sad. I wanted to know if we could go have a cup of coffee.” He answered with his hands in the air. Taking a few steps back he adds, “Oh, you’re worried. Okay in a nice public place and you can call your friends or family or whomever you want and let them know you’re having coffee with William Donald Jefferson, employee of Midtown Mortgage. Is that good enough for you?” He asked with a slight smile.

“Oh. I apologize. Like I said, I’ve been having a bad day. I can meet you somewhere in about thirty minutes. I can use a good cup of coffee.”

“Cool. Where would you like to meet?”

Jessica gave him directions to a coffee spot, which happened to be rather close to his office. That is, if he truly worked at Midtown Mortgage. True to her word, she met William there. He was already seated and drinking a cup of java when she walked in and spotted him. “Wow, I didn’t think you’d really come, so I went ahead and ordered a cup for myself. Now I feel bad.” He sheepishly said.

“You should. You invite a woman out for coffee and then treat her badly before she ever gets there. Hummm, should I leave or should I stay?”

“Oh, please stay. I just want the chance to put a smile on that beautiful face of yours.” He retorted pulling out a chair for her to seat herself.

“Oh, well, give it your best shot.”

“Why are you having a bad day?”

“I don’t wanna talk about it. You mentioned Midtown Mortgage. What do you do there?” William told her he’d been an accountant with the company for over ten years. He was forty-five years old and on vacation. It turns out William knew Josh and had worked with him closely. He thought Josh was nice enough and an excellent businessman. He had heard the buzz around the office that Josh was getting married. Jessica stopped William. “Yeah, I heard the same rumor. I’m that someone.”

“Then why are you so sad? You should be happy. He’s got money, a bright future and from what the women say, he’s a real man.” William said with a chuckle. “The women at the office don’t think I listen when they talk around me. You would be surprised at the things these ears have been privy to.” He said tugging on each earlobe.

“Yeah, I know. He’s even working on some personal stuff for me. That’s how we met. But, I don’t think he’s being faithful to me. He wants to move out of our place. And I think it’s another woman.”

“Then I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have to go through that.” The two of them talked for a couple of hours. Before Jessica realized it, she had confided all sorts of information to William. He on the other hand was just happy to be in her company. They broke up their coffee break with an exchange of phone numbers. Jessica decided William wasn’t her type of man, but he was nice to have as a friend. Maybe it was the fifteen-year age difference.

Later that evening Jessica received a call from Josh. Could she come over? She agreed. She didn’t know what to expect. It was hard to gage his mood as of late and her emotional; state wasn’t helping. When she arrived, she was guarded. She sat quietly on the sofa and kept her hands to herself. Josh began by serving a glass of wine he knew she liked. He had soft music playing and she got the feeling she was being seduced. She puts the brakes on. “Josh, why did you ask me over here? I thought you said you needed some time.”

“I do. But I wanted to see you and reassure you that I am still very much in love with you. You mean the world to me, Jess.” He said reaching for her hand.

“Yeah well, I hear what you’re saying. Who are you spending your time with? She asked as she turned and walked into the bedroom to return with the hidden envelope. “I found this today when I was moving out. I guess now I know why you need some space. How long has it been going on? You could have told me you wanted out, you know.”

“That’s not it, Jessica. It’s not as simple as that. She’s a client. She doesn’t understand the meaning of the word “no”. She’s making advances and I keep telling her I’m in love with you. She had someone take those pictures to blackmail me! That’s why I told you the problem is all me. I wanted to get this mess cleared up before you found out.

“Oh, so, we can share a bed, but not important things? I get it, Josh. Well, you try to clear everything up. You know where to find me.” She said as stomped to the front door and slammed it shut.