“And then you fucked him.”
“It wasn’t like that. Honey, you are everything to me. When I thought you were leaving me, I felt like my whole insides had been ripped out. I was an empty shell. I felt worthless. Unattractive. He offered to put me up in the guest room, but I couldn’t stand the thought of being alone. I asked him to make love to me. He didn’t want to at first, because he said I was too emotionally vulnerable. But I insisted that my marriage was dead, and I needed something to make me feel alive again. And he did. Alex didn’t just fuck me; he took the time to make me feel special, to make me feel desirable. Honey, please believe that I would never have cheated on you if I had thought that there was a ‘you’ to come back to. But that act brought me back to life.”
“Then you stayed with him all weekend.”
“Yes, honey. I told you how devastated I was. My brain just took a vacation from reality. I told Alex that I just wanted to have fun that weekend. We wouldn’t talk about anything serious. So, we chatted, we laughed, and we cooked dinner together. We went paddling in his canoe in the lake behind his house. In the evenings, we danced, watched movies, and played games. And yes, whenever the mood struck us, we would have sex. I’m sorry, honey, but I just couldn’t handle thinking about what I thought I had lost.
“When I went in to work on Tuesday, Natalie explained everything to me, and I listened to your voicemails. I felt so guilty! I wanted to join you, but you had my passport. All I could do was send you an email asking you to forgive me. Then Natalie kicked me out.”
“How did you get home?”
“I was so embarrassed by all my coworkers staring at me that I just walked out and kept walking until I was out of sight of the building. Then Alex called to see if I was okay. I asked him to take me home. He dropped me off and went back to work.”
“So, tell me about this lover of yours.”
I sobbed, “Honey, please don’t…”
“Sorry. Tell me about Alex.”
“I don’t know his last name, or what he does. He’s 33 years old, never married, a bit less than six feet tall, and very good looking. He has a beautiful home and drives an expensive car so I guess he must be well off. He told me that he had been a shameless Lothario, and had seduced many women, but that he recently had an epiphany and wanted to settle down.”
“With you?”
I blushed. “No, honey. Well, he may think I’m in the running, but we’ve only known each other a few days, and I’m sure he has many ex-lovers to choose from. I wouldn’t trust him, anyway. He says he’s sworn off seducing women for casual sex, but that’s like an alcoholic saying he’s kicked his habit because he hasn’t had a drink in three days. I want a husband that would be as faithful to me as you’ve been, and as I was to you before my meltdown.”
Bill finished his drink and poured another. He looked at me for a long time and said, “I have more questions, but first let me tell you about my trip. We had seats on the side of the plane, and the seat next to me was empty, of course. Across the aisle sat one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen. Seated next to her was an obese man who could barely squeeze into his seat. As soon as the seatbelt sign came off, he lifted the armrest between them and flowed into her space. I could see she was uncomfortable, so I offered her your seat.
“She accepted, and we chatted. Her name was Janet Richards and she had just gotten divorced from a sleazebag who had been having multiple affairs. She left her boys with her parents and took this trip to get away for a while. She said she had nothing specific planned in Paris. It turned out we were staying in the same hotel. I told her about my situation. We agreed that it seemed like there might be some sort of misunderstanding, but I told her I had resolved to enjoy my trip and not think about it until I got home.
“I also told her that I had paid for a couple of tours and invited her to join me on them. She agreed, as both of us would have a better trip with company. When they dimmed the cabin lights, she held my hand as we slept.
“We did everything together in Paris. Spoiler alert: We did not have sex. We spent the whole first day at the Louvre. But on the two tours where she had to claim to be you, she went all out pretending to be my wife. Monday evening, we took a romantic boat ride down the Seine, drinking Champagne under the full moon. Tuesday, we toured Versailles, and she held my hand or put her arm around me the whole time. We strolled through the beautiful gardens, and we laughed when she kissed me by one of the fountains. It was great fun. Everybody in our tour group thought we were newlyweds.
“That evening I got your message and checked my email, and I learned that it was indeed a misunderstanding. I also learned that you had spent the weekend with another man. Janet and I talked about it at dinner. I told her how devastated I was that you had been cheating on me. She even offered to sleep with me that night. But I told her no. I was getting too fond of her, and if we were intimate, it would make any decisions even more difficult. I told her we should just continue as we were doing. I would prefer just to have her company for the rest of the trip and try to postpone any decisions about our relationships until we were home.
“Friday evening, I took her dancing. It was very romantic. We got to our hotel very late, and for the first time I got off at her floor and walked her to her door. We shared a passionate kiss. She opened the door and invited me in, but I declined. I told her we’d talk on the flight home.
“She sat beside me on the plane, and we exchanged phone numbers. I told her that my first priority would be to see if there was a way to save my marriage, but I would keep in touch.
“So, you may have destroyed my marriage, but don’t feel bad about ruining my trip. I had a wonderful time. In many ways, it may have been better than if you had come along. I imagine you can say the same thing about your little vacation.”
I’m glad I had the foresight to put a box of tissues on the coffee table. I dried my tears and blew my nose. “Honey, I…”
“You said that Alex dropped you off at home Tuesday. Was that the last time you saw him?”
I froze. I realized how badly I was feeling about his dancing with her, holding her hand and kissing her passionately once. I had told myself that if he could forgive my weekend of sex, he could certainly forgive my staying at a friend’s house for a couple of nights, but I realized how ridiculous that was. I had an excuse for what I did on the weekend. I had no excuse for what I did afterwards. I did much worse than he did. I walked around wearing nothing but an apron and kissed Alex passionately more than once. Worst of all, I slept naked with him for two nights. Should I lie? But if he even suspects I’m not telling him everything, I doubt I have a chance.
I bowed my head. “No,” I whispered.
“Well, you passed your first test. On the way home, I called Ron. Since he’s married to the town gossip, he certainly knows everything that’s going on. Sally told him that you left very soon after you got home on Tuesday and didn’t come back until Thursday morning. So, tell me what happened.”