I promised myself that it was for one night,last night,and last nightonly. I couldn’t go running around all over town, fucking Becky wherever I pleased. No matter how exciting that thought was. As made evident by the tightening of my pants at the thought of it. I had a wife, and a life I needed to get back to. I drug a hand down my face, irritated and incredibly annoyed.
Shit.
I finally picked up my phone, deciding to call my wife. God knows how many times I tried to talk to her already. Turning around, I made my way back toward our building. I rolled my shoulders and then my neck. I was going to be the one to extend the olive branch.
*****
Two hours later, I had grocery bags at my feet and just wanted to put them away and cuddle Devin. The grocery store was a nightmare. I sighed heavily as the phone rang and rang, still trying to be the bigger person here. Devin’s voicemail picked up, and I left a quick message, letting her know I was home and I had her favorites.
My thoughts had been going around and around in my head. Maybe she would calm down if I brought over her favorite sushi? Maybe she’d be in the mood for Chinese? She usually wanted Asian food when she was mad. Maybe I could go pick it up and leave the bags here, that way we could get to work wrapping the gifts I had been carrying around with me, as well as the groceries now.
She just needed to let me in.
I was ready to ring her again, when I noticed a few missed calls from my mom, an email from HR, and about twenty text messages from Becky telling me to call her and that it wasimportant, on my lock screen. I needed to call Devin first before I started checking all the other shit. She had ignored my calls. Over and over, so I was only trying one more time.
I gave up and called my mom. She texted me while I was calling Devin, standing out here with a shit ton of bags in front of me. It rang exactly once, maybe, before she answered. Instead of saying hello, she started screaming at me!
“What have youdone, Caleb?!” I almost dropped the phone, I was so startled! “What thehellis wrong with you?! Do you haveanyidea what you’ve done?! Did youreally cheatonyour wife?!Did you have the nerve to cheat on the woman I consider adaughter?!” Her voice was raw, filled with anger, and had a chill to it that crept up my spine.
“Wh-what the–What are youtalking about,Mom? Why would I cheat on Devin?” I could feel myself sweating as the lie fell flat as soon as it came out of my mouth. It didn’t sound as natural as I thought it would. I had never been able to lie to my mother, but I was trying.
Poorly it seemed.
“I have not asingle fucking clue, Caleb,”she shouted as she sounded like she was grinding her teeth together so hard she was ready to hurt herself!
“You had an emotional affair for almost two months or more after yourwifetold you she was uncomfortable with it all and you assured her thi-this,this whorewas ‘just a coworker’,”she did her best impersonation of me as she said it. I could tell Mom was on a roll, driving the steam roller, and I did not want to get in her path!
“Then! You had theaudacityto go and fuck that exhibitionistic whorelast night! Multiple times! All over yourcompany’s Christmas party?! What the fuck is wrong with your head?!” She paused, heaving breaths, but giving me time to respond, just not knowing what to say.
“That wasYOUR!COMPANY!CHRISTMAS!PARTY! You were therewith Devin! WITH YOUR WIFE!What were you thinking?! Your wife was there, Caleb! Your wife! My daughter-in-law!” She was screaming, screeching at supersonic levels. She was so loud and so angry by the end of her rant, I was sure that she was going to disown me. Cutting me off from the rest of the family, legally taking me out of her will. It sounded like she was ready to go for it.
I’d never heard her sound like this before and it made my legs suddenly feel like they were made of nothing but jell-o. My brain had short circuited, like plugging in something to a bad outlet and throwing a breaker. More than half of my brain had to have gone dark, only the sections needed to survive without a conscious effort were still lit up.
How? Who? Wh-who else knew? How many people knew?! Is this what the rush of notifications were?! Fuck it was Sunday!My hands were in my hair, pulling it in each different direction, stressing out and spiraling.
Devin knows,the thought taunted me, relentlessly as soon as it entered my mind. It was the only thought in there, beating it into my brain as fact and gospel.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I put her on speaker phone, my voice distracted as I pulled up my email sitting on the floor next to the door. My legs were going to give way any second now and I didn’t want to fall.
How did Mom know that? Did Becky fucking set me up?Looking at the HR email notification, they wanted to see me firstthing Monday morning. I was pissed, and the small flicker of dread soon turned into a mountain, waiting for the snow to bury me in an avalanche. This was it. This had to be a trap. There was no way this wasn’t a set up.
Fuck!
I opened a text to Becky. I needed to know what she’d been saying and to whom. I needed to see if she ran her fucking mouth. If this ruined my marriage, I was coming for her!
Fucking snake!
Sunday, 5:45PM
Caleb: On the phone with my mom right now. Did you by any chance film us that night? Or did you tell someone at work?
Sunday, 5:52PM
Becky: No. Why? Wait. Is that why I got an email to go to HR first thing Monday morning?!
Sunday, 5:53PM
Caleb: Ok
