Page 31 of Marriage and the Midlife Crisis

“Not since earlier this afternoon,” she said slowly, her voice cool. “Why?”

“She…we, uh, we had an argument, and she…left. I was hoping she had gone to your place.”

“No, she’s not here, but what do you mean, she left? Like, she needed to calm down so she went for a drive?” Jen’s voice rose half an octave as her concern became evident.

“No,” I admitted quietly. “She packed a few things and left. She…,” I stopped and swallowed around the tightness in my throat. “She thinks I cheated on her.”

Jen’s gasp was audible through the phone, and I hastened to reassure her. “I didn’t. I swear it, but she doesn’t believe me. I talked to Mitch, and he hooked up with a woman and thought it would be funny to stick her underwear in my suitcase. Mel found it,” I admitted quietly. “I need to explain what happened, but she’s not answering her phone. I hate the idea of her driving when she’s so upset. I’m worried sick about her.”

Jen’s voice was positively frigid as she informed me that she would call to check on her. “You leave her the hell alone until she’s ready to talk to you. Oh, and tell Mitch the Bitch I’m gonna shoot him out of a cannon, ass first.”

With that threat, she hung up on me.

Unable to sit still, I began pacing the living room. My fists clenched as I thought of Mitch’s involvement in this clusterfuck.

“I forgot.”

“It was just a joke.”

I thought back to Saturday night and everything that happened. How he had twisted the truth and thrown shade at Melanie.

“It’s not an actual strip club. It’s a live music venue that happens to have topless dancers because it’s Vegas, man. It’s not gonna kill you, just this once. It’s not like your wife will ever know.”

How had he purposefully done something he knew I wouldn’t want, something that had the potential to hurt my wife so deeply?

“I bought you a lap dance to chill you the fuck out. Not exactly the crime of the century, dude. Most men would have been grateful.”

I thought about our years of friendship, almost three decades of laughs, and fun, and memories. We’d shared some of life’s biggest ups and downs, from marriages to divorces, Garrett’s birth, and sadly, the deaths of my mom, my dad, and Grady.

We’d been through it all together, so how the hell could he do something so thoughtless that had the potential to destroy my life?

I just couldn’t wrap my head around it, and ironically, the one person I wanted to confide in was the woman he’d driven away. I wanted to talk to Melanie about it, knowing she would understand and help me work through my conflicting emotions.

I strode into the kitchen, wanting a drink to deal with this shit. I stopped short at the sight of the flowers I’d bought on the way home. I’d set the vase in the middle of the table before I’d headed upstairs in search of my wife. Cursing under my breath, I reached into the recesses of the cabinet above the refrigerator to grab the bottle of Maker’s Mark that I always kept on hand. It had been my dad’s favorite, and had, in fact, been the first drink he’d bought for me in a bar when I’d come of legal age. Grady and Mitch had been there, too, having both turned twenty-one a few months before I had.

I poured a generous splash of the bourbon, then took the glass and the bottle back into the living room. I settled in on the couch, sipping it and topping off my glass several times before my nerves settled. I kept an eye on my phone, hoping against hope that Mel, or even Jen or Mark, would reach out to me.

When the phone finally chimed with a text notification, I nearly dropped my glass in my haste to sit up and reach for it.

Jen: She’s safe. I told her what you said about Mitch, but she doesn’t believe you and I don’t blame her. You left out the part about the strip club and the fucking lap dance! What the hell, Ryan? If Mark doesn’t kick your ass, I will.

I dropped my head onto the back of the couch in defeat, then shot back a reply.

Me: I know I fucked up, but I didn’t cheat. I just need her to listen to me so I can make things right. Where is she?

I was barely breathing as I waited for Jen’s response, then when it came, what little air there was left my lungs in a rush.

Jen: She doesn’t want me to tell you that and she doesn’t want to talk to you. She’ll contact you when she’s ready.

I stared at the phone until my vision blurred, and when I blinked, a tear rolled down my cheek. I swiped it away, but it was followed by another, and another, and then another until my shoulders were heaving as I sobbed.

What the hell have I done?

Chapter 11

Melanie

By the time I wheeled the suitcase up to the door of my parents’ condo, I was holding myself together by sheer will. I made it inside and all but collapsed onto their couch as the dead, empty feeling inside me gave way to unimaginable pain. Sobs racked my body and once my tears finally stopped, I was left feeling totally and utterly drained. I sat up and switched on the lamp to illuminate the dark room, flinching as the light hit my watery eyes.