A Smart Set Of Cheaters

Jasmine smiled and said, "Sure Don. Why don't you come into the office? Steve is a manufacturer's representative for Savin Business Systems. He had a really nice office set up so he can work from home when he isn't on the road. You can hook your laptop up to our net portal or you can use our computer either one."

I walked into the office and stopped in amazement. He had it set up almost like a normal business office in an office building. His desk was to the left of the door facing the room. Windows looked out the side of the office over the back yard. There were two nice leather chairs in front of the desk and a bookshelf opposite. I was impressed.

Jasmine walked behind the desk and pulled out the desk chair. She smiled at me and said, "You can sit here while you work. If you need anything just ask."

"Thank you," I said as I walked behind the desk. I put my laptop on the desk then sat down. Jasmine handed me the DSL cord to plug into my computer. When I was reaching for it I had to reach over a picture. I glanced at the picture then stopped. I drew my hand back and stared at it then reached out and picked it up.

Jasmine looked at me in confusion, holding the cord out toward me. She saw my face and how I was squeezing the picture and asked, "Don is something wrong? That's my husband and his pride and joy. I keep trying to get him to throw that picture away and take another one of his Chevelle but he won't. I'm really sick of having to look at his old girlfriend when I use the desk."

"Don? Don don't look at me like that. What's the matter?" Jasmine asked once again.

I carefully sat the picture down and pushed back from the desk. I looked at Jasmine and said, "Did you tell me your husband was in Denver?"

She looked surprised and then said, "Yes I did. Why?"

"My wife's in Denver and has been there all week. Jasmine did you ask Steven where to go for an estimate or did you tell him you were going to talk to me?"

"Nooo. Don, what difference does that make anyway? He just told me if I had to have a deck and hot tub to get estimates. He said if it didn't cost over $20000 I could do it. Now why are you asking these questions?"

"Jasmine that woman Steve is with in this picture is my wife."

Jasmine smiled and said, "Oh, how strange you married Steve's old girlfriend. We've only been married eighteen months. When did you get married?"

I felt my stomach churn and looked back up at Jasmine. "Vicky and I have been married for nine years now. That picture was only taken no more than two years ago because she is wearing a necklace I bought her for Christmas a little over two years ago. She got the outfit she is wearing to take on vacation the next summer."

Jasmine stood for a moment then she said, "Don, I'm sorry for you if you are saying what I think you are but...well, why are you worried that she is in Denver?"

"Jasmine you said you had been married eighteen months. Do you know when this picture was taken? From what I remember of what Vicky was wearing in this picture it could have been taken about the time you got married. When did Steve have it framed?"

"Why he said...but that can't be so because the picture was taken the day he won first prize in the big State Chevrolet Car Show. That was..." Jasmine began to cry and dropped into one of the comfortable chairs in front of the desk. She continued quietly, "That was three weeks before we got married. I just never thought. I mean he said it was an old picture but he is holding the first place trophy...DAMN Him! I'll"

"Jasmine wait," Don said. "Let's think this through. I saw it all while I worked in the restaurant. I learned to ignore and not talk about other peoples business because cheaters always get caught in the end. I admit it looks bad but all we know right now is that Steve and Vicky are standing in front of his car with their arms around each other. We also know the picture was taken about 18 months to two years ago. You're enough younger than we are I don't think Steve could be an old boyfriend of Vicky's because we began dating when we were 18 and both working in Dad's restaurant. He could be though. I don't know the name of everyone she had a crush on when she was younger any more than you probably do for Steve. How old is he anyway?

"He's uhhh, he's 29 and I'm 27."

"Huh. Well, it's possible because Vicky's not 31 yet. I just don't know. Damn. Now what do we do? If we ask them about this all they will do is deny it whether they are having an affair or have in the past or not. If they are having an affair and we ask they may quit or just get sneakier. I feel like I need to ask and yet until today I would have said I trusted Vicky unconditionally. Damn. I just don't know."

We talked more and came up with what we decided was an acceptable plan. We would say nothing about what we thought we had discovered this day. Jasmine wouldn't tell Steve about talking to me about the deck and we would hire a private investigator to check on Vicky and Steve.

The next day Jasmine and I talked with the security firm we use for our construction sites and they sent us to the investigation company they use. We talked to their people and signed a contract for their services. We each gave them a check for our share of the retainer and went to our respective homes. Jasmine had shortened the name on the check so if Steve asked she could say it was a deposit for the work we had talked about and I used the business account. Vicky never saw those books or checks so I was safe. I would just have to reimburse the business.

After three weeks Jasmine and I got together with the investigator. He said, "Don, Jasmine, I'm sorry...NO, that's not right, I'm happy to report that we can find nothing to indicate your spouses are seeing each other or even know each other. We've followed them every noon hour and after work and they have done nothing they shouldn't have done. The only thing out of the ordinary was last Friday when Mrs. Patterson and some of the women she works with went out after work. They were in several bars at St. Louis Landing and danced with several men each. Vicky did dance with Steve once but it was proper. There was space between them and neither let their hands wander. There was no kissing or anything untoward. They were never seen to speak to each other again after the dance."

I sighed and leaned back in my chair. I looked at the investigator then at Jasmine. I was beginning to believe this whole mess was a result of my ingrained mistrust learned when I worked in the family business. I had checked all the phone records; we had even put cameras and recorders in the house and recorders in Vicky's car and purse. They were squeaky clean also.

Finally I sighed and said, "Well I guess we can just mark this down to paranoia then. You don't know how happy I am to find this out but I am so embarrassed I even thought Vicky and Steve would do something like this. We can just stop the... WAIT a minute. Jasmine didn't you tell me Steve was going to San Antonio next week?"

Jasmine looked puzzled then said, "Yes. What's that got to do with...OH, we won't need to have anyone followed next week will we?"

"I think that is exactly WHEN we need to have them followed. Vicky told me two weeks ago that she was scheduled to do a Compliance Review next week. I don't remember where she said she was going for sure but I think it was Austin TX. Depending on where in those towns they stay they could only be about an hour, maybe less apart. We've pretty well established they don't meet here in this area. I think we need to at least check this next trip out. If they come up clean after that I'm willing to admit I was being a paranoid fool in spite of what we saw in that picture. It is reasonable to believe if they were old friends that Vicky would let him take a picture of her with him and his trophy!"

All through the uncertainty and investigation Don and Jasmine could discern no indication either Vicky or Steve treated them different in any way. They were just the same they had always been. Don had thought and thought but he could not identify one way that Vicky was different from when they were dating or right after they married. She treated him like he was the only man in the world. She came to him for sex and gave him sex when he asked just like she had always done. She was as loving and considerate as at any time in their lives.

The Friday night before Vicky's next trip Don and she went out to supper on a date night. While they were snuggling in bed later that night Don asked, "Vicky do you remember when we were working at Dad's restaurant and we used to laugh at all the cheaters and people who did inappropriate things?"

Don thought he felt a slight tightening of Vicky's muscles but he wasn't sure. She smiled and turned her face upward toward him then said, "Yes. Some of those people sure were dumb. Every so often when one of the men or women at work does something like that I remember back to those days and think how stupid they are. Why?"

"Oh, one of the men at work thinks his wife is cheating on him but he hasn't found anything to prove that. When he was telling me his fears I thought back to those days and told him to just relax. I told him if she was cheating to keep his eyes and ears open that in the long run a cheater is always found out. I told him the longer he took to find out the better for his kids because a divorce always hurts the kids."

Vicky looked a little sad when she said, "Why do you assume the marriage would automatically end in divorce. Maybe the wife really loves her husband and is just, well maybe the affair doesn't mean anything to her and she doesn't want a divorce."

"Oh, no Vicky. He's just like me. He used to see the people in the bars and he has as low a tolerance toward cheating as we do. I can't see him just accepting a long-term affair any more than you or I would. I think he might be able to accept a one night stand but as for an affair—NO Way."

Vicky had tensed up again when he said he would not accept a long-term affair but she smiled then and turned to him. She gave him a gentle kiss and said, "Well, I'm glad you're still the man I married. We both know about blatant affairs and the heartache they can bring. If he does have a problem bring him around and maybe you and I can help him with his recovery. 'Nite Honey."

Don and Vicky settled into their bed and drifted off to sleep. From the amount of tossing and turning neither of them went to sleep very fast though.

The next week was very difficult for Don. He called the investigators twice to see if they had found anything but all he was told was "Our operatives are following both of them and we will have a report for you next Monday."

Finally Monday came and Jasmine and Don met at the investigator's office. When they sat down they could almost sense he had bad news. The investigator leaned back in his chair and said, "You know when you wanted to have us follow your spouse's last week I almost told you that it would be a waste of money. This was one of the most difficult cheating spouse cases we have ever handled. You were right though. Steve and Vicky are having an affair. We have pictures and taped conversations to prove this. I have to say I am very surprised. If we had stopped after following them here in the St. Louis area we would have never found this. From the conversations we taped it appears they only get together three or four times a year in cities far from here. Even there they pretend to meet by accident if they are out in town and are very careful to keep up appearances of just being old acquaintances."

"What we found though was a pair of very smart cheaters. They went to two different towns and stayed in two different hotels. They met however in a third hotel and even then they didn't stay in the same room. They rented separate rooms at separate times but the rooms had a connecting door. Steve paid for his room with cash so there is no paper trail. Vicky registered as Angela Foster used a credit card made out in that name with an address in Washington, MO. She had a State ID Card as Angela Foster. Steve registered as Steven Alan, again using a state ID card for ID. Additionally they only rented these rooms on Tuesday and Thursday nights. They didn't stay the entire night and only saw each other on these two days."

I sat back and thought. I said, "Foster was Vicky's maiden name—Victoria Angela Foster."

Jasmine only said, "Alan is Steve's middle name."

"Well," I said. "I guess it's all over except the crying. I'll be talking to a divorce attorney as soon as I can get an appointment."

Jasmine started to say something when the investigator broke in. He said, "Wait. There's more. I usually don't even mention this but in this case...I just can't convince myself this is what it looks like. I know they had sex but damn it, it doesn't seem like an affair. It seems more like they were playing a game. We have hours of taped conversations and most of them are very innocuous. During the entire week there were only two sessions of intercourse and the pillow talk was so strange. Here, let me put a tape in and show you what I mean."

When the investigator got the tape to the point he wanted us to hear we heard Vicky talking. She said, "You know Steve I'm starting to think we need to wind this up. We've got by with it for six years now and had our fun. We've proven we are the exception to the rule and are Smart Cheaters. I think even you will admit the sex isn't nearly as good with each other as it is with our spouse's. Besides, something Don said Friday night bothers me. We were talking in bed and he reminded me about what we learned at his parent's restaurant. He reminded me all cheaters eventually get caught. No one ever covers every eventuality. Eventually all cheaters either get over confident or make one little mistake that gets them caught. I still worry about Denver. That was the first time we ever went to the same town and I still think it was a mistake. We should not have changed the plan. We should have only got together when we could go to different towns that were close enough together that we could meet in the middle like we are here."

"I know it is a hassle messing up two rooms and paying for a room we don't use but still, I think we have proven what we set out to prove. We are Smart Cheaters and if you play the game Smart you can cheat and win. I really don't want to do anything to lose Don. I love him to death. He is the best man I have ever met in my life."

"Hell, after the first time or two we got together the only real charge I got out of this whole mess was the planning and intrigue. I can spend hours planning and thinking about the deceptions. Getting the ID's and making the reservations and travel arrangements are better than doing a crossword puzzle or sudoku. The damn sex only dulls my horns. NOW don't go getting all male on me. I know for a fact you feel the same way. You told me in Denver that you always went back to your hotel unsatisfied."

The investigator stopped the recorder and began talking again. He said, "There is more but this was the most puzzling part of the conversations. I just can't for the life of me understand why..."

The investigator stopped and stared at Don when he began laughing. Finally he got himself under control and said, "I'm sorry. I really don't think this is funny and I am angry as hell but, well there is something about that conversation I guess I need to clue you in on. You see several years ago a couple Vicky and I were friends with got a divorce. The wife had been cheating and got caught. It turned out she had been hanging the horns on her husband for almost 4 years before she got caught and that it was a simple little mistake that tripped her up."

"The night we found out about the affair and divorce we had been out with some other friends. We got into a discussion about the cheating and stupid things cheaters do. We remembered once again what my father had said when we worked at the restaurant and what we had seen while working there. Vicky kept saying she didn't care, that any person who wanted to cheat could do it if they just kept it under control and were smart."

"I was on the other side of the argument and told her there was no way that could happen, that at some point in time the cheater would get caught. It might be years down the road but it would happen. I told her the cheating might even come to light by some innocuous manner but come to light it would. We finally agreed to disagree but for several weeks Vicky would mention something about Smart Cheaters being able to win. To the best of my memory her affair with Steve started about the time we had that argument. Vicky has always been proud of her intelligence and now I think I pushed the wrong button when we talked about that affair. I think she was trying to prove that she could do it and get away with it. I guess she could have if she had stopped it sooner. Now...NOPE, She aint a gonna get away with it."

Don and Jasmine were once again together. This time they were waiting for their appointment with the divorce attorney. Since sharing the expenses of the investigator went so well they elected to share a divorce attorney also. When Don was called into the office the attorney looked surprised. He said, "Mr. Patterson. And this is...Mrs. Patterson?"

Don grinned and said, "No sir. I'm afraid not. I'm Don Patterson and this is Jasmine Sloan. We discovered her husband and my wife were cheating with each other and split an investigator's bill to get the goods on them. Now we thought we might also be able to divide your fee?"

The attorney George Spalding smiled and gestured at chairs as he said, "Oh, of course. Perhaps we can work something out. Would you please take a seat while we discuss things?"

Don sat and handed the attorney a copy of the investigators report and pictures. Before the attorney could look at them Don said, "I don't believe my case will be too difficult. I also brought a list of everything Vicky and I own and when we acquired and how we acquired that item. I also have a copy of our Pre Nuptial agreement that spells out not only how we divide the property but who has custody of the children. All I want is a divorce for adultery and settlement as per the Pre Nup. I'm afraid Jasmine's case will be a little more complicated."

Don handed his attorney the paperwork he brought to support his divorce. He leaned back in his chair and waited for him to review the forms. After the attorney gook Don's paperwork Jasmine handed him much the same thing for herself. The only difference was she didn't have a Pre Nuptial agreement.

The attorney explained the divorce process, time frame and his fee schedule to the two friends. Then he discussed what Jasmine wanted from her divorce if she could get it. Finally he said, "I think I have enough for now. I need to look at all the documentation and the investigator's report. If I have any questions I will call of course. Otherwise I will prepare the documents and go from there. Do you want me to just serve the papers or call you first?"

Both Don and Jasmine wanted to be called when the papers were ready to be served. They left the office and returned to their business agreeing to keep in touch.

Two days later Don got a phone call from George Spalding. After the pleasantries were out of the way George said, "Don I've reviewed everything you gave me and I have to say this is the weirdest case I have ever seen. I even had two of my partner's review it and they agree. There is no doubt there was infidelity but damn it man I think it's pretty obvious the woman loves you and...Well Damn it this doesn't even seem like it's an affair. It's almost like it was a game and they had to have sex to play. Don are you sure you want to go ahead with this divorce? I mean, Damn it Man from all you have said you had a nearly perfect marriage. You didn't argue, your sex life was above normal, you seemed to love and respect each other... Don if you don't mind me saying so, it's almost like you're playing the game too. It's your turn now and the only move open to you is the divorce. Can't you talk to Vicky and get past this? I know you've listened to the tapes and she has told Steve they need to quit and that it was basically just a game to her."