Memories

In his anger he almost said he was sorry for keeping her from getting into Trey's bed on time, but he held back and replied instead, "I'm sorry, Keri. I fell asleep." The hope that the tone of his voice didn't give away his true feelings crossed his mind, but then he wondered why he should even worry about it.

"You've never done that before. What happened?" Her voice betrayed a bit of displeasure with him, and he almost decided to make a reply that would tell her that he knew, but again he decided against it.

Instead he answered as nicely as he could, "I had a couple of beers after work and I guess they knocked me out." He thought he would go on the offensive and asked, "So how was your day? Were you busy this morning? I hope Trey doesn't work you too hard." He almost said ' work your pussy too hard', but had been able to hold himself back.

Keri hesitated for just a moment before she answered with, "No. I wasn't very busy. Why do you ask that? You hardly ever ask me about my work here."

"No reason, just making conversation. Everything here is as good as can be expected. How about you? Are you being good?" He had decided to toss another loaded question her way, just to see what her reaction would be.

She answered very quickly, "What do you mean? Of course I'm being good. Why would you ask me that?" He could tell there was a little bit of concern back in her voice.

He took his time answering, "I'm just kidding you. I know you would never be anything but good. I've trusted you completely, and I know my trust is safe with you."

She was a bit flustered as she answered, "Well, of course it is. I just wonder why you would come out with that. You've never said anything like that before."

"Just forget it. I didn't mean anything by it." He waited a few seconds before continuing, "I should probably go and get to bed. The beer seems to be putting me to sleep."

"OK, Kevin, I will let you go. Be sure you get a good night's sleep. Love you."

There was no way that Kevin was going to repeat those last two words to her, so he said, "OK, I will. Goodbye Keri." He hung up the phone and headed for the bathroom where he rid himself of the last of the beer. He was feeling a little better now after having had a few hours sleep, although he certainly would have been in no condition to drive. He returned to the kitchen and sat beside the phone, waiting stoically for 15 minutes to pass.

When the time had elapsed he dialed the Hyatt Inn, the number burned into his memory from the many times he had called her there previously, and asked for room 612. It came as no surprise to him when the phone went unanswered for a dozen rings before he finally hung up. He wondered if they were joking about some new plan to get him to call her earlier in the future, and he also wondered if his failure to call Keri would have a detrimental effect on their screwing tonight. He finally decided that he really didn't give a damn, but then he realized that they would probably be screwing while he sat here thinking about it. That realization brought tears back to his eyes as he stumbled to bed, this time getting undressed before he crawled beneath the covers.

He was surprised the next morning when he didn't feel too badly for his overindulgence of the night before. After he had showered he felt good enough that he was actually able to go in and spend the day working, although his mind was taken up with thoughts of Keri instead of fuel filters, injectors and precision fuel pumps. He went through his tasks robotically, and more than one of the other employees looked at him questioningly when he seemed to misunderstand what they had told him. He was extremely happy when the day was over.

All of his thoughts about Keri and the fact that she was cheating on him with her boss solved nothing for him. On his way home he picked up a couple of burgers and some fries, not the kind of food that he normally would eat. He had no appetite, though, so it didn't really matter what he ate. He washed them down with two beers out of the six pack he had picked up on the way home. He knew he wasn't going to be able to drink a dozen beers every night, and had purposely put back the second six pack he had started taking to the checkout counter.

At eight o'clock he called room 612 at the Hyatt Inn but there was no answer after 10 rings. The emails had suggested to him that Keri was only in the room from about 9:30 to 10, the normal window for his nightly calls. As a test he called the room every half-hour, making the fourth call at 9:25. None of the calls brought an answer and after 10 rings he hung up each time. His last call was at 9:45, and Keri answered on the second ring.

"Hello, Kevin. I guess you didn't fall asleep tonight. You're calling right on time. I was just about to crawl under the covers to get a good night's sleep, but I thought I'd better wait until you phoned." She laughed.

"I'm wide awake tonight, Keri. I've just been watching TV and waiting until it was time to call you. What about you? How did you spend your evening?" He hoped that she wouldn't be suspicious with his question. He knew he had asked her the same type of thing before on more than one occasion, so he didn't think that she would be wondering why he asked.

"I've been doing the same as you, Kevin. Just lying here watching TV. I just turned it down in fact. Before that I had a nice long hot bath." She was being very chatty, and it seemed to Kevin that she wasn't suspicious of him at all.

"That's nice, Keri. You should be well rested for tomorrow night then. We'll have to see what we can do to keep you busy when you get back."

She giggled and said, "So you're making plans already, are you? I can hardly wait."

They talked for another five minutes without really saying anything of importance. Kevin realized she was telling him one lie after another, and he finally said, "I should go. I have a couple of things to do before I get to bed. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye for now."

"Bye, sweetie. I can hardly wait for tomorrow night. Love you."

Kevin hung up the phone without saying anything further to her. Once again he waited 15 minutes, patiently watching the clock before calling room 612 at the Hyatt Inn, and once again the phone went unanswered after 10 rings.

Kevin went in to work at the normal time the next day, but booked off early for the afternoon. He wanted to be at home when Keri arrived from the airport, ready to confront her. He had no idea how that was going to go, but he did know they weren't going to spend the night under the same roof. One of them would be finding a new place to live before nightfall, and it didn't matter to him which of them it was.

He was at home just after 1 p.m. and knew that he would probably have close to an hour's wait before she arrived. Considering how lousy he felt when he discovered what had been going on, he was quite surprised at the way he was patiently waiting for her now. He felt like there was an empty hole inside of his chest, and he knew that the tears weren't too far away, but he willed himself to get through the next couple of hours with his dignity intact. He had spent hours going over their entire life together, and all he could remember were the good things. The emails and what had happened after he found them seemed to belong in another universe. They didn't fit with any of the memories he had of Keri.

He was standing there by the kitchen sink when he heard her open the front door. A moment later he could hear the wheels of her luggage rolling along the hallway, coming closer to him and their final seconds as a couple. As she walked into the kitchen it almost seemed as though she didn't see him there at first.

"Kevin! What are you doing here? Why aren't you at work?" There had been surprise on her face when she had seen him, but now it was replaced with concern.

"I was waiting for you, Keri." He spoke very flatly, without any emotion, his face in the same state as well.

She looked at him with more concern and said, "You were waiting for me. Why?"

He didn't answer her and instead picked up the stapled sheaf of emails and tossed it onto the table in front of her. She took another glance at him and then reached for the papers. Her look of concern had shifted to one of curiosity, but soon it was replaced with shock. Her face lost its color as she looked from the first sheet through the remaining pages, glancing at each one only for fractions of a second. When she had finished the last of them she tossed them back onto the table and stood there for a few moments while the color slowly returned to her face.

She didn't look at him as she said, "So you know." She hesitated another few moments and continued, "How did you get these? These are from my email at work."

"The modem...." It was all he could get out as he had to stop to get his emotions under control.

Keri caught on quickly though, nodding her head as she said, "The modem crapped out again and my email got left on the screen, didn't it?"

Once he was able to speak with control Kevin said, "Yes. If it wasn't for that I would probably never have known. You've been very good at keeping this whole affair secret."

Keri didn't say anything more and seemed to be thinking before she slowly turned as she took her cell phone out of her purse. In a few seconds she was speaking into the phone, her back to Kevin. "Kevin knows.... It doesn't matter how he found out, does it?.... Yes.... I'll call a taxi.... I'll meet you there.... Bye." She closed her cell phone and turned partly towards Kevin before saying, "I'll leave. I'm so sorry you found out this way. Tomorrow I'll come back for the rest of my things." She turned again to walk away, pulling her travel bag with her.

Kevin looked at her back in disbelief and angrily shouted. "That's it? No explanations? You're only sorry that I found out this way?"

Still facing away from him Keri said, "What is there to explain? I've been with Bradley enough in the last six months that being with him completely should become normal very quickly. He's been so good to me. You can't compete, Kevin. I'm sorry."

The tears that had been close to the surface came out now as Kevin said, "Good to you! What's this about; the money that he's been spending on you? I know about the handbag, earrings and a few other things. Is that what this is about?" He had to stop speaking because he was starting to lose control of his words.

Keri hesitated before answering, "The gifts are only part of it. Bradley does everything first class, and I'm ready to live first class." When she finished speaking she walked down the hall to their bedroom and went inside for almost five minutes while Kevin struggled to control himself. He was having a real problem believing that this was all about what Trey was able to give her. He knew that they were still years away from any semblance of an affluent lifestyle, but the Keri he knew had never complained. Had he misread her that completely?

When she returned from the bedroom she was carrying a garment bag that was filled to capacity. She must have called for her taxi from the bedroom because just as she reached the kitchen there were two short blasts from a car horn in front of the house. Without any further conversation Keri gathered up her travel bag and went out the front door. Kevin followed wordlessly and watched as the cabdriver rushed up the sidewalk to take her luggage. She got into the cab and waited for the driver to pull away before taking a quick look back at Kevin. He wasn't sure, but he thought she might be crying.

As he walked back to the kitchen Kevin said, "What the fuck just happened here?" There was no one there to answer though, so he sat at the kitchen table and tried to make sense of his once loving wife.

The next day, Saturday, Kevin was still in shock and disbelief that Keri had so easily walked away from their marriage, their home and him. Just after noon she phoned to say that she was coming for the rest of her things. When she arrived she was with her father, who had brought their van and some empty boxes. While the two of them took the boxes into the bedroom Kevin walked into the living room and sat quietly on the couch. After a few minutes Keri's father, Joseph Kane, joined Kevin. They sat there quietly for a few minutes before Kevin spoke.

"Has she told you what's going on?" Kevin asked.

Her father seemed a bit embarrassed, but finally answered, "I'm sorry, Kevin. She seems to have made up her mind about this. Her mother and I don't understand why she would want to leave you for her boss. We've never met the man, but he would have to be truly remarkable to be a better choice than you."

Kevin was still confused and said, "It almost seems that it's just about what he can give her. It's all she's said that makes any sense at all, and it doesn't make sense." He looked up at his father-in-law and continued, "I know that doesn't sound right, but it's all I can make of it. She hasn't told me that she loves him, or that she stopped loving me."

Joseph was quiet for a while, but finally said, "Does it really matter?"

Kevin thought about it before replying, "No, I guess not. She's been sleeping with him for months now on a regular basis. I can't forgive that even if it seemed that she wanted me to."

The two men continue to sit there in silence until Keri came out and said, "I have everything I want to keep. Anything else you find you can do whatever you want with it; give it away or put it out with the trash." There were tears in her eyes as she took a quick look around the living room before she continued walking outside with one of the boxes. Her father followed her with another before returning for several more trips to take the remaining boxes.

When they were gone Kevin returned to his bedroom and noticed that there were still a few of her clothes in the closet that Keri had used. He pulled open the dresser drawers that had been hers and saw that there were a few items there as well. Her lingerie drawer still contained several of the sets that he recalled having given her for birthdays and Valentine Days past. He picked up one of the bras that he had given her and then threw it back into the drawer in disgust. "She could have at least taken them with her and then thrown them out. It's almost like she wants to rub it in."

He went out to the kitchen and got a couple of green garbage bags. Within minutes he had put the rest of her clothing into the bags and tied them, ready to be dropped off for donation to the needy. Another bag that contained cosmetics and toiletries that she had left behind in the bedroom and bathroom went into the garbage. An hour later those two rooms showed no sign that Keri had ever lived there. He knew he would probably find other items, but for now he felt satisfied with having gotten rid of the last obvious traces of her. He spent the rest of the afternoon lying on the bed they had once shared, thinking of things he should be doing and a variety of revenge scenarios. In the end he realized that even though he was angry he wasn't a violent or vengeful person, and that he'd be better off devoting his energies to simply forgetting about her, as difficult as that was going to be.

The weekend was soon over although Kevin couldn't really remember a whole lot about it. He'd picked up a couple more six packs, and they were all sitting in the trash now, empty of their original contents. He knew it wasn't his style to drink to excess, but it was the only way he felt that he could get through the weekend. Trying to understand why Keri had done what she had done was driving him crazy, and the only solution was to make himself stop asking the question. By Monday morning he felt a bit better, more resigned to the facts of what had happened regardless of whether or not he could explain them.

He was not really with it on Monday or Tuesday at work. On Tuesday he phoned the Crosby and Knox office to get a forwarding address for Keri's mail. They didn't transfer him to her when he asked; instead the receptionist came back a few minutes later with the information that Keri would email him what was needed. Later that night when he checked his email there was one from Keri's work account containing only the forwarding address she was using, an address he recognized as the 9th floor condo where Trey resided.

Wednesday started as a normal day at work for Kevin until he got paged to the office for a phone call at midmorning. It was his bank, anxious that he should do something about the mortgage payment that had just failed to clear his account. After a few minutes of heated discussion with the loans officer at the bank Kevin discovered that both of the bank accounts he and Keri had shared were now showing zero balances. A few more questions revealed the fact that a total of almost $20,000 had been transferred out of the accounts on Monday.

Kevin was now in a bind for money, and although he could scarcely afford to do so he booked off for the time necessary to try and straighten out this mess. His first action was to go directly to the law offices of Crosby and Knox. He was furious with Keri and was going to insist on getting half of the cash back into the accounts. As far as he was concerned she had stolen almost $10,000 from him. He had a full head of steam when he entered the law office, bypassed the receptionist and headed straight for Keri's desk.

She didn't see him coming and looked up in fright when he started talking loudly to her from 10 feet away. "What the hell do you think you're doing clearing out both of our bank accounts? I want half of that money back, now."

Bradley Knox III chose that moment to step out of his office to see what was going on, and as soon as Kevin caught sight of him he made a change of course toward the lawyer in the three-piece suit. Kevin was able to get within 2 feet of him, but was met by the slamming of his office door. He could hear the deadbolt being turned as he rattled the doorknob. Obviously he wasn't going to be getting to speak with Trey anytime soon.

He quickly turned back to Keri just in time to cut her off from leaving her desk. She quickly sat back down again, her face and neck very red and a look of embarrassment on her face.

"Well, where is my money, Keri. What do you think you're doing? Is all of this so much about money that you're willing to take what doesn't belong to you?" Kevin was practically shouting now and there were people throughout the office listening to him and starting to gather discreetly nearby, wanting to see what was going on.

Keri finally found her voice and said, "I'm taking the money and you can have the car, house and furniture." She reached into a pile of envelopes and packages that was awaiting pickup by their courier and pulled out an envelope that she jammed into his hand. "It's all in here, and if you want to argue about it get a lawyer. I'd really hoped you would get this before you found out the money was gone, and I think you'll find out it's actually quite fair."

Before he could open the envelope two security guards rushed up, both of them with a hand on the Taser holstered on their belt.

The burly one said, "You had better leave right now. If you fail to leave immediately you'll be charged. We are authorized to use these Tasers, so don't challenge us."

Kevin realized that not doing as they said would result in nothing good, so he turned to leave after saying, "You have turned into one money hungry bitch. I don't understand how you could change so completely. The Keri I remember wouldn't have acted like this." He took one more look towards the locked office of Keri's boss and shouted, "You stay locked in your office Trey, you coward." He noticed that a couple of Keri's coworkers chuckled at his remark, obviously enjoying getting to see the timid lawyer's reaction to Kevin's visit.