A Matter of Trust

Author's note: This is a flash, BTB story. Hope you enjoy.

*****

"Cindy? It's me, Scar. I've got pictures I'm dying to show you. Can I come over?"

"Pictures? Pictures of what?"

"Last week, silly. They're really hot. Don't you want to see them?"

I was stunned that my ex-best friend would want to show me pictures of her and my husband having sex last week. I thought that maybe she was feeling guilty and wanted to give me proof for my divorce. Surely, she wouldn't just want to rub it in. I was too much in a daze to say anything except, "Sure come on over."

"Will Breck be there?"

"No, he's . . . not here right now."

"Good. There are some pictures I don't want him to see and things I don't want him to hear. See you in a sec."

I was still in a fog when I straightened up a bit before Scarlett came over. She asked for wine instead of coffee even though it was a Saturday morning. The first thing I noticed was her tan. Her outfit revealed a lot of skin and no tan lines appeared anywhere.

Her pictures were on her tablet. She started out with a selfie with her and another girl on a tropical beach. "Who's that?" I asked.

"That's my girlfriend, Krista, from college. She's a travel agent now. She's the one who arranged the whole trip. I wouldn't have been able to afford it otherwise. Five days in a five-star hotel on a tropical beach and men with bodies you would not believe. Girl, I have the stories to tell you. I'm still on a high, as you can probably tell."

"So, you've been gone since last week? Was there anyone else there you knew besides Krista?"

"No, why do you ask?"

"Just wondering."

"Oh, I get it. Cindy, I'm sorry I couldn't invite you too. Krista was only able to take one other person and get her company to pay for it. I'm supposed to write up an evaluation of the lodging, food, entertainment and so on. What I really want to write about is the S-E-X. It was amazing. They had a nude beach. I swear the smallest I saw was a good six inches and it was thick as a Coke can. You'll see. I have some private photos as well as ones I can show in public."

"So, you've been out of the country for a week."

"I already told you that. What? Did something happen while I was gone?"

"Yeah, someone told me that Breck and you were having sex last week in a Holiday Inn in Louisville. I kicked Breck out last night."

"What? Cindy! How could you believe that? I flirt with him but not any more than I do with other men in our crowd. Why didn't you wait to check with me? Gee, you better kiss ass quickly girl. There's a lot of women who would snatch him up if he were available. Now that I think of it, I'm insulted that you would think I could do that. I'm going back home." She left quickly as she began to tear up.

My head was spinning. "Shit, shit, shit. I have really fucked up. That asshole George set me up. Damn him. I've got to call Breck right away and calm things down.

"Hello." The voice sounded like he was both angry and depressed.

"Breck, honey. I just wanted you to know that I've forgiven you and want you to come home."

"Forgiven me? What the hell have I done that I need your forgiveness?"

"Well, it seems I might have been a little hasty about what I accused you of and I thought it would be good if we got off to a fresh, even start."

"An even start? You've got some nerve. First, you accuse me of having an affair without allowing me any chance to dispute it. Secondly, you kick me out of MY house. Then, boy do I want to call you some vile names, then you sent out a text message to all our friends and relatives telling them you have 'proof' that I have been cheating on you. Actually, I want to thank you for that one. Before today, if anyone had asked me who I thought cared about me the most and would trust and support me no matter what, I would have listed my wife, my family, and a bunch of friends. After the texts I have received from most of them and from what you said to me, I know now I have almost no one who really has faith in me. I could not believe the vile things they wrote to me. It was all based on what you had told them although a couple of them said they had had suspicions about me for a while.

"There is no one except my sister and a couple of friends who have stood by me. Thanks to you, I do not have anywhere to go this coming Thanksgiving and Christmas because my own parents believed you instead of me. I don't even know any bars or restaurants I can show my face in for fear of being shamed by former friends. I just sent everyone you lied to about me a loud and clear email message: I am no longer, nor will I ever be your friend, your son, or, in your case, husband again.

"Now as far as being 'even,' I can actually see that as a possibility. Once you receive the Divorce Petition from my . . ."

"Divorce? Sweetheart, there's no need for a divorce."

"As I said, once you receive the divorce papers from my attorney, sign them. It's a simple 50/50 split of all assets. Once the divorce is finalized, we can both start out even. Each of us with our own new lives to start."

I was bawling by now. "Breck, I made a big mistake. Please let me make it up to you. I love you so much."

"Your words are just words. Your actions prove your so-called love was paper thin. I'm not sure what 'proof' you thought you had of my cheating, but it was able to tear down whatever veneer of love you had in record time. You may have had some love for me, but you had no trust. Some things that are broken can be easily repaired, but trust is not one of those. I don't know how I could ever trust you again.

"And you had no respect. If you had respected me, you would have come to me and confront me with the accusation. So, you had a little love, no trust and no respect. That doesn't seem like a solid foundation for a marriage to me. Please only contact me through my lawyer from now on." He hung up.

"Why, why, why did I give up so quickly? That creep, George, got me drunk and convinced me he had seen Breck and Scarlett at the motel going into a room and kissing all the way. With all the flirting that Scar had done, I found it easy to believe. That son-of-a-bitch George! Damage control. That's what I need to be thinking of."

I quickly drafted a text to counteract the original text I sent. I admitted I had been mistaken and judged Breck too quickly. I asked everyone to ignore what I had sent. I promised to apologize to Breck. I hoped foolishly that would help. All it helped was to make everyone angry at me for ruining their relationship with Breck. I was now on their collective shit lists.

I tried calling Breck again. It went to voice mail. I texted him. It was unread. I emailed him. It too was unread. I kept up my efforts until I got messages that the phone number and email address were no longer in service.

I found out which motel he was staying in by calling the front desks of the closest motels. After one phone call to his room consisting of his "Hello" and my "Breck don't hang up," I got hung up on. Subsequent calls went unanswered. I showed up to the motel to find out he had checked out.

I called his workplace. His receptionist and I had a good relationship. As soon as I called, she said, "Cindy, what's going on? He came in this morning like he was going to war. He told me he was not accepting any calls from you."

"Ashley, I made a big mistake. We had a fight. I made him leave. Now, I've been trying to apologize, and he won't let me. I just need to talk to him."

"I can't believe two people so much in love can't work things out. Tell you what, I'll work on him to try to get him to listen to you. I'll call you back."

Finally, I had some hope. I didn't just sit back and wait. I wasn't able to. I was too busy with the angry calls and texts from family and friends. The worst was from his mother. "I can't believe we thought you were telling the truth when you said you had proof he had been cheating. We loved you like a daughter! Now we may have lost our only son. I hope there is a special place in hell for you. I may be risking my own salvation saying that, but that's what I feel."

As the end of the day came and no call from Ashley, I called her back. She whispered, "I tried talking to him. He bit my head off. He told me that if I even mentioned my name again, he would fire me. I barely was able to keep him from putting a letter of reprimand in my personnel file. Please don't call here again."

I was sitting at home one week after my visit with Scarlett. A knock came to the door. I looked and saw the familiar brown truck and the young man in the brown uniform. He had a package and a large pad. "I have a package for Cindy Barnes."

"I'm Cindy Barnes."

"I will need you to sign for this, but regulations say I have to see some ID to prove you are who you say you are. Sorry, but that's the rules."

I went and got my purse and showed him my driver's license. After signing for the package, I heard the man say, "You've been served." He walked merrily to the truck, took off the magnetic UPS sign and laughed. I swear I heard him say, "Fools them every time."

Things were spiraling out of control. I had to do something else. I bought a full-page ad in the local paper where I confessed my false accusation and made as sincere an apology as I could. I begged for Breck's forgiveness. I sent flowers to his office. I bought billboards that begged for his forgiveness after admitting it was all my fault.

I wasn't sure what effect my efforts might be making. Then I started getting sympathy texts and emails from former friends and a bunch of strangers. Evidently, I wasn't the only one who had falsely accused their spouse and suffered the consequences. Out of the blue, Breck called, "I give Cindy. Stop the advertising campaign. It appears I won't get any rest until I sit down and talk with you. When can I come over?"

It took a while for me to gather enough breath to answer. "How about tomorrow night at 6:00. Do you want to have supper?"

"Why don't I bring our favorite Thai food from Smiling Elephant? Pad Thai chicken and shrimp, right?"

"Level three hotness, though. Not that lava-level of heat you like."

"Hey, if your eyes don't water, if your brow doesn't sweat, and if your nose doesn't run; it's not good Thai food." He chuckled.

I couldn't believe it. He called. He sounded happy. He is coming over. Shit. I had to prepare. I may only have one chance to salvage our marriage.

It was the longest 24 hours I ever spent. I put on what I hoped was Breck's favorite dress. I had wine to have with supper. Finally, he arrived at 6:02. The longest two minutes in history. My body actually jumped in fright when the doorbell rang. I flew to the door. It was Breck. I was about to chide him for thinking he had to ring the bell, but I wanted everything positive.

We complimented each other on how we looked. Most importantly, he was smiling. He put the food on the table while I poured the wine. We dove in trying to eat while talking. I was surprised I was that hungry, but we both really loved Thai food.

The heat of the food caused us to drink more wine than usual. The more wine than usual helped relax the atmosphere. I decided to get to the issue.

"Breck, I was wrong, so wrong. I think that I didn't believe someone as wonderful as you could really love someone as flawed as me. I really missed you while you were on your business trip. When I was told you were seen going into a hotel room with Scarlett, I lost it. I'm afraid too much alcohol didn't help. I remembered how jealous I used to get when I saw Scarlett flirting with you. I forgot how she flirted with everyone and she was my best friend. She wouldn't betray me. Most importantly, you wouldn't betray me. My greatest wish is that you will give me a chance to atone for my sin. Do we have a chance?"

"Cindy, I hate to think what my blood pressure was the first weeks after you accused me of adultery. It took quite a while to calm down. Your campaign to get me to forgive you and to believe you were sorry has honestly had some effect. If you can show me I can trust you, . . . "

That damn doorbell rang. What lousy timing. It rang and rang. "I'll get rid of whoever it is. Don't move."

I ran to the door. As I began to open the door, George burst in. "Has he hurt you? Let me at the bastard."

I yelled, "What the hell are you doing here George? Get out. My husband and I are having an important talk. Leave! Now!"

"I thought you had called it quits with this cheater. What lies has he used to get back in your heart? I'm the one for you. You told me so."

"George, whatever I said or did was while I was drunk. I beg you, please leave before I call the police."

"Look, I know I lied about his affair with Scarlett, but he has other girlfriends. I'm sure of it. What we had was special that night. We can build a new life off of that."

Breck spoke. "You're the one who told Cindy I was having an affair! You bastard. What's this 'special' night you're talking about?"

I screamed, "Don't say it, George. Please."

George didn't follow instructions. He grinned while saying, "Our special night included oral sex and intense love-making. It didn't take much convincing for her to give herself to me. She wanted it, loser."

Breck took a couple of steps towards George. George stepped towards Breck. George swung first. His fist seemed to bounce off Breck's chin. Breck's fist broke George's nose and put him on the floor. Since George seemed the most damaged, I rushed to him. That made Breck even more furious. I stood up to say something to Breck and he smacked me. I fell down. I never, ever expected my husband to hit me. It was totally out of character.

I didn't cry. I helped George to his feet. I stood in front of him and kicked him in his balls as hard as I could. Then I went to get a towel and some ice for his nose. I hadn't noticed but Breck had called the police and asked for an ambulance. There was nothing said by any of us before the police arrived. Breck told them the truth about what had happened. I wanted to deny Breck had hit me, but I had a red mark that showed the truth. George said he wanted to prefer charges against both of us. Breck and I went willingly in the police car. George went to the Emergency Room in the ambulance.

We were arraigned, made bail, and sent home. We took separate cabs even though we were going to the same place. After arriving at our house, Breck drove off in his car.

Back to square one with me trying to atone for one more sin. I just could not give up without one more try. I thought I came up with a good idea. One day I showed up at Breck's work place - with about 50 friends and relatives also hoping to make amends. Several had signs apologizing or begging forgiveness. I was hoping quantity would make a difference.

"Yes, may I help you?" Ashley's greeting was curt but professional.

"Yes, we'd like to see Breck Barnes please."

To my dismay, she said, "I'm sorry. He no longer works here. Is there someone else that can help you?"

Afraid getting over the shock, I replied, "You can refer us to someone who knows where his is."

"I'm not allowed to divulge information like that. I will call Mr. Elliot."

Mr. Elliot came to meet us. He was not happy to see us. "So, is this the Traitor Brigade? You bastards and bitches cost me one of my best employees. He left to get away from you. Needed a new start in a new place. If you want us to help you find him, eat shit! Now get out of here before I call security.

We left. I turned to Ashley one last time. She put up her shoulders like, 'I don't know.'

I called every office listed in Breck's company's annual report. All reported no one named Breck Barnes worked there. He either went with a rival, was on contract rather then working as an employee, or he changed occupations. He took half our assets and left me the house as specified in the divorce papers. I signed and our divorce was final in a few months. I thought about using some of my money to get a private investigator to find him. I waited, hoping I could think of something that would lead him to forgive me and believe he could trust me. I never thought of anything except, "I promise not to do again what I promised before never to do." Not very persuasive.

It was a struggle to afford to stay in the house Breck and I shared, but I couldn't bring myself to leave. I wanted him to be able to find me, just in case. I didn't have to wait long.

I got an email from Scarlett. She said, "I'm sorry I haven't contacted you since we had that fight at your house months ago. I was really angry at your lack of trust in me, your best friend. To think I would commit adultery with your husband. Anyway, I received an email one day from Breck after he had moved. He apologized for me being dragged into a plot by one of your friends meant to hurt him. He said it wasn't fair to me either. That was so sweet. My heart just melted. Well, we started corresponding. He opened up his heart to me. Finally, he invited me to visit him. As soon as we saw each other, we both knew we were meant to be together. I am now Mrs. Scarlett Barnes and I couldn't be happier. I can't believe you didn't trust him. Oh well, please thank that George fellow for including me in his plot to seduce you. I would say 'No hard feelings' but that would be lying. I'll send a picture of the baby when he arrives in six months."

I was ready to move out of the house now.