An Odd Friendship

- Hi Joe! Long time no seeing!

- Indeed! Good to see you! And who might your company be?

- This is Julie. She is the lovely girl I see sometimes on an extramarital basis.

- Echanté, mon cherie, Joe exclaimed using half of his French vocabulary.

- Hi, I'm Julie. You must be the old friend Joe.

- Indeed I am. I am so happy to see such a wonderful girl with my friend. Congratulations, she is a much better bet than Meredith.

- Take it easy Joe, I am privileged to have two women. Two is better than one.

- I would question that if one of them is your wife, he laughed.

- I know you never got along well, so I made sure she would not come with me. Have a beer and a seat. What are you up to these days?

This conversation did not start very well. I had to keep him off criticizing Meredith, but Julie was still smiling. She must have felt safe, it was clear he did not know who she really was.

- I am in involved in some internet poker enterprise. Really interesting, good money in it.

- That is the new way to get quick money I guess, I answered.

- Yes, it really can be. Something for a smart guy like you.

- No, I do not want to get mixed up in any business.

- There are no risks I couldn't manage, I will make sure of that. We have a pretty clever arrangement, you know.

Julie kicked my leg. Or rather it was Meredith who wanted to remind me that I should stay off troubles with Joe.

- No really, I'm not interested. But it is good to see you again for a beer. And I plan to continue for a night out with Julie, you provided me with a good excuse. Thank you for that.

- But you could use some extra money. You must bring Julie for a trip to some nice resort. Business trip, of course. I will make the explanations if you like. I would take a pride in giving you a break from that Meredith. Shouldn't you divorce that bitch?

- None of your business, I replied. I am perfectly pleased with my current arrangements, thank you very much.

This was spinning all the wrong direction.

- You have always had a bad taste in women. Until now, that is. Your Julie is a real change! Remember that girl I introduced you to when I had a party during school times? You were seeing her for a few months, but it ended. She was allright.

- She was never my kind of girl. It was just a short thing, not serious at all.

- Way better than Meredith, if you ask me. You have kids with her you say. How were you even able to make her pregnant? She is such a turnoff, Joe said with a chuckle.

This was no doubt still spinning in the wrong direction. Really. Now Julie came to rescue and said with an icy voice:

- You should not speak like that to someone who is not here. Bad talk can spread in ways you don't know. His wife is not a problem to me. Just leave her out of the discussion.

- I say what I want. I always do. And she is not here, why care? What she does not know does not hurt her.

I could feel Meredith had lost her patience. The limit was reached. The eyes were burning behind the eyelashes.

- She might hear you anyway. Apologize right now!

- You must be joking! I would never apologize to that old hag, Joe answered.

Meredith was standing up now and stared intensively at Joe. She had him nailed with her eyes. Then her hand raised slowly moving to her head. Slowly she removed the wig and dropped it on the table.

She said absolutely noting, just kept staring at Joe. It was dead silent. The yelling a moment ago was still ringing in the ears.

First he just looked puzzled. He did not get it. Then slowly the situation dawned on him. The color in Joe's face disappeared and his jaw dropped. He did not say a thing, but his face was priceless.

His posture sank. Then he slowly raised from the chair and walked away. He was mumbling something I could not hear. Looking down, a defeated man.

When he had left the room, Meredith sat down again. She was exhausted, but victorious. I was lost for words and I did not want to break the silence. I waited a moment and raised my beer glass for a toast. It was the sound of two glasses meeting that was the first sound any of us had made in a while. We both emptied our glasses in one go then had our second big laugh that day. Now I could give this marvelous woman a kiss.

The waiter passed and I ordered new drinks. He tried not to stare at the wig and must have heard the screaming a moment ago. This must have been new to him. But we could not have cared less.

When the drinks came Meredith looked me in the eyes a long time. The she said:

- You stay here and drink your beer. Meredith will go to the ladies' room and disappear. In a while Julie will come back, so think about where to take her. She expects to be spoiled tonight. Your mistress is expecting a great night out.

Meredith took her wig and left the table. I spent the rest of the evening with Julie, we went to different places. Anything we did was wonderful, like we had just fallen in love. When coming home late we made love as if it were the first time.

-----

I still see Julie sometimes. Sometimes I tell Meredith I would like to meet Julie. Sometimes she tells me that Julie will come for a visit. Or she just enters the room with her wig on. Then I know.

I can tell Julie secrets I would not have told Meredith. She can ask me things I would not hear from Meredith. We even share secrets we would never tell Meredith. It is strange but it works.

Meredith has picked up pieces from Julies personality, all to the better. She is more open and honest, can relax and be cheerful and happy. It has come slowly but is a wonderful improvement in our relationship. But to feel real passion it has to be Julie. And she feels the same.

When Joe and I were young there was a mutual give and take. Then in recent years it was pretty much only me giving. But since he brought Julie to my life and marriage, I have to consider the debit paid.