Birthday Mistake

Pamela looked me in the eye and said she had some bad news; it appeared my wife had a lover. I was shocked and I must have gone pale because she stopped and asked if I would like a drink of water. I accepted the water and began breathing again. She said since she only followed my wife a couple of evenings and observed her enter an apartment where she stayed for a couple of hours and upon leaving observed her and a young man kissing, she could only assume they were involved in a romantic relationship but she observed nothing else so there remained a possibility this was an innocent encounter. Nobody in the room believed it for a second but she was right I really didn't know what my wife and this man had done behind closed doors. I asked what his name was and she said she did not know she had not been asked to determine his identification. Bill explained I had asked for a bare minimum observation and so had not proceeded any further until talking to me. He then laid out the different services he could offer and estimated cost for each. By this time I was in shock and had to know what my wife was up to. I asked for information on who this guy was, where he worked and any background information on him they could obtain. I also requested video and audio of their encounters if possible. Bill agreed and would call me around the end of the following week to go over the weeks results. This was going to cost much more but by now I had to know.

I went to my car and sat in it for several minutes just staring outside. I finally started the car and drove to a park near our house and sat on a park bench under a tree and tried to get my brain to start working. I could not believe my wife, my best friend, my everything would cheat on me. We always told each other everything, I trusted her completely. I could not believe it was possible she would do this to me, to us, to our marriage. There had never been any doubt in my mind that we would spend our golden years together hand in hand, arm in arm, reflecting on a long life together.

My cell phone rang and I answered it without thinking. My voice was just above a whisper when I answered it and my wife asked where I was. I looked around and for the first time noticed it had gotten dark and forgetting for a moment where I was it took me a few seconds to figure it out. I told her I had to finish up some work at the office and had stopped for a couple of beers with some co-workers. I apologized for not calling and letting her know but had just lost track of time. I told her I would be home soon. She chastised me for not calling and told me my dinner was cold and I would have to heat it up in the microwave. I apologized again and hung up. I sat for awhile longer and tried to compose myself and headed home.

Sandy had left a plate of food for me to heat up and she was in the front room watching one of her favorite T.V. shows. I was glad she didn't come into the kitchen and try to talk to me or she would have taken one look at my face and known something was seriously wrong. I ate very little and stuck my head into the living room and told my wife I was tired and going to bed early. She didn't even turn to look at me but continued watching her show and said O.K. I pretended to be asleep when she came to bed.

I got up early, although I don't think I slept any that night, and started working outside on some small projects around the house. My wife came out to the patio and told me she was going shopping and would be back later in the afternoon. I was able to avoid her for the rest of the week-end and I don't think she noticed anything out of the ordinary about me. I was in a daze all that week-end.

The following week I would leave early for work each morning. I had finally been able to get a handle on my emotions enough to act somewhat normal, at least enough Sandy hadn't noticed anything unusual. She again worked late Tuesday and Thursday nights and arrived home in a good mood. I was devastated imagining what she had been doing with her boyfriend. Maybe I was wrong and there was a reasonable explanation for all of it but deep down I knew my world was crumbling around me.

Friday finally arrived and I took off half a day from work. I couldn't stand it any more and called Bill and told him I had to know and he told me to come by at 1:00 and he would have a preliminary report of the week's activities. I arrived at his office at 12:30 and waited until just before 1:00 when Bill ushered me into his office. I knew it was bad when Bill started out by saying they had obtained quite a bit of information and it was graphic and I should think about just listening to a summation from him rather than view the video tapes. I told him I had to know everything. He then went into his standard spiel about me not doing anything irrational or illegal and taking time to absorb the information and get my emotions under control before reacting. He had me sign a document relieving him and his firm from any responsibility for my actions due to information I was about to receive. I signed wherever he pointed without looking or reading anything.

He had a television and DVR set up in the conference room and began the video. Bill, or his employee, had somehow been able to access the man's apartment and place several camera's throughout to capture video and audio. Bill explained the dates and times my wife had arrived at the man's apartment. I watched as tears ran down my face. I could only watch about 30 minutes of the first video before I asked him to turn it off. Bill said the remainder of that day and the following Thursday were pretty much the same thing. He told me the man's name was George Ames and he worked at the same place as my wife. He was 28 years old, young enough to be Sandy's son, and had started working there about a year ago. Bill said they did not try to interview any of my wife's co-workers to try and determine how long the affair had been going on but could make a pretty educated guess it had started shortly before my wife had started working late.

I told him this is all I needed and thanked him and paid the remaining balance I owed him.

I had tried to prepare myself for this but how can you really? Sandy was my world, my rock, my reason for living. I cannot believe she would do this. What could she possibly say to explain this? Does she even love me?

I knew I should wait until the following week and talk to a lawyer before confronting Sandy but I didn't think I could make it through the week-end without exploding. I was mentally and emotionally exhausted and felt like it couldn't get any worse so I was just going to confront her and let the chips fall where they may.

I called Sandy at her work, which I never do, and she immediately asked what was wrong and I lied to her and told her a long-time co-worker of mine was retiring and several of us guys were taking him out for a few beers and not to prepare any dinner for me and not to wait up I may be late getting home. This was unusual for me but she thanked me for calling and letting her know and told me to be careful and that she loved me.

I did go to a bar I would sometimes stop at for a couple of beers but tonight I had more than a couple. The bar tender finally cut me off and I stopped at a convenience store and picked up a couple of six packs and drove to my neighborhood park and drank until mid-night. I drove slowly home and flopped on the couch and went to sleep.

I awoke in the morning with a blanket over me and a quiet house. There was a note on the kitchen table from my wife explaining she had gone shopping for a few hours so she wouldn't disturb me and we needed to talk about my drinking and driving with a "love you" at the end. Yeah, we were going to talk all right.

I made a large pot of coffee and a light breakfast and prepared for the end of my world. I had my laptop set up on the kitchen table with a few of the more explicit pictures in a folder ready. I was shaking with emotion, not anger, but knowing after today I may never experience happiness again in my lifetime.

Sandy pulled into the drive-way around 2:00 P.M. and walked into the house with a couple of bags from her shopping spree. She sat them down and said you must have really tied one on last night because I looked like shit. I just glared at her for a few seconds and I guess she could see in my look there was something serious getting ready to go down. She became serious and asked me "What is it? What has happened?" I told her to sit down we needed to talk. She started to get nervous but sit quietly.

I first asked her if she loved me. She looked me straight in my eyes and thought for a moment before saying "with all my heart. I have always and will always love only you." I stared at her for a while and neither one of us said anything and both of us were afraid of what was going to happen in the next few moments. I asked Sandy if she remembered our wedding day and the words she spoke when reciting her vows to me. She had turned very pale by now and had a look of terror on her face. I yelled" Do you remember your vows?" She seemed to awaken from a trance and began sobbing.

She continued sobbing for several minutes before she was able to control her emotions. She said she loved me and had always loved me and always would love me. I asked how she could say those words and fuck another man behind my back. She lost it again and I got up to get a beer and give her time to calm down. I was getting really angry as all the emotions I had bottled up began to take over but with a strength I didn't realize I had I was able to pull myself together. I sat down and gave her time to compose herself. Her sobs turned into sniffles and she couldn't look me in the eye. She said "its not what you think. You need to let me explain". I turned the video on and turned the laptop towards her so she could see it. Her eyes grew large and her mouth opened into a silent scream. She watched the video for about 5 minutes before she screamed loudly and ran to the down stairs bathroom and vomited.

I started to take a drink of my beer but realized it was empty and got up to get another one but my hands were shaking so badly I decided I'd had enough and needed to stay as calm as I could and also sober.

She stayed in the bathroom close to thirty minutes before she stumbled out on wobbly legs and returned to her chair. She looked like hell with vomit on the front of her dress and tear-streaked cheeks. She looked at me with really sad eyes and said she was sorry and never intended to hurt me. She asked if I would allow her to explain and she promised to be totally truthful and tell me everything. She said she owed me that and then she said "I'm glad it's over".

That last statement really threw me so I decided I wanted to hear what she had to say. I didn't think there was anything she could say to salvage our marriage or make me hate her more than I did at that moment but hey you never know. So, I said I would like to hear her story and hopefully begin to understand how she could do this to me, to us and throw away our marriage. She started sobbing again but fairly quickly gained control of herself.

She said; "you remember about three months ago when I thought you were cheating on me with my best friend Donna? I didn't know you two were planning and putting together a surprise birthday party for me. I thought you two were having an affair and I was going to lose you. I had heard you on the phone in the evenings whispering to someone and when I found out it was Donna I became suspicious and when I asked you about it you sort blew it off and acted like it was nothing. It really bothered me because we have always been open and honest with each other and you were obviously hiding something from me. I became really concerned and started worrying about losing you and then when I saw the two of you together over lunch laughing and whispering to each other I was devastated but I still couldn't believe you would hurt me like that but when I asked you about it that evening you just said I must have been mistaken and it was someone else. I then knew you no longer loved me and was going to leave me. "

"The following day was a Friday and I could barely function all day and couldn't concentrate. Finally, about 3:00 I couldn't take it any more and fled to the break room because I knew no one would be there. I was looking out a window and sobbing when I felt someone touch my shoulder and asked if I was alright. I turned and George was standing there looking concerned. George Ames had joined the company about a year ago and he is a nice young man, funny, caring, and easy to talk to. I guess you could even say we would occasionally flirt but nothing out of line or very serious. I reached for him and he took me in his arms and I cried and cried on his shoulder. He held me and let me cry for several minutes. When I had cried myself out, we sat down and I poured my heart out to him, telling him the man I loved with all my heart was cheating on me and was going to leave me for my best friend. He listened and then asked if I was really sure and I told him yes. I told him I didn't know what to do. I couldn't go home to face you knowing that you didn't love me any more and was planning to leave me for someone else. I told him I had no place to go and wasn't even sure I could drive. I asked him to take me to a hotel so I could check in for the weekend and hopefully figure something out. He refused and told me I had no business being alone at this time and I was coming home with him. He said he had a two-bedroom apartment and that way he could take care of me until I could calm down and begin to think rationally again. He later told me he was afraid I would hurt myself if left alone and maybe he was right. I certainly wasn't thinking straight right then."

"We left work early and on the way to his apartment I texted you telling you I knew of your affair and well you know the rest. I received your text and immediately turned my phone off. I was so angry at you. Of course, finding out later you and Donna were planning my surprise birthday party, well I don't know how I could have been so stupid to believe you would hurt me like that but at that time I wasn't rational. We arrived at his apartment and he helped me inside. I sat on the couch and started crying again. George sat beside me and held my hand all the time until I was able to get control of myself again. I felt like my world was ending. The person I trusted the most in the whole world was betraying me and my heart ached. Once I calmed down again, George brought me a glass of wine. He let me ramble on and just sit beside me holding my hand and telling me he was there for me. It was comforting having someone there to help me through all the pain. I was so lonely but at least someone was there to help me through my crisis. George asked if I was hungry but I couldn't even think of food. We had several more glasses of wine and I finally began to wind down and not crying as much. We sat together for several minutes without saying anything when he turned to me and gently kissed me on my lips. I was shocked but didn't pull back. He stopped and looked me in the eyes and leaned in and kissed me again. This time I responded and kissed him back. It was as if a flame was ignited, all the raw emotions of the past few days surfaced and I clung to him desperately. He carried me into his bedroom and we had sex. It wasn't making love, it was emotional, hungry, raw sex. I spent the rest of the night in his bed and most of the following day. I finally got dressed and returned to you Sunday afternoon."

I was stunned, shocked. I jumped up and ran from the house. I jumped into my car and began driving. I didn't know where I was going but ended up in the neighborhood park. I began to remember that week-end. She never said where she stayed that week-end but I assumed she had gone to a hotel. Now I find out she spent the week-end fucking her boyfriend. She has been cheating on me a lot longer than I expected. The fucking whore! Maybe she and her fuck buddy had this planned all along. Maybe she has been playing me for a fool. Who is this woman and how could I not see who she really is all these years? She is just a slut and a whore.

I drove around all night long re-playing everything in my mind. I find out she has been cheating on me and now I find out it started her birthday week-end. I was busting my ass trying to put together something special for her and all the time she is planning on spending the week-end with her asshole fuck buddy. My mind went round and round and I couldn't form any kind of rational thought or begin to understand how we got to where we are today.

I noticed the sun coming up and looked around to find myself in my drive-way. I get out of my car and go inside. My wife is sitting on the couch and she sure looks like she hasn't slept at all either. In fact, she hasn't even changed clothes and she smells awful. I glare at her and tell her she looks like shit and to go upstairs and take a shower and change her clothes. I go into the kitchen and it looks like she has opened the envelope and looked at all the pictures from my P.I. Can't tell if she has looked at the videos. I make coffee and decide I have heard enough and we need to talk about a divorce and how to split up our assets.

I'm on my third cup of coffee when she comes down the stairs and sits in a chair and starts up with her story where she left off the night before. She talks in a monotone voice with little emotion looking at the table top and telling her story like it belongs to someone else. I didn't intend to hear any more from her but find myself listening intently unable to stop her.

She said, she was so embarrassed and sorry for her actions that week-end but also so relieved to discover I still loved her and didn't plan to leave her. She had even forgotten about spending the week-end with George and what they had done. She said she was over joyed to have me back, nothing else mattered. It wasn't until the following Monday when she went to work and saw George that she even remembered there time together. At the first opportunity she got George into an empty conference room and apologized for her actions and although she appreciated him being there for her, it was a mistake. She explained about the surprise birthday party and all the mis-understandings and how happy and relieved she was for finding out how wrong she was about the whole situation and she was back with her husband. She expected George to be happy for her and he was just not as happy as she expected him to be. She told him she would always treasure him as a true friend who was there for her when she needed a friend the most but they shouldn't have allowed it to escalate into a romantic week-end and it can't ever happen again. She told him she loved her husband with all her heart and will be the best wife she can possibly be for him the rest of her life.

I was not sure about all this but reflecting back on that week-end I had gone over it several times in my mind and could see where she could come to the conclusion, I was cheating on her. In the same circumstances I would have probably acted the same way. The late-night whispered phone calls, lunch meetings, being evasive, not being completely open and honest with each other as we had always been. Yeah, I had decided back then I could see her point and could understand how this could happen but fucking the bastard?

Sandy continued her story still in that same lifeless matter of fact tone of voice. "George and I still remained friends and I still really appreciated him being there for me in my hour of need and there wasn't anything out of line or inappropriate until a couple of weeks later."

"George asked me to go to lunch with him and I agreed. I rarely left the office for lunch but would if the weather was nice or I needed a break from my work. We went to a small café close by and chatted about work and friends. We hadn't talked about our week-end since I had returned to work the following Monday and told him, never again. George then started telling me he had recently broken up with his girlfriend, actually it was after our week-end together, and was feeling really lonely and depressed. He said he had never felt so close to anyone as he had been with me that week-end. He seemed to be really depressed and I tried to cheer him up and tell him he was a really handsome young man and I was sure there was a special young lady out there just for him, he just needed to get out there and find her. My pep talk seemed to help him and we returned to work."