Clue-full

The next morning, I headed off to work. It was ten-fifteen when Miri called me. "Hello, Devon," she said coldly. Without waiting for a reply, she announced, "I need you to come to Pete and Issy's house after work so we can try to sort this out. Be there by six please."

I started to agree when I heard the call disconnect. Predictable Miri.

The rest of my day was spent getting myself in the frame of mind to deal with whatever was about to go down. I had no idea how Issy had been faring in this mess, but I guessed I was going to find out soon enough. I left at five, went back to my hotel, and showered. I wanted to be fresh going in.

After ringing the bell, Pete let me in. The look was what I expected. He was pissed, probably about to explode. I cautiously entered the living room with only a nod to Issy and then Miri and sat in a chair near the far corner.

Things were quiet for several minutes, the only interactions were stray looks back and forth between my wife and Peter. Finally, Miri cleared her throat.

"We're here to see if there's anything to salvage from the betrayal you two heaped on Pete and me," she began. "We don't want to hear your hollow apologies. People at the party have already confirmed that you two spent most of the night chitty-chatting, ignoring other guests, and dancing way too closely."

Tears formed in Issy's eyes as she stared at the floor. I felt bad for her. Suddenly, Peter found his voice.

"Goddammit!" he screamed, looking directly at me. "You really fucked me, bro. Some piece-of-shit friend you turned out to be." He was then running his hands across his face and through his hair.

"I have no idea how we... how I come back from this." His gaze shifted to Issy. I noticed that Miri sat there quietly, with a slight smirk on her face.

"Unless..." he let the word drift off. Then he looked at Miri.

"What do you think, Miri?" he asked her, almost leading her.

"I feel the same way you do, Pete," she said. The tone was less than sincere. "I'm hurting very badly. I feel like something's been taken from me. Something I can't replace... and I feel lost."

Issy blurted out, "I'm soooo sorry!" to her friend. Then turning to her husband, "Pete, I love you, I'll do anything to prove that."

"Are you sure about that?" Pete asked her harshly. She nodded rapidly.

Pete turned to me then. "And you?" he mimicked. I knew what he meant. "What are you willing to do to fix your marriage and friendship?"

I didn't answer right away. I could see he'd formulated a plan, and I figured I'd just wait for it.

"I know what it will take for me," he turned his attention to Miri. "It will take a lot of time and communication to repair this, but for me, there's one thing that has to happen before we can even go there."

Miri nodded. Peter stood up and walked right in from of me, saying, "You fucked my wife, you asshole. You say you don't even remember it. Is that supposed to make me feel better?" there was a pause. "My life, my love for Issy, my trust in her, all down the drain for some sex neither of you can remember?"

He walked over to Miri, took her hand, and guided her to her feet. "Well, buddy boy, it's time for you and Issy to feel that same pain. To know what we're feeling. After, if there's anything left to put back together, I'm willing to talk about it with Issy and maybe even you, someday in the future. Right now, we're going to do to you, what you did to us."

He held Miri's hand and started to leave the living room. "You two," he warned us. "You're going to sit there and endure it. I can't speak for Miri, but I'm going to remember every single moment of the next hour... or so. Don't interrupt, and don't either of you dare leave."

Issy was begging hysterically as Pete led Miri to the stairs. I wondered if they'd do it in the master, just to add insult to Issy's injury. For Miri's part, she never made eye contact with me.

The next forty-five minutes were egregiously difficult. I'd moved to the sofa and held Issy, comforting her the best I could. As she sobbed into my chest, I kept whispering over and over, "It'll be okay."

But I knew it wouldn't. Nothing would ever be okay again. It was after we heard Miri screaming through her second orgasm, and some small amount of silence that followed, when it became all too much. We could hear their pillow talk. I wondered how cheap a house Peter had bought, with walls that thin. Of course, it could have been Pete and Miri going for maximum damage.

Miri giggled. "Holy shit, Pete," she said playfully, "you're so much better at that than he is." More giggling and we could hear the bed springs. "Maybe I married the wrong friend."

That was my cue. I stood up, leaving Issy staring... pleading with her eyes for me to stay. "Where... where are you going?" she knew. "They said we had to stay here."

"I can't Issy," I said. "Not after that. Maybe you two can work things out, but that was the last straw for me. I'm going home to reassess."

"Don't, Devon," she went back to begging. "I can't face this alone. My heart is breaking. When they find you gone, they'll take it out on me."

"No, they won't," I told her. "Pete is trying to hurt me. Well, hurt me more. They'll feel the same guilt we did, afterward. You'll be okay."

I turned and left the house, closing the door quietly.

I wouldn't have a lot of time unless Pete was pushing an encore onto my wife. I quickly took as much of my stuff from our old bedroom and put it in the spare room. I wasn't neat about it. In Ten minutes, I had all I needed for a few nights. I'd checked out of the hotel before going to our former friend's home.

Next, I opened my laptop and clicked on the home security icon. Our cameras - Living room, hallway, bedroom, and all entryways - were set to motion, and that was only once the alarm was engaged. I changed the settings to run those cameras twenty-four-seven. I also changed the backup to save to the cloud instead of saving on the server weekly.

Miri was home ten minutes after I finished, and she found me in the den drinking a beer.

"You fucking coward," she spat. "We told you to stay there, but no. Left your lover to fend for herself. Real big man, you are."

"Yep," I said raising an eyebrow. She picked up on the anguish behind the bravado.

"Awe, what?" she mockingly asked. "Did we hurt your little sensibilities? Ego bruised? What, did you catch a little of our pillow talk? Now you know how we felt, asshole."

I turned back towards the TV and turned up the volume. Miri came and stood right in front of me. She wasn't finished. I slowly looked up at her with a long, drawn-out sigh, expectantly.

"You better start working on adjusting your attitude, Devon." Her expression changed to a bit more reticent. "I'll give you tonight, considering I know exactly how you must be feeling right now. You're sleeping in the guest room anyway, but tomorrow, you better get your head in a place where we can start trying to work this out. Come and get what you need out of the master. I'm going to bed."

When I didn't bother to move, she got high and mighty again. "Did you hear me? Get your stuff."

"All taken care of," I said, motioning her to get out of the way of the screen.

Miri snorted and went quickly to the bedroom. She must have taken stock of my move, because a few minutes later, I heard, "Asshole!" just before she slammed the door.

The next day, I left early. Back to the gym, shower, shave go to work. That would be my morning routine for at least the next week, depending on how things went. After work, I stopped at my favorite watering hole and watched a few innings of some insignificant ball game. I kept my beer intake to a minimum but ate like a king. I knew Miri wouldn't be fixing me anything for quite a while. I needed to stay just sober enough not to muck things up if our arguments went too far.

"Where have you been?" she started right away. "I've been calling and texting. It went right to voicemail. Why was your phone off?"

"Didn't want to talk," I replied.

I told you last night," she huffed. "Get yourself into a better mood to talk about this. Were you out with some other woman? Cause your attitude sure doesn't mesh with a remorseful husband who has plenty to make up for."

"I'm not ready to make up," I said wanly. "I'll let you know."

"Suit yourself," she huffed and stomped away.

The next five mornings and nights I played it the same way. By the third night, Miri didn't even bother with me when I arrived home. Friday and Saturday nights, she was already in bed.

Sunday morning, I woke to the smell of fresh coffee and bacon. In my groggy state, I almost forgot about our troubles. For most of the Sundays, we spent together, she'd cook me a good breakfast. I suspected I knew what caused her sudden change of heart, and good nature.

"Good morning, Devon," she said kindly. "Can we eat and talk a little? I want us to go back to normal."

"Are you sure?" I asked her in the tone I'd been using all week. "You seemed to be rather enjoying the torment. What's wrong, Peter too busy for you today?"

Her smile left in an instant, but she held the steam back. "No..." was her very measured response. "I'm just tired of fighting, or this cold shoulder business. Look I don't want to fight anymore. We're even now, and it's time that we forgave each other and reconnected."

I laughed at her, almost right in her face. "That's a hoot, Miri. If in fact, Issy and I ended up having sex, it will remain as much a mystery to the two of us, as the rest of the world. No, 'being even' is not close to the right word to describe how I'm feeling."

I sat down as she stared at me. For the very first time, Miri's hard exterior began to crack. The wheels were spinning and I could tell she was suddenly considering that she and Pete had taken things too far. I wasn't going to let her keep thinking about it.

"Well," I said flatly, "can I have breakfast or not? The folks at the diner are finally starting to get my order right, so..."

That snapped her out of it. "No, I mean sure," she mumbled. "Of course." She busied herself getting me coffee and dishing up the eggs and bacon. I was going to miss this part.

Sitting in the chair beside me with her own plate, she said, "Is that what this has been about? She was back to being snide. "The fact that you can't remember your special night. If it is, I'll be the bigger person and apologize for how Peter and I went about things. We were just so angry - angry and lost."

"Sure," I said harshly. "So much so, that you were able to get together and calmly plan your revenge. Laid it all out. 'Come to Peter and Issy's after work,' you said. 'Stay here with her until we finish,' you said. Peter's too stupid to think about taking you to bed for a cheap fuck on the spur of the moment, Miri."

She didn't go ashen, but she had that, 'oh shit, I'm caught' look. "Miri," I started again. "I'm not ready to forgive anything. I'm still trying to figure out what happened at that stupid party. That's priority one for me. Then, I can start deciding about the rest."

"No, you don't, Devon," she found an opening. "You may never remember. It's done and over with. That's what I'm trying to tell you. Let's just move on. I don't want to think about it anymore, I just want to get us back to us."

"I can't," I answered quickly. "I have to kno..."

"Why?" she interrupted just as quickly. "Why are you so fixated on it? Clearly, the two of you did something. Peter and I just evened the score. Devon put aside your ego and focus on our relationship. All this bullshit is causing me to see you... see things differently. I need you to be the man I fell in love with, so we can move forward. All this moping... I'm... losing something - for you."

"Yeah, well," I chuckled a bit. "I've lost something for me too, and for you."

I left the house and headed to the diner for some restaurant-quality bacon. From there I made the call to the man I'd been putting on hold, waiting for the right time. We talked about what I needed him to do, and what I didn't. Both were important. Then I paid for my food and spent the afternoon playing putt-putt golf.

The next two days I never waivered in my actions or attitude. If she wanted out of the marriage, she could be my guest. If she wanted to fuck my former friend again, well that was another matter.

On Wednesday, Issy called me at work. She was crying.

"Devon, "I need to see you," she said urgently. "Are you in town? Can you meet me for lunch?"

I don't know, Issy," I was being cautious. "That didn't work out so well last time."

"I know, but this is important," she cried harder.

>>>>

"I ordered you a Pepsi," she told me as I approached the table.

"Thanks," I said, "what's up? You sounded upset."

Issy slid a crumbled piece of paper across the table. "I found this in Peter's pants pocket," she sounded so depressed, the poor girl. "It's from the night of the party."

I unfolded the receipt. It was from the Hilton hotel bar, just one town over - a twenty-minute drive from our house.

"So, Pete was having a drink," I stated. "What do you think it means?"

"You know damned well," some anger creeping into her voice now. "He was supposed to be in Memphis the night of the party. Look at the date on the receipt. Didn't fly home until the next morning." She was thoughtful for a bit. "Something is very wrong here."

I shrugged, taking a sip of my soda. "You think he's cheating on you?" I asked curtly.

"I don't know," she replied helplessly. "Why would he be there, and not tell me?"

I remained silent taking it all in.

"I checked with the hotel," she said finally. "He was registered in room 214. Checked out in the morning. I said I was his wife, and he'd lost a pair of cufflinks. They confirmed he was there."

"So, he's a cheater," I told her nonchalantly. "He's already fucked my wife, so I'm not really surprised."

Issy and I have known each other since she started dating Peter. She studied me for a long minute, looking for something.

"What's going on, Devon?" she asked, reaching for my hand. "I just want the truth. What's your part in all this?"

"Issy," I responded, squeezing her hand. "I don't know if anything happened that night at the party. Believe me, I've done almost nothing else but rack my brain since then. I still can't remember anything beyond some dirty dancing. Our spouses fucked in your bed because they were convinced that we did something - anything - I guess. I think my marriage is over. My friendship with your husband is.

"If you have proof he cheated on you," I continued. "Then dump his ass. Take him to the cleaners. The courts are on your side. He was my friend until I saw another side of him. I saw the look he gave me when he took Miri upstairs. If you're looking for my help - my support - all you need do is ask."

"Do you think he was with Miri while we were at the party?" she asked the question I knew was on her mind. I looked at her holding my words inside. "I don't know," I said. "I have no proof and that's what caused all this to begin with. She was out of town, so if she can prove it, then I guess you have your answer."

Issy was far more perplexed when she left.

>>>>

Miri

"How could you be so careless, Pete?" I admonished the man sitting in the booth across from me. "Now they know that we set them up."

"Cool your jets," he replied. "They don't know anything for sure. Issy knows I wasn't where I was supposed to be. She knows I spent the night at the Hilton, instead of Memphis. She can believe whatever she wants. Just like we didn't do anything in my house that night. I don't think I ever got to compliment you on your acting skills, by the way."

"It doesn't matter what Izzy believes," I reminded him. "I've got to deal with Devon, and if she's talked to him then my problems are just starting."

"Things aren't working like you thought, huh?" he said with that smug look that he always wore when he was telling someone that he knew better.

"No," I answered, defeated. "I know... you told me. I'm thinking about telling him the truth."

"The whole truth?" he laughed. "Why in the hell would you do that?"

"Not the whole truth," I corrected myself. "Just that we didn't have sex in your bedroom that night. Look, Peter, I need to do something. We crushed his little ego. My birthday is in a few days, and unless he's pulling off the biggest surprise of all time, I doubt there'll even be a gift, let alone a party. I have to do something to get him out of his funk."

"You mean back in your bed," he corrected me now, knowing our plan all along. "You and I can't move forward without proof of his acceptance. Are you having second thoughts about that?"

"Not at all," I admitted. "I do miss him. I never thought I would - the way I do. But aside from that, we need him on board, or we don't have a plan at all."

"Well then, how do want to do it?" he asked, looking away. "Put them in the same room again, and tell them together?"

"I don't think that will work," I told him. "Let's do it separately this time. More intimately. Let them talk to the other spouse for confirmation. Hell, maybe he'll even call you."

"I doubt that will ever happen again," Peter said, with both sadness and excitement on his face. "When can we get together again, Mir? I'm desperate for you."

"That's not a good idea right now," trying to talk him out of it, as my voice betrayed me. Peter was quite good in the sack. Or maybe it was the variety.

"Miri, please," he pleaded. "I need some relief, and I'm betting you do too. Just one hour while Devon's at work. That's all I'm asking unless you want more. You said yourself, he hasn't stepped foot in your bedroom since that night."

"We'll need to be very careful," I sighed.

>>>>

Devon

"Prove it!" I yelled at my wife.

"I... can't prove it," Miri replied with desperation painted across her face. "You know that! Pete doesn't have security cameras in the Goddamned bedroom, Devon. I... wish he did."

"See how it feels, Miri," I stated coldly. "Issy and I can't even prove it one way or the other."

"Stop it, Devon," she begged frantically. "Stop it! Come back to me. I need you. Let's forget all of this nonsense. I need my husband back. Forget what happened at the party. I never had sex with Peter! We were just trying to get you both to feel the same pain."

I stormed out of the house and called Issy. "Got time for a friend?" I asked chuckling, although I didn't feel like it at that moment. I was having second thoughts, all the way round.

We met at the same coffee bar. "Do you believe them?" she wanted to know.

"I don't know what to think," I responded. "But I've done some things... things that will provide answers - for both of us."

Issy looked shocked. "You've hired someone, is that what you're saying?"

"I'm not going into it, no offense." She looked very disappointed. I didn't want to hurt her any more than she already was. "If I find something, Issy, you'll be first to know."

The next several days, I withdrew into myself. Miri must have felt at least something for me, because so did she. I'm sure she was waiting for at least a 'Happy Birthday," from me that morning, but I played stupid. Later she told me she was going out with friends, never mentioning her big day.

That night I transferred all the footage I had from our bedroom to memory cards to be given to my attorney. The PI report was already in his possession.

All of the possessions I wanted were loaded in my truck. I had an apartment forty miles away. It was far enough for a while. Too far from my job, but I'd resigned earlier that day. I'd need my pay and back vacation to get by for a little while longer. I had to wait for one more thing.