Fool Me Twice . . . .

Thursday evening I stopped by, after all the perfunctory hand shakes and hugs we went out on their back deck. Teresa asked if I wanted a beer or something, and I told her no thanks.

"You may need one Pat," Ryan declared seriously.

Teresa came back with three beers.

"What's up?" I asked.

They paused, and there was an uncomfortable silence. I saw tears forming in Teresa's eyes.

"Got some bad news last week." Ryan began, "Cancer. Pancreatic cancer. A pretty bad kind."

Ryan gave me the whole rundown. He'd had some pain, thought it would go away. It didn't. Finally he got in to see the doctor. Fairly quickly they did more tests and began working with an oncologist.

"Prognosis, maybe a year they're saying," his voice trembled with emotion when he said this.

"Here's the thing," he said to me, "we don't want a whole bunch of people knowing. We're only telling family and a few close friends. I know you need to tell Mia, but I really don't want it to go past that."

I sat there for a moment stunned, trying to digest this terrible news.

"What," I began, "what can I do?" I asked.

"Just be a good friend. Stop by when you can," Ryan said, "and when, well afterwards, be a friend to Teresa," He looked over at her, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Pat, you're one of the only true friends I trust. Teresa and I just wanted you to know." He told me

Later walking home I spilled my own tears thinking about what they had told me. I knew I needed to keep it together to support Ryan and Teresa.

Life continued and I spent time with Ryan and Teresa when I could. A few times Mia came with me, but she seemed to find excuses to avoid these visits. She told me it was hard for her to think about death.

When I told her it was hard for everyone she didn't answer.

As I reflect back on this time in our lives, our relationship began to change. Very subtly at first but in retrospect we began veering off in different directions.

I spent a lot of time with Ryan. Teresa sometimes too. A lot of my emotional energy was focused on my good friends. At the time I didn't realize it but less energy was spent on my marriage.

At the same time Mia began working more at her job with Langley Motors. Certainly we continued to function as a family and with three small children including twins there was always something to be done, so in many ways the shift between us wasn't noticed. In the beginning.

As I've explained, I had a jealous streak. I know it seems a little off base but the whole scene years ago at the party seeing Mia walk down those stairs with Langley with a fresh fucked satisfied look on her face continued to periodically flash through my thoughts.

You may ask, 'Why would you marry her if you don't completely trust her?' And the answer is, if she hadn't been pregnant I doubt we would have ever gotten married.

And I have to admit a few things. First off she is a great Mom, and for most of our marriage a good wife. And, she had never given me any real reason to be suspicious. Finally, we'd always seemed to have had a solid emotional connection.

Things began to shift.

Again, with work, the kids, and supporting Ryan and Teresa I was busy. Mia was working much more than the original 20 hours per week. With her mother and grandmother's help the household was mostly under control. But that emotional connection was being stretched.

The first piece fell into place several weeks later.

I'd stopped by to see Ryan. We had taken to playing chess together. He was much better than me but it was an enjoyable pastime. Teresa got home an hour or so after I arrived. We chatted about normal things.

"I saw Mia downtown last night." She told me.

Downtown? She'd arrived home after dinner last night but I thought she had said she was working late. My curiosity spiked.

"Where'd you see her?" I asked calmly.

Teresa said she was down near Clancy Street, an area of restaurants, bars, and boutique retail.

"Oh really," I replied, still calm, "who was she with?"

Teresa looked at me sharply. Ryan with a pawn lifted, froze mid-move, and studied me too.

"Uh," Teresa stuttered, "I couldn't tell." She paused, "I was driving up Clancy and I saw her. She's so beautiful she's hard to miss."

"Everything okay Pat?" Ryan asked.

I tried to assure them all was fine, but I think they saw through my outward behavior. A little later I left, walking the short distance home. On the walk I tried to formulate a way to ask about her down on Clancy Street during the time the children were being fed. She'd mentioned nothing about going out somewhere.

That evening after all the kids were down I asked her what she was working on at work. She told me they were planning a big sales event and that was why she'd been working late.

I asked her if she had to meet media representatives from the local radio and tv stations. She explained no, that was all done online.

"I don't get out of my cubicle much." She told me.

"Who approves the ad campaign?" I asked.

"Well first Mitch and then eventually Ryan," she answered, but then looked at me, "what's with all the questions all of a sudden?" She asked.

I said I was just curious. She studied me not buying my new found curiosity. She got quiet all of a sudden and went up to bed.

I sat there in the kitchen, thinking. It wasn't a difficult conclusion. I knew for sure my wife had just lied to me. I just wasn't sure why.

For the next week or so she was home early, was involved with the kids, and seemed to try to connect better with me. If not for my suspicions this would be a happy time for the family.

The following week she worked late Monday getting home after the kids were in bed. And then two days later I got a text message from her.

'need to work late moms ok with helping with kiddos dinner'

As the kids were finishing up eating I told my mother in law I needed to run a quick errand. She was happy to stay with the kids.

As I drove by the auto dealership I looked for her black Highlander. I knew the employees parked on the north side of the building. You could see the parking lot from the frontage road.

As I drove past I noted no cars in the parking lot. I knew Langley drove a Lexus SUV. No Lexus and certainly no black Highlander. I checked my watch, 7:36 PM.

I turned around and drove home hoping and praying Mia was there and our paths just hadn't crossed. Unfortunately she wasn't.

She arrived at quarter to nine. Her 'late nights' were getting later. The kids were already down for the night. She'd missed that.

"Where were you?" I asked.

"Where do you think I was?" She answered, an edge to her voice.

"Were you at work?," I began, "in your office?"

"Of course I was, where else would I be?" Her attitude getting more negative.

I sat on the couch digesting lie number two. I barely noticed when she walked away. I sat there for nearly an hour contemplating what to do. All signs pointed to her doing something she didn't want me to know about. Most likely with Langley.

The following day Mia was home at a regular time. She was happy and in a good mood. This had become a rare occurrence and despite my suspicions it led to a pleasant evening, kind of like the good old days. A fun dinner with the kids and then bathing, pajama-ing, teeth brushing and reading. Their bedtime ritual. It was always more pleasant when both of us were involved.

Later, once I came down from the bedrooms, I found Mia in the living room with a glass of white wine. She was still in a good mood.

"We were invited up to Blake's family cabin on Baltus Lake this Saturday. The kids too." She told me.

I didn't reply, digesting the information.

"Mitch and Lisa, Taylor and some of the others will all be there" she added, "the weathers supposed to be nice. It will be fun."

I paused before answering. I didn't really want to go with this crowd but I really wanted to know what was going on with Mia and Langley. Or not.

I agreed to go, and I told her I thought it would be fun.

The following evening, Thursday, I walked over to Ryan and Teresa's. As I've mentioned they lived around the corner a block and a half away.

I hated to see it but there was no doubt Ryan was becoming visibly worse. He looked gaunt and his skin had an unnatural color.

He spent some time reviewing the latest medical information that they had received. Unfortunately there was nothing that could be construed as positive. Still both Ryan and Teresa maintained a good attitude and I admired them for that.

"What's going on with you?" Ryan asked me. "Everything okay?" He looked at me with a concerned expression.

I felt bad, here my friend had a terminal disease and my own personal problems were putting me in a bad mood.

"It's nothing," I told them, trying to summon up a more positive attitude.

"Hey buddy, we're your friends. What's going on?"

I sat there for a moment and then I told them of my suspicions about Mia and Langley.

"I wondered about that after seeing her downtown a few weeks ago. I didn't see Blake there, but I just got a vibe that she was on some kind of date." Teresa said.

I then told them that she'd lied to me about that night. I told them about the odd hours. And finally I admitted I had no proof but it felt like things were slipping in our marriage.

As I was leaving they pledged their friendship and offered any help that I may need.

"Keep your eyes and ears open up at the lake this weekend," Ryan suggested.

That Saturday was beautiful and we left before nine AM. It was about an hour away by car. A few of the people were staying overnight but that was fortunately impossible for us with three children.

The house was an old log lodge that had been modernized and added on to. There was a dock, a boat, and jet skis. There was a small sandy beach on one part of the lake that was perfect for the children to play in.

Mia and a couple of the other mothers set up down on the small beach. The kids waded and splashed in the shallow water. The women chatted and I moved away.

I wandered the grounds and talked to some of the others and grabbed a beer. I noticed Langley, Mitch, Taylor and a couple of others all cliqued together. Occasionally I heard Langley's loud booming voice. I did see the beautiful Olivia, Langley's girlfriend, mingling. That made me feel somewhat better.

After a bit Mia asked if I'd watch the kids for a while, and I agreed. I saw her, the now pregnant Lisa, and their friends chatting up near the house.

I was focused on the kids, making sure they didn't get too deep in the water. Occasionally a jet ski would swing past us. The kids were fascinated by the shiny water vehicles and the loud noises they made.

It must have been a half hour later that I looked up and saw Mia's group all clustered together. I saw Lisa and a few of the others, but I did not see Mia. With one eye focused on the kids in the water, I intermittently scanned the grounds to try and find her. I didn't see her.

I was on the verge of hauling the kids up to dry land so I could look a little more intently, when I heard Langley. I peered around one of the big evergreens and I saw him, with his arm around his girlfriend Olivia on the far side near the dock in a cluster of people. Maybe there truly was no reason to worry. I hoped.

A little later Mia appeared.

"I can take over now," she breathed to me.

She looked almost normal. Something was off and I studied her trying to figure out what was different.

"What!?" She began, "why are you staring at me? I'll watch the kids now, go have fun."

I wanted to clear my head a little, so I decided to take a walk along the west side of the lake. I'd noticed some trails heading that direction when we first arrived.

I walked through the forest and came upon a fork in the trail. I took the inland fork and continued along the narrow trail pondering my life.

I took stock. I had a good job that paid well, and I was good at it. I loved my kids, and despite my recent reservations, I loved Mia too. Mia was a great mother and we lived in a nice neighborhood.

There could have been some perfectly good reasons for the discrepancies, I guess you could call them, in her whereabouts those few times.

Buoyed by my optimistic thoughts I decided to head back to the party. I was walking that inland trail back and all of a sudden I heard people talking. It sounded like they were on the other branch of the trail. The one closer to the lake.

I paused parallel to whoever it was talking, screened by a thicket of hardwood trees. Without doubt I heard Langley's loud voice and I knew it was likely he was with his buddies..

"and that's why we close early on Wednesdays," I heard Langley laugh and say, "to get some of that spread eagle on the desk,..."

Muffled noises obscured some of the comments.

"To see her, with that body naked on the desk,..."

More unintelligible comments, and laughter.

"I look forward to it all day long every Wednesday, I can't wait to lock up... "

At that moment a couple of jet skis blasted up the lake and for several moments I couldn't hear anything that was said.

There was a short garbled conversation and then I heard someone else say.

"As the lawyer for the firm I need to remind you about the anti-fraternization policy," I heard Taylor say seriously to Langley, I assumed.

Just then another jet ski flew by obscuring some of what was said. But through the noise there was a phrase I thought I heard from the muffled talk.

"And furthermore Pat's a good guy, so..." More noise from the lake, but I made out one last phrase, "his wife."

At that point all three of the jet skis roared past. I heard nothing else that I could make out through the racket. It also sounded like the guys were heading back, their voices grew quieter as I sat hunched behind the clump of trees.

I sat there processing. Even though I couldn't hear everything that was said, it was fairly obvious what was going on.

Langley was fucking Mia at least every Wednesday night. Sounded like on his desk after the dealership closed early. And then he bragged about it to his buddies. Taylor, the company lawyer, was warning Langley about potential consequences. And apparently he had a sliver of sympathy toward me.

The upbeat mood I'd mustered up just a few minutes ago deflated like a popped balloon.

My suspicions were confirmed. Now I had to decide upon my strategy. First off, and it would be hard, but I knew this was the right move, I had to continue to act normal, not angry or suspicious. Next I'd have to contact a lawyer. Methodically I began the mental process of reviewing the steps and separating our lives.

Throughout the rest of the day I focused on doing two things. Hang out with my kids, and avoid Mia and Langley.

All the way home I did whatever I could to stay calm and maintain a neutral attitude. Occasionally I find my mind drifting toward what I'd heard and I'd speed up.

"Patrick, slow down! The children are in the car." Mia said.

Fortunately everyone was exhausted from the day at the lake and bedtime came early. For the rest of the weekend I kept busy with the normal chores that all homeowners had. As much as possible I avoided Mia. I was concerned my facade would slip and I wasn't prepared to confront her. Yet.

Because I worked at home in my basement office I had to investigate my next few moves outside the home. I knew I needed a lawyer, but I didn't know any.

I called both Tim Paris, my friend and financial consultant, and Ryan. I asked their opinion while explaining the situation and swearing them to secrecy.

"Ok, if I share this sad news with Teresa?" Ryan asked.

I told him of course, but no one else.

By the end of the week I found someone that had a good reputation.

Three PM Friday I was in the office of Myron Overbee. I studied the man. He seemed mild mannered and soft spoken. Several times I needed to ask him to speak up. As we talked I grew concerned. I was hoping to get some type of vicious shark.

This guy looked like a pink faced librarian with delicate speech and less than imposing appearance in his suit and neat bow tie.

"Do you have any questions for me?" Myron asked.

I hesitated. I just wasn't sure about this guy. I knew that it would likely be a battle with Mia. I just wasn't sure that Myron was the guy I wanted in the trench next to me.

Noticing my hesitation, Myron spoke up.

"Mr Price," he began, "I notice a bit of reluctance on your part. I do understand. My mannerisms are polite and well thought through, I know." He added. "But please do not take my appearance as any type of weakness. My clients always come out ahead. Always. I assure you that."

The last several sentences were spoken with a firm icy calm. I could see others underestimating Myron and miscalculating their strategies. I saw right then how competent and efficient he could be.

"Mr. Overbee," I stood and reached across the desk, hand extended, "I have no reluctance whatsoever." I said as we shook hands.

Myron had given me a list of information he needed. We talked a little more. Finally he asked me a particular question.

"Have you asked your wife about any of your well founded suspicions?"

"Not really," I replied, "whenever I questioned her late nights and odd hours she would become angry. And before I overheard those guys talking at the lake, I didn't really think she'd betray me in this way. I mean, other than this, she's been a good wife and a great mother."

I took a shuddering breath on the verge of tears. The reality of the situation was hitting home. My life was going to change forever.

"Is it possible you could forgive her?" Myron asked.

I sat for a while and thought about it. I did think there was a chance I could eventually forgive her, I told Myron.

"But, I will never trust her again." I told him.

Myron looked back at me, fingers steepled nodding. He then told me how he expected things to go. He stopped and looked at me and asked one last question.

"Is it possible to get some type of physical evidence? Anything, a text message, or a photo?" Myron asked, "something with proof could provide us with leverage."

I sat there thinking. After a few moments I told him I may have an idea. As we parted we made plans to reconvene next week. Meanwhile I started working on a plan to get evidence.

That week I had a plan in place for evidence. I knew Wednesday was the day the auto dealership closed early. I parked my car at a grocery store two blocks away and walked to Langley Motors. Around 4 o'clock I stopped by to surprise Mia. I told her I'd been in the area.

After a quick visit, when no one was looking, I slipped into the bathroom. I hid in the enclosed stall. No one came in to check. I waited. A little after six o'clock I emerged into the darkened auto showroom.

For a few minutes I stood still and listened. At first it appeared all was silent. Then, faintly, I heard what sounded like female laughter deep within the building. Impossible to tell who it was, but I remembered the overheard conversation at the lake.

Quietly I snuck toward Langley's office. The noises behind the office door, still muffled, were louder. The sighs and moans made evident what was happening behind the closed door.

Phone in hand, camera mode ready, I quietly turned the knob on the unlocked office door. I was greeted by the sight of Langley's naked ass fucking her on the desk just as he'd bragged about last Saturday.

By the time I'd taken the fourth picture I knew I'd made a gigantic mistake. While Langley continued the fucking, she looked up and screamed. It took a moment and then Langley saw me too.

"What the fuck!!" He yelled, pulling his erection out of his partner.

The partner I discovered was not Mia. It was his girlfriend Olivia. She was screaming for me to get out and for him to get off her. I had the barest glimpse of Langley's beautiful naked girlfriend spread eagle on the desk.