Lies Truths or Perception Pt. 01

"During his school years, we enjoyed having him drop in on us in our home. For the three of us, there were a lot of deep discussions on every subject. He never knew it, but he has always been one of Robbie's favorite students. We see each other once in a while and have remained friends." Bobbie added. "That's why we're inviting the two of you to our anniversary bash next month if you both would like to come."

"We would be honored to," Bridget said while looking at me with a new understanding. "Won't we dear."

"Send me the details in an email," I said. "It will be good to see some of the old crowd again."

The waitress had brought us our meal. We both had large t bone steaks, a Greek salad, and garlic mashed potatoes. I joked that the mash potatoes were not pure because they didn't have little lumps in them.

"Trey, that is just what my dad would say," Bridget said with a smile. "He will get a kick out of it when I tell him that."

Before leaving we said goodbye to my old professor and his partner. Bridget had slid her hand back into mine. The professor congratulated me for catching such a good one. Bridget thanked him for the compliment before I could say anything. In no rush to get back both Bridget and I took a stroll down the street. Bridget made sure that as we took a stroll that I was on the outside. We stopped at a street florist and I bought her six yellow roses. To celebrate our blooming friendship.

It was well after three when we finally separated to finish off the workday. For some reason, I just could not get back into the groove of things when I returned to my desk. My mind was on a certain redhead who had just set up a future date with me very slyly. Our budding relationship whatever it was, was starting to get interesting.

I was prepared for what I knew was coming when I got home. As I got out of my suit my better half was getting dressed as she was expected out at another social event that evening. Dinah pulled out her request shortly after I got finished changing and wanted me to get right on it on Monday.

I frankly told her there was no way I could get the time off because we were nearing the tax time and I had to be there to answer any questions that my clients might have. Dinah was definitely not expecting my refusal and visibly showed her complete dissatisfaction with me.

"Besides with the up and down swings on the stock market lately because a lot of idiots with little or no knowledge panic its best that I stay near until some sort of stability returns to the market," I explained. "When you get idiots acting on feelings instead of using accurate knowledge all sorts of problems can arise."

"Who am I going to get to go with me," Dinah asked? "On this short of notice."

"I'm sure that one of the boy toys in your entourage that follow you around will gladly go with you," I said. "After all, according to the New York Times gossip columns, there have been rumors that you have slept with a few of them."

"Let me tell you that there is no truth to those rumors," Dinah said. "I have been faithful since the day we got engaged."

"If that is true, then why haven't these ones denied it," I asked. "On second thought why haven't you?"

"I just did," Dinah said starting to show her anger.

I opened the New York Times and went to the gossip ladies daily column and started to read out loud:

"Dinah Richards and six of her growing entourage were seen leaving the latest showing of Hamilton Wednesday night. It was brought out that they were there to cheer Ms. Richards up who is apparently having marital problems with her husband who has been fashionable missing from Ms. Richards's arms for quite a few months. Those in the know are beginning to wonder if he still exists. Has Ms. Richards open, and a very public lifestyle began taking its toll on another one of her personal relationships. It's looking like one of her boy toys who are always with her might have stepped up to be more than that. None who are always with her that I have talked to are denying that thought. Inquiring minds wonder if her husband knows what the truth is."

"I think I have read enough to get the picture," I said. "Don't you?

"But it's not true," Dinah said trying to defend herself unsuccessfully.

"There has to be some truth to it," I said. "After all it's printed in the New York Times. That's why it's the bestselling paper in the city. Perhaps you planted it yourself that's why the writer makes it sound so creditable. I wonder what your dad thinks, perhaps I should call and ask him. I got an idea you can tweet all your followers and ask if the New York Times is telling the truth. After all, over a million of your followers can't be wrong."

I started to walk away heading towards my home office. I heard Dinah slam the bedroom door behind me. She would act out her anger on somebody tonight because I knew she wasn't happy. I had just thrown the publicity she craved for right in her face. Dinah had a lot of thinking to do. What I knew as the truth didn't matter because the public perception was showing what her lifestyle was implying. If they were saying she was nothing but a whore who was I to say that the New York Times was lying.

I was using it to make Dinah believe that I was buying the media hype lock stock and barrow just like most of the newspaper's readers. If you created the perception most would accept it as the truth no matter what. After all, if the New York Times the most liberal paper in the country was implying that she was nothing more than a married slut they had to have the proof to back it up. Wouldn't they?

I stayed in my office until some of her entourage had picked her up. Unknown to me at the time as soon as Dinah had left the house, she called Bridget to inform her that we had just gone through a very serious argument that she didn't know how to resolve. Dinah explained to Bridget that I was not looking at our situation the way that I should.

Bridget said that perhaps she was getting a taste of what she deserved for not treating her husband better. How many nights have you left Trey alone she asked while you're off building your dream? What else is Trey supposed to think because not once have you publicly denied it?

When you're out and about in party mode who knows whats going on. Has your sexual relationship with Trey cooled off drastically in the last few months? Is it because your eyes are elsewhere? Dinah didn't dare say a word because it had. She had been totally neglecting me.

Bridget hit her hard before telling Dinah about the very romantic luncheon she had with her newest romantic interest. Pointing out it was nice to have a romantic afternoon with a man who wasn't after something. She was totally surprised by him because he was not at all like she had been led to believe. In fact, the two of us have agreed to go to an out of state party next month.

Dinah realized that Bridget had somehow found someone that seriously perked her interest because she had never been that aggressive in her relationship with a man before. Dinah was dying to find out all about him.

Dinah was learning that she was no longer Bridget's center of attention and wanted to know the juicy details. All Bridget would tell her was that she had received six exquisite yellow roses from him that she was carrying with her from room to room.

It must have bugged Dinah all night knowing that her best friend who had been in going nowhere relationships for years was developing one that apparently had a future.

I called the tip line for the gossip lady and left the thought that when Dinah went to Paris France next week she would not be going alone and that man that was going with would be sharing the same suite. It might be a good idea if a contact in Paris could keep her informed as to what was going on.

After making myself some supper and throwing the dishes in the dishwasher I began the task of moving all my personal items from our bedroom into the spare bedroom. I was starting to separate my life from hers while I waited on the lawyers. I knew her deliberate action had forever destroyed her credibility with me.

When Dinah got home in the early hours of the next morning, she discovered I wasn't in our bed. Before she got up that Saturday morning I had dressed in blue jeans and gone to the office.

I did leave a note on the kitchen counter saying that I needed to work because it was so busy and I just to catch up, so I was ready for what happened on Monday. It also helped to validate my reasons for not doing what she wanted. It was around eleven that I got inspired by a spot of ingeniousness.

I went out to an instant teller to get cash. Then I went to the nearest florist. I ordered a dozen red roses for Bridget Smith and had it delivered to our home address paying for it with cash. The card said from a secret admirer. If I knew Dinah, Bridget would be holding her hand by the time they arrived. I had just made it back to my office when the office phone rang. It was Dinah.

"What do you want Dinah," I said with a cold voice."

"Why did you move out of our bedroom last night," She asked meekly?

"Because of the article about us published in the Times," I said."

"It's nothing but rumors you can't be taking it seriously," Dinah said.

"Dinah, I think you should be asking yourself; how can I prove to my husband that I am not having an affair?" I said with seriousness. "Right now, I can't say with your current lifestyle that you're not because you're always away from home until the wee hours of the morning with some flavor of eye candy on your arm doing god knows what. Since you don't normally explain things to me about your conduct with these men last few months. What am I to believe? Maybe you have decided that variety is the spice of life. What's written in the New York Times forces me to believe that you are. Besides, why would the New York times write about it if you weren't"

I hung up the phone without saying another word knowing that Dinah who had to be in complete control would be starting to panic. Her own plan to use gossip, publicity, and rumors to advance her social presence and following were blowing up in her face. I had made it clear to her that I had accepted the public's perception and believed something was going on that shouldn't be. I had tactfully said it all without calling her a whore.

Here she was on the verge of landing a huge sponsor and having her marriage starting to blow up in her face. She could not afford it at this time to have the public perception of her affected in any way. It could end up costing her millions if it did. She was now treading in a minefield created by herself and she knew it.

If my gut was telling me right Dinah would be calling Bridget to come over and help her work, her situation out. I had never questioned Dinah's conduct before. Now I was and she had no way of disproving what I was implying. Her problem was she had no clue as to why I was really acting like I was.

I had gone through the closing figures on the stock market for Friday and had been researching out a few stocks that I thought might be having a really good day on Monday. Each person working the stock market floor doing the actual trading would leave behind an unfished list for the start of the market the next day.

Using that knowledge, I had gleamed I found a trader who had what I wanted so I put a buy offer at the price they were asking. If my thoughts were right both the stocks I wanted would jump just after opening. If the deal was accepted it would be entered into the computer and completed at the opening. The amount I had spent was well within the parameters my clients had set. I also bought enough shares to spend what I had made for myself over the last week.

Bridget later texted me; Flowers are beautiful thank you. At your house. Dinah is in a dizzy because she doesn't know how to fix her situation. Can't cancel or postpone the trip. She asked me how she could prove she isn't having an affair when the social media she depends on says that she is. (Brilliant move on your part.)

Pressuring me for info about my new romantic interest. It's interesting that what I have told her about you she doesn't recognize at all. She has an event she has to go to so she will be gone by five and won't be home until the wee hours of the morning.

I was just about to head out at four o'clock when my cell phone went off. It was Emerson Stevens Dinah's father.

"Hi Dad," I said. "What's going on."

"As you know my wife reads the gossip column regularly," He said. 'The comment about our daughter's Wednesday night was particularly troubling to her. Is there any truth to the story?"

"Until a couple of weeks ago I would have automatically said no," I said. "But I learned something that has forced me to hire a team to verify or disprove what was said. Until I get to the truth about that situation, I have to say I honestly don't know."

"It's that serious," Dad said.

"Dad it came from Dinah's own mouth. I overheard a conversation she was having with our next-door neighbor." I said. "The neighbor gave me a notarized statement verifying what I heard. I promise I will let you know what I find out as long as you don't shoot the messenger."

"Has what she said affected the marriage," he asked?

"To answer your question, it's so serious that I felt that I had no choice but to move into the spare bedroom," I said. "Dinah doesn't know that I know what she said, and I am checking things out to verify or disprove what she may have had done."

"You can't tell me any more," My father in law asked?

"I can email you a copy of the statement, but you can't tell your wife," I said. "When you read the statement, you will understand why."

I quickly emailed him, Bridget Smith's statement. It wasn't five minutes until he called me back. His anger was easily discerned by the foul language coming out of his mouth.

"Dad you got to understand, Dinah had the operation to tie her tube's after she told us the Doctors had informed her, she couldn't get pregnant, I said. "It has raised a lot of questions in my mind. My lawyers and I are waiting for a few court orders so that we can find out what the actual truth is."

"So, if she couldn't get pregnant anyway why did she get her tubes tied,' he asked?

"To protect herself and make sure the lie she had told us became true," I said.

The line went dead. So, I turned the speaker on and waited for a few in case it had not been a dropped call.

"Trey I lost it! If what you believe is proven to be true, divorce the bitch, I would," He said. "I know you wanted a family with children just as much as her mother and I were looking forward to having grandchildren to spoil."

"Well, she's leaving for Paris next week and I won't be going," I said. "She's found a luxury company that wants to use her as a spokesperson for their products. If she signs it, she won't need me for anything anymore. I'm beginning to believe that she is trying to destroy our marriage because my usefulness to her is done."

For Emerson Stevens, the information he had just received had to be tearing him apart. Dinah's words and conduct were forming a path that most would follow because it came across as logical. She was leading them down a path with a pattern of behavior that forced one to draw certain types of conclusions.

Once again, I started to pack up and head for home. I was pleased with how the day went. I had just reset the alarm and locked the door when my cell phone went off. It was Bridget.

"How long is it going to take you to get home," She asked?

"I'll be there by seven why?" I asked, "What's going on?"

"I'm at your house ready to put a large roast chicken in the oven so I need to time it, so the meal is ready when you come into the house," Bridget said. "If you have the time pick up a nice white wine."

I think the uber driver must have broken a few speed laws on the way home because I could not remember the last time, I had a home-cooked meal. Home cooking didn't exist in Dinah's eyes.

There is nothing like the smell of food cooking in the oven to welcome you home. I had picked a nice couple of bottles of white wine to compliment the meal. Bridget had gone over top the roast chicken was cooked to perfection. Its skin was brown and crisp. Yes, the mashed potatoes had lumps I noticed them and said so, but they were still rich, thick, fluffy, and perfect.

The salad was served with its own vinaigrette so you could pour on enough to satisfy your own tastes. I gladly overate because the food was so good. For some reason, Bridget seemed to enjoy watching me eating everything until there was nothing left on the bone.

"How were you able to pull all of this off," I asked.

"I got Dinah to convince me that my talking to you in private might help calm the situation down. She offered to order and pay for the food." Bridget explained. "I suggested this, and she went for it saying it was the perfect thing to get Trey to unwind and relax. Perhaps it will allow you to change his thinking so that he will be open to listening to my reasoning."

I shook my head trying to adjust to the fact that Dinah didn't even question the idea that Bridget and I would be alone over dinner in a very private setting.

"I told dad what was going on with Dinah and you," Bridge said. "He now understands why the statement I provided you is so important. My dad wants to meet you as soon as possible. I think he wants to see for himself if you're the type of man he thinks you are."

"We can do that as soon as Dinah finds out that your father and you are my clients," I said. "Dinah's father called me just before you did. His wife had seen the remarks in the gossip article, and he needed clarification so he could reassure his wife that they were not true. I ended up sending him a copy of your statement."

"How did he take it," Bridget asked.

"About as good as I did," I said. "I had to tell him that he would be the first to know what the proof showed when I got it. He now knows I have moved into the second bedroom. His final thought is if what she said can be proved that I'd better get the divorce as soon as possible."

Bridget took my hand, smiled and whispered, "I will be standing right beside you to help you through it. Dinah spent more time today trying to find out who my admirer is than dealing with you and her situation. It shows us what is really important to her."

"That says a lot in itself," I said. "I'm just upset with the fact that I didn't see it before now."

After dinner, we cleaned up and then went into the living room to watch pay for view movies. We were interested in three and ended up watching them all while working on finishing off the wine.

All in all, it had been a long time since I had enjoyed such a relaxing evening. It felt strange to me to have a woman sitting very close beside me eager in sharing something so simple. It was after one am when we called it a night. I walked her home and waited until she had gone in before leaving. Once again, she left me with a tender kiss on my cheek. I was puzzled because I still was not connecting the dots.

I laid on the bed in the spare bedroom looking back at what had transpired over the last week since I had heard Bridget and Dinah's conversation. Things were changing. Bridget was checking up on me daily while Dinah and I were not talking. I knew that Dinah was trying to figure out how to manage the situation without really dealing with it until she got back. Bridget was deliberately trying to draw herself into my life in a personal way and I did not know why.

Bridget was a redhead whose natural beauty I could look at for hours. So far, she had proven that I could trust her, but I was looking at her with skepticism because of her close relationship with Dinah. I knew for now with both I had to tread carefully. Until I had more information, I really did not know what to believe.