Me Time

Roger also started to laugh. "So, what does that say to you?" he asked.

"It says it's time to call it a day," she said.

"I think you're right," Roger agreed.

They walked a little further along the beach, then Roger kissed her forehead and they parted.

When it got to lunch time, and Matt had still not come to find her, Jenny made her way back to the hotel. Matt was nowhere to be seen. She did find Roger, relaxing by the pool.

"Have you seen Matt?" she asked.

"No," he said. "Karen's missing too. They must be taking us up on the Me Time idea."

"Oh shit," she replied.

They had lunch together then spent the afternoon by the pool. Roger read his paper while Jenny alternated between swimming and lounging in the sun reading her book. When neither Karen nor Matt had returned for dinner, Jenny started to get a little worried. She and Roger left dinner as late as they could before eating, each hoping their spouse would turn up in time to eat with them. Over dinner Roger asked Jenny.

"How long does Me Time last?"

"The full day," she responded. "Twenty-four hours. How do you think I could leave you at the hotel at twelve and still get home to bed, without questions being asked?"

"So, we have to wait until breakfast tomorrow before we can call them to ask where they are?"

"I'm afraid so. You don't think they know about us, do you, Roger?"

"No. Karen wouldn't think I was capable of it and Matt is a good guy. He doesn't have a suspicious bone in his body. Besides, we've been very careful."

Roger and Jenny spent the rest of the night waiting in the bar. By midnight there was no sign of either Karen or Matt. Roger and Jenny went to bed in their separate rooms. Jenny was already starting to worry. When she woke up alone she was very worried. She wasn't prepared to wait any longer and called Matt's mobile number. After about twenty seconds she heard a ring tone. She followed the sound and found Matt's phone in one of the suitcases. When Roger knocked on the door to take her down to breakfast, it was obvious that he was also very worried. They hardly ate anything for breakfast. However, they did make a decision. They had to involve the police.

The hotel manager helped them deal with the police and by lunch time both Karen and Matt were listed as missing persons. They realised that the hire car was also missing. Neither Roger nor Jenny could recall either the registration number or even the name of the hire company. Matt had made all the arrangements for the holiday and he wasn't there. It was evening before the hotel manager brought them some positive news. The police had checked all hospitals in the local area and neither Matt nor Karen had been admitted. The following day it was a very different story. A sergeant from the local station turned up and accused Roger and Jenny of wasting police time. They had put a lot of effort into finding the hire car and had succeeded. It had been returned to the hire company's airport parking lot as arranged. They had also found out that both Karen and Matt had boarded a flight to Newcastle on the day of their disappearance. The tickets for the flight had been purchased in advance.

Jenny suddenly felt very sick and ran to the toilets, leaving Roger to explain that the pair had no knowledge of their partners' plans. When Jenny returned she was completely white.

"He knows, Roger. Matt knows about us and he knew before we came here. I have to get home."

"Just calm down, Jenny. This is Matt we're talking about. We both know that no matter what, Matt will always do the right thing. He loves you and he's no fool—I'm sure he'll see sense. Karen is another matter. She won't take this lying down."

Tears were running down Jenny's face as she sat rocking back and forth on her seat.

"We must get back, Roger. We have serious repair work to do."

They spent the rest of the day trying to get flights back to England. Roger wanted to get to Manchester to pick up his car but Jenny was willing to take anything that got her home quickly. By the end of the day they had found out that they were stuck there for another three days. Roger also found out that his debit card, for the joint account with Karen, no longer worked. He paid for the tickets with his own credit card.

Jenny was right, of course—Matt did know. He found out shortly after it started. Jenny had pushed her idea of "Me Time" on him. She had told him she needed to feel that she was more than just a wife. She needed to feel that she was an independent person. She needed time when she wasn't accountable to someone else. Matt really didn't understand why she should need that and he became even more suspicious when she told him that if he trusted her he would agree. Reluctantly, Matt had agreed and it started out okay. Jenny's friends would come around and they would "accidentally" reveal some of their activities to Matt. However, as the weeks went by he saw less and less of Jenny's friends, so he had no idea how she spent her two days of Me Time every week. No idea, that is, until he made his discovery.

He had been looking for cash to pay the window cleaner when he looked in Jenny's handbag, trying to find her purse. What he found instead was a packet of oral contraceptive pills and a mobile phone. Not the one she normally used, the one that he had bought her. This was just a basic phone, nothing special. He checked the contacts and found only one entry, labelled "Me". He found sufficient cash, paid the window cleaner, and returned to the phone. He made a note of the number labelled "Me". He then punched in the code to reveal the number of Jenny's phone. Moving to his land line he entered the code to withhold the number, then called "Me". The phone was answered almost as soon as it started to ring.

"Hello, beautiful, what's up?"

Matt recognised the voice immediately. He had to think quickly if he wasn't going to arouse suspicion. He adopted an Indian accent and pretended to be from a call centre.

"Hello, sir, this is Telecoms Ltd. We notice your contract is due for renewal shortly and we would like to offer you a reduced price contract, with a free upgrade of your phone."

"Contract?" said Roger. "I don't have a bloody contract. This is a pay-as-you-go phone."

Roger disconnected before Matt could get out his apology. Matt went back to his office and sat with his head in his hands. Water started to fill his eyes. His beautiful Jenny was taking the contraceptive pill while they were supposed to be trying for a baby and, if that wasn't bad enough, it looked like she was having an affair with his friend Roger. It was an hour later that Jenny came into his office and found him with his head in his hands. She asked what was wrong and he just told her that an old client, who had been more like a friend to him, had died. She stood and massaged his shoulders for a while until he told her he was okay and got up.

Within days Matt realised that although Roger may have been smart, giving Jenny a new phone, he couldn't change her habits. He could never really understand it, but one of Jenny's habits was to take home the little soap bars from hotel rooms. Whenever Matt had to travel to meet clients he took her with him and always he would find himself washing his hands with hotel soap. Despite not having been away for a while he found himself, once more, washing his hands with hotel soap. He checked the bin and found the soap wrapper. Ramada Jarvis Hotels, the wrapper said. Matt was a Marriott man and he was certain he had never stayed at one of those hotels. It only took a few phone calls to find out who supplied and maintained the security equipment for the nearest hotel in the chain. One of the advantages of being Matt was that he was liked by everyone he dealt with. By the end of the day he had a promise of a DVD recording, from the camera covering the check-in desk, for Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Next week Matt received the first recording. He sat at his computer and whizzed through it. At 2pm on Tuesday Roger came into the picture. He could see Jenny standing behind Roger, away from the desk. Matt waited until Roger had signed the register and then forced a screen grab. He saved the picture then using photo-shop enlarged the section of the picture containing the register. He rotated the picture and looked at it again. Wow, security cameras are good these days, he thought. As he looked at the enlarged register, the entry was clearly visible. "Dr and Mrs Patterson", and alongside, the registration of Rogers car. Now he knew for sure and part of him wished he didn't.

The first thing he did was to invent a reason to travel. He chose Uxbridge so he could visit some old university friends. He told Jenny and, as usual, invited her to come with him. The trip would last from Monday to Friday and for the first time ever Jenny said she didn't want to go. On Monday, as he made to leave, Matt kissed her tenderly.

"I'll call you every evening," he said.

What Jenny said next didn't only cut him deeply, it even twisted the knife.

"Not on Tuesday or Thursday," she said. "Not during my Me Time."

Not while your fucking him, he thought. Mustn't disturb that.

Matt's mind was so fucked up as he clawed his way around the M25, he almost missed the M40 slip road. He had to cut across two lanes to make it and was the cause of much anger from the other drivers. By 2pm he was checking-in to the Marriott Hotel. He left his luggage in his room and set off for Brunel. He found some comfort just walking around the university campus. Most of the memories here were fond ones. He chose to hang around in the places he knew were frequented by the staff. It was staff he wanted to bump into and it also meant he avoided the student bars where he had spent so much time with Jenny.

He sat, drinking coffee in the theatre bar, when a voice spoke from behind. "Hello, stranger. What are you doing in these parts?"

Matt turned to see Jane, one of his friends and confidants from his student days. They had worked on projects together and she'd assisted him with his Ph.D. At one time Matt had thought they might become more than friends, then Jenny came along.

Jane got a coffee and sat down opposite him. They talked about what they'd been doing since they last saw each other. Jane was now lecturing at the university—the first female engineering lecturer at Brunel. She'd just returned from a secondment in industry and had absolutely loved it. Matt fed her the same lie he'd told Jenny, about having a work meeting in the area. Jane looked at her watch, finished her coffee, and got up.

"Duty calls," she said.

"Fine," said Matt. "I'll see you around, probably."

Jane turned back to him, hesitated, then said, "Matt, don't eat alone in a faceless hotel tonight. Come to my place. I'll cook for us and we can talk about old times over a glass of wine."

"I'd really like that. Thank you."

"Okay. I'll pick you up at the Marriott at seven."

As she left Matt couldn't help but think about how different things might have been.

Matt rang Jenny at six, talked about his journey, how much he missed her and told her that he loved her. Then he told her about having dinner with Jane. Jenny knew about Jane and what good friends she and Matt were. In her college days she'd been a little jealous of her.

"Well, you just behave yourself and remember who you're coming home to," she said.

After a little more small talk Jenny twisted the knife again. She didn't know it, because she had no idea that Matt knew.

When she said, "Now remember not to call tomorrow," he wanted to finish it for her..."because I'll be busy, fucking Roger."

Instead, he just said, "Don't worry, I'll remember."

Jane was right on time and Matt was waiting in the lobby. He walked out to her car. She still drove like a mad woman, with screaming tyres and plenty of insults for other drivers. Her flat reminded him of his student days, books everywhere and plenty of clutter. The surprise for Matt was to find out that Jane could really cook. They had a great meal and their coffee when Jane asked him.

"Are you going to tell me what this is all about?"

"Am I that transparent?" Matt asked.

"You are to me," she said. "I've never seen you looking so close to tears. Now are you going to admit that you're here for the feeling of security?"

Matt broke down and told Jane everything, even down to the phone call that evening. Jane just listened and kept his wine glass topped up. By the time he was finished Matt had tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Matt, I don't know what to say. Your wife and your best friend—you deserve better than both of them."

"You mean I deserve someone like you," he said.

"Well, I admit I've got a vested interest, but I think you have to do something about them. However, that can wait till tomorrow. Tonight you need to sleep. By the look of you it's been a few nights since you did. Now, I have a spare room—I'm going to make up the bed and you're staying here tonight."

Whether it was the relief of having told someone, he didn't know, but for the first time since the affair was confirmed, Matt got a good night's sleep. Jane looked in on him twice during the night. At 2am she found herself just sitting by the bed, watching him sleep. In the morning she had lectures until eleven. She left a note, asking Matt to wait for her. When she got back she found the place had been tidied up, she could hear the vacuum cleaner and smell the coffee. She walked up behind him, threw her arms around his waist, and hugged him. When Matt turned around he looked a lot better than the previous day.

"Now," she said, "lets have our coffee and discuss what you're going to do."

They sat down with coffee and biscuits. Jane couldn't resist just sitting there looking at him.

"Well, the way I see it, you have a number of options, but they really all depend on you. If this affair came to an end tomorrow, what would you do? I suspect you'd pretend you knew nothing, and hope it never happened again."

"Well, I have to accept that you're probably right," Matt said.

"Then, having got away with it once, will she do it again?"

"I don't know, Jane. Something keeps telling me that this affair is more to do with Roger pursuing her."

"So, it won't happen again until someone else pursues her with equal vigour.

Next, you can go home and confront her with what you know, and demand that it ends now. She will argue that nothing really happened and that she and Roger are just good friends—just as you and Roger are good friends.

You could go home from here and continue to gather evidence and choose your time to start divorce proceedings. This is the hardest option for you, because you have to pretend that nothing is wrong till you make your move.

I know which one they deserve, and it's the same one I would choose, but it has to be you that decides."

Matt just sat there.

"I can see the logic in what you say, but unfortunately it isn't just a logical problem, Jane. I love her. I still really love her."

"Matt, there is more to a marriage than love. The question is, can you ever trust her again? If you don't trust her she'll resent you for it, and love will die."

"I need to think about this, Jane. I can't make a decision now. Can I buy you dinner tonight?"

"Of course you can," she said.

That night Matt went to pick up Jane in his Jag. She was suitably impressed.

"Looks like you're getting rewarded well for what you do now. That may well make what I have planned for tomorrow somewhat obsolete."

"Not at all," said Matt. "I've decided that all options are open, and if I have no family to provide for, money is not a problem."

There was no more talk of Matt's problems that night. They dined well and sat in the hotel bar and talked about old times. It was a happy night and they both had a little too much to drink.

"You've had too much to drink to take me home. Can you call me a taxi?" she said.

"You're a taxi." Matt said, and they both fell about laughing.

"No, seriously, Jane, I've two beds in my room. You're welcome to stay here. No strings, no obligations."

They went up to Matt's room. He insisted they had separate beds. He wasn't ready to declare his marriage dead yet. The following morning he bought Jane breakfast before driving her in to work. She asked him to come back at two and he agreed. Jane's surprise afternoon turned out to be an informal meeting with the heads of the engineering faculty, with a view to possible employment. Matt was a bit surprised—he'd never dreamed of teaching for a living. However, it seemed that everyone else was deadly serious. A vacancy would be coming up in the next academic year and they all thought he would be suitable and should apply. He was given the impression that it would be a foregone conclusion.

"Now, hang on. I make a pretty good living as a technical author and training consultant. Are you expecting me to give all that up?"

"Oh no, Dr. Evans. Once you honour your commitment to us you can do what you like. In fact, the more contact you have with industry, the better we would like it," said the faculty head.

Matt agreed to give it some thought. When he left, Jane was waiting for him. He put his arm around her shoulders and they walked off together. That night they had dinner at the hotel and while they were eating the waiter came over and gave Matt a note. He read it and looked a bit embarrassed.

"What's wrong?" said Jane.

"I forgot to phone Jenny," he said.

"You had better go and do it then."

"When I've finished this, Jane. She can wait a little longer."

It was probably then that Matt realised he had made up his mind about what to do. After he'd finished his main course he asked Jane to excuse him while he phoned Jenny. When he returned he had a smile on his face. When Jane asked him what was funny he informed her that he told Jenny he thought today was Thursday, Me Time. He'd also told her he was having dinner with Jane. Jenny hadn't been happy about that. Matt made a point of enjoying his Thursday before returning home on Friday.

Almost as soon as he returned home Matt started compiling evidence. Jenny had been smart enough to delete texts on her "special" phone, but not to delete the call history. Whenever the engineers called at the Ramada Jarvis hotel, Matt would get a DVD of reception surveillance on Tuesday and Thursday of that week. As winter arrived, and thoughts of summer holidays entered everyone's heads, Jenny started to talk to him about another holiday with Roger and Karen. All this time he had been the same old Matt, dependable Matt, some would say boring Matt. In the bedroom, however, he had really turned it on. There were nights when he would keep Jenny on edge of ecstasy for more than an hour before eventually letting his dick take her completely over the top. He did notice that the phone calls were becoming less frequent and so were the hotel visits. By the spring-time he thought it was time to involve Karen.

He didn't get the reaction he expected from Karen. He had expected denial, that it wasn't really happening, that he had it all wrong. He had expected a break down, with tears, wailing and "how could he do this to me?" What he got was total fury. Her face went white, her lips stretched thin, and she uttered just three words.

"The little shit."

"Have you got a plan, Matt?" she asked.

"Well, I think I know what I want to do and when. I have enough evidence for me to be sure what is going on. The only thing I don't know is why."

"Well, I can tell you why, from Rogers view-point," she told him. "It's jealousy, plain and simple. He's always been jealous of you—he told me so. He couldn't believe how, with all the things you had to do to keep your head above water, you could still do better than him at school. He boasted to me about how he used to palm off his girlfriends on you, when he'd finished with them. Not because he didn't like you, but just to show he was better than you. Then we come here and you're married to a fashion model and he's stuck with me. Oh, I know he tells me he loves my big tits and wide hips, but I've seen the way he looks at other women, and Jenny in particular. It's jealousy, take my word for it."