Music Teacher Blues

Suddenly it was as if the weight of the world had just been lifted off my shoulders, but I still probed for more. "So, you never got to screw her that whole time?"

"Like I said, we screwed in high school, but not after getting back together in college, no. Oh, we made out in the car a few times. I got her top off and got my hand in her pants once or twice, but that was it."

Just then the waiter brought our dinners, after which, I still had an important question to ask. "Did you ever see her again?"

"Nope, I tried calling her but she wouldn't answer. Then she finally called me a few days later and apologized."

"Did she say why she jumped out of bed like that?" I asked.

"Kind of," he replied. "I guess she had another boyfriend and was cheating on him with me, then got a sudden attack of morality."

"And you never saw her again, never got together in some little dive for a one-night stand?" I asked in my best Snidely Whiplash voice.

"Nope, she was a special lady too. I tried to call her back after she admitted that she was seeing someone else. I thought about putting up a fight to see if I could win her back, but she'd already blocked my number. I guess she was serious about the guy. That was the last time I ever talked to her. Shortly afterward, I met Lisa, my wife. We have a fantastic daughter and I couldn't be happier, so I guess it all worked out for the best. What about you? You said you were divorced... any kids?"

Going into that little ruse, I hadn't decided what I'd do if I got the information I was looking for. At that point, would I continue to lie and just leave him hanging about the software sale, or would I come clean? Had he been a jerk, I'm pretty sure I would have simply kept up the charade and just left him with an, "I'll call you, don't call me," but he seemed like a stand-up guy.

"I have a confession to make, but before I do, I want to let you know this lunch is on me, even the tip." I'm not usually that good at reading people but if anyone ever looked confused, it was him at that moment.

"I don't get it. What..."

"I'm not who I said I was," I said, cutting him off in mid-sentence. "My name is Dane, Julie is my wife."

I saw his mouth drop open. I wasn't going to give him more than my first name but I thought I owed him an explanation.

"So, you really have no interest in our software?"

"I'm afraid not. I just found out about Julie's little tryst with you in college. We were actually engaged at the time. She told me the whole story, but after keeping it a secret all these years, I wasn't sure I could trust her. I had to make sure she was telling me the truth so I cooked up this little plan to see if I could get you to talk about it."

"And did you find out what you wanted to know?" he angrily asked.

"Yes, I did. Your stories are almost identical. You have no idea how relieved I am."

"How do you know Julie and I didn't get together and compare stories?"

I knew he was pissed and trying to lash out at me, but he'd already given himself away. "Because she has no idea I'm here or even that I know your last name. I can also tell by your anger," I said. "It's genuine."

"Yeah, well," he said while cutting off a piece of his chicken parmigiana, "I could have used a sale. I guess I can't blame you though. If my wife told me a story like that, I'd probably have a hard time believing it myself. Did she tell you why? I have to admit, I've thought about it several times over the years and I still wonder what the whole thing was all about? I mean, if she was so head over heels in love with you, why'd she even call me?"

"If I tell you why and pay for lunch will you consider us even?" I asked with a smile.

He looked me straight in the eye like I had a lot of nerve. Then I saw the smallest smile. "Yeah, sure," he said with a slight nod, "why not."

I told him the whole story about how Julie's mother had relentlessly preached to her about being sure before committing to a man and how Julie hadn't known he'd moved back to Chicago until after we were engaged. I apologized again for the pretense and explained how I had to make sure she had picked me over him and that I wasn't second choice after he dumped her.

Again, he assured me it happened just the way he told me; then he thanked me, saying the incident always had him perplexed, and even though he missed a sale, he was glad to be finally enlightened. By the time we left the restaurant, I had the impression we could have been great friends. Instead, we shook hands in the parking lot and said our goodbyes.

I still had a lot of thinking to do on the way home. Again, I thought back to the kind of relationship some of my friends had with their wives: the fights, and the disrespect the women sometimes showed toward their husbands.

I remembered one night in particular when Julie was sitting at the wives' table during one of our shows. Linda, the wife of our drummer, made a derogatory remark about the band, and Julie lit into her. She berated the woman up one end and down the other to the point where Linda was in tears when she apologized to Julie and the rest of the girls.

When the chips are down, I can't think of another person I'd rather have in my corner than my wife. If the roles were reversed, I had no doubt she'd fight for me and our marriage with every ounce of strength in her body. Did she deserve anything less from me?

It was only about two o'clock when I got back to the house. I still had three and a half hours before Julie would be home. I made a phone call then warmed up a cup of coffee and sat at the kitchen table to think. God only knows why, but for some reason, I felt the need to look at the pictures of Julie and Chuck one more time.

I pulled up the file on my laptop but couldn't find them. She'd deleted all the shots of them together. I thought that was interesting and wondered if she did the same with the photos on her flash drive. I had a pretty good idea of where she'd keep it and found it with no trouble in her jewelry box just as I had expected. I plugged it in and looked... sure enough, they were all gone. All the other pictures were still there, but not one of her and Chuck were anywhere to be found. She wasn't even interested in saving one as a keepsake.

I returned the drive and stretched out in my chair, feeling pretty damn good. Any suspicions in Julie's fidelity at that point would have been pure paranoia. There was no doubt in my mind that I was her man, and she was my woman. The thought brought on the biggest smile I'd had on my face in a long time.

As Julie walked in, she took one look at me in my suit and immediately looked worried. As strained as things had been, I couldn't blame her.

"What's going on, Dane, why are you dressed in a suit?"

"I have a date tonight," I told her, "and if she doesn't get upstairs and into the shower quickly, we're going to be late."

She just stood there for a second with a quizzical look on her face. "What..."

"Hurry up," I said, cutting her off. "I'm taking you out to dinner."

"What's the occasion?"

"I'll tell you later, now hurry up, we have thirty minutes to get out of here."

I think she started to relax a little when she saw my lecherous grin as she stepped from the shower, naked.

"Are you sure you don't want to just stay at home?"

"No, we have reservations, but keep that thought in mind for later tonight," I replied.

It was getting to be an expensive day. By the time Chuck and I finished lunch, the bill was almost fifty bucks with drinks and tip. Dinner at Odette's, downtown, would be more than twice that much. Julie was cutting into her Steak Diane when I finally answered her question as to why we were celebrating.

"I had lunch with Chuck, today," I casually mentioned.

"Chuck, who?" she asked as she put the piece of steak in her mouth.

"Chuck Goodman."

Julie gasped and sucked the meat down the wrong pipe. For a second, I thought I'd have to give her the Heimlich, but she got it back up and took a sip of wine. Our waiter saw it and scurried over to our table.

"Is everything all right, ma'am?" he asked with a worried look on his face.

Julie just nodded and took another drink before answering him in a strained voice. "Yeah, it... it just went down the wrong way," she choked out before coughing two more times.

"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked.

She nodded again. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said in a little clearer voice. She looked back up at the concerned waiter, "Honest, I'm okay." He looked reassured and returned to his station.

"Did I hear you right? You had lunch with Chuck? How did you know where to find him? What did he say?"

"Well, you'll be happy to know he backed up your story."

She was shaking her head as the wheels in her brain turned with question after question. "I don't think I even told you his last name, did I? How could you possibly know how to find him?"

"Never mind, I found him."

"And just like that, he started talking about me?"

"I wouldn't say, just like that, but I figured out a way to bring you up in conversation. All this time, the poor guy's been wondering what he did wrong that night."

"Did he know who you were?"

"Not until he told me everything I wanted to know, then I came clean."

She just sat there staring at me like she didn't know whether to believe me or not, so I thought I'd convince her.

"You didn't tell me he got you topless in the car a couple of times." I saw her eyes widen and knew she was convinced.

"I knew you didn't believe me," she said, angrily.

"Would you believe a story like that if it was me telling you?"

"Yes, I would."

"Look, all these years, you never told me about your little romp after we were engaged. You kept it secret from me until I discovered it by accident. That was dishonest, Julie. You snuck around behind my back and cheated on me with another man. I can understand your reasons, but that does not excuse your actions. If you were dishonest back then, how would I know you weren't being dishonest now?"

I could see her eyes starting to glisten with tears but I had to make her see how serious this was. "There's some else, too."

"More?"

"Yes, more, something I don't think you've considered at all." She didn't say anything so I continued. "How would I know you didn't intend on getting back with Chuck and ditching me? Maybe Chuck had someone special and it was him who said he couldn't go on and dumped you. What if I was actually your second choice, your rebound guy?"

"You can't think that," she said a little too loud. People from the surrounding tables looked in her direction, so she lowered her voice. "Dane, have I ever given you that impression?"

"No, you haven't, but you can't blame me for considering the possibility." I could see tears falling to her cheeks. "Don't cry, honey. I'm not trying to punish you; I'm just trying to make you see the gravity of the situation. This time it was I... who had to be sure."

She picked up the white cloth napkin from her lap and dried her eyes. "Please say you forgive me, Dane. I'm so sorry. I wouldn't hurt you for the world."

"I do forgive you, Julie. I forgive you because I know that if I hadn't been able to get Chuck to talk, I would wonder if I was really your first choice for the rest of my life. I forgive you because I know you felt the same way. You went behind my back to confirm something you thought you already knew, but had to make sure. I did the same today."

I saw just the hint of her beautiful smile. "Now, I meant for this to be a happy occasion, so dry those gorgeous eyes and smile for me. Enjoy your meal, knowing I love you with every beat of my heart. In the meantime, you can think of ways to show me how much you love me back, tonight."

...And she did...

The End.