Once Upon a Fantasy Ch. 01-02

Why? Why would she react that way? And then ... in the middle of the night ... I had a moment of clarity. Andrea was frightened of what Janice might say. Why? Because she was one of Barry's conquests? Did Janice know that Andrea was with Barry? She couldn't be sure, and that was where the fear came from. Was there another possible reason? I couldn't think of one.

My gut was in a knot and I knew there was no possibility of going back to sleep. I rolled quietly out of bed, put on my dressing gown and slippers, and left the bedroom, heading for our study. I sat in front of our home computer and gazed at the screen. Our photos were on the screen saver and I saw picture after picture of our family and friends. It did nothing to make me feel better.

I googled "Signs of a cheating wife" and sat stunned at the response. Over thirty-seven million hits in less than a tenth of a second. I couldn't believe it. Thirty-seven million! I began to read. I wanted facts, not fiction. I wanted to know if I was off base or looking at what I thought might be the reality.

Apparently, over seventy percent of all divorces were initiated by women, which would imply the men were the most common offender. Statistics on cheating wives and husbands were inconclusive since few would admit to their sins, but there was a strong belief that wives were more prone to cheat than husbands. That sounded contradictory, but that was the opinion of the so-called experts. Nothing I saw over the next hour gave me any comfort.

Since Andrea didn't work and both our children were in school all day, plus their outside activities, she had plenty of time and opportunity to indulge herself in an affair. When I noted the various signs of a cheating spouse, several of them struck a responsive note. Of course, the drop off in sexual activity was first and foremost. The attitude change I had noticed in the last couple of years was next. She had become quite negative in some of her comments and reactions toward me.

I thought about getting up and making some coffee but the machine was noisy and I didn't want to wake either the kids or Andrea. I settled for a glass of orange juice. As I stood in the kitchen thinking about what I was learning, I noticed Andrea's purse on the counter near the laundry room. I had never once invaded that private space, but that all changed in an instant. What could I learn from within that leather bag?

It looked like a random jumble of things when I peered inside. There was an open central part of the purse and two inside side zippered pockets as well as an outside one. I started with the main cavity. There were the usual things. Car and house keys, makeup kit, a hanky, some tissues, a couple of tampons, a change purse with a couple of dollars worth of coins, and a wallet with her credit cards, some cash, and the odd scrap of paper with writing on it.

I checked the wallet and credit cards and found nothing unusual. The paper bits were notes to herself and a couple of phone numbers that I didn't recognize. I made a note of the phone numbers and put everything back the way it was.

Next I looked in the inside pockets. There was nothing at all in one of them. In the other, however, I found something I didn't expect to find. A cell phone. I took it out and looked it over. It didn't look like anything special. It was a popular brand name but didn't have a camera feature or any of the applications that people seemed to think were so necessary. It was just a plain cell phone. Nothing unusual except for the fact that as far as I knew, Andrea didn't own one.

I wondered why I hadn't seen a bill for it coming in the mail. I suppose Andrea could have intercepted it before I spotted it but that would be a risky proposition if she didn't want me to know about it. I pressed the send button and it came on instantly. I did a bit of exploring and found the call history. There were only two numbers listed and one of them was frequently dialed. One of them looked familiar and it quickly twigged on me that it was the number on one of the scraps of paper in her wallet.

When I looked at the two numbers more closely, I could tell they were in our area code but the three number prefix was unusual. Then it dawned on me. They were cell phone numbers too. I found the listing for her phone's number and it turned out not to be one of the numbers on the paper scraps. So the phone was apparently used to call two people. That had me scratching my head as well.

I was still wondering why I hadn't spotted a bill for this phone, or even any evidence in our checking account that there was a payment for one when my brain finally caught up with my questions. A trac phone, of course. Prepaid and paperless. Simple and easily disguised. So that left only one question: who was she calling?

My cell phone number had been with me for almost twenty years. I had begun with one of the old in-car units with the transmitter/receiver in the trunk and the coil-cord and handset mounted on the transmission tunnel. From there it was a flip-phone next before the third generation phones replaced any need for bulky, cumbersome units. I had maintained the same phone number the entire time and it was similar to a conventional local phone number. Andrea's number was one of the new cell-only numbers.

I was pretty sure neither of the mystery numbers was Barry's cell phone but just to be certain I checked. As expected, it was quite different. Did he have a trac phone too? I suppose the easiest thing to do was to call the number and see who answered. However, if it was Barry, and if he had caller I.D., he'd know it was me and that they'd been found out. I didn't want to alert him or whoever was the holder of that phone.

That was the other thing that came from my reading about cheating spouses. Verify before confronting. If you're wrong, only ugly things can happen to your marriage or relationship. I was going to have to find out if my suspicions were correct. There was also the problem that if Andrea had been in a clandestine affair with Barry and it had ended, how would I ever get any evidence?

Why did I immediately think of Barry as the culprit? Simple. He knew and liked Andrea. He had told me how lucky I was to have her on several occasions. As well, Janice made it plain that he was a serial womanizer. With our alternating schedules and his outside sales calls, he would have the opportunity to be with my wife quite easily. I might be jumping to conclusions, but Andrea's reaction to Janice's name was enough to put Barry up at the top of the list of suspects.

I finished examining Andrea's purse and, finding nothing more, put it back where it was. I went back to my study and sat down, my mind still going a break-neck speed. It occurred to me at some point that I'd already decided my wife was guilty. Despite the fact that the only evidence I had was a look on Andrea's face and a mystery cell phone, I was convincing myself that she was cheating. When did I get so quick to condemn? Was I looking for a reason to believe she was unfaithful? A few hours ago it wouldn't even have occurred to me.

I sat back in my chair and closed my eyes. I could see that "look" as clearly as if she was right in front of me now. I tried to think of any other way it could be interpreted, but nothing came to mind. Improbably, I dozed off, my head back on the headrest of the big chair. When I awoke it was nearly six o'clock. I had slept for over four hours. I'd needed the rest. It was going to be difficult enough to act normally around Andrea and I needed to keep my wits about me.

I decided on a simple approach for finding out about the phone numbers she was calling. I would disguise my voice and see who answered the phone. Simple but dangerous. If I didn't do a convincing job and it was Barry and I was unmasked, the shit could hit the fan from dizzy heights. I decided on a pseudo-English accent since I could replicate that fairly well I thought. I also decided I would make the calls from one of the pay phones in a local hotel. All I had to do now was work up the courage to actually make those calls.

I was usually awake and up before Andrea, so it was no problem to return to the bedroom and begin my normal morning routine. She was still asleep when I went downstairs to make breakfast for myself. I must have worn her out last night with the unexpected sexual activity. I could hear the kids stirring about in their bedrooms so I was satisfied they were up and getting ready for school.

There was another thing I hadn't really thought about: our children. Brandon could probably handle a separation or divorce. We were close, but not so much that he couldn't cope with living with his mother for another year. He was dating and was growing into a responsible young man. I was sure he must realize things weren't exactly perfect between his mother and me.

Candice was a whole other matter. She and I were as close as any father and daughter could be. I don't know why, but we'd been that way since she was a little girl barely able to walk. She just naturally gravitated towards me and, of course, had me wrapped around her little finger. Andrea never seemed to mind except when it came to discipline. Then she was ticked when Candice would try to use me to get out of any punishment she had earned.

My research on the internet confirmed that we lived in a 50/50 environment when it came to divorce. As usual, the wife almost always got to stay in the home and keep the kids. I would be paying alimony and child support at least. Worse still, she would end up with half my business and that would really hurt. Essentially, she would be rewarded for her cheating and I would be punished. I needed to think long and hard about the consequences of a divorce before I pulled that trigger.

With all these concerns and unanswered questions floating around in my head it was no wonder that I wasn't concentrating on my business. It was just as well that I had good people in place to look after things in my absence. I had to get a handle on just what to do about what I suspected and once having confirmed my suspicions, what to do after that. This was not going to be a good time in the Tyler household.

It took me a week to work up the courage to try phoning the two cell phone numbers I found in Andrea's purse. I'd rehearsed the calls mentally dozens of times to make sure I knew what I wanted to say and how I wanted to say it.

There was only one pay phone off the lobby of the hotel. It was very near the elevators and the chimes and background noise from them were a constant as people came and went. I finally decided that was a good thing since it would disguise my voice even more.

"Hello, Kurt here," the first voice sounded as he picked up my call.

"Oh, hello. I was trying to reach Mr. Carson. Are you he?"

"Nope. Don't know anyone named Carson. You must have the wrong number."

"Yeah. I guess so. Thanks anyway ... sorry to bother you."

"No problem," he said, ending the call.

I hadn't even bothered with the phony accent. As soon as he identified himself I knew he wasn't anyone who would recognize my voice. So who was Kurt and why did Andrea have his cell phone number? By the sound of his voice, he wasn't young or old, probably middle aged like me. Another lover?

I was still nervous, but less so than before I made the first call. Again, I rehearsed my accent and what I wanted to say.

"Hello?" It sounded like it could have been Barry answering so I went into my act.

"Allo, Guv. I'm lookin' for a bloke named Carson. Is this the right number?"

"Nope, sorry. You must have the wrong number."

I wanted to keep him talking for a bit more.

"What number did I call then?" I asked.

He read the number back to me and when he did, I was pretty sure I knew who I was talking to.

"Right, then. Sorry to bovver you, mate," and I hung up.

I was certain I had been talking to Barry LeDane. One more piece of evidence that my wife might have been having an affair with him. What made me wonder was that this number was not the frequently called number in her call history. Did that mean that her affair with Barry was past tense? After all that worry about finding out, I wasn't really much closer to knowing the truth than I was before. Well, expect for the fact that I was now convinced that Barry LeDane was one of two men my wife was in contact with.

What to do next? The truth was, I couldn't think of anything. I wasn't ready for any kind of confrontation. Every time I thought about it I realized I only had circumstantial evidence. I had no clue who Kurt was, and no simple way to find out. Should I just let this whole thing die and forget it? Maybe that's what I'd be forced to do. The problem was that I wasn't going to forget about it at all. There were too many questions without answers.

Christmas had come and gone and it was February. We would get a spike in TV and home theatre before Super Bowl, but we were prepared for it. I had resumed my normal routine and for the most part had suppressed my worries about Andrea and her possible infidelity. Oh, it was there all right, but not front and center. Time has a way of doing that, I suppose.

I was standing at the sales counter when our young cashier was ringing up a sale for a flat screen TV. She was entering the customer's name in our database for future reference. We not only had a record of the sale, but an address to send advertising flyers for special promotions. The man buying the TV seemed to be by himself and when our girl asked for his name and address, I was suddenly paying closer attention.

"Kurt Howell, 1643 Maple Place."

That rang a bell immediately and I stepped away to have a longer look at our new customer. He was fairly tall, about six-three or maybe six-four. He was well built with a full head of dark brown hair cut short. Funny how I always noted that feature about men. He was dressed in casual clothes, not a business suit or the way a laborer would dress. His age was about forty, maybe a bit more. I wasn't good at guessing ages, especially in men.

Mr. Howell was what I would describe as an attractive man from a woman's point of view. I moved closer again to hear as much as I could of his voice. Was this the "Kurt" who answered the cell phone that morning when I called? Could I remember that voice and recognize it once more? I tried, but in the end he said so little that I couldn't be sure. It sounded similar, but it was a long time ago for my memory to recall it accurately.

I went back to my office and looked up Mr. Howell on our database. He was a former customer, having previously bought a new refrigerator, washing machine and dryer combo, and a sewing machine. Humph! That would suggest he was married but there was no record of a Mrs. Howell on file. I now had a name, an address and a phone number to check out. But ... and it was a big "but" ... was this the right guy?

When I thought about it once more, I was still no further ahead than before. Just a first name wasn't enough, even though it was a slightly unusual name. I sat back a thought about what I could do to find out if this was the right guy.

Gradually an idea came to me. Not a great idea, but maybe one that would work. I could pose as a telemarketer. They always seemed to know my name when they called, so I could quickly find out if my customer was "the Kurt" I was looking for. I'd have to make the call when there was a good chance his cell phone would be turned on. I decided on a mid-afternoon call to see if that worked.

"Hello Mr. Kurt Howell," I said in a sing-song up-beat voice. "I am Sammy Wallapoola and I'm calling on behalf of the Gay People's Survival Alliance. Do you have a moment or two?"

"What? What the fuck are you calling me on this phone for? This is supposed to be an unlisted number. Fuck off!"

The called had ended abruptly but not before I had what I wanted. The number in my wife's trac phone was indeed the number of Mr. Kurt Howell's cell phone. Based on his reaction, it might be a trac phone also. And now it all bubbled up to the surface again. Was this the evidence I was looking for? Was it enough?

I still wasn't convinced that I had what I needed to confront Andrea. What if there was some innocent reason that she knew Kurt Howell? Not likely, but possible. Where did I go with this next? Maybe a background check on Kurt Howell would be helpful. We did credit checks all the time with contractors and customers. Our service would at least give me some basic information about Mr. Howell.

I didn't have to call NorAm Credit Services. We were a subscriber and all I had to do was log onto their site, enter my password and make a request for a credit check on so-and-so at such-and-such address. Within a few seconds I had a good deal more information on one Mr. Kurt Howell.

He was divorced and living in a mortgaged home. He worked for Everlast Construction Corporation as a middle manager and made upwards of eighty-thou a year, not counting bonuses. Not exactly swimming in dough, but a more than respectable income. He paid his bills on time and had no black marks against his name. I did notice he had a monthly payment to a Mrs. Corrine Howell listed as a debt. I assumed that was alimony, but it wasn't specified.

So there was nothing remarkable about Kurt Howell other than the fact that he might be screwing my wife. The next step was to find out if that was the case.

When I was researching cheating wives I had bookmarked a page that had a number of links to gadgets and agencies that would help find evidence of infidelity. There were recording devices for homes, telephones and even purses.

But the one that intrigued me the most was a way to track and record cell phone conversations. I could even listen in on them "live," yet undetected. I looked at the website carefully and there was only one catch. I needed to have at least a thirty second conversation with the target phone, in this case Andrea's, for the software I would download into my phone to "pair" the signal as they called whatever it did. My phone would ring when hers did or when she placed a call. Best of all, it wasn't expensive. Less than two hundred dollars as a one time cost would allow me to download the software into my phone or my laptop. I went to the website and purchased the software using my business credit card.

So now it was a matter of figuring out how to engage Andrea's phone for at least thirty seconds without her becoming suspicious. That was going to take some thinking. I was still of a mind to use a fictitious setup that Andrea would at least listen to for the required amount of time. The other thing, of course, was that I wouldn't dare use my own voice. She knew me well enough that there was a good chance she would recognized even a disguised version of it. I was going to have to bring in a "ringer" who wouldn't be recognized.

I was pretty hyped up for the rest of the afternoon so I decided to leave early and stop at my favorite watering hole to have a drink and calm myself down. I still had a major problem in recruiting someone to make the call to my wife. I had the germ of an idea of what kind of call it might be, but it wouldn't be any good without someone reliable to pull it off.

The Sanctuary was part bar and part restaurant. It wasn't particularly busy that Wednesday afternoon and I found a small table off to one side and ordered a large scotch and soda. There were exactly nine flat screen TV's in the bar. I know because I sold them myself. As usual, they were almost exclusively turned to sports channels with the exception of an all-news channel which was closed captioned.

I was in no hurry as I sipped my drink slowly, alternately watching some local horse racing and the news channel for anything interesting. If it did nothing else it kept my mind off my domestic problems. The third race had just ended and they were showing shots of the crowd, some of them happy and some not so happy. It was just a glimpse, but I thought I saw Barry LeDane in the crowd. I watched closely but they never returned to the crowd shot, focusing instead on the winners circle.