Smoke & Mirrors

The boys barely looked up from their game as I said hi and rubbed their heads. This brought them out of their video game funk and we started to wrestle on the floor. Being a kid can be so simple. After a couple of minutes I went to find Tom.

"Tom, I am going to go run some errands and then I will come back and give you the full plan."

"Okay Sam. I am here for you and will help where I can."

Amber's Perspective

As I started to wake up, my first thought was how bad my head hurt. I didn't want to open my eyes, but I couldn't lay here forever. Although laying in Sam's arms was a nice place to be. Suddenly my recollection hit and I knew this wasn't Sam. Sam was out of town for a few more days. As I opened my eyes, I saw that I was laying in bed with Brian and Lisa. Oh, no! What happened? I became aware that I was naked and sat up as everything started to become clearer. I just made the biggest mistake of my life. I ran to the bathroom and just made it to the toilet as my stomach let loose. I'm not sure if it was due to the alcohol or the fact that I just cheated on my husband.

I grabbed my robe and walked back into the bedroom. A bit louder than was necessary I yelled to wake up Lisa and Brian. "What the hell happened here last night?" Lisa started to rise with a smile on her face. Brian was also waking up and his dick was hard. Ah fuck, this isn't good. "Cover yourself Brian! Lisa, what happened? I know we went out to dinner and had a few drinks. I also remember you driving us back to my place and we opened a bottle of wine. From there, everything is cloudy. Fill in the gaps for me."

Lisa's smile remained and she started to explain. "Once we got back to your place, we drank a bottle of wine. Brian called me and we asked him to come on over. I think we went through another couple of bottles of wine. Amber, you were really drunk and started talking about how we used to make out in college. We started to kiss and soon we were headed to your room. Brian followed us to the bed and joined us as we continued to make out. After a couple hours of some of the best sex I have ever had, we passed out. That is the best that I can explain what happened."

Brian was able to add a few more details, but essentially it was as Lisa explained. We had a threesome and I have cheated on my husband. I broke my marriage vows. "We can never speak of this ever! Sam can never know about this or my marriage is over! Please, promise me that this will never be talked about again. I need for you two to leave. Now!"

Brian and Lisa quickly dressed. Lisa came over to give me a hug, stating "Amber, I will help you get through this. We won't talk about this again. Call me later."

I had to take a shower to wash the guilt off of me. I felt dirty. After a long, hot shower, I was drying off and rubbing on some lotion. This was my normal routine. I went to grab my wedding ring thinking of the irony by placing the ring back on my finger after completely breaking the vow that placed it on my hand in the first place. The ring wasn't in my normal spot. I became frantic as I started to look all over for my ring. I can't loose that ring! It was Sam's mothers wedding ring. It meant so much for Sam to propose to me with this ring and it meant the world to me as well.

I tore apart the entire bedroom and ran downstairs to see if it was in the living room or kitchen. I even pulled off all of the cushions on the couch. It was nowhere. Not only do I have to figure out a way to keep my infidelity from Sam, now I have to figure out a way to explain I lost my wedding ring. This is the worst day of my life!

I grabbed my phone and quickly sent a simple text to Sam. "I Love You!" I know he won't get this right away as he usually didn't have cell service in the remote spots he camped in, but I want this to be the first text he sees when he looks at his phone. I need to start to figure out how to get through this.

Sam's Perspective

My first stop was to go to the bank. I need to protect myself in case I file for divorce. Even if I don't file, it is in my best interest to make sure I have some control as I work through if I can ever trust Amber again. I cancelled our joint credit card. We only have the one through the bank, so that was simple. I pulled out roughly half of the balance in our joint checking and half of the amount in our savings. It wasn't a huge amount, but still needed to be done. I setup an individual account under my name only. I removed Amber from access to my business account and had them put together the paperwork to add my brother to the account.

The investment accounts were going to be tricky since they were setup through Amber's office. They managed the investments, so I will need to take care of those a bit later. I had an idea of what needed to occur, but I couldn't implement right away in case Amber was to notice. I'm sure she watches these on a more consistent basis than I do. I noted that this would be a later step for me.

After the bank, I went to the jewelry store where I had placed a hold on a pair of earrings and necklace that I was going to give to Amber next Saturday as her engagement gift from me. I talked to the sales person and explained what I wanted instead. The sales person seemed to understand and found me what I wanted. I paid them and told them that I would take care of wrapping it myself.

That is about all the energy I had, so I headed back to Tom's house to relax and talk to my brother. The rest of the weekend I spent thinking how this could have happened. I admit I spent quite a few hours in the guest bedroom crying. I know Tom and Vickie heard, but I couldn't help myself. This hurt!

Waking up on Monday morning, I forgot to turn my phone back on and noticed the text from Amber. Looks like she sent it on Saturday morning after she would have woke up from her fuckfest. Seeing the text brought everything up again. I still didn't understand how this could have happened. It had me thinking if this was a regular occurrence when I went out of town? I am gone a few days a month to try to get newer photos for the agencies to utilize. I am now second guessing everything. I need to be able to trust Amber to do my job properly. I'm not sure that is possible at this point. Just another log on the bonfire of my marriage.

Monday turned into Tuesday very quickly. I mostly sat around Tom's house thinking about my marriage, I was going to have to make a decision soon as Amber was expecting me home on Wednesday. I could text her and let her know I didn't have the pictures I needed and push my return back to Thursday or Friday morning. I also needed to get some things from the house, but I couldn't risk showing up in case the neighbors would see me. This is an older neighborhood and there is always someone watching the comings and goings of cars throughout the day.

A moment of clarity hit me and I decided to send a message to Amber. I would explain that I had a surprise for her at the anniversary party and I wouldn't see her until the night of the party. Hopefully she would go for it and not put up too much of a fight.

I now have finalized my plan. I would spend the next few days putting the final touches on the plan and sit down with Tom to explain what I would need from him. Hopefully he was onboard.

Amber's Perspective

I spent the rest of the weekend and the first two days of the week going through the house looking for my ring and making sure there was no evidence of what happened with Brian and Lisa. I cleaned everything and everywhere. Still no sign of the ring. I was just going to have to tell Sam I lost the ring. Maybe it went down the drain, but I didn't think that was possible. I even went through the trash before throwing it out in the trash bin.

I received a text from Sam late on Tuesday. He mentioned some sort of a surprise that would have him staying away from me until the party on Saturday. Part of me was relieved as I wasn't sure I was ready to try to hide what happened this weekend. The other part of me was apprehensive that Sam somehow knew what happened and was avoiding me. I chalked that up to being paranoid. I sent Sam a response saying that I would miss him and that I looked forward to the surprise on Saturday. God I loved that man!

Sam's Perspective

I received Amber's response. No fight about the extra days. I had a couple of things I needed to do to finalize the rest of my plan. I went to the bar and grill and prepaid for the party. I put a limit on the food and drink and gave them my brother's contact information if any unexpected expenses were to come up once the party ended. I explained that I was planning on being unavailable, but Tom would take care of anything that exceeded the amount. No issues there. I gave Tom some extra cash for the tip for the servers that night.

Early on Saturday, I decided to uninvite Lisa and Brian. I wasn't sure how that was going to work, but I couldn't imagine having them there for the party. I spoke with Vickie and asked if she would help me. I could still see the sadness in her eyes, but she agreed. Tom was so lucky to have a wife like Vickie. I thought I had found one in the same category, but that proved to be a lie.

Amber's Perspective

I woke up on Saturday with butterfly's in my stomach. I was excited for the party and to see Sam. This was the longest time that we have been apart and I missed him so much. I sent a text telling him that I was looking forward to the party and couldn't wait to see him. I ended telling him I loved him and this has been the best 5 years of my life. I was trying to decide if I wanted to have my hair done, but decided that Sam likes things simple. He always told me that I looked beautiful no matter what I was wearing or how my hair looked. I was going to wow him with my outfit though. I had picked up a very nice black dress that I thought fit me in all the right places. I was going to dress to impress for my man!

Vickie called and offered to pick me up for the party. I thanked her and accepted her offer. At least I wouldn't have to figure out how I was going to get my car home as I didn't plan on leaving Sam's side for the entire party. I planned on showering him with all of my love and attention.

Vickie arrived at the house at 5:30 so that we would be arriving by 6:00. I noticed Vickie's smile wasn't quite as bright as normal. Vickie gave me a hug and said I looked amazing. We quickly left the house and jumped in her car. Vickie asked for my cell phone so that no one could text her and ruin the surprise. I hesitated but handed her my phone. I didn't want to ruin anything that Sam had planned.

Sam's Perspective

Trusting that Vickie was able to get Amber's cell phone, I went over to Brian and Lisa's house. I knocked on the door right at 5:30. Brian answered the door and invited me in. I almost couldn't stop myself from punching him right then and there. Lisa was just walking down the hall expecting to leave. Lisa asked "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the party?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to the two of you about. I can't have you there. I know what happened last weekend and I don't want you spending any more time with either Amber or myself. I am so hurt by what happened that I can barely stand to be here in your house. If I ever see or hear of you contacting Amber, I will be back. If you try to contact me, I will be back. Don't push me on this!" I walked out the door without waiting to hear a response from either of them. I knew that Lisa was going to immediately reach out to Amber, so I waited for a minute on the doorstep and then walked back into their house. Sure enough, Lisa was standing in the exact same spot where I had left her with her cell phone in hand. The surprised look on her face when she saw me was priceless. She quickly hung up the phone and tried to hide it behind her back.

"What wasn't clear about what I just said?" With that, I punched an unexpecting Brian in the gut doubling him over. Man that felt great! Brian hit the floor trying to catch his wind. I grabbed Lisa's phone and smashed it on the ground. "Have I made myself clear?" Lisa just shook her head in agreement while Brian was still trying to take a breath. I left again and went straight to my car.

Amber's Perspective

I arrived at the party and began looking for Sam. I didn't see him there yet, so my anxiety started to climb. I grabbed a glass of wine to help calm my nerves. Everyone looked to be there except I didn't see Brian and Lisa yet. Part of me was okay with them not being there, but it struck me as unusual. Not even 10 minutes had gone by and Sam's brother Tom came up to me and pulled me aside. "Sam asked me to give you this letter and package. Please read it in a private location. I will make sure no one bothers you until you are finished."

My anxiety was at it's highest. Where was Sam? I quickly opened the letter

My Dearest Amber,

I wanted to thank you for the last 5 years of marriage and cherish the time we have spent together. These have been amazing years. I still think back to the first day I saw you in the park. You captured my heart right away. I look at that picture of you daily as a reminder of the love that I have for you and I pat myself on the back that I had the courage to pursue a date with you. I agree that I was sneaky on my part to blackmail you with the picture, but I couldn't take the chance of not ever seeing you again. That's what makes this so hard.

I saw you in our bed with Brian and Lisa early on Saturday morning. I was able to take the pictures I had intended and had raced home to be with you. I couldn't believe what I saw when I walked into our bedroom and saw you in Brian's arms. That picture is engrained in my memory almost as much as the picture of you in the park. Every time I shut my eyes, that is the picture I see. As much as I try to push it away, it keeps coming back to me.

As you are reading this letter, I am at our house packing up a few of my items. I am going to be leaving for a while to collect my thoughts before I decide what our next steps are. I can't promise you that I will be able to put this behind us, but I am telling you that I am not filing for a divorce at this time. That might come eventually, but it won't be today. I need some time alone to gather my thoughts. I am leaving my cell phone at the house. I don't want to talk to you right now. Maybe never, but at least at this moment I am not strong enough to see you or talk with you. They say time heals all wounds, so I am hopeful that is the case. I am keeping my email active, so if you want to email me anything I will try to read it, but that might take some time for me as well.

Tom will have my contact information and I asked him to keep that to himself. I separated our bank accounts, but left you enough to take care of household expenses. If you need money, just ask Tom. He will get you what you need while I am away. You are free to stay at the house, but if you decide to leave instead of wait for me, I am asking you to leave it in good shape. This was my parents home and holds a lot of great memories of my childhood and our time together. I don't want to see that destroyed.

Last, the night I was in our bedroom, I took back my mother's ring. I know you were probably looking for it, at least I hope you were. Maybe you weren't, but I can't think like that as I would have nothing to decide. Instead of the jewelry that I had planned to give you on our anniversary, I have bought you something different. Wear it if you would like as I have the other piece that I am wearing right now. It helps me think of you and the time we have had together. Maybe there will be a time where we can put those two pieces together and build our future. No promises.

Take care of yourself. Everyone that is in attendance at this party is there to support you. I know you will need that as I try to determine our future. Lean on them. As you might have noticed, Brian and Lisa aren't there with you. I asked them to not attend and also asked them to stay away from the both of us forever. I would ask you to think long and hard about ever allowing them in your life again. The decision is yours, but I have already made my decision to let that friendship die.

Sam

I couldn't believe what I just read. It took me a couple of moments to realize I was still holding the box that Tom had given me. Slowly I opened the present and looked inside. Neatly boxed up was one piece of a broken heart necklace with Sam's wedding ring strung through the chain. Tears were now flowing down my cheeks and falling into the box. I realized that Vickie had walked up behind me and was holding me around my shoulders. She was crying as well. I turned and gave her a hug and completely broke down crying.

Tom grabbed a microphone and greeted the guests. He explained that the party was not going to be the happy event that everyone had intended. He explained that Sam and I were going through some marital issues and that Sam had asked that everyone in this room give all of their love and support to me. I couldn't believe that I had destroyed our marriage and Sam was asking everyone to treat me like it was Sam that had abandoned me. I made the decision to right that wrong. I made this mess and I was going to take ownership of the problem.

I walked up to Tom and took the microphone from him. "Are you sure you want to do this" asked Tom. I shook my head yes and started speaking to my friends and family.

"Thank you all for coming. I want to make sure everyone is clear. Sam did not cause the issues in our marriage, I did. Please don't think poorly of him or think that he did anything wrong. That is my cross to bear. I would like to ask for your love and support as we work through these issues, but I would understand if you decide that I am not worth the time or energy. I made a mistake that I am going to pay for the rest of my life."

I laid down the microphone and started to walk towards the door. My parents walked in front of me and gave me a big hug. My dad said that they would always be there for me no matter what. Soon there was a line of people waiting to give me a hug and lend their support. I'm not sure what I did to deserve their affection and support, but I needed it at this point.

Vickie drove me home and walked into the house with me. I didn't notice anything missing, but I did see Sam's phone on the counter. The finality of what Sam had wrote in his letter was hitting home now. I started to cry again. Vickie made us some tea and said that she would stay with me tonight so that I wasn't alone. We sat on the couch not saying anything as I stared across the room. There were a number of pictures that Sam had taken hanging in the living room, including the first picture Sam took of me. I must have cried myself to sleep as I woke up the next morning still on the couch with a blanket over me.

Sam's Perspective

I packed up some additional clothing and some additional camping equipment. My intent was to travel to a few places that I haven't been able to explore mostly due to the distance. That isn't an issue at this point, so that is my initial destination. During the week I had made arrangements with a local photography studio to develop the photos and to post them on my website. They agreed to act as the management of the advertising for a split of the profits. I also put him in touch with my framing guy and they setup a relationship as well. No matter how long I was away, I would still be able to make ends meet through my existing sales. I also left open the possibility of partnering with him on setting up a gallery in some existing space that he owned next to his studio. My long term goal was to setup a gallery for some of my best shots.