The Cheating Zone 09: Arena

"Do you want to explain, or should I?" John asked the prosecutor.

"They're your clients," the prosecutor said. "Perhaps you should." John looked at Mary and Jake.

"This is not punishment as you know it," John said. "Part of what we do is provide healing for those who have been wronged. If you had shown any remorse prior to coming here tonight, you might have been allowed to return to your lives to patch things up. But you never did. Just so you know, the flames beneath your feet are real, but you're not being burned in the traditional sense -- you're being erased from the space-time continuum. It will be as though you never existed. That is your sentence. And may whatever deity you pray to have mercy on your souls."

"No," Mary cried. "Please, no. I've learned my lesson."

"It's a bit late for that, Mary," Steve said. "You should've thought about that before you spread your legs for this fuckwad. Goodbye, Mary. I'd say I'll miss you, but from I understand, I'll never have met you. Too bad, really. But I guess that's just the way it goes."

Steve and the two attorneys backed away from the fixtures as flames sprouted from burners beneath the defendant's feet. John and the prosecutor spoke quietly to each other as they looked at something on John's tablet. The prosecutor nodded his head, then motioned to the judge.

"Begin the erasure!" the judge ordered, pounding his gavel. The audience began chanting, "burn! Burn! Burn!" Mary and Jake looked down in fear as the number of flames grew. Then they heard a sickening 'whoosh' from beneath their feet.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" Mary screamed as the flames erupted all around her.

...

Mary bolted upright in her bed, sweat pouring off her body. She patted herself to make sure she was really there and took inventory of her surroundings. Thank God, she thought. This really is our bedroom. She looked in the bathroom and saw her husband getting ready for the evening.

"Thank you, God," she said to herself. It was all just a horrible nightmare. She swore at that moment to end it with Jake forever. She tried to send a text to let him know she couldn't do what they had planned for the night, but the text wouldn't go through. She tried calling his number, but got a message saying the number was no longer in service.

She brought up her mobile email client and tried sending an email, but the message came back with an error saying the email address didn't exist. It was as though he didn't exist... She tried to think back over the last few months, but it was as though her memories of him were rapidly fading away. In a matter of a couple minutes, she had no recollection of Jake whatsoever and she sat looking at her phone wondering why she had it in her hand.

Suddenly, her phone buzzed, letting her know she received a call. She saw that it came from a private number. Who is this, she wondered. She answered the call and turned so Steve wouldn't hear her

"Mrs. Chisholm, this is John Hultner," the man at the other end said.

"Yes, Mr. Hultner?" she asked, scared.

"I just wanted to let you know that we were able to convince the judge to suspend your sentence at the last moment," he said.

"What?" she asked, shocked. "You mean, it was real? The trial, everything?"

"Yes, it was," John said. "I found some things in the transcript of your thought monitor and the prosecution agreed with my assessment. Fortunately, by the time the judge saw our motion, your accomplice had already been erased. Without going into it too much, without any record of his existence, there would be no record of any affair with him and no one but you, me, the prosecutor and the judge will ever remember it happening. Not even your husband will remember. He may have even already forgotten it all by now. You will be allowed to have a residual memory of your experience only to serve as a reminder of what you could possibly face."

"I don't understand. What does all that mean?" she asked.

"You can't very well have an affair with someone who never existed," John said. "It's all quite technical. The bottom line is that you were very lucky. I've served the court for centuries and I've only seen this happen a handful of times. However, you should know that the judge has ordered ongoing surveillance."

"Oh?" she asked.

"We have a saying here: Once a cheater, always a cheater," John said. "The court will be monitoring your thoughts and actions at least for the duration of your marriage. How long do you plan on being married to Steve?"

"The rest of my life," she said.

"Then you will be monitored for the rest of your natural life," John said. "One indiscretion and the sentence will be immediately carried out. Do you understand?"

"Yeah," she said. "I think so."

"I hope so, for your sake, and the sake of any children you may have," John said.

"I will," she told him. "I'll be the best, most loyal wife a man could ever want."

"I'm happy to hear that, Mrs. Chisholm," he said. "On that note, I'll let you go. And Happy New Year."

"You do the same," she said, ending the call. She sat there, looking at the phone.

Oh my God, she thought to herself. It was real. All of it was real. Mary wasn't the smartest person around, but she wasn't a complete idiot, either. She slowly began to understand the totality of her situation.

Only three people in the entire universe would know the full story of what she had done. She would be allowed to remember just enough to keep her on the straight and narrow. Her husband, fortunately, would be spared any memories of the entire incident. But if she slipped up, just once, she would cease to exist.

No, that wasn't quite right, she realized. What was it John had said at the trial? It would be as though she NEVER existed. Which means Steve would never have met her. She wouldn't even be a faint memory to him. As she thought about the implications of that, she resolved with all her heart to be the best, most loyal and loving wife any man would ever want.

She looked at Steve and suddenly felt a wave of love and admiration for him. She wanted nothing more than to make mad passionate love to him in any way he wanted. She ran into the bathroom and hugged him tight, kissing him all over his face.

"What's this all about?" he asked. He looked at her and saw the fear etched on her face. "What's going on? Did you have a bad dream?"

"Something like that," she said. "I just wanted to tell you that I love you and only you, and this year I resolve to be the best wife in the whole world." He smiled and kissed her.

"I'm going to hold you to that, Mrs. Chisholm," he said.

"Steve," she said.

"Yes, dear?" he asked.

"Do you think we could start working on a family?" she asked. "I want your baby so bad."

"That's the best idea I've heard in a long time," he said. "If you still have that hotel room reserved, we can start tonight if you want." She smiled and hugged him tight.

"You got it," she said. "I'm going to fuck your brains out tonight, sailor."

"I like the sound of that. Alright, why don't you get ready now," he said. "And don't forget, I promised to stop at the VFW over by the Arena to say hi to the guys there."

"Okay," she said. "I love you, Steve. Only you."

"I love you too, Mary," he said. She looked at him as he started to don his uniform.

"Steve," she said. "Is it true you've given up your life several times in combat?" He laughed.

"No, dear, that's not possible," he said. "I have been wounded a few times and came close to dying, but rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated. Where did you hear that?"

"Oh, just something I heard someone say once," she said. Steve left the bathroom to his wife so he could get dressed. He wondered what was going on with her and why she would ask such a silly question.

As he put his uniform on, he noticed that the annual New Years Twilight Zone marathon was playing. As he watched, a grim-faced man in a dark suit looked straight at him.

"Meet Mary Chisholm," he said. "A lonely wife waiting at home while her husband fights the nation's enemies overseas. She took a wrong turn and, for a while, traveled down a road that ultimately led to the place where she learned the grass isn't always greener on the other side. A place we like to call... The Cheating Zone."

He smiled, winked and took a drag off his cigarette.

Fade to black...

...

Notes: I had actually considered a couple different endings to this story and decided to go this route, mostly because of the holiday season. I know there will be those in what a couple commenters have called the "Perpetual Bitch Brigade" who will complain, but it is what it is.

Regardless of what some may think, Mary didn't exactly get off completely and will spend the rest of her life with a "Sword of Damocles" hanging over her, but at least she didn't get "erased." Will she keep her resolution to remain faithful? Only time will tell. Perhaps we'll check in at some point in the future just to see how things are going.

And for those who might think the ol' 'Tramp may be getting soft, have patience. There's plenty of fun and mayhem in the works. Stay tuned...

In the spirit of the season, I would like to thank everyone for reading and wish you all a very happy and prosperous New Year.