The Fourth Man

"Yeah...well, to tell you the truth I didn't know it would either. It bothered me when I said you could go but I was hoping you'd change your mind. Then when you actually left...well, the idea of you excluding me from an important part of your life was bad enough, but the thought of you meeting some lover from your past just festered like an open sore. I tried telling myself you wouldn't do that; there was just no way you would cheat on me, but as much as I tried, I just couldn't come up with any other reason for your behavior."

She lowered her eyes. "I...I guess I thought you trusted me more than you do," she said meekly.

"Jen, trust is one thing, but what you pulled over the weekend goes way beyond trust, it's more like blind faith or something; I don't know. What was it that Reagan said, 'trust but verify,' well I have no way to verify."

Jennifer just sat sobbing even more heavily. Ken was still pissed but his wife's statement about not being with another man gave him a certain amount of relief. He also wasn't made of stone. It wasn't a stranger sitting there crying her heart out, it was the woman he loved. Ken walked over, sat beside her and put his arm around her trembling body.

Jen immediately buried her face into his chest and put her arms around him.

"Alright, take it easy," he said while gently rubbing her shoulder. "As far as I know you haven't done anything wrong but I still need some time to come to terms with all of this."

He could feel her head nodding into his chest showing she understood but offering no more in the way of an explanation.

"I still think it's better if we sleep in different rooms for the time being."

That brought on a big sob and she tightened her grip around his waist. "Oh please, please don't make me sleep without you again."

"I'm sorry, Jen," he said, but that's the way it has to be, at least for a while."

They sat holding each other a little longer before Jennifer had to dish up supper. She looked like a whipped dog with her tail between her legs for the rest of the evening; it wasn't an act, it was exactly how she felt.

That night, as Ken heard his bride of eight years quietly weeping from the guest bedroom, he wondered how long he'd be able to hold out. He was already missing her lying beside him.

***

"So...how'd it go yesterday," asked Jack as he sat in the same chair as the day before.

"Ah, well, better than I had expected. She at least told me she wasn't out fucking anybody."

"You believe her?"

"I don't know; I'd sure as hell like to. Why... don't you?" Ken asked his rather smug looking friend.

"Of course, I was the one who told you she wouldn't cheat in the first place, remember? So, everything's back to normal then?"

"Well I wouldn't exactly say that, I'm still pissed. I'm making her sleep in the guest room for a while to give me some time to cool off," said Ken.

"I guess I can understand that. To tell you the truth if Marge had pulled something like that she'd be sleeping there too. When I got home last night I asked her if she knew anything about Jen's mysterious weekend trip. She said she thought it might have something to do with when she was in high school; something she never got a chance to do."

"Some-THING, or Some-GUY?" Ken asked curtly.

"No, no, some-THING," Jack replied with a cautious smile. "I guess Jen never really came out and said what it was but Marge is sure it had nothing to do with fucking some guy. She doesn't believe Jen would cheat on you anymore than I do."

"Yeah, that seems to be the general consensus," Ken replied leaning back in his chair daring a small gratifying smile. "To tell you the truth, I really don't think she would either. I guess I'm going to take your advice and just try to forget about it. In spite of all the thoughts I had over the weekend, I just don't see her cheating on me."

"Okay then," Jack said as he shifted his posture and leaned forward. "Not to change the subject but I got a call from Arnie's wife and he's not going to make it next Sunday for golf again."

"Again," responded Ken with a surprised look. "Is something wrong, it's not like him to miss two weeks in a row?"

"I guess his back is bothering him. Linda said he wasn't able to go to work all week. He has an appointment with the doc on Thursday.

"Hell, I hope it's nothing serious."

"Yeah, me too; listen, now that you have your head out of your ass, you want another crack at Tara? I was thinking of calling her to see if she can fill in again."

"You really seem to like her, Jack. You sure you two aren't having an affair of your own?" teased Ken.

"Me!" Jack countered. "You're the one she flirted with for eighteen holes."

"Yeah...right; she was just trying to keep me distracted so she could beat me. She's in for a rude awakening this time."

Jack broke into a big grin. "Ah huh, you can't tell me you didn't notice that sexy, little waggle she does before hitting the ball."

"You mean how she wiggles that pretty, little ass," joked ken. "I'm not dead, old buddy; of course I noticed. It won't be enough to save her from the jaws of defeat though...not this time."

"Yeah, well we'll see. I've got a feeling she hasn't even started to turn on the real charm yet."

Ken felt better after Jack left his office. He made an effort to separate himself from any jealous or insecure thoughts and tried looking at the situation from a completely impartial standpoint.

In eight years of marriage he never even saw his wife so much as flirt with another man. Their sex life was good and she always seemed to be satisfied. Certainly anyone who knew her was adamant about her love and loyalty to him. No, if he weighed the pros and cons the circumstantial evidence was heavily in her favor.

Okay, he said to himself, if I keep going back and forth like this I'm going to drive myself crazy. I gave her permission to go in the first place because I did trust her. It wasn't until she was actually gone when my overactive imagination kicked in and I decided she must be meeting another man. There's certainly no proof of that, and up until this weekend I've never had cause to doubt her sincerity or her fidelity. As far as I know she's never lied to me so when she says she wasn't with another man what justification do I have to call her a liar; none, absolutely nada.

Ken arose from his chair and walked to the window. The telecommunications company he worked for was located in a northwest suburb of Chicago. His office was on the fifth floor; from there he could see the Hancock Center, Willis Tower, and most of down town. Somehow the view always reminded him of what a lucky man he was. He could surmise how much misery and heartache there was down there. His parents made sure he was well educated, he had a great job that afforded him a comfortable lifestyle, he had a great wife who loved him and good friends; yeah, he was a very lucky man.

He also loved her, so without even acknowledging it, he was talking himself into forgiving her. Ken had made up his mind. He turned to walk back to his desk. It was over; oh he would always wonder what she did or didn't do and he would always remember the torment he went through, but for now at least, no more incriminations. He would let his wife back into the bedroom and try to put it all behind them.

A sense of relief came over him as he sat back down and looked at the work that had piled up on his desk during the last few days. He wanted things normal again. He was tired of guessing what she may or may not have done. He wanted his loving and loyal wife back.

"Betty," he called to his secretary through the intercom, "would you grab a couple of coffees and come in to help me prioritize some things, please?"

"Sure, Ken," she answered.

By the end of the day Ken and Betty had everything caught up, and for the first time in almost a week, he was driving home in a good mood.

Continued...