The French Exit

The evening was drawing in and if he wasn't careful, he'd be somewhere unfamiliar with poor lighting. That wouldn't be sensible. He walked back towards the resort. Not rushing, taking his time. He got back before the evening turned to night and checked the time. It was a bit earlier than what he wanted so he went to the restaurant area, there was a bar there. He got himself a beer and sat to one side by himself and listened to the world around him.

It was late when he felt ready to walk back to his room. He took his glass back to the bar and thanked the bar tender for his service. Small gestures, but people always remember the kind words and good manners. It was a fair chance that he was the only person who'd spoke to him like a human all evening. Always worth that personal generosity, he'd learnt that lesson a long time back.

He collected his ring; it was still in the same place. He let himself into the suite. The suite was empty. He shrugged and looked at the time, he guessed that Alice must be with her sister. It was late enough that he felt comfortable going to bed. He got his clothes sorted for the next day, positioned the laptop again and sorted the camera kit that he wanted to take on the excursion with him. It didn't take long before he was climbing into bed.

He was tired, but sleep didn't come easily to him. As much as he could think and plan, the emotional impact of what was going on hadn't escaped him. He loved Alice, he was in a marriage and he'd gone one hundred percent all in on that relationship. He didn't check up on her, he didn't doubt her, he didn't guard against her because she was his wife and what was the point of being married if he couldn't trust her or had to defend himself against her.

He worked away from home a lot. A couple of nights each week he was away from her. Away from their home. If she wanted to have an affair, it wouldn't exactly be difficult to have one. He didn't check up on her, he was away from home a lot and he wasn't a naturally suspicious type of person. Why get married if you've issues with trust? The only time he ever had an issue with Alice he'd dealt with it as soon as he was aware there was a problem and it was over. Deal with it, move on and don't spend time dwelling.

This week had been so hard, he'd never expected the vacation to go like this. To be split apart from Alice and for her not just to be comfortable with it but supporting it and doing what she could to keep it going, had blindsided him. He thought she wanted to spend time on holiday with him, not with Sarah. It felt like he was being pushed away and foisted upon Reuben. He hadn't spent much time talking to Alice about their vacation before they left. But he'd thought it would be like other vacations they'd shared. He'd spend the day with Alice and then they'd meet up as a foursome with Sarah and Reuben as and where they fancied doing the same thing.

The rejection and treatment by Alice were as surprising as they were unwelcomed. At first, he'd thought that it was him imagining things. That he was reacting to his poor treatment from the resort. But as he spent time away and began to look at the problem, he could see there was something else. Alice was treating him poorly. She wasn't on his side, facing the world with him. She was part of the problem. She was someone on the other side of the wall, not on his side. Smiling, being friendly, saying the right kind of things. But her actions were betraying her true feelings and she wasn't on his team.

Sal wasn't sure what this meant for their relationship. He loved her completely and without defence, but now he was hurting. He felt a strong sense of betrayal from her actions and he was finding himself questioning what more was going on. The fact that he was questioning what she was doing and why was as discomforting as the way her actions made him feel.

Add into that the comments from Charlie about cheating and the resort being some kind of swinging, cheating place. He knew that he needed more information, he knew that he needed to investigate and understand properly what was going on. Whilst he was doing that investigation, he didn't want to say anything or do anything that'd wreck their relationship. It could be a colossal mistake and he didn't want to burn their relationship if she was innocent.

So minimising contact with her and her little cronies whilst he dug deeper. That was the best way to proceed. He'd called in the cavalry, he had moves in play and he wasn't the shmuck that he had been the first couple of days. But it hurt. He didn't know what was going on or why she was behaving like this. He couldn't find an explanation that made any sense. As far as he knew, they had a strong marriage and everything was good between them. They'd a good sex life, the recent diversion into chastity play was evidence of their ability to still have fun together in the bedroom. So what was going on?

Chapter Four

He drifted off to sleep. He didn't hear her come in but when he woke in the morning, she was in bed next to him asleep. He slipped out carefully, making sure he didn't wake her. She looked beautiful, some of her blonde hair escaped from her ponytail and lay across her face. She looked so innocent and so relaxed. Every part of him hoped that this whole situation was an innocent mistake, that he was being paranoid and overreacting. He didn't want to think about her not being in his life.

It wasn't a debate for him what would happen if she'd cheated on him. There wouldn't be any debate about what constituted cheating. If she'd done something with a man or let a man do something with her that she wouldn't be comfortable doing in front of him and her parents, then that was cheating. If she'd cheated, their marriage was toast. He'd thought over whether he could forgive and forget and in fairness it was one of the easiest questions for him to answer. Their marriage would be over. He wasn't someone who was going to share. He didn't expect her to share him with other women, he was committed to their relationship and he'd be damned if he was going to hold her to a lower standard.

As quietly as he could, he got cleaned up and dressed for his day. He was going to be early for the excursion but he wanted a bit of breakfast first. It was a meal where all rings were equal. He picked up his camera bag, made sure his laptop was working as it should and then easing the door open, he slipped out into the cool morning.

The weather wouldn't be this temperature for long. The sun was already burning off the night's chill. He got some fruit and a coffee and sat out on the veranda. He looked at the sea as it moved up and down the empty beach. There was a man out with a rake, picking up litter and tidying up the beach.

He walked to the excursion meeting point, he was one of the first there. He was hoping that neither Alice nor Reuben would turn up. That was his nightmare, being trapped for the day with them on the excursion. Slowly the other Black rings began to turn up. Then the minibus arrived and they got checked on. He walked down to the middle of the minibus and sat down in an empty seat next to the window. Not long to wait, please don't rock up.

It was an anxious ten minutes, but neither of them turned up. The doors closed on the coach and the representative walked down the bus checking to make sure that everyone who was expected was on the minibus. It must have been right because he was quite quick and when he got to the front of the bus, the driver pulled off.

He settled down and watched the world whip past as they drove. The pulled up to a small dock and he got out with the others and stood around whilst he waited to be directed onto the boat. They were going to a small island a short boat ride away. It was quiet and supposedly a beautiful place; he was planning on taking some pictures whilst he was there. As he stood, he felt a hand slid into his arm.

'Hey Mister Escapologist, what're you doing here?'

'Hey.' Sal smiled at the sound of her voice; he'd been hoping she was on the trip. He hadn't seen her, even though he'd been keeping a discrete eye out for her.

'I gave my word, I'd come along. My word is kind of important to me.'

'Your word is your bond, that kind of thing?'

'Exactly that. I think when we say something, we should bend heaven and hell to deliver it.'

'And when we make a vow, we should stick to it?'

'One hundred percent.'

'So, I'm curious, what made you give your word you'd come along today, when up till now you've fought to get away.'

'Let's see how we do today and I might share that little gem with you.'

He looked down and she smiled up at him.

'My name is Salvatore Calzone. Everyone calls me Sal.'

'Hello Sal. I'm Lucienne Frost.'

'Lucienne, that's a beautifully exotic name. I like that name.'

She smiled at his words. 'Everyone tends to call me Lucy.'

'Do you want me to call you that or would you prefer Lucienne?'

'Either, whatever feels right.'

'Sounds like the hint of the south in your accent.'

'Born in Texas and now living near Boston, which is why my accent has faded ever so slightly.'

'You sound sad.'

She shook her head sending her dark curls bouncing. 'No Honey. Don't get me wrong, I miss the heat and the manners and the food and just listening to people speak, but no. I was raised in a small village and I wanted to escape. Go to the big city, have some noise and hustle and bustle in my life.'

'You get that in Boston?'

She shook her head again, a touch more emphatically. 'Not really, you know what life is like, one compromise after another. Then one day you wake up and you find yourself living a different life from the one you imagined.'

Sal laughed. The organiser came over and started ushering them onto the boat. It wasn't a big boat, but the two were able to find somewhere where they could sit down comfortably and be able to carry on their conversation.

'So, Hon, what's in the bag? I've noticed you carrying it around.'

'It's a camera with its different attachments.'

'Very flashy.' She exclaimed as he unzipped the bag so she could see inside. He looked down and saw everything in its right place, carefully organised so he could put his hands on exactly what he needed.

'It's not that flashy. I didn't want to bring a good camera away; I didn't know how much of a battering it might take in the plane. The case is good, but it's not invulnerable.'

'This isn't a good camera?' He could see the disbelief in her face.

'No, it's a good camera. It's a good all-rounder. I can do portraits, landscapes, it takes all the different lenses.' He showed her some of the different lenses as he spoke.

He zipped the bag back up.

'This is a good one to bring when I don't know what I'll want to shoot. If I knew what I wanted to do, then one of my other ones would be better. This one covers just about all situations. And it's fairly robust as cameras go.'

'I'm guessing you're a photographer?'

Sal chuckled. 'Kind of obvious, aren't I? Yeah, I work as a photographer for the New York Times.'

'Wow! I'm impressed, the New York Times. That's a big name drop right there Mr Calzone.'

Sal laughed at her gentle jibe.

'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to come across as boasting.'

'That's OK, Honey. I respect the fact that you're proud of who you work for and justifiably so. They're one of the best in the world at what they do.'

Sal beamed, he was proud to work at the Times, proud of being part of them and their reputation mattered to him.

'So, what do you do?'

'I work in sound.'

'You work in sound. I like that. What's it you do with sound?'

'I'm a sound engineer. I work with big venues helping them get the best sound from the different people using their venues.'

'Is there much demand for that?'

'Oh yes. I've got far more work than I can do. It's quite a rarefied profession, there aren't many of us who do this so we can call the shots when it comes to work.'

'I'm going to ask the obligatory question people my kind of age always do; you got any children?'

Sal saw the wave of sadness cross her face and she shook her head.

'I'm sorry. That was a clumsy question. I can see it wasn't the right thing to ask.'

She took his hand quickly and patted it. 'Honey, don't worry. It's just a bit a frustration, a bone of contention between me and my husband.'

Sal stayed quiet. Years of sitting in interviews taught him when to give the other person space. It was a moment before she spoke again.

'I come from quite a large, close family. I'd like the same myself. Donald would prefer, I don't know, he says he wants kids but the time never quite seems right, you know?'

'Yeah, I know that one. It's almost like I'm talking to a mirror of myself. Ali has promise we can start trying for children after this holiday.'

Lucienne looked up quickly at him with a raised eyebrow.

'I know' Sal said, seeing her look. 'At the moment, I don't know what kind of relationship is going to exist between us after this holiday.'

'But still.'

Sal shook his head. 'She's got form. She's said that in the past. She wanted to get established in her job, get to the right level to be able to step out and have children. Then she wanted to be thirty because that was the right kind of age. We're heading to thirty-five rapidly and children are a promise, not something tangible.'

'Shit, isn't it? Time is ticking on and it feels like there's no rush from them.'

'We've a phrase we use sometimes at work.'

'At the New York Times?'

'Yes, at the New York Times, thank you again for the name check.'

Lucienne gave him a half bow with a smile on her face.

'Longing off. It means we intend to do it, probably, maybe. But sure as hell, not right now, if we are to do it.'

'I like that. I think that's what I'm being. I'm being longed off. I think I'm being told what I want to hear and there's no real intention of going through with it.'

'Can you do without? Could you be happily married in ten years' time if you don't have kids?'

Lucienne got a serious look on her face at that question. She paused for a moment, 'You know, I don't think I can. I think, no. I know I want children.'

'I think that's where I'm at as well. If this holiday doesn't break us up, then I want to see some real progress on the kids front in the next six months. Coming off the pill and starting to seriously try for a babe.'

Silence fell between them.

'I'm sorry, I guess I kind of bummed us both out with that.' Sal offered.

'Honey. Please don't apologise. Sometimes it takes a question like that, a conversation like that to make you see things. I guess I've got some things to think about.'

When the boat disembarked on the island, they kept each other company. They got the little map and decided on a couple of places to explore. They collected their picnics and some drinks and time-checked in with the organiser then wandered off together.

It was a day that Sal enjoyed. He found Lucienne funny, refreshingly smart, and open. Their values aligned and it was easy to talk to her. He got his camera out and spent the day with her talking, sitting, and taking photographs. His favourite part of the day was before they walked back to the boat. They were at some ruins on top of a cliff and he took a series of photographs of her against the sun. The sun shone through the yellow dress that she was wearing showing her legs and body. She was clothed, so nothing inappropriate was visible, but the light and the angles he got made the pictures surprisingly intimate.

'Get the photos you wanted, Honey?'

Sal showed her the photographs he'd shot.

'Goodness, you can see everything through that dress.'

'I don't think so. I don't think there's anything dirty about these. They just look, well, they show off your beauty.'

'Aw shucks, he thinks I'm beautiful.'

Sal looked at her and laughed at her mockery. 'I don't think it's an opinion. You're a stunning lady by any standard.'

She was. She had soft dark brown curly hair that fell just past her shoulders. Dark brown eyes that smiled with her mouth. Her complexion was smooth and olive. Slightly shorter than Sal, she was trim and well proportioned. Not skinny, not artificial, but she looked fit, healthy, and beautiful. Sal had caught himself checking her out a couple of times during the day.

'Thank you, Honey. I've loved today. It's been a real pleasure spending it with you.'

'Right back at you, Lu. The best day of my holiday so far.'

His comments got a wide grin in return and they walked back to the boat.

'Let me work my magic with the photos and I'll happily share them with you, if you want to.'

'Hell yeah. You see so much that I'm not even aware of. I feel like I'm walking around with blinkers on.'

'Yeah, recent events have made me feel that way as well. Sometimes. No, it doesn't matter.'

Lucienne was looking at him, scrutinising him.

'Sal, I don't want to say something to upset you, but there's been a couple of times today where I've felt you've had something you've wanted to say and you've pulled back. If you want to talk about it, I'm happy to listen when you're ready.'

Sal quickly looked to her. He nodded his head.

'Thank you, that's a kind offer.'

They got back to the resort and down off the bus.

'I'm going to go and see about scoring some good food. Do you fancy taking a chance and maybe eating with me?'

Lucienne looked him up and down.

'I think my husband probably would like me to eat with him. I don't know what he's been doing today or where he is, but I can't imagine he'd like me eating with you.'

Sal was about to thank her for the day he'd had with her, when she continued.

'So, screw him. I'd a brilliant day today. Show me a move, Honey.'

Sal smiled and walked over to Mr Jacobs, he'd seen him as he came in and had nodded in his direction.

'Good afternoon, Mr Jacobs, how are you today?'

He got a smile in return. 'I am good, Mr Calzone. I am good. Did you enjoy your day out?'

'Yeah, yeah I did.' Sal glanced around him. 'I had some lovely company. It was a damn fun day.'

'I am glad. You know tomorrow is different, don't you?'

'How so?'

'Next three days, you Black rings get the Gold ring living to enjoy.'

Sal's surprise must have shown on his face.

'I know, how good is that?'

'What's the catch Mr J?'

The black man gave a deep belly laugh. 'Why must there be a catch Mr Calzone?'

'Sal, call me Sal please.'

The man nodded.

'So, what's the catch?'

'For the next three days the Gold rings go on their own excursion. Pink rings at their Gold rings' discretion. Black rings get to stay and enjoy the full services of the resort. The food, the spa treatments, the lot.'

'But the Gold rings are gone?'

'Yep. No Gold rings. Sounds good, doesn't it?'

'Well, Mr J, this could be your lucky day.'

'My lucky day?'

'Your lucky day. The price for my good behaviour over the next three days, whilst my charming wife is gone is two Gold meals.'

'Two Gold meals? But you're going to get three days of Gold meals.'

'If you want me to behave myself and not follow the Gold rings. Ah, I see from your reaction that my offer has a certain attraction to you, then the price is two Gold meals tonight. Same deal as last night, we'll eat out on the veranda, no-one knows anything.'

'I don't know, Sal. That seems a steep price given that you're going to get three days five-star treatment.'

'Think of it as an investment. I can be disruptive, especially away from the resort. I'll give you my word that I won't interfere with their time away at all. That's the price of the two meals. Your choice.'

The man had a smile on his face.

'We don't barter with our guests, Sal. That's not how this works.'

Sal shrugged. 'OK.'

He began to walk away. He was called back. 'I'll take your offer. Go to the veranda and I hope the two of you enjoy your meals.'