Your Cheating Heart

Don't ask me how I knew; I just did. I was sitting drinking my morning coffee when my wife Helen came down.

"Did you have fun with the girls last night, dear?" She kind of mumbled an answer and wouldn't look me in the eye.

"Look at me, dear." when she did, I heard that old Hank Williams song hammering in the back of my head. "You're cheating, heart will tell on you" That's when I knew.

"How long has it been going on?"

"Three months"

"Well, stop immediately, and maybe we can save this marriage, understand?"

"Yes, alright," she answered, leaving the room.

No crying, no explanation, no it was all a mistake, none of that crap, she just left the room. I didn't bother asking who or why. I really didn't give a shit.

I met Helen right after HS graduation. She was working in a Deli and going to night school. I was going to trade school, learning to weld. I remembered her from school. I always did think she was kind of cute. She was fun, bright, and a fantastic sex partner. Her mom was divorced and a heavy drinker. Helen did not have a happy home life. For that matter, I didn't either. Mom was a fucking nag, and dad was pussy whipped. Helen and I quickly moved in together. When Helen got pregnant, we married. Her mom was so drunk she passed out at the wedding.

Most of our arguments came about as a result of her flirting. I had to step in on more than one occasion to break things up. She always just laughed it off, telling me she knew I was there to protect her. It all came to a head about two years ago, she was flirting with a neighbor, and he was getting a little aggressive. He wanted to take it outside when I approached him, so I obliged. He wasn't much of a fighter. His wife rescued him and kept me from hurting him badly.

Later, when I thought about it, I realized Helen came very close to causing me to hurt someone bad enough to go to Jail. So, although we were married for fifteen years and now had three children, I told her that there were no more rescues. She was on her own. We were done if she ever let it get to the cheating stage.

Until that time, our sex life was fantastic. I never had reason to complain. Then, suddenly, we stopped going out almost entirely. She started getting together with the gals she worked out with at the gym. They had been over to the house a few times and seemed a nice enough bunch.

II gradually noticed the fun and excitement seemed to have gone from our marriage. Instead, she seemed more somber, more serious. I thought maybe she had finally grown up.

After dinner one night, we were sitting in the living room, the kids were in bed.

"Helen, is everything all right, dear?"

"Yes, Jim, why do you ask?"

"The spark and fun seem to have left us. Did I do something wrong?"

"No, Jim, not at all. Do you think we should separate?"

I was stunned by the response, almost speechless. "Is that what you want? I wouldn't separate. I'd just go for a divorce if it were me." Well, that ended the conversation. She went up to bed.

So, the morning the news of her cheating came out, I wasn't totally surprised. Don't think for one minute that because I took it so calmly that I wasn't raging inside, three beautiful children and fifteen years of marriage and the labor to make it all happen about to be changed forever. I was hoping that she would take my suggestion and end it. It would have been rough, but I think we could have gotten through it. I was afraid I would lose my children, two daughters that I adored, and a son who was a mini-me.

The following week was like living in the Arctic, nothing but the cold shoulder. We just couldn't seem to communicate. Finally, about six in the evening, she announced she was going out.

"Where are you going?"

"I just want to say goodbye."

"Don't do it, Helen. It will end us."

"I have to say goodbye." with that, she went up and dressed to go out.

And get dressed she did, she looked fantastic. I could hear another country song in my head, "If you're going to do me wrong, do it right" She didn't hesitate or say a word, just walked out the door.

I gathered the kids and took them to Mom's, then went home and packed up my bags. Then I heard old Hank "Walking the floor over you" playing over and over in my head.

At three am, she came in, surprised to see me standing there.

With a smirk on her face, "you waited up for me."

"I just wanted to say goodbye." as I walked out the door.

I spent the night at Mom's, then searched for a place and found one almost first try. I didn't hear anything from Helen. Monday morning, I signed a lease, saw a lawyer, and started divorce proceedings. By mid-week, I still had not heard from Helen. She didn't seem to care about the kids or me.

By midday Saturday, I was getting calls from neighbors about wild parties at our house, people running around naked in the backyard. After the third call, I drove over and walked in. People I didn't know fucking in the middle of the living room floor. Saw what looked like drugs and straws on our coffee table. I just backed out, called 911, and waited for them to arrive. I gave them permission to enter and search. They called for a wagon. Soon, they started coming out half-naked stoned animals. Helen was one of the last entirely out of it. She was in her robe, face and hair covered in cum.

It cost me a lot of money to have the place cleaned and sanitized. There was no way the kids or I could ever live there again.

I had Helen served when she was released. I have no idea what her reaction was since I wasn't there. Six months later, I was a free man. She never contested or showed up at any court dates. I was given full custody and the house, which I promptly put on the market.

It was three years before I saw Helen again. I was coming out of work, and Helen and two goons waited for me. She smirked at me and told them.

"He is the sob that turned us in, whip his ass."

The bigger of the two backhanded her across the mouth and told her, "shut the fuck up."

I took advantage of the distraction to arm myself with the locking bar on the dumpster sitting next to the shop exit. I was no stranger to fighting, so I was not intimidated. They came at me hard and got in a few licks, but I managed to lay them both out. I didn't realize it at the time, but I really put a hurting on them. The cops showed up, and I explained and took one inside to watch surveillance videos. Helen was taken into custody, and the two guys went to the hospital.

At the trial, it came out that Helen had convinced these guys they needed to take me out. To finish me off. During all this, I found out Helen had gotten tied up with a drug ring at the gym, and the ring leader was her lover, but he didn't mind passing her around. So the big bash at the house was to get even for me walking out.

I was there when the verdict came in. They were found guilty. As I walked out

of the courthouse and headed home to my kids, the sound of "It don't hurt anymore, my tears drops are dry" bounced around in my head.