"I Don't Know Where It's Been"
                              
                          by dc2469
                              
   This story, yes I said story, is meant for adults only.
                              
I felt like shit. I had just got off the phone with my wife
of eleven years, the day after tomorrow, and it had ended
with her in tears. Three years ago I had almost lost my job,
because Kate, Katherine, had gotten so upset that I was
going to be missing our anniversary that she made me come
home. Here it is three years later, and it's her that's
going to be missing our anniversary, and there is not one
thing I said to her that would make her come home. I'm not
real sure why I'm the one feeling like shit, but I do.

The last twelve years have been the happiest of my life.
When I met Kate she was twenty-four, and just getting
started in her career in sales. She had come to our
architecture firm to try and get us to place adds in some of
the more up scale magazines, that at the time we could not
afford. The little black haired beauty caught my eye, and
after talking to my partner he helped me string her along
long enough for me to get her to go out with me. She told me
after our first date, that she had known we couldn't afford
her services, and was glad we were able to make it look good
enough for her boss to keep her coming back until I worked
up the nerve to ask her out.

I made a joke about the waiter's toupee while she was taking
a drink of water, and it shot out her nose. I was in love.
We dated for over six months, and then she moved in with me
for another six, until she could get off the road, and into
an office. We were married about four months after that.
There hasn't been a day go by that I don't think I'm one of
the luckiest guys on the planet because I got her to marry
me.

I grabbed the phone again, and called my boss. I had been
around since day one, when Craig had started the place. Our
little four man design team had made some amazing
breakthroughs that had cut production times in many areas.

"Craig, I know you're in there, pick up," I said into the
phone.

I heard him pick up the phone. "Dan, I'm kind of busy right
now, you know that."

"Then I'll make it short, I'm leaving right now, and I won't
be back until Monday," I said.

"What the fuck are you talking about, leaving? Where are you
going?" he said

"I'm going to spend my anniversary with my wife. I'll see
you Monday," I said.
"Have a good trip asshole, don't forget to knock before you
walk in," he said laughing.

"Damn, you just get funnier every day," I said.

"You know, I hear that all the time," he said.

"Not from anyone that knows you. Hey sorry, but the last
couple of months since they brought that guy in to head
Kate's department, things have been pretty tense around our
house. Maybe some time in a hotel bed could help things," I
said.

"Well, it damn sure never hurt anything. Do me a favor, when
you're just ready to do something a little kinky, think of
me," Craig said chuckling.

"Deal, see ya Monday," I said.

Not hanging up, I punched in the extension for Craig's
secretary. Rose had a way of getting anything, and I needed
a plane ticket. After I got off the phone with her, I got in
my car, and went home to pack. I was filling my suitcase,
when my cell rang.

"You have forty-five minutes to get to the airport in time
for security check. The ticket is waiting at the desk under
your name. I was able to get you a return flight on Sunday
afternoon, at one-thirty. There weren't any rooms in the
hotel you said Kate was in, so I got one two blocks away.
Have a safe trip, and I'll see you Monday," Rose said, and
hung up before I could say a word.

I ran into the bathroom, and got my shaving kit filled. I
stuffed it in the bag, closed it up, and started making a
quick check of the place. After remembering to shut off the
coffee maker, one of the few times, I ran for the car. After
fifteen years, I've learned a few good back roads, and with
only a little speeding, okay a lot of speeding, I made the
flight with time to spare. After getting checked in,
screened, and staged, we got on the plane. As soon as we
were in our seats, I slipped the ear bugs in, and turned on
my ipod. I'm not much of a flyer, but music clams me down
enough to keep the white knuckling to a minimum.

Three hours later, a hand on my shoulder woke me out of a
nice dream about Kate and I. Wow, I had really passed out. I
haven't been doing much sleeping at night. A little of it
was stress at work, but for the last couple of months things
between Kate and I have been strained. We went from a very
active sex life three months ago, to nothing. It had been
over two months since she had even let me close to her. It
started with her telling me how they had promoted a guy from
another department over her, to head her department. She was
really scrambling to show them that they had made a mistake
in passing her over.

For the first two weeks she had come home exhausted, and
talking about nothing but how to get rid of Mr. Paul
Renolds. She was even threatening his life. This calmed down
in the third week, and a couple of weeks later she said they
had started working together more, and better until they
were now being sent out as a team to bring in a large
account. I had gotten a little worried that there might be
something between them, but Kate always put my mind at ease,
and other then us not having sex she paid me as much or more
attention then ever.

As I pulled my bag out of the overhead, I was thinking of
how to get Kate to come down to the restaurant without
telling her I was there. I caught a cab to my hotel and
after a little small talk about my situation, the cabbie
told me about a nice romantic place in between the two
hotels with a dark dance floor, and dark booths. I told him
it sounded like just the kind of place I was looking for,
and gave him a nice tip as I got out at the curb.

After I got checked in, I took quick shower, and got out of
there a soon as possible. I was hoping to catch Kate before
she went out to eat. It was just after five-thirty as I
passed the clock in the lobby. Looking at the crowded
street, I figured I could get there just as fast on foot,
and started in the direction the lady at the desk had
pointed me. The walk was easy, and I took the time to note
the romantic club the cabbie had mentioned was just a few
doors from her hotel. I walked into the hotel lobby at ten
to six, and got in line to speak with one of the desk
people.

I smiled at the lady that waved me forward. "Hi, my name is
Dan Cardiff, I'd like to find out if my wife Katherine is in
her room, and if she is I'd like to talk to her please."

"Cardiff, Katherine. yes she is staying with us, just a
second, and I'll see if she's in," she said dialing the
room. "I'm sorry sir, there's no answer, would you like to
leave a message?"

"Not right now. I was kind of hoping to surprise her. Our
anniversary is tomorrow, so I would appreciate it if you
wouldn't mention we had this little talk," I said hopefully.

"No problem sir, I never saw you. I hope you have a great
day tomorrow sir," she said.

"Thank you, I think I'll go check the restaurant, maybe I'll
get lucky. Goodnight," I said.

I followed my nose to the far side of the lobby, and found a
room full of people running, serving, sitting, and eating.
The place was packed. I wasn't giving myself very good odds
at finding her in there. I spotted the restroom to one side
in the back, and I figured I could kill two birds, you know.
I walked through looking left, and right, but I didn't see
her. After taking care of my business, I stood at the
hallway entrance, and looked out over the room again. There
was no way I was going to see her in here. Then I don't know
how, but I heard a giggle. It was one in a thousand but it
sounded like her. I looked along the wall, but the booths
were high, and all I could see were the faces of a few guys,
and the heads of the women with them.

Well I wasn't walking up to any tables, until I was sure who
was in there, so I went back across the place, and looked
back to the wall. I started going down the row, booth by
booth. The third one from the hallway I had been in, I saw
her. She was sitting there eating and laughing with a guy I
didn't recognize. She looked great. She was in a dress she
always picked when she was looking forward to a night of
dancing, both vertically, and horizontally. The two looked
very easy with one another, and shocking me Kate reached
over, and stabbed something from his plate laughing as she
put it in her mouth. When the guy looked a little huffy, she
reached over, and caressed his face with the backs of her
fingers.

What the hell was going on here? It sure looked more
intimate then dinner with a colleague. Then I had to reach
for the door jam, when he leaned towards her, and she met
his lips in a kiss. I walked away from the door to the
center of the lobby, and dropped into one of the big
wingback chairs. I picked my hand up off of the arm, and
held it up, smiling as I watched it shake. Its good thing I
didn't need to shoot anyone, maybe.

I'm not real sure how long I sat there. I was facing the
dining room, and looked up when I heard that giggle again. I
looked over to see her walking with both her hands on his
arm, leaning close, and laughing while speaking into his
ear. They walked within fifteen feet of me, I'm sure they
were talking, but all I did was watch the way she was
looking at him. I hadn't seen that look in a long time. All
of a sudden I couldn't breath.

I shot up out of that chair, and started striding for the
door. I'm a big guy, but people don't usually take much
notice. Now, the crowd parted like the Red Sea. I probably
didn't look real happy, and I had a pretty good head of
steam up. Luckily the revolving door had buffers in it, or I
would have shot myself into the street. I walked straight to
the curb, and stood there huffing in., I don't know what.
Pain, anger, sorrow, but I think anger was winning.

"Giggle."

My body snapped around, before I knew what I was doing. I
watched as they pushed their way out of the door together,
and turned walking towards my hotel. I watched as she walked
holding his arm, and leaning into him. I watched as they
walked down the block, turned, and went into the club I had
looked at. Snapping out of the trance I was in, I started
for the doorway. Thinking for the first time in a while, I
slowed down so they would have time to get away from the
door.

Stopping, I took a few deep breathes trying to calm down.
There was no way that that look could be anything but what
it was, but I wanted something more, I'm not real sure what,
but something. I opened the door, stepped in, and moved off
to one side. There was no cover charge, so I just stood
waiting for my eyes to adjust, looking into the room. I
spotted them in the end booth, over by a table for two. I
stuck to the outside, and made my way to the little table.
The waitress was right on my ass, and was there as I sat
down.

"What can I get ya, honey?" she said.

"Scotch, rocks, double," I said.

"Our meeting isn't until ten tomorrow, so we can stay and
celebrate as late as you want," I heard him tell Kate. "I'm
so glad you didn't let him guilt you into going home."

Giggle "Go home, and miss our two month anniversary, no way.
I can't believe we've already been together for two months,"
she said, and I heard a kiss.

"It would have been longer, if you had taken me up on my
offer at the end of my first week there," he said.

"Well, I had to make you think I was a little hard to get. I
am supposed to be married you know? I couldn't believe it
when you walked up to me in front of Marge, and asked me
out, knowing full well I was married," she said.

"Marge was the one that told me you thought I was hot," he
said.

"We need to get something nice for her, for getting us
together," Kate said as their waitress arrived, dropped
their drinks and left. "Here's to two fantastic months
together."

"And many more to come," he finished.

"And many more to come," she said clinking glasses.

"Here you go honey, will that be all?" said my waitress
setting my drink in front of me.

"Oh yeah, that's all alright," I said getting to my feet.

I pulled a ten out and gave it to her. Then she watched as I
stuck my finger in the glass. The icy whiskey helped lube my
finger to get the band off it. The damn thing had been there
so long, I didn't even take it off anymore, it was too much
trouble. When my hand snapped away with the ring, and a fair
amount of hide, I looked at the waitress.

"Damn thing gets tight after eleven years, but at least I
didn't have to cut off my finger," I said to her, as I
picked up the drink, and drained it.

I smacked the glass on the table, and stamped my foot, as it
burned its way down. "Damn that was good after ten years
without a drink. Thanks lady," I said and turned to the
booth.

They were just breaking a kiss as I walked up to the table.
He looked up, but not knowing me, it didn't really matter to
him. Seeing him looking, Kate turned to look up at me. You
know a guy should carry a camera for times like these; the
look on her face could have been used for any number of
posters, as she sat there with her mouth moving, and nothing
coming out.

"Wow, two months. That's a special anniversary. I remember
mine, but after eleven years it gets a little old I guess,"
I said looking at him looking at her. "Let's see two months,
that's red and gold isn't it? Well, a cute couple like you
deserves a present, so here's the gold," I said tossing my
ring on the table towards Kate, "and here's the red," I said
as I reached out and smashed my fist into his fucking face.

"PAUL," Kate half yelled, reaching over to take his face in
her hands.

I had felt a satisfying crunch as I contacted his nose, but
I knew that if I didn't leave, I was going to end up in
jail.

I turned to look at Kate as she was trying to help asshole.
"Sometime, tell him how lucky he is that he wasn't in my
house. Call, and leave a message as to where you want your
things sent. If you're smart, and I'm not saying you are,
you won't come by the house. You might try some ice on that
nose, I think it's broken," I said as I turned and walked
away.

I walked out the front door of the club, turned to my hotel,
and started taking long strides. I know there is no way Kate
could know where I was staying, and after what I'd done to
her little friend she probably wasn't going to try and catch
me anyway, but I needed to put some distance between us
fast. Fuck, I haven't hit anyone since I was twenty-three
here I am twenty years later. You'd think I'd have learned
something since then. I guess I had learned something,
hadn't I? Don't take things for granted. I knew there was a
reason I hated school, lessons suck. Walking into the lobby,
I went over to the front desk.

"Excuse me do you have the phone numbers to the airlines? I
need to get on a plane as soon as possible," I said.


"Yes sir, what airline, and when, and where do you want to
go?" she asked.

I gave her all the information she needed, and she told me
she would call the room with my flight information. I went
up to the room, and started pacing up and down. This was so
unbelievable. How the fuck did this happen? Then I got to
thinking, wow, did she miss her calling. The acting Kate had
been doing the last two months would have won her an award.
Jesus, and that little crying scene on the phone when I was
trying to guilt her into coming home, she was good. I was
getting more pissed by the second, and couldn't stay in the
room any more. I grabbed my bag, and took the stairs to the
lobby. When I got there, the lady behind the desk put down
the phone, and waved me over.

"Sir, if you leave now you have an outside chance at
catching the last flight tonight, final check in, is in
thirty minutes. If you don't make it, the next flight is in
three hours," she said.

"Thank you, I hope the cab drivers around here are good," I
said as I signed the checkout slip she had pushed in front
of me.

"I'm sorry you had to cut your visit with us short, please
keep us in mind the next time you're in town," she said with
a smile.

"I have a feeling I'm going to have a hard time forgetting
anything about my visit," I said and started for the door.

I ran out of the lobby, and found a cab at the stand just up
the street. "I've got fifty bucks that says you can't get me
to the airport in less than thirty minutes."

"You're on boss," he said snapping me back into the seat.

The guy was good; he had me there in twenty minutes. I paid
him what was on the meter plus the fifty, told him thanks,
and started running for my gate. I don't know what I was
worried about I had three or four minutes to spare. I got
through the security, and went about waiting for the flight
to board. As keyed up as I was, I was hoping no one would
think I was going to try something on the plane. I was
pacing the whole time, and I kept catching myself muttering.

Finally they called us to board, and I was lucky enough to
have a seat by my self. I didn't need the music this time.
This time there were plenty of other things to keep my mind
on. A thought flashed through my mind, and I barely caught
myself before I burst out laughing. Kate's mom has not been
my number one fan. Debra has her husband right where she
wants him. She treats Greg like a mushroom, keep him in the
dark, and feed him shit. She doesn't get away with it with
me, and she isn't real pleased about that. She told Kate
once, that one of these days I'd cheat on her. That she had
seen me checking out other women when we were all out
together.

The whole flight I just sat there wondering if this was
really happening. I pulled out the picture I carry of Kate
and me and sat looking at it. All of a sudden, when I looked
at the smiling face, the one next to it looked like asshole.
I snapped my head up, and looked to see if anyone saw me,
then looked back at the picture. It was me next to Kate in
the picture, but all I could see was her looking into his
eyes that way. Jesus now she had me wondering.

I know men aren't supposed to be the ones that remember
things, but I counted myself as an exception to that rule.
In the beginning, like all women, Kate tried to pull that;
oh do you remember this, or do you remember that, but
unfortunately for her I did. I remembered all our
conversations, all our plans, all the little secrets you
only mention in the dark. Now I sit here wondering, if I
didn't notice this going on for two months, what else have I
missed. Jesus, the guy asked her out the first week he met
her, and from what she said, the only reason it didn't
happen was so that she could make it look good because she
was married.

Thinking about seeing her at the table with him tore at me.
Seeing how familiar they were, the little looks, the
touches, and that simple little kiss. FUCK! Even after I get
rid of all her stuff, I'm going to see that for a long time.
Thinking of getting rid of her things gave me a twofer idea.
I'm going to go home, pack all of it up, and take it to her
mothers. The old bag will find a way of putting the blame on
me, but as long as I know the truth, that's all that
matters.

The ding of the seatbelt sign was the only reason I knew we
were arriving into the airport.  It brought on a little
white knuckling, but all in all it's probably the best I
ever handled flying. After we docked with the gate, I let
those that were in a hurry clear out. All I need is to get
pushed a little too hard, and turn around and deck someone.
I dug into the overhead, got my bag, and joined the
procession into the terminal.

I walked straight out to my car, and got in line for the
exit. I don't really remember much of the drive home, but I
got there. I don't really know how long it took, but who the
fuck cares anyway? Walking into the dark house felt pretty
strange. All I could think of was, get used to it pal, this
is how it's going to look from now on. I dropped my bag, and
headed for the kitchen. On the way by, I automatically hit
the switch on the answering machine.

"Dan, please don't do anything crazy. I'm on my way home, so
that we can talk. Please, don't do anything until I get
there," she said sounding a little distraught.

I don't really think smashing an answering machine is crazy.
I figured the crime deserves the punishment. It said
something I didn't want hear, in a voice I didn't want to
hear it from, so I killed it. Okay, so maybe it was a little
unreasonable, but they are cheaper then walls. Don't do
anything crazy, I wonder what that means? Well, crazy or
not, tired or not there was not going to be any sleep this
kid tonight.


I went out into the garage, and found all the luggage she
had bought over the years. I pulled out a matching large
black case, and a garment bag, and set those aside, and took
the rest up to the bedroom. I went over to her closet,
picked out an arm load, and crammed it into one of the big
bags. I did that a few more times, and then started in on
the dresser. She had things in those drawers I haven't seen
for years, and she told me I was a pack rat. But then what
the hell do I know, she might have been wearing them for
someone else. When I finished with the dresser, I went down,
and got a couple of boxes for her shoes.

I moved everything down into the front room near the door. I
went in, got a bottle of water, and went back to sit and
stare at the pile. What now? For one second the thought of
how nice it would be to go get some hotdogs, and
marshmallows, and have me a nice little cookout, and while
satisfying, there again I'd end up dealing with the local
law enforcement, and her, and that I could do without. Well,
I wasn't going to sit around waiting for her to get here so,
on a whim I took off for the hardware store. I bought some
new locks, and went home to install them. When I got there
and saw the big pile in the front room I knew it couldn't
stay there, and thinking along the lines I had been earlier,
I loaded it all into my car, and started for her mom's
house.

I backed into their driveway, got out, and started unloading
it all next to the garage. I didn't want to make Greg work
too hard, and I knew he'd be getting no help from his wife,
and daughter. As the third case hit the ground, out came my
dear, sweet mother-in-law.

"Hello Dan, what's all this?" she asked.

"Well, when Kate gets here she might want some clothes. I
was going to let her bring them, but I didn't want to look
at them sitting in the front room any more," I said.

"What do you mean, when Kate gets here? I thought she was
still out of town, and why would she need them here?" she
asked.

"Well Debra, I'm not sure where she's planning on living,
but I thought she would be staying with you, until she
figured it out. For all I know she might have already made
arrangements to move in with the guy she's been having sex
with, but I don't know that for sure, so I brought them
here," I said watching her face turn pail.

"What on earth are you talking about? How can you stand
there, and accuse my daughter of such a thing? She had to
stay there because of her job. She most definitely is not
cheating on you," she said getting close to being
hysterical.

"Well, when last I saw the happy couple, they were
celebrating their two month anniversary in a nightclub near
their hotel. See, after almost begging her to come home for
OUR anniversary and her going into tears saying how sorry
she was that she couldn't get here for it, I hopped on a
plane. When I got there they were already at dinner
together. It looked pretty romantic, so I didn't want to
disturb them in the middle of their meal. Besides, after I
saw them kissing over the table I needed a seat. Then when
they walked by me in the lobby, I suppose I could have said
something then, but the way she looked at him, and whispered
in his ear, I didn't have the heart to disturb them then
either. Then all I needed was air, so I went out to stand by
the curb just in time for them to come out, and head for a
little nightclub a couple of doors down. While I was sitting
at a table near them, I heard her tell him that there was no
way she could leave him on their two month anniversary, only
to hear him tell her that it should be their third month,
and she shouldn't have played hard to get when he asked her
out after the first week they met.'


"I finally figured that if I was going to get a flight out
of there I was going to have to break in on their
celebration. I tried to be as discrete as possible, but I
really did need to get them something. So I downed the first
drink I've had in ten years, actually ever since you told
Kate my drinking was going to break up our marriage, and I
gave her my wedding ring, and him a broken nose. I thought
it was rather thoughtful of me to have gotten something for
each of them. I think I liked his gift better, though. So,
after she comes home and gives me another Oscar winning
performance, and I throw her ass out the door, I'm sure she
will be coming by for an extended visit," I said shocking
her.

"None of this is true. How could say such things about your
wife of eleven years?" she said sounding shocked.

"Don't ever call that woman my wife, again. Maybe you have
to stand by her, she's your daughter, but I don't. I saw it
all with my own eyes, and I've been there the last two
months living a sexless, single existence, while she's out
with this asshole from the moment he got to that company.
That's some piece of work you raised. She has looked me in
the eye for three months, and seemingly without a shred of
guilt, lied to me every minute of every day of it. If you
think I'm taking that back into my house, you are even
crazier then she is.'

"Anyway, what you choose to believe is your problem. As for
me, I'm cutting my losses. She seemed pretty hung up on the
guy, well he can have her. She won't have the problem of
sneaking around trying to keep it a secret. After she's done
trying to lie her way out of it, I'm sending her over here.
You can see for yourself who's lying," I said dropping the
last box on the ground. "Now, I've got to get back home. She
didn't say when she'd be there, and I have already changed
the locks. Wouldn't want her to have to stand around
outside, would we?"

"I'm going right in to call her, and tell her what you've
done. When she gets done with you, you will regret the day
you were born," she said in a huff, stomping up into the
house.

"Too late for that, if she answers tell her what you want,
including that I'll be waiting to hear how she plans to talk
her way out of it," I said, and got in my car.

I was expecting a call, after Debra's threat to call Kate,
but it never came. After roaming aimlessly around the house
for a couple of hours I went out to the little corner of our
garage that I had turned into a work area. I puttered around
doing nothing, until I heard the front door bell. After a
quick dust off of the clothes, I went to the door. After I
opened it I stepped back without a word, and let Kate walk
in.


"You must have been in the garage, I tried knocking," she
said as I shut the door, and followed her in.

"Yeah, I was cleaning up a few things," I said.

"From the sounds of it, you've been doing a lot of cleaning.
My mother called me a while ago. It sounds like you've
pretty much made up your mind, about what to do with me,"
she said.

"You didn't leave me a whole hell of a lot of choices. What,
did you think I'd be okay with you having a boyfriend?" I
asked her.

"I guess I wasn't doing a lot of thinking. Not with my head,
anyway," she said.

"Too bad, I've been doing nothing but. See, I haven't had
anybody around to take my mind off things. You know, go to
dinner with, go out to a club with, to sit in the dark, and
whisper, and kiss. You know what I get; I get a woman that
can lie to me while looking me right in the eye. She can sit
here, and share my house, my food, and my life, and then go
and be completely intimate with someone else. So yeah, I
think I've pretty much made up my mind," I said.

"Doesn't paint a very nice picture, does it? Are you really
going to give up on eleven years together?" she asked.

"I don't recall being asked, and I didn't give up shit. You
had my stupid ass believing everything was hunky dory. Did I
miss something? Did you at some point ask me; Dan you don't
mind if I start a relationship, not just fucking, but a
relationship with someone besides you, do you? You would
think I'd remember something like that. But then it really
doesn't matter anymore, does it? Now you, and what's his
name can feel free to go about your business, and not have
to worry about me any more. No more hassles like juggling
which anniversary to spend with whom. Hey the two of you can
even carpool to work, that'll save you guys boat loads of
time," I said walking over to a chair.

"You don't have to add all the sarcasm. I think I get the
point," Kate said.

"Do you Kate? Do you get the point, because I don't really
think you do? See, to you it was just cheating. Hell, you
probably even figured out a way to justify it. For all I
know, it was probably my fault. Was it Kate? Was it my fault
that you fucked this guy?" I asked.

"No, I didn't blame you for it, it just happened," she said
dropping her head.

"Bullshit. Fucking someone, for three months, other then
your husband of eleven years isn't something that just
happens, you have to work at it. Then you have to work to
hide it so you can continue to do it. And let me tell you
baby, you are damn good at your job. I fell for it all,
hook, line, and sinker. I don't know how you two could have
found the time to have sex; you must have been laughing your
asses off, at what a fool you had made out of me. And that
crying scene on the phone the other night, holly shit, you
really need to consider a career change. That performance
would have beat out the last three academy award winners,
hands down," I said.

"We never once laughed at you. One time he tried to put you
down, and I wouldn't speak to him for a week. And the crying
wasn't a performance. I was so full of guilt I was crying
for real. There you were just about begging me to come home,
but I had already made a promise to stay, and I figured that
after eleven years you wouldn't really mind me missing this
one," she said looking away again.

"I can't tell you how much I appreciate you sticking up for
me. Man and you didn't sleep with him for a whole week, wow.
And I guess I wasn't even supposed to think about the little
stunt you pulled three years ago, when I was doing something
important, and you went into such hysterics, that I almost
lost my job to come home to you. I am sorry for making you
feel guilty though, but I noticed you were over it by the
time I saw the two of you at dinner. The little intimacies
the two of you were showing one another made it pretty clear
that you were where you wanted to be, with the one you
wanted to be with. I saw you walking across the lobby. I saw
the way you were looking at him. Don't stand there and try
telling me it doesn't mean anything to you. I saw you look
at him Kate. Sorry to say it's been a long time since I've
seen that look," I said.

"But., but I don't love him," she said looking up at me.

"Well, now that you can spend more time with him, maybe that
will change. Maybe the two of you can get a place together.
Think of the fun we had when we were first starting out.
It'll be a whole new adventure for you," I said.

"I guess I should have put that differently. What I meant to
say was that I love you," she said.

I was pretty proud of myself, just the one short, little
uncontrollable outburst of laughter, and I stopped. "I'm not
really sure where that came from, but you sure as hell do
NOT love me. If this is what you do to people you love,
please God don't let me get on your bad side."

"How can you sit there, and think that after eleven years I
don't love you?" she said.

"Okay Kate I see you're into questions too, so here's one
for you. Knowing yourself as well as you do, you know how
you would react to certain situations. Taking it from there;
how do you think you would have reacted if you had found out
I had slept with another woman, just once. Nothing long
term, just the one time?" I asked.

"I probably would have thrown you out of the house, and
already had the divorce papers drawn up," she whispered.

"Thanks for being honest. That's pretty much what I thought
you would have done too. I kind of threw in, you tossing
something at me, but who knows," I said.

"I probably would have," she said with a weak smile.

"Okay, now suppose that you found out that every day, for as
near as I can figure three months, every bit of time I spent
with you, and it was damn little, meant nothing to me. All I
did was go through the motions, and make you think that
everything between us was great, and then go to work, meet
up with my lover, and spend the entire day with her. So does
this give you the impression that I love you? After close to
thirteen years, give me some credit Kate. Besides, like I
said, now you two should be able to get closer, you know
without all the sneaking around," I said matter of fact.

"You are making it sound like you don't even care. The time
I spent with you meant a lot to me. I was not just going
through motions, I enjoyed being with you," she said.

"When was the last time we had sex Kate? When was the last
time you came up and started one of our five minute kisses?
When was the last time you could answer a question without
having to think about who you were talking to. When was the
last time you were my wife, Kate? Don't stand there
declaring your love for me after what I saw, and heard. I
may have been born at night, but it wasn't last night.
Jesus, you were talking about him, to that old bag Marge,
the second he walked into the office. Then you two sit
there, and talk about getting the old bag a gift for getting
you together. It sounds to me like you just found your next
matron of honor, all you need is his best friend, and you
guys are set," I said leaning back in the chair.

"So you are just like me after all. Should I be expecting
the server at my door?" she asked.

"First you'll have to tell me where you are planning to be,
but then no way, not a chance, you will not see some process
person at your door handing you your divorce papers. I
reserve that right for myself. I was there when we started,
I'll be the one seeing that the last, I, is dotted, and the
last, T, is crossed. You know me, if I didn't do it, it
isn't right. I trusted one person completely Kate, and now
you know, after all these years, why I never trusted the
important things to anyone but me. Somehow the, I told you
so thing, doesn't work so well when you have to say it to
yourself," I said.

"It sounds like you spent a lot of time watching, and
listening to us, why did you wait so long to break in on us?
Were you getting off watching?" she asked, putting a little
venom in her voice.

"When I saw the two of you kiss over that table in the
restaurant it kind of took the wind out of me. Then when the
two of you were strolling across the lobby, I was too
shocked at the way you were looking at him, and when I got
my bearings I kind of went into overload, and needed some
air bad. As I was standing out in front of the hotel, the
two of you pushed your way out of the door together, and
started for a club my cabby had recommended, when I told him
I was here for my anniversary, as being quiet, and intimate.
I got there a little after the two of you, but there you
have me. I'm not real sure what more I thought I needed. I
had intended to just walk up, and beat the shit out of the
guy. Instead, I found a table next to yours, and ordered a
drink. I listened to you two for as long as I could, and
when you toasted him to a long, and happy life together I
had had all I could stomach.'

"I had to almost pull my finger off to get that damn ring
off, but that drink burned my guts so bad I didn't really
notice. Sometime you'll have to tell, what's his name, how
close he came. When that asshole looked up at me like he was
wondering what my problem was I came that close to grabbing
that windpipe, and giving a quick twist. After a second of
thought though, I knew you weren't worth the risk of
spending the rest of my life in jail. You had made your
choice when we talked earlier on the phone, and I decided
that was fine by me. I have to admit I was pretty satisfied
when I felt his nose crunch, but hell with your two combined
incomes, he should be able to fix any permanent damage," I
said.

"So that's it, case closed, get rid of Kate, and move on.
You show up, see me with another man, don't break us up, but
step in and break his nose when you don't want to watch any
more. What is that supposed to show me?" she asked, standing
there with her hands on her hips.

"I guess I didn't know I needed to show you anything. What I
did, I did for me not you. Why would I fight for someone
like you? Someone that respected me so little, that she
thought treating me like that was something that I'd
tolerate, or excuse. When I gave you that ring I thought I
was making myself pretty clear, I'm done with you. I'm not
putting anymore energy into something that, NOW, means so
little to both of us. There's no way I'm going to forget,
and forgive, and I can tell from the way acted before, and
now that I haven't been very high on your list of important
people, so yeah, it's get rid of Kate, and move on. I don't
presume to know how you thought this was going to end, but
you messed up the bed, now you sleep in it," I said looking
her square in the eye.

"So that's it. You just throw me out, and keep everything?
Somehow, that seems like a poor deal, after eleven years,"
she said.

"It's always about a deal isn't it? Okay, here's the deal;
you want the house, you pay for the house. Me, I want the
house. I like it here. With all the extra room, I can
finally make it into something I want. I just assumed you
and asshole had a place lined up," I said.

"His name is Paul," she said.

"I don't give a fuck if his name is Eggbert, does he, or

does he not have a place to live?" I said.

"Well, of course he does," she said.

"Well, there you go, problem solved," I said.

I waited for her to say something, and then it dawned on me.
"So, you don't think his wife will go for the arrangement I
guess," I said watching her eyes.


"What, did you check up on him? How did you know he was
married?" she said.


"Jesus, it's not a joke, you really do think I'm that
fucking dumb. Why else would you be here Kate? So witch is
it? Is he not willing to get a divorce for you, or are you
getting cold feet? I hope you weren't really thinking of
trying to come back here with me," I said.

"I had given it some thought. I thought maybe after eleven
years," I cut her off.

"Think again. There is no us. That was your call. `Here's to
the best two months ever, and many more to come' Do you
recall that line? It's like I told you earlier, when I gave
you that ring, that was it. Don't give me this, after eleven
years crap. Those eleven years meant nothing to you before,
and they mean nothing to me now. So, I'll take those eleven
years, and raise you a set of papers as soon as I can have
them drawn up. The offer on the house stands as it is. If
you don't want the house, feel free to come back, and take
what you want. Most of it will be going to the Salvation
Army as soon as I can get replacements on the way, anyway" I
said.

"So you'll just move on without a second thought? Divorce
me, and forget about me. Is that all there is to it?" she
asked.

"You're not really trying to make me feel sorry for you, are
you? Of course I'm not ever going to forget about someone I
spent so much of my life with, but as far as remembering
goes, it's going to take a long time to get the sight of the
two of you together out of my mind. The thought of you
sleeping in my bed after being with that piece of shit makes
my stomach turn. Waking up, and getting that cheery
greeting, and a little sunshine blown up my ass, day after
day. There is nothing left for you here. I won't have
someone I can't trust living under the same roof with me,
and I will never trust you again. So what will it be? Do you
want the house?" I asked.

"No, I don't want the house. Give me a few days to find a
place, and I'll probably take a lot of the furniture," she
said pulling her hand out of her pocket. "What do you want
me to do with this?" she said holding my ring out to me.

"What ever you want. Hey I know, use it for one of those toe
rings. It should fit over your big toe. That's the way you
were treating it anyway, you might as well get some use out
of it," I said.

"Fine, you know what? I could use a little extra cash, maybe
I'll pawn it," she said.

"Wow, you won't get much. They buy that stuff by weight, and
you probably won't get thirty dollars. You couldn't buy a
real solid gold toe ring for thirty dollars, but hey, that's
just my opinion. It's your ring do what you want with it," I
said.

"I'll call you in a few days about the furniture. Did you
get all of my things out of the closet?" she asked turning
for the door.

"Well, I got everything, but I was a little pissed at the
time, and did a pretty poor job of packing. I hope you have
a few clean, unwrinkled things left from your trip," I said.

"Mind if I take a look?" she asked.

"Not at all, you know the way," I said watching her give me
a little scowl.

I sat there and waited. I heard her go into the bedroom,
then the closet, and finally the bathroom. After a few
minutes she came down stuffing a few cosmetics into a
flowered zip up bag.

"You were pretty thorough, only missed a few things. Might
have to give you a call when I'm ready to move," she said
with a fake smile.

"Hey, as long as it's no closer to me, I'll be glad to lend
a hand," I said sporting the same smile, and getting up to
open the door for her.

"So, you want me to just walk away? You don't have anything
left to say?" she said.

I stood there thinking for a second, and I actually did
think of something. "Would it be too much for me to ask you
to run?" I said keeping a straight face.

"Kiss my ass, you asshole," she said as she turned and
walked out the door.

"I wouldn't kiss that thing, I don't even know where it's
been," I said shutting the door.