and began the process of putting everything back to its normal clean state. She didn’t mind cleaning up after him but it amazed her how he could destroy the room in less than 20 minutes.
She left the master bath as clean as before his arrival smelling of fresh scents and cleaning products. From there it was time for laundry. MJ collected all of the clothes upstairs and brought them down in a laundry basket spilling over. She had emptied Dalton’s luggage rather than ask him to do it himself which may have taken all day. She didn’t want to wait or interrupt his time in the office.
The laundry room was one of her favorite amenities in the home. Positioned just off the kitchen, it was large and had a window overlooking the back yard. There was a work table used to fold clothes and separate the dirty laundry. She set the basket atop the table and went to work putting darks in one pile, lights in another, delicates to the side and whites in another basket on the floor.
The whites were always the largest load of clothes and she put them in the front load washer first. Once done she went back to the table to finish sorting and to make sure nothing was in the pockets that didn’t belong. Since they had started living together Dalton would leave anything from his car keys to his cell phone in the dirty clothes. Over the years she had caught most things but occasionally money, receipts or other papers found their way through the wash.
Sure enough the first pair of pants contained 87 cents and a receipt from Starbucks. Nothing in the second pair. A miracle, she thought. Already she felt an object in the rear pocket of the third pair of pants. She had to unbutton the pocket to get to the item. What she found was a business card representing The State Employees Insurance Agency. It was from a woman;
Betty Harrison
General Agent
Seattle, Washington
She was about to throw the card in the trash when writing on the back caught her eye. Written in the sweeping script that only a woman could have was:
A smiley face finished the note. DJ? Nobody at work calls him that. The intimacy of the note was unmistakable and for the first time Mary-Beth Johnson was face to face with the real possibility that her husband was cheating. Her mind raced to find another answer but there was none. The use of her nick name for him, the reference to this woman’s apartment and the time of the evening all pointed to one thing . I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. All the signs have been there for a while now. And after last night, what else could there be?
MJ stood starring at the writing on the card. She was not upset or angry. She had been preparing herself for this moment. She had the truth, what she did with it was another matter all together.
Chapter Twelve
The remainder of the day was a blur. At some point Dalton ordered Chinese takeout and they ate in front of the television never speaking. It was more like being roommates in college than a married couple of several years. MJ cleaned up the dinner mess and shortly after Dalton went upstairs to bed. The entire day passed without an apology or explanation for his poor performance from the night before.
Rather than join him in bed, Mary-Beth stayed down stairs and comforted herself with a bottle of Merlot. What now? She thought as she sipped her wine and starred at the television. Is this the new normal for me and our marriage? Do I confront him? Should I just ignore the card and go on as if nothing happened? Maybe… If I confronted him how would I know if he was telling the truth? I wouldn’t. I don’t want a divorce, at least not yet. Is it just a fling or does he care for her? What’s wrong with me that I’m not enough?
Her head hurt from the stress. Since finding the card there had been one question after another. She had expected it but now that it was on her door step she had to deal with it. Not knowing why he was cheating was the biggest question. She was faithful to him,
She left the master bath as clean as before his arrival smelling of fresh scents and cleaning products. From there it was time for laundry. MJ collected all of the clothes upstairs and brought them down in a laundry basket spilling over. She had emptied Dalton’s luggage rather than ask him to do it himself which may have taken all day. She didn’t want to wait or interrupt his time in the office.
The laundry room was one of her favorite amenities in the home. Positioned just off the kitchen, it was large and had a window overlooking the back yard. There was a work table used to fold clothes and separate the dirty laundry. She set the basket atop the table and went to work putting darks in one pile, lights in another, delicates to the side and whites in another basket on the floor.
The whites were always the largest load of clothes and she put them in the front load washer first. Once done she went back to the table to finish sorting and to make sure nothing was in the pockets that didn’t belong. Since they had started living together Dalton would leave anything from his car keys to his cell phone in the dirty clothes. Over the years she had caught most things but occasionally money, receipts or other papers found their way through the wash.
Sure enough the first pair of pants contained 87 cents and a receipt from Starbucks. Nothing in the second pair. A miracle, she thought. Already she felt an object in the rear pocket of the third pair of pants. She had to unbutton the pocket to get to the item. What she found was a business card representing The State Employees Insurance Agency. It was from a woman;
Betty Harrison
General Agent
Seattle, Washington
She was about to throw the card in the trash when writing on the back caught her eye. Written in the sweeping script that only a woman could have was:
A smiley face finished the note. DJ? Nobody at work calls him that. The intimacy of the note was unmistakable and for the first time Mary-Beth Johnson was face to face with the real possibility that her husband was cheating. Her mind raced to find another answer but there was none. The use of her nick name for him, the reference to this woman’s apartment and the time of the evening all pointed to one thing . I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. All the signs have been there for a while now. And after last night, what else could there be?
MJ stood starring at the writing on the card. She was not upset or angry. She had been preparing herself for this moment. She had the truth, what she did with it was another matter all together.
Chapter Twelve
The remainder of the day was a blur. At some point Dalton ordered Chinese takeout and they ate in front of the television never speaking. It was more like being roommates in college than a married couple of several years. MJ cleaned up the dinner mess and shortly after Dalton went upstairs to bed. The entire day passed without an apology or explanation for his poor performance from the night before.
Rather than join him in bed, Mary-Beth stayed down stairs and comforted herself with a bottle of Merlot. What now? She thought as she sipped her wine and starred at the television. Is this the new normal for me and our marriage? Do I confront him? Should I just ignore the card and go on as if nothing happened? Maybe… If I confronted him how would I know if he was telling the truth? I wouldn’t. I don’t want a divorce, at least not yet. Is it just a fling or does he care for her? What’s wrong with me that I’m not enough?
Her head hurt from the stress. Since finding the card there had been one question after another. She had expected it but now that it was on her door step she had to deal with it. Not knowing why he was cheating was the biggest question. She was faithful to him,
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