(Continued from last issue)
David and Diane have been married for years; then there is Julie, the young secretary whose axis collides with the couple’s in ways none of them saw coming.
JULIE
‘I’m better off taking him…”
That part of David’s text screamed at me the loudest, and my first instinct was to pick up Junior and run far, far away to somewhere David would never find us.
However, reality quickly hit me in the face – there was nowhere to run to. I could hardly go to my mother’s place as our relationship was still frosty and, besides, there was not enough space for Junior and me there; especially if I was arriving emptyhanded.
Kenneth was not a better option either; we had not spoken since our argument, and for the moment, I was fine with that. I needed to sort out my relationship with David before even trying to figure out what was going on between Kenneth and me.
There was no doubt that I had feelings for him, but were those feelings strong enough for me to risk my relationship with David (which I had apparently already done, anyway)?
I didn’t think so, and if that was the case, then it wasn’t fair to Kenneth to keep him on some sort of yo-yo string, pushing him away and then drawing him back; which was why I was alright with the current silence status quo. I would reach out to him when I was ready to make a final decision about our relationship; first, I needed to salvage my relationship with David.
I had been so determined to defend my outing with Kenneth to David, but with him now threatening to take Junior, it no longer mattered who was right and who was wrong. I could not fight David; I did not have the money or influence. I had often felt like a prisoner at different points in our relationship, but never more so than now.
David had threatened me with the one thing that mattered more to me than anything in the world, and I had no choice but to surrender. Whatever he wanted of me, I would do.
DAVID
While I had been pretty confident that my threat to take Junior from Julie would elicit a response, I had not expected it to come as swiftly or with as much fervor as it did.
Within minutes, she was calling me, even though she knew I had always insisted that she text me rather than call. When her calls went unanswered, she began texting me incessantly, each text more desperate than the one before.
‘David, please answer your phone’, ‘We need to talk,’ ‘Don’t do this David’, ‘What do you want from me?’
I did not immediately respond to any of them; let her sweat, I told myself smugly, pleased that the balance of power in our relationship had been so effectively re-established.
I finally returned her calls as I was leaving work that evening, a little after five thirty, hours after I had texted her; she answered immediately, as though she had been holding the phone waiting for my call.
“David! Thank God you’ve called,” she gushed in relief.
“What is it, Julie?” I answered coldly.
“We need to talk; please come over,” she begged, and I could hear the desperation in her tone. Nonetheless, I maintained my cool demeanor. “What for? The last time you said that, I came and it was a complete waste of my time.” “David, please; I’m begging you,” she pleaded, and this time I could hear her voice actually break like she was on the verge of tears.
After a moment’s pause, I sighed.
“Fine, but I’ve got to go home first; I’ll come by later tonight,” I acquiesced, then added warningly: “But you better not be wasting my time again.”
“I won’t,” she promised meekly. “Thank you.”
I didn’t answer her, hanging up in response; best not to get her comfortable too quickly, I told myself. While it may have seemed like I was just making a point by making her wait till later that night, I actually had a very specific reason for returning to the house first.
Ever since she had been gone, Diane had called like clockwork every evening around the children’s bedtime. Although she acted like she was just calling to say goodnight to them; I was pretty sure that her real reason for calling and asking to talk to the children was to check if I was home.
She had not caught me out yet, and I had no intention of her doing so because of Julie; I would be home with the children for her call as usual, and then when I was sure they were asleep and out for the night, I would head to the apartment for a quick hour or two, and when they woke up in the morning, I would be there as usual, and they would be none the wiser.
DIANE
I had been very apprehensive about going on this shopping trip, but after the first few nights, I surprised myself by actually beginning to enjoy it.
I was staying in a lovely hotel, with a spacious and comfortable room overlooking the marina. The food was great, and the malls gigantic and close by, and even after a full day of shopping, there were still so many shops and boutiques left to see and explore.
In every way, Dubai truly is a shopaholic’s paradise. Of course, like any good thing, it cost a pretty penny, but since the boutique was covering my costs, money was not a problem. Besides the money from the boutique, David had surprised me with a thousand dollars at the airport as he saw me off.
“Get yourself and the kids something nice,” he had said with a kiss as he handed it over. Apart from money for the house, it had been ages since David had given me money, and that he had given it to me without me even asking for it, made it all the more surprising.
It also heightened my anxiety about him taking advantage of my absence to see that whore again, for every woman knows that when their partner suddenly starts buying them gifts and being nice, it is probably because they are feeling guilty about something they have done – or something they are about to do.
However, so far, he had been home whenever I called, and my initial anxiety was slowly being replaced by confidence that he was not messing around. In this run around way, if anything, this trip had rather than endangering my marriage, strengthened it.
If he was not messing around, that meant that the money he had given me had been just that – a thoughtful gift; the sort of kind gesture that I had not enjoyed since the honeymoon stage of our marriage.
As well as that, the slow realization that I could once again trust David to be faithful marked a turning point in the right direction for our marriage, and I found myself actually able to relax and enjoy the trip.
margaretwamanga@yahoo.com
Source: The Observer
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