The Phone Call

My wife, Laurie, and I sat on the folding chairs in our back yard, drinking wine and enjoying the Sunday afternoon sun. I had barbequed some burgers for lunch, and we had spent the whole day just relaxing. We had a house in a nice suburban neighborhood, surrounded on most sides by trees, which gave us our own little garden oasis.

Laurie had her eyes closed under sunglasses and was facing toward the sun, taking in its warmth. While she was looking away I took in all her beauty. She had long wavy dark blond hair, bright blue eyes, and under her thin sundress was her slightly tan perfectly smooth unblemished skin. She was almost as tall as me, and when she wore heels, which she often did, she could even sometimes be taller. Most men would focus immediately on her huge, round tits. They were massive, firm, and perfectly shaped, not needing much support from any bra. However, having big tits doesn’t mean anything if you don’t have the figure to back it up, and Laurie did and then some. Her flat toned stomach only emphasized how her huge volley ball sized tits projected outward. Her legs were long but shapely, toned s a result of being an avid fitness fanatic, and her hips and ass had the perfect amount of curve. She was a goddess, and sometimes I couldn’t believe my good fortune to be with a woman who looked as if she were designed by God himself to be the ultimate turn on.

If she were just sexy, that would be one thing, but she was also charming, intelligent and loved to smile all the time. I had known her since junior high, and I think I was just blessed to have met her when I did. Of course she was a cute young girl then, but it was before she became a sex bomb that turned every head as she walked down the street. I got to know her and build a genuinely deep relationship with her that existed before she was the center of attention for every man because of her looks. I think she became jaded to other men’s advances, and so she and I came together naturally. We were best friends who discovered they loved each other. Neither of us have ever been with any other. It’s hard to describe how deep a relationship like that goes. We were in each other’s hearts and we could no more be with anyone else any more than we could lose a limb.

Having the perfect wife was just one component of a great life. I had a good house, a good job at an insurance company, a nice car and good friends. I wasn’t the most popular guy in high school, I was just a regular guy with normal friends. However, being with Laurie always added a little extra to my social scene, getting invited to all the parties and usually being the center of attention.

The one place there was some issues was in the bedroom. We had never been with anyone else, and we decided to stay pure until marriage. We got married when I was 21 and she was 19. Now we were 2 years into our marriage. Sex wasn’t terrible, it was good, but it just wasn’t as thrilling as everyone always makes it out to be.Of course, I was always excited to even just see Laurie, but Laurie never orgasmed despite my best efforts. However, we both knew that it was just because we weren’t like other people who go around sleeping with a bunch of people. We had to explore and figure out sex on our own, so of course it was going to take longer. We knew we would get there, though!

As I sat contemplating Laurie’s beauty, watching her massive tits gently rise and fall with each gentle breath, I heard my phone ring in the kitchen. My iPhone was left on the kitchen counter. Laurie came out of her meditation to turn her head just enoughto watch me get up to head inside and get the phone. I picked it up off the counter and looked at the screen and it said “Number Blocked”. That was unusual, but I answered without thinking much of it. “Hello?” I said, and in response was a man’s voice, an adult, but other than that I couldn’t say much more to describe it.

“I’m going to fuck your wife. Hah hah hah!” the voice said, with mocking laughter. It wasn’t aggressive at all, it was more like the caller thought what he was saying was so funny, as if he couldn’t believe I didn’t already know about what he was saying.

“What?” I said. I was sure I must have misheard him.

“I’m going to fuck your wife,” the voice said again, slowly, as if I was an idiot for not understanding his words, but still with an air of amusement, as if he was talking to a child who was kind of funny for not keeping up.

“Are you threatening my wife?” I said, my anger rising.

“No you fucking idiot, she’s going to leave you for me. Hah hah hah!”

Click.

The phone hung up before I had any chance to respond. He was still laughing when the line went dead. Now I just thought it was a pathetic joke. My wife leave me for some loser who makes prank phone calls? What an idiot! I lowered my phone and looked at the screen where it still said the caller was “blocked,” but now it had the icon for a finished call, and then then the screen went off after a few seconds. “Joel, honey, is everything okay?” my wife who was now at the doorway to the back deck asked me.

“Yeah, it’s nothing. Just some loser doing a prank call.”

“A prank call?” Laurie asked. “I didn’t think people still did those. Isn’t it too easy these days to trace the number?”

“The number was blocked,” I responded. “Maybe if it was threatening or something, we could call the police, but I think the guy was just nuts, so I think it would just be a waste of time to make a big deal out of it.” I was deliberately playing it down so as to not worry Laurie. “What did he say?” Laurie asked. I thought about it a moment before answering. The guy said he wanted to fuck her, and she would be right to be scared that some guy intended to **** her, so I thought it would be for the better to not let her know that.

“Oh, nothing, I could barely even understand him he was rambling so much. Like a homeless guy out on the road.”

That seemed to make Laurie able to dismiss the incident as being just a weird incident, and so she went to the kitchen to start making a dinner. However, I decided that I would call the police the next day, and so the following morning when I got to work, I called the police station from my office. “Is there any way the call can be traced?” I asked a cop that I was put in touch with after lots and lots of transfers and explaining the situation.

“We don’t usually do that for prank calls, but you’re saying this person who phoned you threatened to **** your wife? If you really think this was a threat, then I can open a case file.”

“Yes,” I said, “specifically he said ‘I am going to fuck your wife’ so I think that’s pretty clear.” I didn’t mention about the laughter and how the caller said he was going to make my wife leave me for him. It seemed like that detail would just reduce the seriousness for the police, and I wanted them take it seriously.

“All right,” the police officer said, “The fact is that there isn’t enough to go on right now, so I can’t promise anything. The main thing is that if this person calls again, record the time and place. If you can, some phones have apps on them that will allow you to record the calls. If this should ever go to court, the more concrete evidence you have, the better.”

I gave the officer more information about me and my wife, just normal details like our address and how long we’ve been married and how I didn’t think anyone I knew would have made a call like that. Then I hung up the phone and looked for some apps like the policeman suggested. I felt a little unsatisfied, but I had to admit there wasn’t really much else to go on. I resolved to have everything ready in case the caller called again though.

After that, however, it wasn’t too long before I forgot about it. Not that I totally forgot about it, but it went from being my primary concern to being just some silly thing that happened, just one of those things that are strange and you never really know what happened. For the first while, I kept an eye out for anything unusual, like cars driving by slowly or people parked outside our house for long times. When I was out with Laurie, she always got stared at by both lustful men and jealous women, but I was so used to that I felt I could pick out anyone who lingered too long, or followed her or us. I was on high alert for a few weeks, but there was absolutely nothing at all out of the ordinary as far as anyone paying attention to her. Nothing. There were no more calls, to my number, or any E-mails, or anything. Laurie never mentioned anything about anyone following her or calling her or anything like that, and I know she wouldn’t hesitate for a single second to tell me about it if anything like that happened. There just wasn’t anything other than that one phone call, so it just seemed like a one off anomaly.

I figured the most likely explanation was that someone who knew me just wanted to mess with me a bit. Sometimes I thought maybe my friends were jealous of me or wanted to fuck Laurie, because she was by far the most beautiful woman in our group of friends, and I caught some of our mutual guy friends checking her out when they thought I wasn’t looking. They would sometimes tease me about how it was weird that I landed a perfect woman like that. A lot of them were friends with us because of Laurie, and I know a few of them thought she was too good for me, that she was out of my league. I knew probably sometimes they probably thought about fucking her and maybe masturbated to it. Maybe one time one of them got really frustrated about not having her and wanted to call me as a way of venting. I didn’t recognize the voice at all, but I’m sure it’s not hard to disguise a voice if you really want to. There’s probably an app for that or something.

I was so busy watching out for some kind of outside threat that I didn’t even notice the subtle changes in Laurie at first. I can’t tell you when I think things started to get different. Nothing bad ever happened. I wasn’t even sure at first if things were different, but the phone call had made me nervous about men approaching Laurie, and so when she started acting a little different, it made me wonder if something had happened. It was just that Laurie started doing new things, her schedule seemed to change slightly, she had a different air about her. I’ve known her almost all my life, so I think I was able to tell if there were little differences in her behaviour. I think there were, but not big enough or clear enough for me to ask her directly. And I wasn’t sure myself, because maybe I was just being paranoid.

In fact, it wasn’t that right away I assumed she was having an affair, it was just that I felt that she was starting to have a life without me. We both encouraged each other to have our own interests. We felt it was healthy for a couple to have interests separate from each other. For Laurie it was mostly health and fitness, and for me it was baseball card collecting. There was a difference, though, between having different interests and keeping things from each other. Laurie wasn’t at all interested in my baseball card collection, which I had a few boxes of in a closet, but it wasn’t that I wouldn’t tell her if she didn’t ask. I felt, though, that when I was asking her about what she was doing, she was evasive. There was no way some guy could just choose to come and convince Laurie to be with him, to be so bold as to even declare it before doing it. That was just to unbelievable. But maybe someone was doing something, and Laurie was dealing with it and not telling me so that I wouldn’t worry. I knew if that were the case and I asked directly she would just deny it. So I tried to ask about what she was doing recently without being too direct about telling her my suspicions, but she always had a response that made it sound like everything was so normal.

Then there was this one night when Laurie was heading out to hang out with the girls, which she was doing more and more often. She got dressed to kill before heading out, which didn’t in itself worry me. Some women wouldn’t have been able to handle the attention that Laurie got when she was wearing her tight one piece dress, high heels, and perfectly done make up. But Laurie was an expert at deflecting men from getting too aggressive. She had a lifetime of practice of being hit on by all manner of guys, while at the same time being loyal to me, and so she had learned how to turn guys down safely no matter what. She knew how to make a guy give up without making him feel rejected, and in the worst case scenarios, she knew how to talk to the bouncers and bartenders at clubs and bars when she first walked in so that if a guy couldn’t be convinced to leave her alone, she’d have him thrown out the instant she needed him to be. So I wasn’t at all worried about her looking like so many men’s fantasy when she headed out the door. In fact, I liked helping her dress up, helping her pick out the clothes that would turn heads. It was a thrill for me to know that my woman was the woman every man wanted. And I knew that Laurie loved the attention as well. As long as she always came home to me, it was fun for both of us to let her head out and strut her stuff.

In fact, I often would masturbate a lot when she would go out like that. There was something about being with the woman every man wanted that was so exciting. Sometimes she would send me little text messages letting me know how things were going and if some guy had hit on her and what he said. But I would hold off from cumming, saving it until she came back. Unfortunately, a lot of the time it meant that I would cum a little too early when she came home and we got hot and heavy. But she knew it was because I was spanking off thinking about her, and she liked that.

On this one night, it was like that. She was getting dressed in a small mini dress that was black with gray accents and delicate folds that made it look like it was wrapped tightly around her. Her 3 inch heels gave her a statuesque presence, and sat on the edge of the bed in our bedroom as she sat in front of her mirror applying make up.

“So, where are you going tonight?” I asked.

“I don’t know yet. Probably just one of the usual clubs,” Laurie responded.

“Who are you going with?” I asked, just out of curiosity.

Laurie paused for a moment, and then said in answer, “Maddie. Maybe some other girls as well.” And that was that. When she was ready, she stood up, and stood before me so that I could admire her. She looked like a goddess with her long powerful legs slightly apart in a firm and commanding stance. I hugged her and kissed her neck so as not to smudge her make up, and then she headed out the door where a cab was waiting to take her away.

I sometimes head out to meet up with my guy friends when Laurie heads out with her girl friends, but on that night I had just planned to relax at home. I had been working hard recently. The insurance company I work at was downsizing, and to not be one of the guys who got cut you had to out perform the rest. Even though I knew Laurie and I had a bond that would survive anything, I never wanted to be the guy who would fail to provide a woman like Laurie everything she deserves. It meant more work hours sometimes, but I knew in the long term it was worth it. So around that time, I would often just take it easy after a hard work week. I was glad, in fact, that Laurie didn’t constantly expect me to entertain her, that she could have fun on her own, because it took the pressure off me.

I made myself some dinner, and then was watching some television, and off and on, when I would remember what Laurie looked like and thought about how she was probably dancing and looking like something out of a music video and everyone lusting after her, I would start to masturbate. But then after a little while, I would stop again. Part of the excitement was knowing that she would come home, smelling like smoke and alcohol from out partying, and then she would be mine. She wasn’t sending me any texts, which was different from before, but I figured she was just out of the habit.

I was spanking off thinking about her when my phone rang. The name on the screen said “Madeline”, which was Laurie’s friend Maddie’s full name. I answered. “Hello?” I said.

“Hey, Joel, it’s Maddie. Is Laurie with you?” I was puzzled for a moment.

“No, I thought she was out with you tonight.”

There was a long pause, and I heard Maddie talking to someone away from the phone, but I couldn’t hear what was being said. Then Maddie came back to the phone. “Oh, yeah, that’s right, but we haven’t met up with her yet. She’s probably on her way with… Lisa.” she said. Lisa was Laurie’s equally beautiful sister, and they often went out together.

“Nevermind, it’s fine.” I said, and then hung up. It didn’t really sound like a big deal. It was already fairly late into the night so I would have assumed they’d be together already, but maybe they had some kind of mix up about where to meet up, and Laurie was probably out with multiple friends, so which ones met where and when was not a something worth thinking about.

The call still got me thinking though. I tried to think it was no big deal, but I got worried if maybe something had happened to Laurie. What kind of husband would I be if I didn’t make sure my wife was alright? So I called Laurie, but her phone didn’t pick up. It went to her answering machine. Clubs usually had bad reception, so I didn’t think that was a big deal. It was almost eleven, and she was probably dancing at that moment. I sent her a text that said “Hey darling, just making sure you’re okay. Hit me back, okay?”

There was no response for a while, but that was probably the reception again. About a half hour later I got a text back, and Laurie said “Hey sweetheart, just out dancing with Maddie. Having fun! Be back late, don’t wait up. Kisses!” I thought it was a little weird that she mentioned being with Maddie when Maddie just called me asking where she was. It was possible that within the time between the call and the text they met up, but Laurie’s text sounded like she had been with Maddie all night. It felt strange, but there was nothing definite about it. I knew Laurie wouldn’t be doing anything I wouldn’t want her to do, but I still felt like something was off. I gave Laurie a call about five minutes after she texted me. She didn’t answer and it went to voice mail again. It was possible she just stepped out to an area to answer texts and then went back downstairs where there was no reception. Still, I wanted some kind of conclusion, so I decided to call Maddie.

She answered right away, “Hello?” she said. “Hey Maddie, it’s Joel. Could you put Laurie on? She’s not answering her phone,” I said. There was a long pause. There was music in the background, and it it seemed like maybe she was talking to someone again, but I couldn’t make out the words with the background noise. It made sense that they were probably in a loud bar or club.

Maddie finally came back on the phone and said, “Oh, hey Joel, Laurie’s actually out on the dance floor right now. You know how she is, having a good time being the center of attention. It might be hard to pull her away from that. Do you want me to go get her and have her call you right back?”

I thought it was a little weird that she couldn’t just get Laurie right then, but I trusted Laurie without a shadow of doubt, so I just said, “No, it’s okay. I’ll talk to her when she gets home.” We said our good byes and I tried not to think about it, though I couldn’t help it.

I still masturbated off and on in the night, thinking about her. It was a strange feeling. Laurie was somehow a little more inaccessible, and that made her a litle more mysterious, and somehow more exciting. I was a little concerned about what she was up to, but I was still rock hard thinking about her. The feelings were confusing and exciting at the same time. Still, I didn’t cum, waiting for her to come home. Which got harder and harder because she stayed out later than ever. It was actually almost dawn when she finally came home, the sky getting just a bit lighter before the sun came up.

“Oh, you’re still up?” Laurie said with surprise as she came into the bedroom where I was in bed but sitting up. I always made sure to be in bed and ready for her, because usually when she would come home, she would come right into bed with me, and I would fuck her in the clothes she was wearing, with them being a reminder of how she had been the hottest thing all night long for so many men. That night, though, was different. She started to take off her earrings and it seemed like she was going to just get ready for sleeping.

“Aren’t you going to come to bed?” I asked, and I knew she knew what that meant.

“Oh, I’m sorry sweetheart. I think I’m a little too tired for that this time.” She came and sat on the edge of the bed, turned toward me in a way that I could see her ample cleavage. “Have you been masturbating, thinking about me?” She asked.

“Yes” I said, and we could both see my penis hardening and raising up the sheets.

“Well, you don’t have to stop.” She suggested coyly, “Aren’t I so beautiful that you could get off just looking at me?” she said, echoing sentiments that I had said to her many times before. I pulled down the sheets and started to spank off, staring into her cleavage, which she emphasized by squeezing her tits between her arms. As I spanked off and stared, she would change poses slightly, and jiggle her huge breasts for me. She giggled a bit as she looked at me furiously rubbing my penis, and a part of me couldn’t help but feel like it seemed that she was laughing at me, but I quickly shut out that thought because I knew that it must be because she was just enjoying herself. I came very quickly in any case, and as I sat there with cum dribbling down my hand, she seemed satisfied and went off to get out of her clothes and have a quick shower.

The next morning, when I thought back on the previous night, I definitely felt there was something off about the calls, but it just wasn’t enough to really state anything. I was starting to go out of my head. What had that phone call done to me? Was there something going on, or was it just a stupid prank call that started me thinking down a dangerous path of unfounded suspicions? On the one hand, the idea that there would be a call and then things would coincidentally be different with Laurie seemed kind of strange, but then the idea that someone could actually phone and declare that they were going to start an affair and then actually do it was just so much more unbelievable. I decided it had to be the first of the two choices. It must have just been a stupid call, and maybe something is different with Laurie, but she’s not having an affair with the mystery caller, she’s just having a slightly different schedule than I’m used to or something.

In spite of my gut feelings, I didn’t think about it. Then, a few days past, and one day I came home from work and Laurie wasn’t there, and immediately all my suspicions came back to me. Laurie was basically a housewife, but it wasn’t unusual for her to not be there when I got back from work. She would usually try to be there and make dinner for me, but sometimes she met up with friends, and she often had yoga or pilates classes or something, so it happened now and again that she would come home a little after I got back. The difference, though, was that she usually sent me a text to tell me in advance that she wouldn’t be there. She wasn’t home this time, and there had been no message, so I wondered what was going on. I guess that feeling reminded me of the night she was out with Maddie, and suddenly I felt uncomfortable about that night in a way that I hadn’t at all in the days since.

Laurie came home about an hour after I did, and she immediately apologized, saying, “I’m sorry, sweetheart, I was at yoga, and after the usual class they had a new relaxation session and I lost track of time. It felt so good!” And with that she kissed me full on the lips in a passionate embrace that was unusually sudden. She stopped as quickly as she started, and, with her arms still around my neck, she then leaned back to look at me, as if she was looking for my reaction.

I guess she was wondering if I was upset about her being late. I felt I had a look of concern on my face, but I just said, “So you were just at Yoga longer than you thought you’d be?” Laurie looked suddenly satisfied, as if I didn’t give the reaction she was worried about, and she began kissing me again. It was hard to stay mad at her, with her passionate and soft kisses, and her huge tits pressed up against me. I noticed she did have a smell of sweat on her, as if she had been working out, so that fit with what she said about being at Yoga, so I dropped it. Yet another instance of things being different, and me not being able to confront her with anything specific enough that she couldn’t just dismiss as everything being normal. And maybe it was normal. What had that phone call done to me?

I was determined to not let my strange paranoia get so bad that I started seeing things that weren’t there. So when Laurie was late or unaccounted for or behaved oddly, I tried purposely to see how it could be viewed without suspicion, to try and give the benefit of the doubt as much as possible. I figured that if I tried my hardest to see how everything was normal, but if it seemed like it was suspicious no matter how hard I tried, then it would have to be the case that there was really something to worry about. As much as I tried to think that way, though, I couldn’t fight the suspicions.

Part of me knew I must be going crazy, because there were also some positive changes too, and I even viewed them as being signs of an affair. For example, Laurie started taking more of an interest in cooking dinner for me, having something ready for me when I got home from work. She would watch me as I took the first few bites of whatever she made, and then be pleased when I said I liked it, which I always did. But there was something about the way she was so focused on making sure I ate it and told her how much I liked it that it seemed like she was making a point of showing me that she was being nice. Was it just that she was trying to prove to me that everything was normal, or was it that she was making up for something else she was doing and trying to distract me. Damn that phone call! Now I couldn’t even enjoy nice gestures from my wife without thinking something bad about it. We had the perfect love, the perfect relationship, the perfect marriage, and now it was falling apart, and probably just all in my head because some stupid phone call put an idea in my head. How could one stupid prank call cause so much damage?

Laurie started calling me when I was at work, just to talk to me a bit and tell me she loved me. It was so sweet and romantic, and made me feel both happy and guilty at the same time. Sometimes I even got into a bit of trouble at work, being on the phone with her for too long, but it was worth it to hear her voice. I would be suspicious, though, and try to ask about things. Like one time she called me, and I asked, “You’re calling me so often lately?” And she said, “I know. I just feel like I’ve been spending more time away, and I didn’t want you to think that I wasn’t thinking about you.”

“Do you think about me?” I asked.

“Of course. I think about you all the time when I’m doing things," Laurie said.

“What are you doing right now?” I asked.

“Oh, I’m just at home, having fun.”

"What do you mean you’re having fun? What exactly are you doing?” I asked, trying to hide my suspicion but doing it badly.

“Just getting ready to make dinner. Honestly, dear, I think about you all the time. I really do.” Laurie said.

“That so sweet of you to say,” I said.

“Oh, dear, I need to go. I’ll see you tonight!!” And then she was suddenly off the phone before I could even say goodbye. It was strange, I don’t know what she would need to get off the phone for so suddenly. I tried to think of what I would think if I weren’t suspicious, and I thought maybe she was cooking something that was starting to burn or something. I could always find a reason or a way that what Laurie was doing that could explain it away, but it never diminished my suspicions. Damn that call!

Along with Laurie more and more being unaccounted for in what she did during the day, and going out with friends more at night, she started staying out all night and spending the night with her sister. She said it was because she stayed out late, and Lisa lived closer to the clubs and so it was more convenient, but, even though it was something she had maybe done a handful of times in the past, she was not doing it almost regularly on the weekends. It seemed strange, but then sometimes I would call her, or Lisa, and I was usually able to get Laurie on the phone, so it seemed like they were together, although sometimes the way Lisa would get Laurie to call me back or take so long to get onto the phone made me think maybe they had some way of covering for each other.

Lisa was just as gorgeous as Laurie. Two years younger, a little shorter, but the same fit body and massive tits. Seeing them together was like seeing an audition for a porno movie, but one where the actresses weren’t fake looking, but had natural beauty that put porn actresses to shame. I had often fantasized about having Laurie and Lisa together, but I knew that Laurie would never do something like that with her sister. I found it hot precisely because there was something bad about two sisters licking one man’s cock, and kissing and more with each other, but Laurie would never go for something as kinky as making out with her own sister. It was a taboo fantasy that would just be too far for her.

During this time, while I was becoming more and more suspicious of Laurie, I wondered if saying she was seeing Lisa was just a convenient cover for the affair I was worried she was having. Laurie would stay overnight at Lisa’s apartment, just saying that she liked to spend time with her sister, but she barely ever stayed out that long with Lisa before this time. She did it a few times, and I would ask her details, but then Laurie would get upset with me for being paranoid. She was starting to see that my questions about what she was doining and when had an underlying theme, and she didn’t appreciate the implications. However, I couldn’t help but feel that getting upset was a convenient way of not actually answering my questions.

One night I decided I would catch Laurie in a lie. She said she was going to go out with Lisa and then stay overnight at Lisa’s apartment. I decided I would drive over and see if Laurie was there. If Laurie wasn’t with Lisa, then I would know that Laurie was lying to me. I acted completely innocent, even encouraging of Laurie to hang out with her sister that night. Then after midnight, I took the long hour and twenty minute long drive to Lisa’s house. I timed to around when I knew that Laurie would likely come home from drinking. And even if she was later than that, I would wait in the parking lot beside the building until I saw Lisa come home. No matter how long I might have to wait, I was going to find out the truth about Laurie saying she was staying with her sister.

When I arrived after 1 in the morning, I looked up and to the third floor where Lisa’s apartment was and saw that there were lights on. It looked like the lights were dimmed or they weren’t all on, but there was definitely somebody home. I was relieved that I wouldn’t have to wait around some indefinite amount of time. At the same time, I knew that I was about to have a confrontation with Lisa. Lisa might be there with a man, even, but I was not about to let that stop me from getting her to admit that Laurie was not with her.

I stormed up to the entrance to the building and buzzed Lisa’s apartment number. There was no answer. I buzzed again. Still no answer. I buzzed her apartment about four times, clearly letting her know I was not going to go away. Finally she answered. “Hello?” Lisa said in a confused and slightly annoyed tone.

“It’s me, Joel,” I said, “Let me in.”

“What is this about?” Lisa said. I was not going to let her avoid the issue.

“Just let me in! I need to talk to you!” I said in an angry and insistent tone.

“Joel, you can’t just come barging into my place,” Lisa said. I was sure she was stalling because she knew I was there to find out that Laurie wasn’t there. I wasn’t going to let her deflect me though.

“I know Laurie isn’t there! Are you going to deny it? I know what’s going on! Let me in, God damn it!”

There was a long pause. And then Lisa said, “Okay, come on up.” Her tone was strange, but I couldn’t quite figure out the feeling of it. It was still annoyed, but also, amused?

The door clicked and I rushed through, as if maybe she could change her mind at the last second. I had too much angry energy to take the elevator, so I practically ran up the stairs. I came to her apartment and banged on the door. Lisa opened it, and said “Joel, keep it down. I don’t want to disturb my neighbors!”

“I don’t care about your neighbors!” I said, bursting in the apartment past Lisa. “You’re going to tell me where Laurie is, or,” and then I suddenly stopped speaking. Lisa’s apartment was small, without really a hallway from the front door to the living room and dining room area. There was just a small wall divider, and as soon as I stepped past it, I was shocked to see Laurie there, sitting on the couch, looking at me. I could see she was angry.

“Okay,” Lisa said, with a smug attitude as she stepped past me into the room, “You want me to tell you where Laurie is? Here she is.” Laurie didn’t say anything, she just looked at me, as if she was embarrassed for me and for herself in front of her sister. All three of us stood there in silence. I looked around the room. Both Lisa and Laurie were wearing nothing but T Shirts and panties. Their panties were tiny thongs, but their T Shirts were long, and it was believable they were just being comfortable before going to bed. There was wine and wine glasses on the table, as well as some plates with the remnants of some snack foods. The lighting was low, and there was music on. Something about the room was strange, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. I was in such a confused state having had all my anger be for nothing that I figured I was just disoriented. “I think I should just leave you two alone for a bit,” Lisa said. “I’ll be in my bedroom. Let me know when you’re done.” Lisa went into another door opposite the couch where Laurie was sitting and shut the door behind her. I knew that she would be able to hear everything Laurie and I said perfectly well, even if we whispered, because it was that kind of apartment. Still, I was glad she gave us the space. Not knowing what else to do, I came and sat down on the couch, but not too close to Laurie, who was clearly upset. She didn’t say anything so I spoke first.

“I’m sorry,” I said, “I don’t know what came over me. I was so sure you wouldn’t be here.”

“You think I’m cheating on you? That I’m using my sister as my alibi? Is that it” Lisa said. I hung my head in shame. The answer was obviously yes, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it outloud. “I’m really disappointed in you. What has got into you recently? Do you really think I’m having an affair?”

“I’m sorry Laurie,” I said. “It’s just, there are some different things recently. You don’t tell me everything you do like you did before. You go out more. You’re vague about things.”

“That’s it?” Laurie said. “You’re just not sure what I’m doing, and if I don’t give you precise answers, you automatically think I’m fucking someone else? Don’t you realize how ridiculous that is?”

“It’s not just that,” I said sheepishly, and then, knowing what I was going to say next would sound ridiculous, “There was that phone call.” I said, quietly enough that Laurie made me repeat it.

She said, “What phone call? What are you talking about?”

“This guy phoned and said he was going to have sex with you and that you were going to leave me for him.” Laurie laughed a little, I think because she found it so unbelievable she could only laugh.

“Joel, do you really think there could be a guy who could be so confident, and so amazing, that he could know before he met me that he could seduce me and take me away from you? Do you really think that?”

“I don’t know,” I said, “I mean, I don’t believe it, it seems ridiculous, but at the same time, it feels like everything has been different since that phone call happened. It was after that that you started changing your schedule and being vague.”

“Or maybe,” Laurie said, “that call put an idea in your head that made you start looking at everything in a way that only makes it seem like I’m doing something bad. Maybe this is all your fault.” And with that she had said the very thing I was afraid was happening, that I was ruing a perfect marriage and my chances with a woman I could never hope to replace, letting a stupid prank phone call that was probably from some nobody completely make me crazy. “You drove all the way out here to catch me in a lie, and you’ve found that I am exactly where I said I would be, and with who I said I’d be with. Now don’t you feel foolish for doubting me?”

“Yes,” I said. “There’s no excuse for it. I’m just letting my paranoia get the best of me.”

“Do you really want to lose me by becoming so suspicious you drive me away?”

That was exactly what I was doing. I was so afraid of losing Laurie that I was behaving like a desperate man, which would only end up causing the very thing I ultimately feared most. I promised to Lisa that I would shape up, and at one point I got down on my knees in front of her on the couch, swearing my love for her. “I love you more than anything, and I can’t bare for you to think that I don’t trust you. I swear on the Bible and to God that I will get rid of these suspicions I have, and that I will be a better husband for you.” Laurie seemed slightly amused by my pronouncements, which I took to be a sign that she was lightening up a bit.

She kissed me on the forehead, and then I moved to kiss her on the lips but she moved away, which made me realize that I was not going to be forgiven so easily. Still, she smiled at me and I knew that the situation for now was resolved. I stood up, and then I stepped toward Lisa’s bedroom door. Laurie practically jumped off the couch and got between me and the door. “What are you doing?” she asked in a breathless panic.

I was surprised and said, “I was just going to tell Lisa that it’s okay to come back in.”

Laurie composed herself and then said, “Silly. You can’t just open a door on the bedroom of a woman who isn’t your wife. She could be changing or something.” I thought that was kind a little too cautious, given that I’ve saw Lisa in her underwear just 20 minutes earlier, but I wasn’t going to argue. “Just let me check on her,” Laurie said, and she opened the door just enough for her to slip through, and then closed it afterward. I felt a moment of suspicion, and then i realized I was being silly. I knew what Laurie was doing. No doubt she was just having a moment to confer with her sister about how she felt about what just happened, and the two of them would decide on how they would act from this moment. It was the kind of thing close sisters did.

They both stepped out of the bedroom, keeping the door shut after them as they came out. They were giggling and had a look on their faces like they were sharing a secret, and I had no doubt that they had said something about me, but I decided to just blow it off as Laurie needing to bond with her sister while we were having troubles. I looked at them, though, looking like wicked little girls and thought about how nice it would be to have them both at the same time. Oh, what an incredible yet impossible fantasy! I think they could tell from the look in my eyes as I stared at both their ample chests straining the fabric of the T Shirts they wore. They giggled and both kissed me on the cheek, Laurie on one side and Lisa on the other. For a moment, I thought maybe the moment could lead to something that I had fantasized about for ages. Lisa joked, "I think we just blew his mind.”

“Don’t get any ideas, buster,” Laurie said. “Two sisters is too much for you!” And they laughed and, disappointed as I was, I laughed it off too.

Laurie saw me to the door of the apartment, and I felt very cold in the hallway. The apartment had a special warmth in it that I wished I could be a part of. I took the elevator down, and went out to my car. I sat there for a bit, thinking about how I was going to be thinking on the whole drive back about how it was I let myself get to this part. I looked up, and I saw motion in the bedroom window of Lisa’s apartment. Laurie emerged, the light of the apartment behind her, just enough to wave at me. I lowered my driver’s side window and waved back, and her face was hard to see, but I was pretty sure she was smiling. I sat there looking at her. She was bent over a bit to look out the window, the curtains falling beside her, and her huge tits hung down and jiggled a little. She was so beautiful, and I realized I was in danger of losing a goddess of a woman if I kept up my paranoia. I watched her for a while, and she stayed at the window the whole time, and I felt like we really shared a moment. But I did have to drive home, so reluctantly, I pulled out of the parking lot and headed home.

It’s a long drive and I had plenty of time to think. At first I mostly thought about how all the things that were making me suspicious were really not much to go on, and I convinced myself I was blowing them out of proportion. That stupid call had damn near ended my marriage by making me crazy! One stupid sentence, one stupid idea, and I went crazy and paranoid. Probably just what the caller hoped I would do, and I was living up to their evil plan better than they probably could have imagined. I felt so foolish. Eventually, by about half way through the drive, my mind had wandered to other things. Listening to music and thinking about nothing in particular. Suddenly, a thought struck me that stunned me so much I suddenly pulled over to the side of the highway I was on and had to take a moment to gather my thoughts.

There were three wine glasses on the table in Lisa’s apartment. Three wine glasses. Were there three people there? It was possible maybe one wine glass had a smudge or something on it and so maybe they got a third one to use. But still, it seemed like I was only then aware of a voice in my head that had been shouting since being at the apartment. Once I thought of the wine glass, I then felt like the way they were keeping me out of Lisa’s bedroom was more strange than it seemed at the time. Was someone else there?

I thought about turning around and driving back, but I had made such a big deal of promising not to be paranoid anymore. If was wrong about if the wine glass was evidence of something, I could possibly push the damage I had done in our relationship over the tipping point. It was so hard to walk away from the suspicion, though. And this was after I had professed to Laurie about how much I would trust her and never be paranoid again. I started to think about how this was just the kind of paranoid thinking that was destroying my relationship with Laurie, and yet I was trapped in my own promises to her. Eventually, I forced myself to accept that I was letting small details wind me up, and that I needed to go home. So I drove the rest of the way home. But when I got there, I could barely sleep because whenever I drifted close to sleep thoughts of what Laurie might be doing suddenly overwhelmed me, and I felt like I was losing her. I felt these horrible images of Laurie being fucked by some other guy in my head.

Unfortunately, things did not get better after that, despite my promises. I put on a front of trying to trust Laurie more, but it was so clearly insincere and Laurie could tell. I would ask questions about where she was going and what she was up to, while trying to pretend that I didn’t mind if she didn’t answer. Laurie, though, continued to be loving. She would kiss me so passionately whenever we had been apart for a while and I had been wondering where she was. She made great dinners for me when I came home. She phoned me at work and would say loving things. I felt so bad and confused. She was being so nice, and I was a horrible person for being so suspicious.

I was able to barely hold it together, though, but one day something happened not to do with Laurie that weakened me. I came home and found Lisa covered in white dust, which turned out to be plaster, and she was wet, too. I was completely baffled, and she had a look like she was so sorry. “What’s wrong? What happened,” I asked, worried that maybe she had some kind of accident, even though she didn’t look hurt.

“We had a pipe burst,” she said, “And, I’m sorry Joel, but the water got all over your baseball card collection. I think they might be ruined.”

I practically ran downstairs to the closet where my boxes of cards were, and they were opened, and some cards moved out, but they were covered in water like she had said they were. Laurie had pulled them out of the closet, but whatever happened must have already happened before she got to them. Up above, at the top of the closet, there was a hole in the ceiling, and an ******* pipe that was dripping at a joint. “What happened?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” Laurie said, “When I came downstairs, it must have been already leaking water for a while. Most things in the closet are wet, but your baseball cards were at the bottom and the water must have collected there. I tried to pull them out, but it was too late.” I knelt down to examine the cards, and they were all wet and soft, completely ruined. There was an acrid smell as well, which I assumed was the water mixed with old cards.

“Why are you covered in plaster?” I asked.

“I had to break open the wall to find where the water was leaking from and stop it. I managed to tighten a bolt which helped but I don’t know if it will hold. I think as long as we don’t use the upstairs washroom we’ll be okay. I’ll call a plumber tomorrow and get it fixed. Oh, Joel, I’m sorry about your cards. I know how precious they were to you.” She was right, they were so precious to me. Some of them were rare cards that I’d never replace that were worth a lot of money, but most of them were cards I had as a kid that were sentimental in value. I could remember who I traded with and when, and now all those good memories were gone.

Losing my cards might seem like it would have nothing to do with Laurie, it was just one of those unfortunate things that can happen when you own a home. There was always something that needed fixing or something that might go wrong, and I was just super unlucky that it happened to ruin something really precious to me. The problem was that when bad things happen to you, it can make you weak in general, and so my suspicions about Laurie got even worse. I felt like I had a part of my child hood taken from me, and it was a similar sense of loss to the kind of loss I was worried I was having with Laurie. That things were being taken from me by powers beyond me.It made me more paranoid and suspicious. I became less subtle about asking where she was going and not believing her answers, and she was becoming more agitated by my questions. Something had to give.

I got so paranoid that I crossed a line. One time while she was in the shower, I picked up her iPhone and discovered that she had changed her pass code. I had never needed to use her phone or log in before, but we had known each other’s pass code just in case something happened. It was strange that she changed it and didn’t tell me. I didn’t mention anything about it, though. Instead, I patiently waited and watched until I could see what her new passcode was by keeping an eye out whenever she used her phone.

On another night, when Laurie was in the shower, I picked up her phone again and this time I was able to get in. I looked through her past calls, and there were no calls from numbers I didn’t recognize, or any blocked calls. That didn’t convince me, though, as she could easily be deleting the records as they happened. I went into her Facebook app, and scanned through. Again, there was nothing there to or from anyone that seemed suspicious. One thing I noticed, though, was that there seemed to be less pictures of Laurie out with friends at clubs and bars than before. It seemed like if she was going out more, there should be more pictures, not less.

I was getting frustrated and nervous, listening for if Laurie was still in the shower, and not finding anything. Part of me thought that this was evidence that I was wrong, and that Laurie wasn’t doing anything, that I should put down her phone and let it go. But it’s hard to explain that state of mind. I had gone this far because I was so sure there was at least something going on that I felt that no evidence was simply an indication that it was hidden better than I thought. That Laurie was covering her tracks better than I had anticipated.

I decided to focus on the Facebook chat messages between Laurie and Lisa, and then scanned through their contents as quickly as I could. Most of it was just about meeting here and there, and times and places. They talked enough in real life that they didn’t need to say much of substance in their messages. And then I saw one message from Lisa that said “coming over after you’re with your new guy?”

My mind practically exploded. What new guy? What was Lisa talking about? Was this the evidence that I was looking for that Laurie was, in fact, having an affair with another man? I was so distracted by my thoughts, that I didn’t notice that the sound of the shower had stopped and Lisa had was at the doorway to the bathroom connected to our bedroom. Most people might look awkward or lack confidence standing naked and a little wet, holding nothing but a towel. Laurie, though, knew she had the body of a goddess and had absolute confidence in her stance, powerful and commanding, with her legs apart and one hand on her hip and the other holding the towel almost as f it were a whip or a weapon.

“What are you doing?” she said in an angry and surprised voice.

“Who is this “new guy”?” I shot back, holding her phone like it was a smoking gun of evidence.

“What?” she said, and there wasn’t even a flicker of worry on her face, which in itself made me lose confidence in my position. Maybe I had merely misread something.

Laurie stepped over and grabbed the phone to look at the message I had been looking at. I didn’t really want to let go of the phone, because I knew that once I did, I would never get the chance to look at it again, and if there was any more evidence, it would be forever hidden from me. On the other hand, I couldn’t childishly hold it away from her, because that would just make Laurie far more upset, and then she would likely not tell me anything. She looked at the message, and then she looked at me like I was a fool and said, “My “new guy” is my new Pilates instructor. Lisa was just asking if I was going to meet her after working out.”

I didn’t believe her, but I didn’t have anymore evidence of anything to contradict her story. I had to admit that for all I knew, she was telling the truth. It’s just that my intuition was so strong that something was going on. “Let me see the other messages then,” I said.

“How can I show you the messages that don’t have what you’re looking for?” Laurie said.

“I don’t know, just let me look so I can see you aren’t hiding anything.”

Laurie turned off the screen on her phone, and she suddenly said, “I’m sorry Joel, but it’s clear you just don’t trust me. I don’t know what’s got into you, but you’ve broken a truly happy relationship. I think I should move out.”

“What?” I yelled suddenly. “You mean get a divorce?”

“I don’t know,” Laurie said. “But first we need to separate for a while. Maybe some time apart will be good for us.”

I suddenly felt a hole open up beneath my feet. This was the exact opposite of what I wanted. I did not want her to go, and I felt like an idiot for letting my paranoia push her away. “No, Laurie, please, don’t go,” I begged. Right then and there she went to her closet where her suitcase was, and started putting clothes into it, before she even got dressed. As she picked out clothes to take with her, she put a few on. I pleaded with her while she packed, but she insisted that she was leaving and that was that.

“Maybe some time apart from me will make you realize how foolish you are being for pushing me away with all your suspicion,” she said.

She was exactly right. She left that night and wouldn’t tell me where she went, because she didn’t want me showing up unexpectedly. I assumed she was at her sister’s place, and I drove over to see if she was there, lingering in my car watching to see if she would come or go, but I never saw her. The nights in my house felt more and more lonely. One day I came back from work to find that she had taken all her remaining stuff. Anything she felt was important was gone.

I wrote endless E-mails to her. I sent her texts. I phoned her. I begged her to come back. I apologized over and over for having been so paranoid, and for being stupid, and for everything. I told her how much I loved her and would change and would no longer question anything she did. I was broken without her.

I didn’t get any response from Laurie to any of my E-mails or phone messages, which didn’t completely surprising, because I’m sure no woman wants to be with a guy pleading to be with her. I couldn’t help it, though. Inside me was a yearning for her that I had to address or I would go crazy. Over time I was able to get a handle on my feelings enough that I realized I needed to shape up or I was more likely to drive her away then convince her to be back with me.

Although I had a few weak moments where I poured my heart into an E-mail or a phone message, I was able to eventually stop altogether. It was agonizing, thinking about her constantly, wondering what she was doing, hoping to hear from her, hoping to bump into her, wondering if there was something I could do to convince her to be with me. I knew, though, that for the time being I needed to just back off and give her some space.

Eventually, after what seemed like an eternity, after a couple of weeks, she phoned me up.

“I know that I pushed you away with my paranoia,” I told her. “For some reason it felt like I was seeing evidence of you doing something, but now I realize that the more I gave into thinking that way, it was easy to start seeing everything as a clue, and then I was blaming you for something you weren’t doing. I know you were never cheating on me. I know that now. You’re as beautiful inside as you are outside. I now see that somehow I became scared that I wasn’t good enough for you, that you might consider other men, and I turned around and took that out on you by accusing you of not being loyal. I was really stupid. But you know how much I love you, and I want to make things right, and I will do anything to get us back together.”

“Oh, Joel,” Laurie said. “Do you really feel that way? You trust me? Do you really believe that I wasn’t ever cheating on you?” She sounded excited and enthusiastic, so I jumped on that feeling.

“Yes! Oh, Laurie, yes I do. I love you so much and I don’t even believe I could have been so stupid as to ever doubt you. Please Laurie, let’s get back together. Let’s make this marriage perfect again.”

“Okay, Joel,” she said, and I can’t tell you how much my heart jumped, like it was given a whole new life. I was literally dizzy I was so excited.

“Oh my God, Laurie, do you mean that? You’ve made me the happiest man in the world! Let’s not wait! Let’s meet right now!” I was too excited, bursting with an uncontrolable happiness.

“Joel, I appreciate how much you need this, how much you love me, but you have to understand that I’m still a little cautious. I think you might be so excited to have me that you’ll say anything right now,” she said.

“Okay,” I said, “just tell me what you want me to do. I’ll do anything you want.”

“Okay,” Laurie said, “I want to get back into this slowly, for us to reconnect. Let’s go out on a date, to start fresh again. I’ll text you a restaurant to meet me at, in two weeks.”

My heart sank at having to wait another two weeks to see her, and I couldn’t help but sound a little whiny when I said, “Two weeks? Why so long?”

Laurie sounded like a mother chastizing an impatient child when she said, “If you’re serious about this being a new start, I want to make sure you’re committed. If you can’t wait two weeks, then can you really commit to putting in the time to win me back?” I knew this was going to be the hardest two weeks of my life, but I also knew that I had to earn her trust again, so I was going to do whatever it takes.

“It will be worth the wait,” Laurie said. “It’s going to be a romantic night, I’ll dress up, and the sex will be incredible.” I couldn’t believe my ears. It was everything I wanted to hear. “I’ve got to go now, Joel. Try not to masturbate too much thinking about me. I want you to save yourself for that night. It’s going to be incredible.”

We hung up, and almost immediately I got a text saying she had made a reservation at a restaurant I had never heard of before. I didn’t hear anything else from her before our big date. I was a powerful mix of emotions during those two weeks. Most of the time I was walking on cloud nine, thinking of little romantic gestures that I knew she would love. I thought about what which suit I’d wear. I checked the restaurant online, and it seemed like an elegant place, so I wanted to go formal. Everyone at my work noticed how giddy with excitement I was, and I couldn’t help telling them all that I was going to be seeing my wife again, and what it meant to me. I shouldn’t have let out so much personal information, but I was just too happy to not share it. All my coworkers were supportive and encouraging.

There were nights, though, when I was in bed, and thinking about Laurie, where I was nervous and scared. I worried that I might do something to ruin the night, and then by extension, ruin my chances to win her back. I worried that maybe I was no longer good enough for her, that maybe something had changed. And to be totally honest, a part of me worried that maybe she had cheated, but that I was so willing to take her back that it will get left unresolved. It’s hard to say what I was thinking about the fact that maybe she had cheated. Some small part of me, some voice, was trying to tell me something. But I was determined that I would get Laurie back, and I resolved that even if she had cheated, I would forgive and forget. I even thought that maybe if she had cheated, I could have very well pushed her into it. By being so paranoid and accusing her of cheating, I may have self fulfilled the prophecy but putting the idea into her head. I decided that even if that had happened, she seemed to want to be with me now, and that’s the important thing. Maybe she even went with another guy and realized I was more right for her, and we would be better off because of it!

After an eternity, the day finally came. I was dressed my best, had been to the barber, and did everything to make sure I was perfect for my true love. I brought a dozen red roses and a small gift of her favourite chocolates. I wanted it to be like a classic date. I got to the restaurant, which was part of a hotel complex. When I arrived, I was shown to a table right beside a large bay window, and it looked out over the city. I noticed it wasn’t the best view in the restaurant, as part of the hotel, which was in a separate tower, blocked part of the view of the city. I thought about changing seats to a better view, but then I thought I didn’t want to make presumptions that might offend her, so I sat down and waited for her to arrive. I eargerly anticipated the moment she would walk in the room. She always made an entrance that made everyone in the room turn and look, but this time it would be even more impactful on me. I couldn’t wait to see her statuesque form stride into the room. And, I have to admit, the thought of seeing her huge pillowy tits bounce as she walked toward me was also something I thought about and was eager to see. I ordered a bottle of champagne to be ready for when she arrived.

I was early, so I was ready to wait. Then the time came when she was supposed to arrive, and she wasn’t there. I was disappointed, of course, as every minute passed, and she wasn’t there, but I wasn’t too worried. 15 or twenty minutes late is no big deal. Then it got to half an hour. I thought about calling her, but then I thought I shouldn’t. I didn’t want to seem too eager. I could tell the restaurant staff and other customers were noticing me, the lone guy with the flowers who was clearly waiting for a date, and it was a little embarrassing, so I looked at out the view so as not to feel their gaze. I looked across at the hotel windows, and thought about taking Laurie to one of the rooms afterward, instead of taking her home, just so it would feel more like a date.

An hour passed, and I finally called, and she didn’t pick up. The waitress came by, and she could tell that something was wrong. She was nicely pouring water for me, and casually said, “I’m sure she’ll be here soon,” but I could tell she was starting to get anxious that my date wasn’t going to come and this was a lost tip for her. I smilled a thin lipped smile to be polite, but inside I was freaking out. My stomach churned. I called again. And then again. I sent text messages and E-mails. There was no response. I didn’t know what to do. I felt locked in my chair. Sitting there meant suffering the undeniable fact that she was not going to come. And if she didn’t come, I was going to be devastated. All that anticipation, all that preparation! But getting up and leaving meant giving up on what I hoped for most in the world. The gaze of the others in the restaaurant now felt decidedly mocking. They could tell I was a loser who had been stood up, and there was a mix of pity and laughter in the air. Sometimes I would nervously glance around and I would see people averting their gaze, and it stung. I was shifting nervously, and I know I looked like a mess. I didn’t dare drink the champagne until she arrived, so it sat there, and I didn’t know if I would have to pay for an unopened bottle of champagne or if I could give it back.

I sat there for a full two and a half hours, calling Laurie over and over and getting no response. The waitress had lost patience with me, and there was a line up of people near the bar waiting for seats. I felt the whole room looking at me like I was every bit the loser I felt like I was. FInally, I got up, I paid for the champagne, and left a generous tip for the waitress, and hurried out. I left the flowers on the table, hoping to just put it behind me, but just as I was walking by all the people at the bar, who had all been eyeing me hoping for my table, and I was trying to avoid their condemning gaze, the waitress came behind me and said, “Sir, you forgot these!” She held up the roses and chocolates for everyone to see, and I could tell that she was deliberately using it as a way of embarrassing me. I heard a few chuckles in the room, as well as pitying sighs, and I couldn’t even look up to see what their eyes might have looked like. Without a word, I just hurried out of the room, humiliated, and knowing they’d all be making comments about me for the rest of their evening.

I couldn’t understand it. How could Laurie just not show up like that? She lifted my heart up higher than I had ever felt it before, and then it came down harder and lower than it had ever been before. I was devastated. I couldn’t think straight. At home, alone, surrounded by pictures of her and the happy times we had together, I cried, I screamed at no one, I smashed things, I sat in stunned silence, I was literally sick to my stomach. I was so devastated, I had to call in sick to work for a few days. When I finally did show up, I got into petty fights with people, because of course they asked me how my date went and I didn’t want to talk about it, since I had been talking about it non stop before, and I would get defensive and strange about it. I even got called into my managers office where I was warned about my personal life affecting my work life too much, and that it would have to stop.

Of course I called and E-mailed Laurie, begging her to tell me what happened. Did I do something? Did she change her mind? Had something happened to her? I tried calling Lisa, but her number had changed, and I was unable to reach her. I was in the lowest hell I had ever been in my life. My friends couldn’t help and I pushed them away because they wouldn’t understand what I was going through. I was like a selfish child who wanted only one toy and would throw away any other. I didn’t want my friends, I wanted the love of my life. I wanted my wife. I wanted Laurie. I only wanted her. Before, when I was worried she was cheating, at least there was communication and certainty about what the problems were. But now, with her just disappearing and no explanation, it was twice as hard on my heart. I had no idea what happened, what it meant. I didn’t know if I could hope. I didn’t know if I should despair. My feelings flailed in every direction, and no matter which feeling I had, I immediately suffered the doubt of not knowing if I should feel that feeling.

Eventually I stopped writing and calling Laurie just out of exhaustion. My need to hear from her didn’t change, and I knew that, like before, probably the best way to get a response was to not keep pestering her. But as much as I wanted to do that, I couldn’t quite stop myself from trying to contact her. I just needed her so bad and my heart just hurt too much not knowing what she was doing. But the calls and messages did stop, because I ran out of words. I literally went to the very ends of my ability to express my love for her in every way possible. I exhausted every possible way of begging for her to grace me with even the slightest communication. I apologised for everything I did, might have done, and could have done. I just ran out of words.

I was in a haze for weeks. Underperforming at work, and getting more warnings. My friends had moved on. I was alone, and I felt like this was it, that I was never going to know what happened, and that I was doomed to always suffer the longing for the one true love of my life. To wait without being able to wait, for my wife that I loved beyond words. I had to hide my phone from myself at night, because otherwise I would be unable to sleep, constantly looking at it to see if there was any message from her. Which is what I did all day every day.

I thought it would be impossible to feel worse.

I was wrong.

I was at home, maturbating, thinking of Laurie, which I had been doing frequently, when my phone rang. I felt like I jumped out of my body for a moment when I saw her name on the screen. I didn’t know if I could believe it. It seemed like it would be impossible that I would ever see her name on my phone again.

“Hello? Laurie?” I said. “Hello Joel,” Laurie said. She sounded happy, cheerful. I let myself hope that maybe she was cheerful because she would say something positive, something about us getting back together.

“I’m sorry honey,” Laurie said, with some pity in her voice, but not losing her upbeat tone, “but this is it. I know I haven’t been in touch recently, anyway, but you’ve been calling and E-Mailing so much that I’m calling to say goodbye. He’s decided that it’s time to be done with you.”

“What? Who is deciding? What are you talking about?” I asked, completely confused.

Laurie calmly and cheerfully explained, “The man who called you. The man you were worried was fucking me. You were right all along Joel. He’s been my lover this whole time, and he’s enjoyed the process of taking me from you, but he’s decided now that it’s time for us to move on to new things.”

My jaw dropped. Everything I was suspicious of, the thing I feared so much that I didn’t even think it could be real, was true. Surely no man could really do that. No man could look at a woman, decide to steal her from a loving and committed marriage, and be so bold as to declare it so crassly up front like that. But Laurie was confirming it was true. She had been cheating on me all along, and all my paranoia was right, and she had been lying to me and betraying me the whole time. I just couldn’t accept it, though.

“Laurie, no, you can’t mean you’re with that man now?” I said, my voice hollow and weak.

“Yes, Joel,” Laurie said, “I’m with him now. I’ve been with him since the day after that call.”

“What? How? Why?” I asked, words just pouring out of my mouth without even thinking. I wasn’t even feeling the hurt that was welling up inside me yet. I was just so confused and in disbelief. I knew what was happening was something horrible that would cut me deep into my heart and soul, something that would hurt more than any man could or should bear. But I didn’t know exactly what it was yet. “I’m sorry, Joel,” Laurie said, “but I can’t tell you exactly how we met. He prefers that you don’t know any details about him.”

“What?” I yelled, in complete shock and disbelief. “Who cares what he wants! He doesn’t get to decide my fate, our fate! Who the hell does he think he is?”

“Joel, you wouldn’t understand,” Laurie purred. It was a tone of voice I had never heard from her before. She sounded like she was enjoying herself, and there was some sympathy in her voice, but it was more of a pity for how I would never be able to play on her level. “He’s rich, successful. Much more successful than you. He’s better looking. He’s more fun. And his cock is so much bigger, and he fucks so much better. How can I not be more attracted to him? Once I met him, I realized that I wasn’t with the right class of person. He makes me betray you because he knows he can do it, and that I can do it, because we’re the type of people who can treat others that way and get away with it. I felt bad about it a lot of the time, but the more we did it, the more it was clear how much more of a man he is than you.”

“Laurie, what are you saying?” I was still in shock, but now that the confusion was giving way to understanding, the hurt started to boil up inside me, like a black hole in the bottom of my stomach sucking in all light and love and feeling, leaving only hurt and despair in its place. “I can’t believe that you really believe what you’re saying right now. We had a real love that was deeper than most people. We’ve loved each other since we were kids. We’re a part of each other. There’s no way some guy could just come in and take all that away.”

“You’re wrong, Joel,” Laurie said. “We did have a true love, that part is true. But while I am the most a person like you can hope for, my love for you was only part of what the love I’m capable of. I just thought it was everything I deserved because I hadn’t seen what was possible for me. He opened my eyes. Now I know what real love is. I love him so much, so deeply, you wouldn’t understand. I still love you too, Joel, which is why I’m sorry for all the things we did to you, but I just love him so much more and that’s why I did everything he wanted. That’s why I’ll do anything he wants to make him happy, and to make him hard.”

“What do you mean,” I asked, “by “all the things you’ve done to me”?”

“I can’t even tell you all of it. All the things we’ve done behind your back,” Laurie said guiltily, “the ways I betrayed you, let him dominate you through me, and then laughed with him about it. It’s too much, too hurtful. You might not even believe all of it.”

“Laurie, what did you do?” I insisted.

“No, I can’t tell you, it would be too cruel,” Laurie said.

“Tell me! Tell me, Laurie, because I can’t believe you would ever deliberately do anything to hurt me! If you don’t tell me, I’ll know you’re lying!”

“The way he dominated you through me, making me do things that you wanted but only for him, it became exciting for me. It made me see his power. Oh, Joel, I don’t think you’d understand and it would be so cruel to tell you.”

“Tell me what?” I pressed.

“About how much better he is than you,” Laurie said, “It’s not just his cock is so much bigger, there’s so much about him. He deserves everything I give him.”

“I thought you loved me,” I whined.

“I did Jeff,” Laurie said, “But not as much as I love him now. I just can’t look at you without comparing you to him, and you seem so small, and weak. I’m sorry to say these things, but it’s true.”

“You’re going to throw away everything we had, all our years, all that true love ever since we were kids just for sex with this guy?” I said, my voice in a sort of yell, though because of my tears and unsteady breath, it didn’t come out as authoritative as I wanted.

“No, Joel, it’s not like that. I don’t love him more because the sex is better with him. The sex is better with him because I love him more. It’s not just that he has a bigger cock than you, that he’s better looking and more successful. He’s the kind of man that deserves a woman like me. It’s just a fact, and it’s true.”

“But you stayed with me! Doesn’t that mean you still loved me, and that a part of you wanted to be with me?” I said.

“Oh Joel, I do love you, but you wouldn’t understand what it’s like to be me and have men like you need me. It’s just normal for me to have men love me.”

“Why do it this way, though? Why did he make you do all these things instead of just breaking us up?”

“Because he enjoyed it, Joel,” Laurie said. “It makes him hard to know how much it would hurt you if you knew what we were doing. He would come up with ways for me to do things behind your back, and I let him because I’m happy when he’s happy.”

“WHy did you go along with it, though?” I asked, tears streaming down my face.

“It was easy,” Laurie said, “for me to have you love me, be sweet to me, to try and please me, because that’s what men like you do for me. It felt good to have you love me, and to be in love with him, and to have you do things for me that my needs and his. It felt right, and normal.”

“What exactly did you do?” I said with my voice weak and hollow, knowing that anything she answered with would devastate me, but I couldn’t stand her doing things that I didn’t know about. There was a long pause. It seemed like maybe she was talking to someone or moving around or something. Finally she came back on the phone and said, “All those times I called you at work, he was fucking me. Almost every single time I was on the phone with you after that day you got the call he was fucking me. He especially liked to tit fuck me while I held the phone to my ear and talked to you, his long and thick cock reaching my mouth and tongue. Sometimes I would suck his cock while I spoke to you, to see how much I could do without you noticing.” I thought about how I thought it was so sweet and thoughtful that she had started making a point of calling me at work. Whenever it happened my heart felt lifted up with love for her, and now it felt stomped on with pain every bit as much in opposition to the love that I thought it meant. Now I knew that she was doing it just to turn on this other man, and I truly felt how he was toying with me, setting me up to have happy feelings just so he could knock them down just for the amusement of his hard cock.

“Sometimes,” Laurie said, continuing while I was in stunned silence, “he would cum in my mouth just before I met you, and I would kiss you right away to see if you would taste it in my mouth, but you never noticed. I had to make sure that I swallowed everything that he shot into my mouth so completely that there wouldn’t be any trace, but it was tough because he always cums so much. It was like a game we played. He loved the idea of you kissing me after he had made my mouth his with his hot thick cum.” I thought back to all the times she seemed to bound into my arms when we would meet, thinking that she was being loving and affectionate, and now I know it was just so she could put her lips to mine as soon as possible after having had them on his cock. I felt sick. I was probably getting his semen and cum in my mouth. I can’t tell you how much it hurts to know that your wife would do such a thing.

“I shouldn’t go on,” Laurie said, and it sounded like she was holding something back. Her voice became muffled. I thought I heard laughter, but the phone was making noise like it was rubbing against some fabric or something, and nothing was clear.

“Hello? Hello!” I was yelling, and it was desperate and pathetic, I know, but somehow I felt like this was it, I was finally losing her completely, and it was scary for me. She was my one true love all my life, the one true love I imagined being with until the day I died. Losing her meant losing a piece of me, and I didn’t want to let go, even though she was hurting me so much. I imagine it’s the same if you had a limb that was injured and the doctor said he needed to amputate. Even though you might know it’s better for you, it’s too hard to imagine life without that limb. “Laurie!” I said, and then finally, she returned to the phone.

“Are you still there? Are you sure you want to hear more?” Laurie said. She didn’t sound sympathetic, though her voice wasn’t mean either. It was like talking to a child, she was amused that I might want to keep going. Part of me screamed a painful scream to hang up, to walk away, to tell her she couldn’t do this to me.

“What else did you do?” I heard myself saying.

“He would come over to our house and fuck me in our bed most of the time. Often when I was fucking him while talking to you on the phone, it was on our bed, surrounded by pictures of you and me together. Sometimes, he’d fuck me while I made dinner for you, and he would cum into the pot so that his cum would be in your meal. You’ve eaten a lot of his cum, more than you could imagine.” Every word from her was like a punch in my gut. I could have never imagined such sadism, and that it was coming from my own wife!

“What else did you do?” I said, weak from the pain in my heart. I don’t know why I wanted to hear more. It was so painful, my heart felt so hollow in a way I never imagined it could. Everything I knew about love was turned inside out. How could someone you loved and that loved you back do this to you? It seemed so impossible that there could be such cruelty and hurt in the world. Knowing that she had done such deliberately sadistic things to satisfy another man’scock hurt more than I can express in words. So you would think I wouldn’t ask for more, but, strangely, knowing she had been keeping secrets from me all along was just as painful. My imagination would go wild filling in the blanks, and even though the details hurt so much, it felt just as much or more painful not to know. I was trapped by their sadism, caught on a hook begging for more of what was killing me. And then it hurt to know that I was playing right into their hands, but I was beyond rationality. Nothing could have ever prepared me emotionally for this kind of emotional torture, so I was just reacting without foresight. When I look back, I wish I had just told her off or just hung up. I now look back and see that by continuing to listen and talk to her, I was just playing his game and making him hard at my expense. But all the rational thoughts came much later. At the time, my heart was spasming with pain I never knew could be so hurtful, and I wasn’t thinking straight enough to get away from it.

“It wasn’t just sex,” Laurie said. She was just open about it now, just telling me things without the pretense of saying she shouldn’t anymore. I could hear that she was hesitating a little between words, expecting me to lash out at some time, to cut her off, unsure if she should go on. But I let her. Somehow it made a dark and twisted sense to me, now that I was at the absolute bottom of the lowest pit of hell, to just hear it all, to know everything, to not wonder if there is yet more hell beneath me. “Remember the time the pipes burst and your baseball card collection was ruined?”

“He deliberately broke the pipes to ruin my collection?” I said, angrily.

“No, I did that, that’s why I was covered in plaster dust when you saw me,” Laurie said. “No, I had to do that in order to cover up what he did.”

“What did he do?” I asked, impatiently.

“He pissed on them. He opened the boxes, looked around at them and laughed at you for being like a little boy with your baseball card collection. I told him that you loved them, that they were probably your most prized possession, and that’s when he decided to piss on them. It was precisely because you loved them so much that he wanted to ruin them with his piss. He pissed on all your cards, and then made me suck him off, deliberately leaving less time after he left so that I would have to rush to cover it up before you got home. It was his way of making it a little exciting, that you might find out. I had to pour water all over them, and then I just barely managed to break the pipe open before you got home to make it look like it was an accident.”

“That fucking bastard! And you let him! how could you?” I said, even though i knew she would answer with the same thing she had been saying all along, that she would do anything to make him happy. She didn’t respond, because she also knew what answer I expected, and it seemed like she had her hand over the phone for a little while. There was a long pause, and I didn’t know what to say, and she didn’t say anything either. I thought about all the incidents, all the things that had been happening, how I had been right, but she had made me believe that it was me who was in the wrong. All my paranoias were turned against me, ruining me. It was like a perfect double betrayal, to both cheat on me and make me feel guilty for being the one suspecting anything. And that reminded me of the night that I went out to her sisters to catch her in the act.

“All those times you were at your sisters,” I asked, “You weren’t really with your sister?”

“I was,” Laurie said, “I was with my sister.” For a moment, I felt a little relief, as if not everything was going to be so bad. But then Laurie continued. “But he was there too, and we were having threesomes. I know having a threesome with me and my sister was something you fantasized about doing, but I wanted him to have that instead. It felt right, that he should have your fantasies. That one night you came over was so exciting. While you begged me to forgive you, Lisa was blowing him in her bedroom while he listened to you and laughed. It was intense knowing that his thick and hard cock was just 15 feet away from you and you had no idea. When you went out to your car, he told me to go to the window, and he fucked me from behind while I waved to you and you looked back up at me. After you drove away, me, my sister, and him had the most mind blowing sex. We always had mind blowing sex, the three of us. My sister and I would do whatever he wanted, putting on shows for him, playing with each others tits in front of him, and, oh, I’m sorry Joel. I got lost in the memories of it. I shouldn’t go on. I can’t even imagine how hurtful all this is to you.”

“You know damn well how much this hurts me!” I said, and I was crying with hurt and pain and rage, so my voice was cracking. I wanted to be tougher, to be more accusatory than wailing like a child, but my feelings were beyond my control. “After you moved out, I told you everything about how I felt, I poured all my feelings into those E-mails and phone messages to you! Didn’t you listen to them?”

“We listened to each and every one,” Laura said. “They were exactly what he wanted. He savoured each one. He would have me suck his cock while he read your E-mails outloud and laughed at you and made fun of everything you said. Oh, and Joel, some of the things you said were just so stupid I had to laugh too. One of his favorite things to do was push his cock harder into my mouth when I would laugh so that I would choke a bit. I loved how he did that, it was so powerful and masculine, more masculine than you ever could be. Other times he would fuck me slowly and romantically while we listened to your phone messages,” Laurie said. “Your pained voice was like the perfect aphrodisiac for him, making his cock hard like a rod of pure iron. I would quiver and cum over and over while you literally cried as you begged for me to come back to you. He even set up my phone so that sometimes we could hear your message live as you left it, knowing you were right at that moment hurting for me while I was having the best time of my life.”

I realized as she talked that while I was thinking that me giving her space was what made her eventually contact me again after begging to be with her so much, it was actually that I had stopped giving them what they wanted to laugh at me. So they set it up to contact me so that I would start hurting more and giving them more chances to mock me, and to fuck with him being so turned on by how he was dominating me. I felt so humiliated, and ashamed, and angry, and hollow. “What about the date we were supposed to have? You promised me that we would get back together. You promised you would dress up, and that it would be so romantic, and that we would have amazing sex.”

“No, I said that I would dress up, and that it would be romantic, and that the sex would be amazing. And it was all of those things, it really was. Just not for you. I was with him, we were in a hotel room across from the restaurant where we could watch you. We had a perfect view of you, squirming and embarrassed and alone. At first we had a nice dinner with wine while we watched you, laughing at how you squirmed. Then when you started calling me and begging for me to answer, we had one of our best fucks ever, watching you as well as listening to you. We have you to thank for it. You did make it a romantic night for us. You did exactly what we wanted you to do to make him hard.”

“And then after that, you provided us with more and better messages to entertain him with. We’ve really enjoyed the last few weeks. I never imagined how good it could feel having a man beg for me like you did while another man fucked me. Now I know, though, and I’m going to to do it more. There are so many men who want me, who are there to suffer to make his cock hard. So, that’s why this is the end now for you. We’re done with you. You should be happy. People in your place exist to serve people like us. You have a purpose. If you truly love me like you say you do, you’ll be happy that I’m happy. You can call or message me anytime, and when you do, know that I’ll be truly happy to read or hear it, because I’ll be sucking and fucking him. Just like I am right now.”

“You’re fucking him right now??!!” I practically shrieked, my voice was hoarse with shock.

“Yes, he wanted to have his cock inside me while I told you goodbye. It makes him hard, and I love making him haaaaAAAAARD! Oh God! I love it! I can’t hold back anymore! It feels too good! His Cock! HIS COOOOOOOOOCK!! It’s so much better than you! His cock is better than everything about you!! I’m cuuummminnngggyyAAAAAHHHH!!” I listened to her orgasm like I could never make her do, and her voice scream with a wild abandon that I never knew she was capable of. It was a whole side of her that I never knew, and as I head it, I realized that she really was on a different level now. Something about the honestly of her screaming in pleasure revealed that she was truly where she wanted to be. The whole time, though, I was unconsciously mumbling “No, no, no,” over and over again. I know I should have called her a bitch and hung up or something like that, but it was like a nightmare where you can’t seem to run away from the monster even though you want to. In fact, the whole thing seemed too cruel, too much, to believe. I think a part of my brain couldn’t accept the reality of it and was unable to come up with a real response. I was just left in a shattered state of incoherent suffering. I listened while my wife came over and over, unable to do anything about it. I didn’t know where she was or who she was with. The only thing I knew was that she was betraying me more cruelly than I ever imagined anyone could ever betray anyone else.

“I’m going to drink his cum now,” Laurie said, “while I do, he wanted to say something to you.” I heard Laurie make muffled and wet noises as she must have been taking his cock into her mouth. I could tell the phone was passed to him. I heard the sound of the phone being moved around, and there was a pause, and then I could hear his breathing, excited, as he was about to cum in my wife’s mouth.

“WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?!” I yelled into the phone.

“I’m the guy you lost to,” he said, with a hint of amusement, and then he started to grunt, which I could tell meant he was cumming. Into Laurie’s mouth. I was too stunned to speak. I listened while he grunted, and after a while, his grunts morphed into laughing. You’ve never heard a man sound so completely satisfied. Everything, and I mean everything from the moment he phoned me all those months ago all the way up to this moment where he was cumming into my wife’s mouth while I cried on the phone, had all gone perfectly for him, and he knew it, and I knew it. And I thought I could hear Laurie laugh in the background, and then he hung up the phone.

“Hello? Hello?” I said. I tried redialling Laurie’s number, but there was no answer. Each time I redialled I got more and more angry and frustrated because of how it meant that they were ignoring me, listening to the phone ring, and that it would satisfy them to know that I needed to express myself, but that I couldn’t, that they wouldn’t let me. They had the power to deny me the satisfaction and they knew it, and I knew it too.

“AAAAARRRHHH!!” I screamed as I threw the phone against the wall. And then I felt stupid as I watched the phone break into pieces and fall on the floor. All I was doing was break my own things, causing more difficulty for myself, and have no effect on them. I felt so impotent as I didn’t have any idea who this guy was, where he was or anything so that I could go and do something about it. I wanted to punch him in the face. I wanted to kill him. I didn’t know enough of anything to do any of that, though. All I knew was that he had somehow taken the woman I loved from me and that he was fucking her right at that moment. I knew that they knew how much I was hurting, and the angrier and more hurt I was, the more they were enjoying having sex.

The only person I knew that had any kind of connection was Laurie’s sister Lisa. I immediately drove all the way out to her apartment, and found that she had moved out. I had absolutely nothing to go on.

My life from that point was terrible, to say the least. By day, I would drive around places that I knew Laurie used to hang out at, or where people she knew lived, but I never caught any glimpse of her. If anyone who knew Laurie saw me, they would call the cops, and I found I had a reputation among the police as a stalker. I managed to avoid doing anything that would have me arrested or a restraining order put on me, but I was warned about those things many time. My behavior affected my work, and I was let go. I lost the house when I couldn’t keep up my mortgage payments.

Half of the of what I got back from the part of the house that had been paid for went to Laurie in the divorce, which was all handled through lawyers. Of course I tried to get my lawyer to force Laurie to show up, but eventually a judge said that I wasn’t even allowed to attend meetings between our lawyers because the potential of me becoming violent. No one believed the story I told about this one call and then me becoming justifiably suspicious, not even my own lawyer. Of everything that was left after the divorce, too much went to my own lawyer who even advised me to settle so that he would not take any more of my money. I had to get a small apartment in a worse part of town, and that hurt because as far as I knew, the guy Laurie was with, whoever he was, was rich and she didn’t need to take anything from me, she just did it because it entertained them for me to suffer. He paid for the best lawyers, and the guy I could afford was no match.

It was so unfair. They shouldn’t be allowed to get away with it. It’s not right for people to be so cruel and get away with it, but I couldn’t see how I could do anything about it. They had gotten away with it completely, and were happy and enjoying themselves while I was ruined. It hurt so much knowing that the more I felt hurt, the more they would be happy to know about it.

At night, I became weak and I would alternate between masturbating, thinking about Laurie, and calling her up to beg her to talk to me. I even said in the messages that I would be okay if she stayed with the other guy as long as I could see her a little too, that’s how low I got. And of course I knew that every time I did that, they were listening to my messages and laughing at me while they fucked. So in the morning, I would wake up with murderous rage, mostly at myself for being so weak, but directed at them. So I would begin again hunting around for them, wanting to kill them. That was the cycle I was in. Plotting murder all day, and masturbating and crying at night. Knowing they were laughing at me and that every single thing I was doing would amuse them and they would entertain themselves with to know about while they fucked.

It’s impossible to put into words how that kind of betrayal feels. I loved Laurie since the beginning of when I started to become interested in girls, so she wasn’t just a girl I loved, she took the entirety of all the love I had to give in my life to women. It took me years to get over it. Maybe I never even truly did. And not only did she betray me, it was all just for the amusement of another man’s cock. To have your whole life, your whole existence, and everything you thought you believed about love reduced down to being a mere plaything for another man’s hard cock is more belitting than you can possibly imagine. I wanted to believe it wasn’t true, that I had more value than that, but everything had happened so perfectly to satisfy him, that it crushed me to contemplate it.

Even when I finally was able to get over the hurt and the distrust of women just enough, though never completely, start to think about going out again, I then had the problem of not being able to find a woman who compared. Laurie was one of the most beautiful women in the planet, it was near impossible to find a woman who could look that good, and be as nice, and be available.

However, God granted me a second miracle in life. I met Avril. She was four years younger than me, half Thai and half German, straight black hair, sexy lips, almond eyes, and an amazing body. She was a little shorter, but still had everything in perfect proportion. Long legs, an hourglass figure and the one thing out of proportion was her firm melon sized tits. She grew up in California, so she spoke English perfectly, and was amazing in every way. I was still comparing her to Laurie, but Avril was able to play on Laurie’s level. I thought that maybe she could be the medicine I needed to finally put Laurie behind me. I couldn’t believe I had such good luck. We moved in together after six months and then we got engaged after a year. I felt like I could maybe be happy again. We developed a deep bond, one that I felt I could finally put my faith into again. We went to church together, and I knew that her faith was strong, that she wouldn’t betray me.

Then one day I was walking down the street on a sunny day with Avril and everybody, men and women, turned their head to see Avril go by in her tight white t-shirt and short jean shorts. I was so proud, and happy. And I was finally happy again. My phone rang and I pulled it out of my pocket and answered without taking notice of the screen. I was in such a good mood, with Avril smiling at me, and me smiling back.

“I’m going to fuck your girlfriend. Hah hah hah!”

Click.