Is Love Enough? Novel – I caught my husband had an affair with a woman. That man sitting at a table by himself looked almost exactly like my boyfriend Jeremy. But that couldn’t be! I just dropped Jeremy off at the airport this morning. He planned to be out of town on business for the entire week! I blinked her eyes a couple of times and then squinted to get a better look. It is Jeremy! A lovely, red-haired beauty at least ten years younger than Allison, hurried up to Jeremy, gave him a quick peck on his lips, and then sat down across the table from him. The woman wore a simple, sleeveless, green dress that was cut well above the knee and accentuated her lovely, well-endowed figure and her peaches and cream complexion.
As soon as she was seated, Jeremy reached for her hand across the table. My heart sank. She could almost hear the sound of her world crumbling around her. How could he lie to me so easily? He said he was going on a business trip. How many other lies has he told me that I so naively believed? How could he have intercourse with her and with me, too? Was intercourse with me just not good enough? How long has this been going on with her? Has he been unfaithful to me all of our married lives? Well, hate it! I may be leaving. But I’m leaving him with nothing! I’m going to take all I can and even more if I’m lucky.
Allison needed to hurry to make it to her luncheon date on time. Once she was seated at her table, the waitress brought a menu and took her drink order. As she sipped her diet soda, she received a text from Sharon saying that she was running about fifteen minutes late and asking Allison if she would mind waiting. Allison texted back that waiting was no problem and that she was looking forward to their lunch together. After browsing through the menu and quickly deciding what she planned to order, Allison began looking around the neighborhood. It was a beautiful late spring day — warm, but not too hot. A low pressure front had passed through during the night and the showers that accompanied it seemed to have washed the humidity right out of the air. The high pressure that they were now enjoying made the air clear and sparkling as it gave the streets and buildings of Old Town a look of newness that they hadn’t seen in over a hundred years.
Allison noticed Amy’s Restaurant across the street and absentmindedly thought that Sharon must enjoy open-air dining because Amy’s also offered outdoor tables. Then something strange caught Allison’s eye. That man sitting at a table by himself looked almost exactly like Jeremy. But that couldn’t be! I just dropped Jeremy off at the airport this morning. He planned to be out of town on business for the entire week! She blinked her eyes a couple of times and then squinted to get a better look. It is Jeremy! Just as she was standing to cross the street and find out what was going on, the scene playing out in front of her caused her to slowly lower herself back into her chair. A lovely, red-haired beauty at least ten years younger than Allison, hurried up to Jeremy, gave him a quick peck on his lips, and then sat down across the table from him.
Allison’s first thought was to rationalize away the obvious. She must be someone he works with or perhaps a daughter of a friend. She continued to watch them mesmerized by their actions. The woman wore a simple, sleeveless, green dress that was cut well above the knee and accentuated her lovely, well-endowed figure and her peaches and cream complexion. As soon as she was seated, Jeremy reached for her hand across the table. Allison’s heart sank. She could almost hear the sound of her world crumbling around her. Jeremy’s one, small, loving gesture of reaching across the table for that woman’s hand negated any chance that they might be merely be friends or business acquaintances. Allison’s first thought was to run and keep running as far and as fast as possible. She wanted to outrun this horrible nightmare that she was witnessing. She wanted to outrun the actual physical pain that she felt squeezing her heart. However, as if she were watching a train wreck, knowing what she was witnessing was horrendous, she still couldn’t turn her eyes away.
As she watched, Jeremy slipped his hand inside his suit coat and brought out a long, dark-blue, velvet box. He once again reached for the woman’s hand across the table and lovingly placed the box in her palm. Allison could tell that the woman was beside herself with excitement as she quickly opened the box. Allison’s jaw dropped slightly as she watched the woman remove an exquisite diamond bracelet, wrap it around her slender wrist, and extend her wrist across the table asking Jeremy to fasten it for her. The woman admired her expensive gift for a few seconds by turning her wrist this way and that way catching the sparkle of the diamonds in the sunlight. Then suddenly, that horrible woman jumped out of her seat, ran around the table, plopped herself on Jeremy’s lap, and pecked him passionately. Allison watched in horror as Jeremy tenderly returned her peck and even deepened it by placing his hand on the back of her head. Just the way he always pecks me. That was all she could take. She felt light-headed and nauseous. She had to get out of there — immediately.
She dropped a few bills on the table and tried to stand, but she felt numb from head to toe. As much as she wanted to march across that street and claw both their eyes out, she didn’t want Jeremy to know what she’d seen. So, after taking a deep breath, she made her way through the restaurant and kitchen to the back door that led to the alley. She walked around the block to her car, and as she pulled away, she couldn’t help taking one last look in the rearview mirror. Their heads were nearly touching across the table as they talked quietly the way lovers do. Allison drove home in shock. When she arrived, she had no idea how she’d driven there. She was barely able to put together a single thought. However, she did know one thing. She knew she had to leave. Her life, as she’d known it, was over. She didn’t want to see or talk to Jeremy.
She didn’t want to hear that he loved that beautiful, young woman. Or, if he didn’t love her, Allison didn’t want to listen to him apologize or try to justify his actions. How could she believe anything he said? The unwavering trust that she’d always had in him was obliterated, and she didn’t think it could ever be restored. — Allison walked through her house as if she was a zombie, and that is exactly how she felt – like a member of the walking dead. She let the dogs out and tried to take in the scene she’d just witnessed. She let the dogs in and tried to understand what Jeremy was doing. She fed the dogs and tried to comprehend what had happened to her happy marriage. She once again let the dogs out, but this time she followed them and sat on the rustic, wooden bench in her garden. Sitting there in her beautiful backyard, a feeling of finality began to seep in.
This was it! It was all over — the marriage, the love, the happiness, the camaraderie, the wonderful intercourse, the dreams, the safety, the trust — everything between them was over. Then sadness overwhelmed her. It felt like someone was pouring thick, syrupy sadness all over her head that ran down her body seeping into every pore until she was filled with nothing but sadness. She looked out at her beautiful garden and hated the thought of leaving it. In many ways, the beauty and order of this tranquil place was a metaphor for her life with Jeremy. She hated the thought of some other woman benefitting from the fruits of her labor. For a few minutes, she entertained thoughts of running to the garage, grabbing the weed killer, and spraying every lovely thing in her garden. If she couldn’t have that serene, soul-lifting place, then no one should have it! Those thoughts lasted only a few moments, though. She had always personified the plants in her garden.
Of course, they were living things. But to her, as to many gardeners, her plants had their own personalities, their own needs, and their own happy places. Together, they formed their own community complimenting each other or irritating each other just as members of a human community do. No, they shouldn’t have to give their lives for her sorrow. Of course, they would never thrive again without her loving care. But, they would survive and support each other for many years to come even without her. She sat on that bench until it was almost too dark to see her garden, looking at each plant, and trying to embed their beautiful images in her mind to take with her. When the darkness surrounded her, her sadness began to change. She began to get angry. Then slowly, her anger grew and grew and changed into rage and then malevolence.
How could he do this to us? If there was a problem in our marriage, why didn’t he come to me and talk it out as we did all our other problems? If he was that unhappy, why didn’t he show some sign or ask for a divorce? How could he humiliate me this way? How could he lie to me so easily? He said he was going on a business trip. How many other lies has he told me that I so naively believed? I even helped him pack this morning — deciding just what ties to take. I dropped him off at the airport, and he pecked me good-bye as though he really was leaving town. How could he have intercourse with her and with me, too? Was intercourse with me just not good enough? How long has this been going on with her? Have there been others before her? Has he been unfaithful to me all of our married lives? Do all our friends know that he’s having an affair? Does everyone he works with know that he’s having an affair? How long has he been dissatisfied with me? My body? My hair? My face? My personality? My age? My tastes? How could he not know that this would devastate me?
Did he just not care? Where did he get the money for a diamond bracelet? Weren’t we supposed to be saving for a trip to Europe? What else has he lied to me about? His job? His friends? What other things has he hidden from me? Money? Bank accounts? Investments? Listen to me!! I am such a cliché! I’ll bet every other woman that was ever cheated on has asked exactly these same questions that I’m asking. It is so disgusting that he has put me in this humiliating situation! Still she had not shed a tear. At first, she felt only shock, and then, she felt only extreme rage. She hated him. She actually hated him for betraying her and for playing her for such a fool. Well, hate it! I may be leaving. But I’m leaving him with nothing! I’m going to take all I can and even more if I’m lucky. Inside once again, she grabbed a diet soda from the fridge. She wasn’t at all hungry. But she had work to do, and she needed the caffeine to get it done!