Blind Faith

"So I outsmarted you with the cameras, and I outsmarted your PI."

"Until --."

"Wait, I'm not done."

"But -- "

"All right, if you really need to interrupt me. I was just getting on a roll."

He laughed.

"Go ahead. Laugh your head off until it's time for the last laugh."

"Okay. But I want to be serious for a second. You're using the kids in this situation, but you never told them anything, did you? That's what you said. I know they're getting older, but --."

"Of course not, stupid," Hon interrupted. "Have you been listening to me at all? I told you that I decided for the sake of the kids to stay here so they could grow up with a father. That's why I gave you the divorce papers.

"Can't you understand? You won. All the money is back in our accounts and the loans are being paid off. You'll get half of everything and get to see your children. I'm letting you get away with murder."

"I think I understand. So you stole the money?"

"Yes, but I gave it back."

"Both without me knowing it. And I can check on the transactions."

"I don't know. Morris was shocked that I changed my mind, and he told me he'd have to do double the work to make it look like nothing happened."

"And, of course, there's no record of your payments to Morris."

"Absolutely not. There's no evidence that he even exists. He's very careful."

"And all this because Jerry told Val what I said at O'Blivion's."

"That started it, but I've heard you myself."

"You did? How?"

"The recordings! Have you been listening?"

"Oh yes, the recordings. I forgot the PI. He followed and photographed and filmed me and Raven, but for some reason, he never got one shred of evidence. So I'm the best cheater in history."

"You're practicing for the courtroom, but you're no lawyer."

"This is what I'm going to testify to the jury. I've got a hot assistant who likes to flirt with customers and tell dirty jokes even though she and her husband go to church every Sunday.

"She found out about the guys talking about her on boys' night out, and she hatched up a way to have fun with them. I got sucked into her plot and -- yes -- I had a good time making up outrageous stories."

"And then you'd tell her what they said," Hon said, interrupting him, "and the two of you would have a good laugh. You expect me to believe that."

"Not the last part. You know me better than that. She's tried to pump me a few times, but I never told her one word that anyone said at O'Blivion's, just like I'll never tell you. It's disgusting and not for the ears of a lady. She had to be satisfied with tormenting the guys whenever she saw them."

"Very good!" Hon snapped. "This was all innocent fun, and the guys will back you up, and so will Raven. You probably have your stories all prepared for me. But I saw your eyes last night. They never left Raven."

"Raven and I decided to stop our joke. It ended last night at the party. I watched Raven tell each of the guys about our prank to see how they reacted. They all took it well. Want to know why?"

"Sure."

"The guys are all hot air, but down deep they are silly and sentimental."

"What?"

"They were sure I was ruining our marriage and we would get divorced --"

"They were right about that."

"They love you, and they love me. They love us together and were worried about us splitting."

"How sweet! I bet their wives would love to hear what they say about them at O'Blivion's."

"They may say things about them, but they love them. You know I would never say anything about you.

"Did you know I hired my own PI, who's been following you and recording you. He resigned and wouldn't take a penny because you messed with his mind by never saying a negative word about me."

"That's a nice fantasy story, but you're getting maudlin," Hon said. "I think we're finished -- with your secret and our marriage both."

"This is the most dramatic situation you've ever come up with," Balek said. "I still can't figure out how it ends."

"You know how it ends."

"All I know so far is you investigated me, and then you stole all my money and returned it all, although there's no way to prove you ever did anything. There's also no proof that I did anything wrong, but you want a divorce. You say you cheated on me although I know you didn't. Do I have everything straight?"

"If that's how you want to look at it, it's fine with me."

"It doesn't work."

"What do you mean?"

"You started off good with O'Blivion's, but after that, it got too fantastic. Your situation's got to be more believable for me to play it. That's why I'm having trouble keeping a straight face.

"If you want me to believe you're going to divorce me, you've to come up with something plausible to build it on. You know I'd never cheat on you. Just like you'd never steal our money. And then the clincher. There is absolutely no way in creation that you'd ever cheat. How can I know what move to make next when there's no logic, no reason, no connection with reality?"

She looked at him sadly.

"I guess you got me, Balek. What can I say? You've figured it all out. The situation doesn't work."

"Don't look so sad," he said. "Come on. There's nothing wrong. It doesn't work because I love you and you love me. What's sad about that?"

"Nothing," she said, getting up from the table slowly. She was still frowning.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"I'll be right back," she said as she went into her office and came back in a few moments holding another manila envelope, this one thin.

"You're right," she said as she slowly sat down and pushed the envelope at him. "The situation doesn't' work -- except for this."

He opened the envelope and pulled out a photograph. It was a close-up of something and the focus wasn't good.

"What's this?" he asked.

"This is what I was so excited about the night I came home and told you and the kids that I finally had what I needed. This is what Carl gave me that night."

"What is it? It's not a very good photograph. I can't make anything out."

There was a sob in her bitter laugh.

"To the end, Balek! You won't give up. Look at you. The photo isn't admissible, but if you fight the divorce, Linda's going to depose all your buddies at O'Blivion's. Maybe all of them will perjure themselves, but she told me with that many men lying, it'll be easy for her to trip at least one of them up. So Raven will have to go to the judge's chambers with a matron, and the matron will testify about what she sees."

"What are you talking about?"

"What's right in front of your eyes -- the rabbit!"

"What rabbit?"

She laughed another bitter laugh.

"Why don't you tell me in your own words," she said, pulling out her phone. She poked at it with her fingers and he heard a recording start. She turned the volume all the way up and he was startled to hear his voice.

"No she doesn't have any piercings. But she does have something that I love to look at. When I've got my mouth over her pussy, and my tongue is driving her wild, I'm looking right at it."

"What is it?" the voice of Charley asked.

"It's a little tattoo of a rabbit. She got it when she was a wild teenager, and then she was ashamed of it, so her pussy hair almost covers it. The only way to see it is to eat her out."

She turned off the recording and glared at him. He stared at her with his mouth open.

"You recorded me," he said, stunned.

"Have you listened to a word I said?"

Suddenly the blood drained from his face, and he looked down at the photo.

"Where did you get this?" he demanded. "Who took it? How? Have you shown this to anyone? Does Raven know?"

"Calm down," she said when his words stopped tumbling out of this mouth. She was startled because his fear was so palpable that it was sucking the air out of the room. She saw he was on the edge of hysteria as his words began erupting again. This time he was talking to himself as if there was no one else in the room.

"I knew it the second I said it. I betrayed her trust. She never imagined I'd tell them something true. I swore to never say it again, but it's too late. What have I done?"

As he talked to himself, his body began shaking and he grabbed his head with his hands and slowly pulled it down until it was resting on the table. He sat there shaking. When he stopped talking, he began making strange moaning sounds.

Hon watched him amazed. He was like a different person -- no longer the self-assured man with a smug smile who had deflected all her efforts to get through his denial.

Because he had never cracked, she half expected him to come up with some smart answer to the photograph. She was shocked at how fast he had fallen apart.

Hon felt something pulling at her, but she looked around, and he wasn't touching her. Then she realized what it was, and she pulled back. But it didn't stop, and finally she gave up and let the force pull her up and direct her feet as she walked around the table to where Balek still had his head down.

She leaned over and put her arms around him and spoke soothing words in his ear. Then she shocked herself by kissing him tenderly on the back of his neck.

He raised his head and sniffed. As soon as he did, she quickly ran around the table and sat down facing him again and tried to hide her concern.

He stared at her bleary eyed and said nothing. She decided to speak.

"Let me answer your questions if I can remember them," she said in a calm, even tone. "I got the photo from Carl. I have no idea how it was taken, but I'm sure it wasn't legal. I guess someone paid off a masseuse or someone in charge of the showers at the health club where she works out. I don't know for sure.

"What else? No, I've never shown it to anyone else. I wasn't going to show it to you, but you made me. Only Carl and his photographer have seen it, but they gave me the thumb drive with all the originals, and it's safely hidden.

"Raven doesn't know about the photos, and as far as I'm concerned she never has to know. As soon as the divorce is final, I'm going to burn this print and the thumb drive. The only reason I showed to you was to make you see there are consequences to actions that can hurt people, so you better not fight the divorce.

"I hate Raven's guts because the two of you destroyed our family, and when I got the photo, I did think for a moment about how good it would feel to destroy her. But I've moved past that. She won't lose Gavin, but I hope she at least suffers a little when she sees what she did to us."

As soon as she said that, she regretted it, because Balek let out an anguished wail. He sounded like a dying animal.

He spoke, but to the photo, not to her.

"Yes, you have to suffer the consequences because you innocently told me about the tattoo. And I betrayed you. Now your life is destroyed."

As he spoke, Hon fidgeted in discomfort. Her mind was racing. For the first time this morning, she was at a loss for words. She heard him mumble something, and it gave her an excuse to speak to him.

"What did you say?"

"I said you were right."

"What do you mean?"

"You said that actions have consequences, and you are so right. You couldn't be more right.

"Raven thought it would be fun for me to invent things to tell the guys at O'Blivion's. I thought it was for laughs. Now there's a photo that can destroy her life."

"But I told you I wouldn't use it," Hon insisted. "I told you that it was just a thought. I won't hurt her."

Balek looked up from the photo and faced her. Tears were streaming down his face, but she saw that he didn't see her. He was off in a world of his own and still talking to himself.

"She never did a thing to me. Dear God, what have I done?"

"Let's talk about this," Hon said. "I don't think you heard what I said just now. I also want you to repeat again, slower this time, about how you know about the rabbit."

When she said the word "rabbit," Balek's body jumped, He put his head down again and covered it with both hands.

"You aren't listening, Balek," she pleaded. "I won't show the photo to anyone else. I swear!"

Slowly, he raised his head and wiped his face on his arm. He moved his shoulders and neck around as if they were sore and he was stretching them. Then he relaxed, and when he spoke his voice was no longer frantic. It was calm and cold.

"I heard every word you said, Hon. It's not your fault. I believe you. I know you would never show that photo to anyone. You would never do anything that despicable.

"You're not the problem. It's me. There would never have been any photo if I hadn't betrayed Raven. Now the photo exists. It's like a bullet in the chamber. I know you would never fire it, but it could still go off and kill Raven, because I loaded it.

"I'm ready to play my part in your situation. I'll tell the kids whatever you want, or I'll make up something about why you have to move away with them and why I can't ever see them again.

"I'll sell my business and give you all the money. I'll sell the house. You can have all the savings and investments. I'll sign off on anything you put in front me.

"I'll sign the petition right now. Get the paperwork on the other stuff together as fast as you can and I'll sign off. I only want two things in return."

As he spoke, his calmness began to dissolve, and by the end of his speech, the words were once again coming out so fast that he was losing his breath.

"Stop talking for a second," Hon said. "You're going to hyperventilate. Listen to me. You're all wrong. I don't want any of that."

He got hold of himself and continued in a calm voice again.

"The first thing I want is a nice winter fire in the fireplace when I sit down in the living room to sign all the papers.

"Then as soon as I sign the last one, I want that photo and the thumb drive. You swear there are no other copies?"

He waited for her answer.

She was lost in thought and his question didn't register for a few seconds.

"What? Yes, I told you already there weren't. But you don't have to --"

"Thank you. Just thinking about those photos is scaring me to death. As long as they exist, there's a chance somebody else will see them. I don't think I'm going to sleep until I see them burning in the fireplace."

He shuddered and looked at her. She was staring at him with wide eyes.

"Balek, we need to talk," she said.

"I've finished," he said. "Now you can talk as much as you want, right after you say yes."

"Yes to what?"

"You heard what I said. Just say yes, you agree to my deal. As soon as I sign everything over to you, I get to burn the thumb drive and all the photos."

"But I want to say something first."

"Just say yes."

"You're not thinking straight."

"We can talk about that as soon as you say yes."

"Please, let me talk to you."

"Not until you say yes. Why won't you say it? You get what you want. I get what I want. Just say yes."

She didn't say anything. He saw she was exasperated with him, but he wasn't going to give in. Finally, she spoke, trying to control her frustration.

"Have you calmed down?"

"Yes, but I'm waiting for you to say yes."

"No."

"What do you mean no?"

"Exactly what I said. No."

"You mean no, you're not going to answer until I let you talk? You don't mean your answer is no."

"I mean my answer is no."

"Why? What more do you want?"

"I don't want any more. All I want is for you to listen to me. No, forget that. That's not it anymore. No means you better do what I say or you're never getting the photos."

"So it's blackmail."

"Yes."

"Okay. What do you want?"

"The first thing I want is for you to lean over the table and look into my eyes."

As he leaned over, she did, too, and she didn't stop until their faces were inches from each other.

"Keep looking into my eyes. I'm going say something and after I say it, all you have to say is either 'Truth' or 'Lie.'

"All right."

"I am never going to show those photos to anyone, no matter what happens."

"Something could still -- ."

"Shut up, Balek. Look into my eyes. Truth or lie."

He looked into her eyes.

"Truth, but --"

"Shut up and listen. I will never hurt Raven or do anything that might hurt her marriage to Gavin. Truth or lie."

"Truth."

He put up his hand to stop her from saying anything else. His body was shaking, and he labored to breathe. She watched him gradually control himself and exhale loudly, then take a deep breath. He did that a couple of more times as he moved his shoulders around, and then he relaxed and spoke to her.

"Okay, I'm sorry I interrupted. Please go on."

"You have to look into my eyes again," she said. "Ready?"

"Yes."

"I'm beginning to think that maybe you didn't cheat. Truth or lie."

He took a breath.

"Lie. You never really thought I cheated. You got carried away with your situation."

"Shut up and tell me whether you think you can ever forgive me for what I've done."

He didn't answer right away, and as he looked at her, she saw something come over him. His body that was wound up tightly since he had broken down began to unwind. Color slowly came back to his face. His eyebrows relaxed and his mouth loosened.

He still had tear streaks on his face, but otherwise it was hard to tell that he had gone to pieces in front of her eyes only a few minutes ago. As he spoke, he had the same bemused attitude as earlier.

"I can't forgive you and won't forgive you. Why should I forgive you when you never did anything?"

She sighed as she wondered how she should respond. Then she got an idea. She spoke seductively.

"Shut up. I feel like a nice roaring winter fire in the fireplace right now. Truth or lie. Look into my eyes."

"Truth."

"While you make the fire using the stuff in the two manila envelopes on the table, I'm going to fetch a thumb drive, and you are going to sit on the couch and watch it burn while I give you the best blowjob you've ever had."

His eyes opened wide.

"Wow! Where did that come from?"

"I know you love blow jobs," she said.

He shook his head.

"You got me again. Another surprise! Wait a minute!"

"What?"

"There's something you're leaving out. You know I love blowjobs. But why did you think of that right now?"

"I love you."

"Don't change the subject. The subject is the blow job. Why the blow job?"

"I told you why?"

"That's not the whole truth."

She began crying.

"That won't work. Tell me why a blow job right now."

She cried, and he waited. She said something in barely a whisper.

"What was that, something about 'stumble.'"

"No, I said humble," she said, looking down at the table.

"What about humble?" he said.

"I thought of what the pastor said on Sunday about if someone commits evil, he needs to be humbled. During the sermon, I was thinking about how I was going to humble you."

"What does that have to do with a blowjob?"

"I was the one who committed evil, so I'm going to get on my knees in front of you and put my head down between your legs and humble myself."

He looked at her like he couldn't believe his ears. Then he laughed.

"Thanks a lot for spoiling the blowjob. I think maybe you were preoccupied at Lambs on Sunday because you misunderstood what the pastor was saying. For evil deeds, you pray and humble yourself to God, not to your husband.

"I'm the one who needs to humble himself. You never did anything wrong. I'm the one who shamed someone and came close to destroying her life."

Hon lifted her head to the sky and closed her eyes and pleaded.

"Please, dear God, open his eyes."

Balek smiled as he listened to her.

"No BJ for me," he said. "That will be my penance until I figure out a better one. I was going to say no sex for me, but I chickened out because I was just thinking of us together on the couch watching the thumb drive burn, and if you look under the table, you'll realize my difficulty."