Full of Surprises

"Hey honey, it's me," I said into my cell phone. It was Friday, a little after 4:30 PM, and I was standing in a crowded terminal at O'Hare International Airport. "I have some bad news."

"Was your flight delayed?" my wife asked. I could hear disappointment in her voice.

"Canceled," I said.

She sighed. "Are you able to get onto another flight?"

"Well, I was on standby for another flight, but they just told me that it's full. They were going to try to get me set up in a hotel for the night, but I think there's going to be a lot of people stranded here."

"Oh, that's terrible," my wife said. "I was really looking forward to seeing you tonight."

"Yeah, me too," I said. "I tried to call you about half an hour ago, but you didn't pick up. Were you out?"

"Yeah, I just got home," she replied. "I just dropped the kids off at your parents'."

"You did?" I asked. "Why'd you take them over to Mom's?"

"Well, I was planning a little surprise for you tonight. I picked up a bottle of that Riesling we like so much - you know, Süße Möse," she said in terrible German. "And I was going to get some sushi from Manzuri."

"That would have been a great honey. Sorry to ruin your surprise."

"Oh, it's not your fault. Don't worry about it. All that matters is that you get home safely."

I noticed that the ticketing agent seemed to be trying to get my attention. I pointed at myself and she nodded her head and started to wave me over. "Okay, well, I need to go and see about that hotel room," I said to my wife. "I'll call you a little later."

"Okay, I love you. Be careful."

When I walked over to the ticketing agent, I was expecting her to tell me about a hotel room. Instead, she shocked me by telling me that there was room for me on a flight after all. "The gentleman who was on stand-by in front of you has not checked in," she said. "You can still make it, but boarding has already started."

I had to run down the terminal, which was not easy since it was quite crowded. When I got to the right gate, I could see that they had already completed boarding, but the gate agent was looking out for me. She waved me through. "Hurry up," she said as she took my boarding pass. "There holding the door for you."

I ran down the ramp and saw a smiling flight attendant waiting for me. "Don't worry, you made it!" she said.

"Thank you so much," I said breathlessly.

"No problem, no problem at all. Follow me and I'll get you into your seat."

Obviously, I hadn't had time to call my wife back to tell her the good news. Although I wasn't technically allowed to use my phone on the plane, I was planning on texting her. But then I had a better idea. I wanted to give her a surprise of my own.

***

As soon as I landed and got off the plane, I called my wife. It was 6:14 PM when she picked up. "Hi honey," she said.

"Hey, I just wanted to let you know that I just checked into the hotel," I lied.

"What time are you flying out tomorrow?" she asked.

"Um - I don't know yet," I said absently, trying to follow the signs to baggage claim.

"How do you know what time you need to be back at the airport?" my wife asked.

I realized that I hadn't thought this out enough to lie convincingly, so I decided to change the subject as quickly as possible. "Oh, well, I need to call the airline in about an hour to get the details for my flight. Anyway, I just wanted to get a room before the hotel filled up. I also need to grab a bite to eat. Have you had dinner yet?"

"No, not yet," she said. "I'm not too hungry right now."

That was good news - my surprise hinged upon my wife not eating anything before I got home. "Okay, I'm going to go ahead and go up to my room now," I told her. I was actually standing in front of the baggage carousel now, waiting for my green suitcase to drop. "I'll give you a call in an hour or so to let you know the details about tomorrow." I smiled to myself, since I would actually be home in less than an hour.

"All right," she said. "I'll talk to you in the morning then. Love you."

As soon as I got my suitcase, I hurried out to my car in the airport long-term parking lot. I could make it home in less than half an hour, assuming traffic wasn't too bad. I started the car and looked at my phone - it was 6:32. I called Manzuri - my wife was going to get some sushi tonight after all. I placed an order for a few of our favorite rolls and then put the car into gear. Everything was going extremely well so far.

For a Friday night, traffic was not bad at all. I made it to the restaurant in less than half an hour. Manzuri was the best sushi place on our side of town, and it was really close to our house, so my wife and I ate there often. The host recognized me. "Hey, good to see you back. How are you tonight?"

"Good, thanks. I'm just getting some takeout tonight."

"Oh, okay, let me check it out." He walked back to the sushi bar to talk to the chef. When he got back, he told me that my order wasn't quite ready yet.

"No problem," I said. "Okay if I wait at the sushi bar?"

"Sure, go ahead."

I took an empty seat at the bar and waived at the sushi chef, who recognized me and nodded. A few minutes later, he served a plate up to some customers and then came over to talk to me. He was an older Japanese man who spoke English with a heavy accent. "Hi, how are you?"

"Good, how are you?" I replied.

She smiled and said, "Your wife - she was just here."

"My wife?" I asked.

"Oh yeah," he nodded. "She pick up an order just a few minutes ago."

I wondered if maybe my wife had followed through with her plan of getting sushi tonight. More likely, I thought, the chef was just confused. Maybe he's mixing me up with someone else, or has confused some other woman with my wife. He has so many customers that he probably has trouble keeping them all straight. "That's strange," I said.

"You still want this order?" he asked, holding up my sushi order.

"Yes," I said. "I'm positive I want it."

Chef shrugged and smiled. "Okay, that's good. I have most of it done already anyway."

Five minutes later, I was in my car and ready to drive back to my house, which was less than five minutes away. I looked at my phone and saw that it was 7:08. I could only hope that my wife had still not eaten. Holding the carryout bag in one hand, so the sushi rolls didn't move around too much, I pulled out of the parking lot.

When I turned into my street, I felt myself getting excited. I started to image how I might be able to surprise my wife. The best case would be if she were upstairs, maybe relaxing in a bath. Then I might be able to sneak into the kitchen and get diner ready without her even knowing I was home. More than likely, I thought, she'd hear the garage door open and meet me at the door.

Just then, my house came into view. I could see that the lights outside of my garage were on. That was strange, because we never left those lights on - we only turned them on when we expecting guests. Then something even stranger happened: a car pulled into my driveway. The car had been ahead of me since I turned onto the street, but I barely even noticed it before. By now, I was pulling up to my driveway, and the car had still not moved. I figured the diver must be turning around, so I passed my own driveway and drove up the street.

I turned drove up to the next street and then turned around and drove back down towards my house. The car was still there. I couldn't pull into my driveway as long as that car was there, so I pulled over to the side of the road. "Come on," I whispered to myself. "Get a move on, will you?"

That's when I saw my garage door start to open. I guess my wife must have noticed the car sitting there in our driveway. I didn't recognize the car, but maybe it was a friend of hers? Maybe someone was drooping something off? The door was up now, but I didn't see my wife come out. Instead, the car pulled into my garage. It came to a stop and then the garage door started to shut again. "What the fuck?" I said to myself. Then the garage lights switch off.

I sat there, utterly confused, for several minutes. I had no idea what was going on, and I had no idea what I should do. All kinds of thoughts were running through my head, but I was simply too confused to make any sense of them. But finally, I realized that I needed to do something. I took my phone out and called my home number. It rang once. It rang again. After the third ring, I heard my wife's voice. "Hello?"

I was silent for a moment. I think I was surprised that she answered. "Hello?" she said again.

"Hi," I said weakly. My mouth was dry and I swallowed hard. "Hey, it's me."

"Hi honey. How are you?"

Again, I didn't respond immediately. I wasn't sure what to say. "Just checking in," I said finally. I looked at my house. All the blinds were drawn and I couldn't see any lights on. It looked like no one was home. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," she said nonchalantly. "Just watching some TV. Did you find out what time you're leaving tomorrow?"

"Oh," I muttered. I had completely forgotten that she was expecting me to call her with the details of my fake flight. "Well, I'm just supposed to go to the airport tomorrow morning, and they're going to get me on the first flight they can."

"Okay," my wife said. "So you're not sure exactly when you'll be home?"

"No." I replied. She was silent. Then I asked, "Are you okay?"

"Hmm? Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

"Well, I know you don't like being at the house by yourself," I said. "The kids are at my parent's house, so you're there all alone there - right?"

She didn't answer right away. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just wish you were here. Are you all right?"

"Me? I'm okay. Why do you ask?"

"I don't know," she replied. "You just sound kind of funny."

I wanted to ask her something else. Instead, I just said, "Been a long day - guess I'm tired."

"I'll let you get to bed then," she sighed.

"Okay."

"Good night honey," she said morosely. "I love you."

"Love you too."

I heard a beep and then the call ended. I sat there, looking at my house, wondering what to do. I finally confronted the thought that had been in the back of my mind since the garage door first opened: my wife is having an affair. It was ludicrous. She was so honest, such a decent person, such a wonderful wife and mother. How could she? Especially now, tonight, when up until a few hours ago she was planning to surprise me with a romantic evening together?

I got out of the car, crossed the street, and started to walk down the sidewalk towards my house. I heard a dog barking in the distance, but thankfully I didn't see any of our neighbors. I walked down my driveway and stopped at the garage door, looking at the keypad. I could type in the code and open the door - but then my they would hear that.

"They," I thought. There's someone in my house right now, with my wife.

I walked around the house and went into the back yard. I climbed up the stairs of our deck and quietly walked over to the large window of our family room. The blinds were closed tight, but there was a soft light glowing from behind the window. I leaned in closer and tried to peer in through the small slit in the blind. I had to close one eye and focus in order to see anything at all. I could see the side table next to the couch. I moved my head and was able to see part of the couch. There was no body sitting there. I could only see about two feet of the couch at a time through the narrow slit. I looked at the middle of the couch, and then the other end, but I still didn't see any one there.

I walked over to the sliding glass door that lead into the sunroom. The vertical blinds were closed here too, but again, I could see that some lights were on. I could see a sliver of the kitchen table through the blinds, so I focused in. The chandelier over the table was on, though the light was dimmed down so that it wasn't too bright. I saw a wine glass at the end of the table. Then I saw someone sit down. His back was to me, though I could tell it was a man. He had blond hair. He was sitting at the end of the table - at my spot. There could be no doubt now: there was in my house, alone with my wife.

I saw someone pass by. It was so quick I didn't get a good look, but I knew that it was my wife. I couldn't see the right side of the table, and that was where my wife usually sat. But I did see a hand reach over from that side of the table, and grab a bottle of wine. It was a woman's hand - it was my wife's hand. The man was holding his wine glass out and my wife filled it. He sipped his wine, put the glass down, and then I saw him lift a piece of sushi up to his mouth.

"Son of a bitch," I whispered to myself, remembering what chef had told me. I must've just missed my wife at Manzuri.

I pullout out my cellphone. It was 7:22. Then I saw the camera icon, and I knew that I needed. Evidence - air-tight, incontrovertible evidence that could stand up in a court of law. I tapped the camera button and focused in on the kitchen table. I had to zoom way in in order to get any of it in frame, and the auto zoom didn't know what to focus on. I snapped a quick picture - and the flash went off! "Fuck," I whispered.

I stood completely still and held my breath. Had they seen it? Had either one noticed anything. The guy didn't move. The seconds ticked away as I waited, expecting to see my wife stand up and walk into the sunroom. Then I saw the guy pick up his glass and take a swig of wine.

I started to breathe again. I looked at the picture I took. The glare from the flash in the glass had ruined the shot. I turned off the flash. I held it up and focused on the back of the man's head once more. I checked to make sure the flash was off again. Finally, I snapped the picture - there was no flash this time. I looked at the picture. It wasn't the best picture in the world, but it captured the image I wanted. A man sitting at my kitchen table, eating diner. Too bad my wife wasn't in the frame too.

I took another picture, but over the next ten minutes or so there was really nothing new to capture. He was just sitting there, eating and drinking at my kitchen table. He was also talking - but I couldn't hear a thing.

Then I saw my wife pass. She had walked into the kitchen and I saw her better this time. She was wearing a tight blue blouse and tight black pants. I was waiting for her to walk back over again, to get a better look. When she finally did walk back to the table, she stood by the left side, were I could get a good look at her. She was picking up some plates and the empty bottle of wine. Now I saw that she actually wasn't wearing black pants - she was wearing a short black skirt with black pantyhose. She wasn't smiling and she didn't seem to be saying anything. I was staring at her face, trying to figure out what she was thinking or feeling. Then she walked away again.

"Damn," I thought, "I should've gotten a picture of that." I held my phone up again, getting ready for another shot. I zoomed in and was ready to take another picture. I realized that I probably wouldn't have a lot of time to take the picture. There was a good chance I'd either miss it all together, or the picture wouldn't turn out. I toggled the camera to camcorder and waited. When I saw my wife walk back into the frame, and I started to record. She took the rest of the plates off the table and walked back into the kitchen. A few second later, the guy got up and walked out of view as well. I stopped recording.

I replayed the video. She was only in frame for four or five seconds. But I had captured both of them together.

I looked up again, but they were both still out of sight. I wondered what they were doing. I saw that the man's wine glass was still on the table, and it was still about half full. Then I saw him walk over, pick up his wine, and move into the family room. I moved over to the window and tried to peer in through the small slit in the blind again. I saw him sitting on the couch now. I moved, so I could see all of his face. I didn't know who he was - but something about him looked vaguely familiar. He was sitting on the couch, looking around the room. He looked back over to the kitchen and said something. He was still looking in the direction of the kitchen. He said something again.

I was still peering through the slit, with one eye closed. I could only see a little tiny sliver of the room at a time. Then I saw my wife walk over and stand in front of him. He was looking up at her, smiling. I saw him running his eyes all over her body - from her face down to her legs. He said something and smiled. My wife, who was standing with her back to me, shifted her weight to one foot, and then she put one of her hands on her hip. She looked at her lasciviously and smiled. "What a smarmy looking son of a bitch," I thought. I pulled out my phone, but it was impossible to film or take a picture through such a small slit in the blinds.

The guy said something again. My wife reached up and started to unbutton her blouse. When she was done, I saw her pull the blouse open, and now she was standing again with both hands on her hips. The guy was grinning as he looked up at her. He looked like slimy used car salesman, and I had another feeling that I'd seen him somewhere before. I was ringing my brain, trying to think of where I might have seen him before - and then I thought about walking in there right now and knocking his teeth out.

He said something again. I saw my wife move. She stopped and said something. She held up a hand and pointed at him. He smiled and nodded, and then said something else. He talked for a while, but when he was done, my wife moved closer to him. Then she got down onto her knees in front of him.

I stepped away from the window. I felt light-headed, dizzy, like I was going to throw up. I wanted to scream, to smash something, to put my fist through the window. I walked down the stairs and went into the backyard. I ran through the side yard and up to the front door of the house. I got my key out and slipped it into the lock. I had to be quiet. I wanted to catch them completely by surprise. I unlocked the door and then moved the key up into the deadbolt. I heard it click. I put my key back into my pocket and turned the knob. I opened the door slowly, inch by inch - but then it stopped. The security lock was still latched - it allowed the door to be opened about three inches, and then it stopped. It could not be unlocked from the outside.

I shut the door. I didn't bother to relock it. I ran back to the backyard and climbed back up onto the deck. I peered through the blind. I saw my wife, on her knees, between his legs. Her head was moving up and down. The guy had his head back against the couch with his eyes closed. I felt sick and for a moment - I felt like I was going to faint. I put my elbow on my knees and crouched down. I tried to slow my breathing.

After I had recovered, I sat down in one of the deck chairs. What was I going to do? I couldn't record what they were doing - not through the narrow slit blinds - and I couldn't get into the front door either. So what were my options now? I thought about opening the garage door; about pounding on the window; about calling the police.

I got back up to my feet and peered into the family room again. There was no one sitting on the sofa. I moved back over to the sunroom door. I didn't see anyone. They were gone. I walked back over to the chair and sat down. I looked up at the master bedroom window, which was right above the family room, and I saw the lights go on. They were in our bedroom.

Okay, it was time to do something. My first thought was to gather evidence, but that wasn't working. All I had was a short little video of my wife picking up some plates. I'd just watched her sucking off some guy, but wasn't able to film it, and now they were in our bedroom. I needed to get into the house - I needed to get my hands on that bastard.