Interception!

After passing through the TSA checkpoint, Rob was headed for Concourse A while his wife and her boyfriend needed Concourse B. Belle hugged Rob goodbye and gave him a little kiss, then she took hold of Delvon's hand and walked away, never turning once to look back.

Convening

Rob had a great time at the convention, rubbing elbows with all the heavy hitters of the insurance world. He agreed with everyone who said it was a shame that his wife couldn't be there to share his moment of glory.

At the awards ceremony, Rob had the best night of his life, hearing his name called and stepping on-stage to shake hands with the company president, getting his picture taken while receiving his plaque. Afterwards, there was drinking and celebrating that went on until midnight.

Rob woke the next morning, still feeling elated, and decided to check his email on his laptop. He found a message from his mother with an attachment linked.

The email read "Robbie, your father and I feel just terrible for you. Call us when you feel up to it. Love always, Mom and Dad."

Rob was puzzled, then he clicked on the link. Up popped a celebrity gossip page with a big picture of Belle kissing Delvon against a backdrop of Las Vegas neon. In a huge bold font, the giant headline read "Belle of the (foot) Ball?!" There was one paragraph of text, stating that little was known about Delvon's beautiful mystery lady, except that her name was Belle and she and Delvon were spotted smooching from one end of the Vegas strip to the other. An inset photo showed a grainy blow-up shot of Belle's left hand with a caption that read, "The modest wedding band currently adorning Belle's ring finger will soon be replaced by the kind of stellar stone that a millionaire sports star can give his new bride! The presently-married beauty and the gridiron great are engaged!"

Rob slammed his laptop shut. He felt sick to his stomach. Even worse was the pain of embarrassment, knowing that his parents now knew that Belle was having an interracial affair with their famous football friend. He wondered how many others would also see the story. He got his answer when he went to mingle with his colleagues at the convention. Bad news travels fast and Rob noticed people glancing at him with pity in their eyes. He got tired of people patting him on the shoulder and saying things like "how are you holding up, old buddy?"

Rob was going to call Belle to ask her "what the fuck?" but he resisted. He thought that she might call him, but she didn't. Belle's Las Vegas vacation was to last five days and he had been at the insurance conference for six. Rob figured he'd talk to her in person when he flew home the next day.

Let bygones be bygones

After landing at the airport, Rob got his car from the parking lot and drove to his home. Arriving at the house, he was surprised to see a moving company van backed into his driveway. Belle was standing outside. She turned and looked away as Rob exited his car and strolled toward her.

Rob immediately noticed that his wife was not wearing the wedding ring that millions of people had seen on the gossip website page. Instead, her ring finger was adorned with a huge, sparkling, diamond solitaire. Rob had internally held out some small hope that the story on the gossip site had been "fake news", but that apparently was not the case.

"What's going on, Belle?" Rob asked in a somber tone.

Belle's eyes were puffy and red as she faced Rob and answered, "I'm moving out. I thought I'd be gone before you got home. I don't have that much stuff, just my clothes and some odds and ends. I could have grabbed them myself but Delvon insisted on hiring the movers. He didn't want me hauling the heavy boxes over to his place. Well, our place now."

"So, this is it then," Rob said somberly. "I saw on that gossip site that you two had a good time in Vegas." Then, feeling increasingly angry, Rob said, "You know -- I've told you this before -- this thing with Delvon is not going to last forever. He'll get tired of you and he'll find another blonde to charm the pants off of."

Belle lifted her chin high and distinctly stated, "I don't think so. He'll always be part of my life. He's my baby-daddy."

"You're pregnant?!" Rob shouted, loud enough so that neighbors, who were already peering their way, could easily hear. "My god, Belle! How did you let that happen? You were on the pill!"

Belle shrugged and said, "Delvon told me to stop my birth control. I wanted his baby anyway, so I stopped. I'm only about six weeks along." Belle cracked a smile when she added, "For the first time in 15 years, I missed my period last month."

Rob reiterated "I'll say it again. It's not going to last -- this thing with Delvon. You're going to wind up alone, a white woman with a broken heart and a black baby!"

"Robert!" Belle hissed. "I love Delvon! More than I ever loved you! And he loves me too! And, if our relationship ever does turn sour -- and it's not going to -- we've both signed a pre-nuptial agreement that guarantees that my baby and I will always be comfortable."

Rob glared at Belle and said, "A 'pre-nup' means that you plan to marry him, but the last time I checked, you're still married to me."

Belle glared back and said, "The divorce papers are on the kitchen counter, near the toaster." She took a deep breath and continued, "I'm giving you everything. The house, free and clear. Del paid off the mortgage. And there's money in the bank, too. It's all yours. I don't want anything. Just a divorce. Just give me a divorce, Rob. Sign the fucking papers so I can marry Delvon and we can all move on with our lives!"

"Ma'am, I think we've got everything," one of the movers yelled to Belle.

"Okay. Good," Belle hollered back. "I'll meet you over at my fiancé's place and I'll show you where to unload it all."

With that, Belle turned and walked to her Mercedes. She glanced back for a moment and said, "Goodbye Robert." Then she got in her car and drove away.

Rob adjusted to living alone. It wasn't all that hard. He had been alone most of the time the past few months anyway. His emotions alternated between self-pity, anger, and disappointment in himself. But he slowly healed.

One day, Rob got a letter from the NFL, reminding him that it was time to renew his season tickets. He tossed the envelope in the trash.