Talk of Betrayal

This one shouldn't offend anyone, sorry guys, I'll try harder next time. There are absolutely no new concepts in this one but I think I've packaged it in a way no one else has. Once again, if I'm wrong, I apologise for wasting your time.

There are conversations about sex below but nothing graphic.

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Dave Brown sat in his formal lounge room, in his recliner. Facing his chair was an empty couch. Between his chair and the couch was a coffee table with three champagne flutes on it, one full, two empty. Next to the table was a bottle of the stuff in an ice bucket. Anyone observing him, as he relaxed at 7.02PM that night, may have been slightly worried when he spoke clearly, "Right, I hear her car in the driveway." But there were no observers. Dave was alone in the room.

He continued to sit there looking relaxed as the front door opened. It wasn't within sight of where he sat, but he immediately heard his wife's voice.

"Where are you Dave?"

"In the formal lounge Deb."

Dave stood abruptly as his wife entered through the archway. She was gripping the hand of a man perhaps five years younger than her 49 years. He was slim, of about average height and wearing a business suit. In her other hand she held an A4 orange envelope.

"Um, Dave, this is Michael. Michael, this is my husband Dave."

Noting her averted eyes and generally nervous demeanour, Dave took three steps and shook the intruder's hand warmly.

"I'm very pleased to meet you Michael. Do you mind if I call you Mike?"

"Not at all Sir."

"Oh please, Dave will be fine. Can I offer you a glass of champagne? Please, won't you both take a seat."

Dave watched as two very confused people sat on the couch and took the offered glasses after he filled them.

"Cheers. Now, do you mind telling this simple soul what's going on."

Deborah and Mike looked at each other. Mike gave an almost imperceptible nod and squeezed her hand.

"Um, Dave, there's no nice way of saying this, so I'll just come straight out with it. Michael and I have fallen in love. I would like a divorce so we can get married."

She stopped; waiting to feel her husband's wrath. Raising her gaze from the floor so she could see the expression on Dave's face. This was going to be ugly, she just knew it. It can't have sunk in yet; his face remained neutral. Unconsciously, she moved slightly closer to Mike.

"Okay Deb. Are those the divorce papers?"

Deb looked up again, stunned. She'd rehearsed this scene many times in her head, but never in her wildest dreams did it ever go like this. She looked at Mike and tried to convey with her eyes, 'I don't know what to say.' Michael stepped up to the plate. He took the envelope from Deb and placed it on the table.

"Yes Dave, they are. I think you will find them very reasonable. Deb is asking for nothing from you but her car. In the packet is her quit claim on this house, your car, all your joint assets and your retirement fund. Everything is signed and notarised from our side. I should warn you that I am a lawyer and so everything is watertight, but feel free to engage your own representative to reassure yourself."

"Well, I must say, you have both been very generous."

Deb was still looking very nervous; like she was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"That was Mike's idea Dave. In fact, he insisted. He said it was bad enough that he was stealing your wife, without taking your hard earned assets as well. It was in no way my motivation, but Mike is quite wealthy. Even without your money, we will have more than you and I would ever have owned Dave."

"Hmmm, maybe that might have been different if you'd got a job after the kids were old enough and helped out with the finances Deb."

Deb just dropped her eyes again.

"So, Mike, is your wife going to get a similar speech to this one, or has she already received it?"

"No. My wife died eight years ago, I'm a widower."

"I'm sorry to hear that Mike, really."

"Thank you Dave. It hurt like hell for a year or so, but time heals all wounds, as they say. Look, I'm really sorry about this, but I met Deb and she was like the missing half of my soul. I didn't think I would ever be complete again. I wanted to tell you that I loved your wife months ago but she talked me out of it."

"That's fine Mike, I've never been one to harbour grudges. Please marry her with my blessing."

Mike and Deb exchanged bemused looks. Deb because it was so different to what she'd expected. Then she felt a huge sense of relief. Months ago, she'd led Michael to believe that her marriage to Dave was on the rocks. That they were trying to save it, but hopes weren't high. She knew that the weak point in her plan was Dave's reaction making Mike see that wasn't exactly true. That's why she'd begged Mike to do all this without a face to face confrontation. Mike insisted that true men sorted out problems face to face. He refused to be swayed.

Mike was bemused because, even with Deb telling him that her marriage was on its last legs, he'd expected an angrier reaction to the announcement that it wasn't going to be saved. He'd developed a mental picture of Dave from Deb's descriptions. From what she said, he was a big, uneducated man, used to sorting out problems with his fists. Mike had tarried with the idea of bringing a bodyguard along tonight, but finally dismissed that thought. In the back of his mind was that if the aggrieved husband roughed him up a bit, it may ease his own conscience slightly. His own feelings of decency were giving him a very hard time with all this.

"So Deb, I presume you met Mike at one of your girl's nights out?"

Deb nodded at the coffee table.

"One of the girl's nights out that you assured me were totally harmless and no threat to our marriage when I raised concerns."

Deb nodded at the floor this time.

"I think there's a lesson for you there Mikey boy."

Mike glanced at Deb. Deb's eyes moved to a section of floor a little further away from Mike.

"So, what happens now people? Come on, you must have a plan. You're giving me the house, so I presume you were going to pack your things, Deb, and move to his house. Please, don't let me stop you."

"I was going to do that tomorrow, while you were at work."

"By tomorrow, the locks will be changed. I'm sure your lawyer friend will agree that's a wise thing for me to do. Simpler if you do it now don't you think?"

Deb and Mike rose to go upstairs to get started.

"How about you stay and we can talk Mike. Deb can make a start on the packing. Come on Mike, let's chat. I think you owe me that at least."

Deb was torn between her desire to escape this really uncomfortable situation and the need to witness anything said. In the end, her decision was made for her by Mike sitting back down.

"Off you go Deb; I promise not to hurt him. I just want to chat. Until we are divorced, I will feel responsible for your safety still. I just want to assure myself that he has your best interests at heart. Besides, you've made your decision to leave me. I really don't see the point of trying to talk you out of it. Our marriage is dead obviously.

Both men watched her mount the stairs and disappear.

"I must say, you're being very reasonable about this Dave."

"That's fine Mike. Between you and me, there hasn't been much love coming my way from Deb for about a year now. I presume that's when you met. It'll be a relief really; I have no desire to consign either of us to a loveless marriage."

"It's still very decent of you Dave."

"You're welcome Mike. Now, as a lawyer, you will know that whenever you sell a car or a house, you are legally bound to point out any known faults to the new owners."

Mike laughed.

"Well, slavery is dead and I don't think Deb would appreciate being thought of as property that needs a transfer of ownership, but I know what you mean Dave."

Dave smiled as well. He'd guessed right that Mike was an intelligent and decent man.

"Okay. Now please believe that what I'm about to tell you is not motivated by malice. I simply want to point out some flaws in Deb that may not be apparent after only knowing her for a year. Also, believe it or not, her future happiness is important to me; I've loved her for 27 years after all. I'd also just like to share with you all the things I've tried, to make her happy, but obviously failed. That way you'll know not to waste your time doing the same."

Mike nodded. He knew what was to come probably wasn't going to be all altruistically intended, but he did feel he owed it to this innocent man to listen.

"Right. I assume Deb has gone back on the pill?"

Mike nodded again, slightly uncomfortable. It was tantamount to admitting that he'd slept with the guy's wife.

"She's on the pill, yes. I'd no idea she'd ever been off it. Apart from when you had your children of course."

"She was on the pill when we met, but about 6-12 months after we got married, she begged off them. She said they depressed her sexual appetite and made her not want sex. From then, till I presume she went back on them for you, it has been condoms for me. Can't stand the bloody things. They take all the spontaneity out of it and I don't know about you, but I struggle to get off in them."

"Yes, I know exactly what you mean Dave."

"Then, after we decided to stop at two children, she started using the condoms as an excuse not to make love as often. She pointed out their known failure rate. I begged her to go back on the pill but she refused, saying she didn't want to have to swallow artificial chemicals every day. Since then our lovemaking has dropped from several times a week to several times a month, to nothing, about...yes well, about a year ago."

Mike didn't say anything. He knew Deb was very careful about what food she ate and wherever possible, chose chemical free options. Sex with her was still exciting and happened at least three time a week, even with the restrictions on their meetings.

"I know this is a very ungentlemanly question Mike, but does she swallow your, well, you know?"

Mike found this a very uncomfortable question. People of his class didn't talk about such things. He couldn't help his eyes averting.

"I see. Yes, I remember what she was like when Deb and I were dating. Now please remember, I don't say any of this from malice. If I sold you are a car that I knew was going to throw a wheel six months after I got rid of it, I would warn you about that as well. Deb hasn't swallowed for me since shortly after the wedding. In fact, I don't think I've had a blowjob since about 18 months after we married and doggie style dropped out shortly after that. I didn't realise that we'd stopped having sex totally until quite recently. I just got sick of getting knockbacks and gave up asking. Maybe you might like to write in your diary to watch for any sudden drop offs every month or so."

Dave paused to allow Mike to add anything but he didn't take the opportunity.

"Now, another thing I didn't notice until a couple of years after we were married. I looked around one day and suddenly realised that just about everything I'd owned pre Deb, was gone. Bed, clothes, couch and photos of old girlfriends, although to be fair, I did find those in the attic. I don't know if all women do that, or it's just Deb, but it's like she wanted to clear the nest of previous female influence."

Again, Dave paused and again Mike didn't comment. He was thinking of his brand new bed and sheet sets. Then he thought of his conversation with Deb a week ago, about the portrait of his first wife. A woman he'd loved dearly until she'd been forcibly removed from his life.

"I hope you're better at picking up her lies than me Mike. Only three weeks ago, I asked if she still loved me and if we were still good. She looked me right in the eyes and said 'yes'. She even did that same thing she always did, looked into each of my eyes in turn until I was the one to break eye contact. I can't believe it took just three weeks to fall out of love so thoroughly."

Mike was reeling a little from the unexpectedness of this conversation and from all the information Dave was trying to get him to absorb. Something about those last couple of sentences was setting off alarm bells, but he'd no time to pinpoint the source. So he focussed on the one aspect he could absorb.

"No worries there Dave. I'm a lawyer. I've spent 20 years learning how to spot liars. They always give themselves away."

"Goodo. Again, just some advice you can take or leave. Watch out for her removing her rings when she goes to 'visit her sister'. You might want to check her underwear drawer, that's where she's been putting them here for the last few weeks that I know of. You might also want to follow her on any girl's nights out. I suggest you don't blindly trust her like I did. I thought she was totally incapable of being deceptive, but I'm obviously a schmuck. Now what else can I tell you? Oh yeah, if she's true to form, she'll probably stop going to the gym in about 6-12 months and stack on a bit of weight."

At this point, Dave stood and retrieved a photo album from a shelf and leafed through the pages.

"Here's a couple of photos from two years ago, when she started going for her girl's nights. As you can see, her face and ass get a little chubby. She never could lose the little pot, but after two kids, who would be surprised at that?"

Mike flipped a few pages and saw a chubbier version of his fiancé with far less makeup on than he'd ever seen. He was slightly stunned at the difference a little makeup made. He continued flipping back through the pages.

"Is this Deb's mother? I can see the strong resemblance."

"Yes it is. Hang on a minute."

Dave stood again and retrieved a few more albums and flipped through them."

"As you can see, she was a fine looking woman. This is her when she was about 50. She was a very striking woman still."

Dave picked up another album and opened it to a page. He waited for Mike to state the obvious.

"God, how old is she in this one?"

"About 55. She was one of those women that as soon as she hit menopause, around 52 or 53, rapidly lost her looks. She took it very gracefully though, just said that she thanked god for the outward beauty she'd been blessed with for so long."

Dave watched as Mike alternated staring at the two photographs. He remembered two months ago, when he'd celebrated Deb's 49^th birthday early because she wanted to spend her actual birthday weekend 'with her sister'. He did notice that Mike seemed to have lost his easy smile and pushed home his advantage.

"Now I promised to tell you all the mistakes I made that failed to get her to stay in love with me. I suggest you try a different approach, mine was obviously flawed."

Dave paused to pour them fresh glasses of champagne.

"Now, if it's anything like 25 years ago, she'll want a flash wedding like ours. I tried to object, saying we'd be better putting the cash into a house, but she guilted me into it. She said that if I had faith that we were going to be together forever, then I wouldn't resent splurging out on a big day for her. I'll hunt you up a copy of our wedding vows if you like. From memory, we stuck to the traditional love, honour, obey and forsaking all others. If you try something different, you may do better than me.

"Not really relevant for you, but don't bother working your fingers to the bone and do crap loads of overtime so she can get the flash house she always wanted. That obviously didn't keep her legs together. While I'm at it, don't bother nursing her for two months if she gets Glandular Fever again. It didn't do me any good. Nor did going into debt so she could have the breast implants and tummy tuck she wanted two years ago. Actually, thinking about it, we're probably right here because I refused to pay for the face lift she wanted, preferring to put the money into our retirements. She can be quite persistent when she has her heart set on something. You've probably noticed."

Mike nodded, while wondering if that characteristic of Deb's was really the admirable quality he'd hitherto thought.

"Now, I thought I was being smart by taking her on a date night every month and making a point of inviting her to discuss anything about me or our relationship that was starting to niggle, you know, causing the slightest resentment type of thing. Our last date was less than a month ago and she didn't say anything. A man of your calibre will be able to think of a better way I'm sure."

At that point, Mike noticed the twinkle in Dave's eyes and suddenly realised what he was up to. Nevertheless, he'd made some good points. The point of Deb being completely free from guile resonated strongly with some thoughts of his own in recent times. He was so put off by Dave's apparent amusement at this whole scenario, that he ignored his internal alarm bells again.

Dave kept talking, despite the fact they were both obviously aware that Deb had stopped descending the stairs; easily within earshot.

"Keep an eye out for lists of things she intends removing from the house when you separate. That is a good clue that she's already treating your marriage with contempt and meeting your replacement. It won't change what will happen that much, but it will allow you to mentally prepare for the endgame that she has planned and spur you to start digging elsewhere for other evidence."

Mike blinked and looked around. For the first time he saw the three champagne glasses and ice bucket. Clear evidence that all three persons present knew about today's meeting beforehand, when it should have been just two. In the high intensity of his entrance, his normal highly observant nature missed the clues. Dave watched Mike's eyes flicker around the scene.

"Yes, I knew it was tonight. Deb rang me twice today to make sure I was going to be home by seven."

Mike's eyes left Dave's and flicked towards where Deb was half way down the stairs. Deb restarted her descent, obviously pretending that she hadn't overheard the last few minutes of conversation.

"Dave, do you want to talk about which of the family photos I can take now, or do it some other day."

Dave ignored her and leaned towards the couch opposite, keeping eye contact with his rival.

"The last thing I think I may have done wrong was to forgive Deb the first time I caught her cheating on our marriage."

"What," from Mike.

"No", from Deborah's mouth as it retreated at speed with the rest of her, into the kitchen.

"Yes, it was just after the birth of our second child. I forgave her because she and our counsellor, convinced me it was a one off mistake, brought on by postnatal depression. I've often wondered if I was too soft on her. Maybe a harder line at the time may have prevented it happening again. I justified my actions at the time as being in the best interests of the kids. They've grown up to be fine adults, so hopefully I did the right thing by them. For her sake, I hope you're generous enough to forgive her when your time comes."

"I...I don't know what to say Dave."

"No need to say anything Mike. Just answer me this. Look in your heart and ask yourself if you would have forgiven your late wife if you'd caught her humping someone in your own bed."

For the first time in almost an hour, Mike lost his cool. He leaned forwards. Dave saw movement out of the corner of his eye and glanced to see an ashen faced Deborah standing in the kitchen doorway.

"My wife would never have disrespected me like that. We loved each other too...Hang on a minute. You said, 'the first time Deb cheated on you', were there other times?"

"No, just the two times. Then and now."