The Captain Pt. 02

"Who are you thinking about?" She asks hesitantly, it's as if she wants to know but doesn't. "You look like you are hurting, like your heart is hurting," she tells him. She couldn't be more right but he must not ever tell her.

"Not a thing, just trying to think about all the stuff we need to get ready for our trip," he tries to state confidently. He plants a smile, although fake, on his face to reinforce what he's telling her. He has had practice doing that with her. Her emotional affair took its toll on him in ways she will never know or understand.

Looking at him, she decides to let it go, "I have everything we need packed for our second honeymoon. That's what we are calling it. I want it to be a chance for us to work on things and make things right between us." She tells him honestly and looks him in the eyes. She wants this to work out. She knows she will lose him. In fact, she knows he has had someone else and hasn't said anything. She chalks it up to payback to her for what she has put him through. She is hurt by it but just wants to move forward and work it out between them.

"Alright then, if everything is ready I will work on some things around the house," he tells her with a kiss to her forehead and then heads off to work things out in his head. Hours later, he has accomplished a lot physically and feels much better about everything in general. He goes to bed that evening with the woman he loves in his arms and no regrets. They will leave early tomorrow for their vacation and hopefully things will continue to get better.

His wife sorts through his bag from his trip. As she is pulling out his clothes she finds a piece of paper. Reading the paper she realizes it's from his lover. Her heart hurts because she knows that she could really lose a great man. This woman seems to truly love him but it seems it is over. She struggles with the decision of whether to leave it or just dispose of it. Reading it again, she decides that the best thing to do is to just get rid of it. Stuffing it in her pocket, she continues on with her chores.

Weeks go by and they don't bother to contact one another, her out of stubbornness and a broken heart and him out of the fact that he thinks things are just fine. Slowly, over the weeks to follow she manages to pull herself from the depression and starts to go out with her friends again and figure out her life without him. She doesn't hear from him and figures he has decided that their friendship wasn't worth much to him and that he has probably made things right with his wife. She is happy for him really or is trying to be.

Three months later, when she is starting to feel like she can move forward possibly, her phone chimes and it's him. She checks the message and waits wondering if she should even text him back. She puts the phone away wanting to give herself time to think. Hours later, her decision made, she texts him saying, "Hello Captain."

Relieved she texted him back, he says, "Hello Nurse Betty! It's been too long since we last talked. How are you?"

She stares at the phone and shakes her head, he will never get how hurt she was and is still. "I'm great! How are you?" She asks him, she has lied a little about how she is but the old saying 'fake it til you make it' comes to mind.

He smiles into his phone glad she is doing well, he worried briefly about her, even thought maybe he wanted more but when he laid eyes on his wife he knew he could never leave her. He wonders if his lover knew that all along. "I'm doing really good. Things have taken a turn for the better with the wife and we are doing great. The youngin' is doing great in school. I got a promotion at work also." He brags to her how wonderful his life is.

"That's great, all of it, really great." She tells him but she doesn't feel it. She is angry that he has finally gotten in touch with her only to brag up his accomplishments. Has he been this way the whole time and she just didn't see it? While she sits there thinking back on conversation, her phone beeps again.

"Yep, things are going great, I can't complain. The wife is mine again, doesn't even go near that guy anymore," he tells her.

While she is happy for him, she is sad too. "That's great. I'm happy for you. I told you things would work out for you and her no matter what. By the way, I just happened to remember, did you get that note I put in your bag at our last meeting?" She asks him curiously wondering what he thought of it.

"What note?" He asks her panicking on the inside. If he didn't find it, then the wife did. Maybe that's why she turned so quickly back to him. He just doesn't know but she never mentioned it to him and he never saw it.

"I left you a note in your bag under your clothes. I knew you unpacked your own clothes so I knew you would find it. If you did, just ignore whatever it said," she tells him. She is clearly extremely angry and is unwilling to admit anything ever again.

"I never found it because I didn't unpack that bag, the wife did. The next morning, we left for the Caribbean and things have been wonderful since then so maybe that was in thanks to you!" He tells her without really thinking through what he has just said.

"I guess so. Well, I must go. Date night!" She lies and quickly closes the text messages and refuses to answer anymore. The hurt she feels from that low blow just about took her to her knees. She had been holding on to the hope that maybe he might see that they could be great but she now sees it's time to let him go. She should let him go completely but she vowed to be his friend and she will be do that and only that-from a distance.

She picks up the phone and calls her girlfriend and they chat for a long time. She knows about what happened. "Are you ready to date?" She asks her friend of many years.

"Yes, I am. Please go easy on me," they laugh.

"I have just the person for you, he's a lawyer," she says with a sly grin.