The Party's Over

"But can't...can't you give me the benefit of the doubt? After all these years don't I deserve that?"

"Alicia, I can't lie to myself. I can't convince myself to believe something that I don't really believe. I always thought you were an honest person, a person with integrity, a person who would never cheat on me; but you've shown me I was wrong. Not only did you cheat but you were deceitful. So, now I have to ask myself, for how long have I been wrong?"

Tears almost poured from her eyes. Her voice was weak. "Then there's no hope is there. How can I ever convince you? I...I can't, can I."

For a few moments the only sound in the doctor's office was Alicia's sobbing.

"Yes, Mrs. Samuelson, there is hope. If there wasn't we wouldn't be here. Mr. Samuelson, your wife and I discussed something during her first visit. My colleagues consider my approach very radical but I've had great success with it. I discussed it with Mrs. Samuelson first because I had to see how far she would go to save her marriage, and I can tell you, she didn't even flinch.

"This is not a quick fix. There is no such thing, but if you stick with it, in the long-run it can help restore your faith and trust in your wife."

This all sounded rather ominous to Dexter. What was she going to suggest, an iron chastity belt?

"The first thing I want you to do is move back home." She saw the look he gave her so she went right into her reasoning to head off his objections. "Mr. Samuelson, we need to restore some trust in your relationship. We can't do that with you sitting in a motel room wondering what your wife is doing, where she's at, or if she's with someone. You need to know her whereabouts and for that you need to be home."

He didn't really like it but it did sound logical.

"That brings us to the rest of the program," she continued talking directly to Dexter. "You will also go to the bank and remove your wife's name from the accounts as well as all credit cards. You will sit down together and figure the minimum amount of cash she needs for gas, food, and incidentals and give it to her in the form of a weekly allowance. You will activate the GPS on her phone so you can monitor her whereabouts anytime, day or night. Every day, after work she will give you her phone with the history intact so you can see exactly who she talked to or text during the day."

"Oh this is ridiculous," Dexter said. "I don't have to do all this stuff."

"Mr. Samuelson, you could both keep coming here where we'd work on trust issues and maybe even make some headway, but the first time she was twenty minutes late you'd wonder where she was and we'd be right back to square one."

He looked over at his weeping wife. "And you're okay with all this?"

She just nodded while wiping her nose with a tissue.

He thought about it and reluctantly agreed. "Okay, we'll give it a try."

The following day was Friday. Even though he was paid up until Sunday, Dexter had his car packed when he left for work in the morning and headed home at the end of the day. He walked in with two suitcases and immediately got a whiff of something that smelled awful good coming from the kitchen.

As he walked in something on the table caught his eye. It was Alicia's wallet and phone. There was also a detailed list of everything she spent money on including her morning cup of Starbuck's coffee and the hair dresser's every couple of weeks.

"Hi," she said, greeting him in a plain looking house dress.

At least she's not trying to seduce me, he thought. She was smart enough to know that would backfire on her. "Something smells good."

"I ran over to that little store that has all the fish on the way home and got some snapper. I'm making some Almondine sauce for it. Everything should be ready in about thirty minutes."

"What's all this?" he asked, gesturing at the stuff on the table.

"I thought we could go over things after supper," she responded.

"You really want to do this...it's like you're on parole and I'm your parole officer."

"Exactly- I am on parole, Dex. I did the crime I should do the time, however long that is; for however long it takes for you to start trusting me again," she said. "If I could only convince you that all these years I've been a faithful, loyal wife and ask your forgiveness for my one transgression, but I can't. You pretty much hammered that home at the doctor's office and you're right. I understand why you feel so much doubt and I don't blame you; so this seems like the next best thing."

"We'll see," he mumbled as he turned around. "I'm going to grab a quick shower," he said in retreat.

After eating in restaurants for a month, Dexter really did appreciate his wife's cooking again. The red snapper was delicious.

After dinner he and Alicia went over the program as it was laid out by the doctor. They found a GPS app for her phone that not only showed her location but kept a history by date. He liked that one. He obviously wasn't going to spend all day watching her every move but if he wanted, he could back-track to see where she'd been.

They figured out a weekly budget that still allowed her to go out for lunches but gas money was calculated according to her gas mileage. She would have enough gas money to go to and from work and to the store a couple times during the week...that was it.

Rather than take her name off the credit card accounts, he simply collected all the plastic she carried. "I'll put these in the safety deposit box. That way, if anything happens to me, you'll still have ready cash," he told her.

That was so typical of him. Silently she sat and wondered why she didn't put him first like he always did her. He always put her interests ahead of his own—even now. She thought back to that damn party. If she hadn't considered the other girls more important than her own husband, she would never have hurt him so badly.

Inwardly she sighed. There was nothing she could do about it now...nothing but try to rebuild his trust in her.

They had talked over everything but the sleeping arrangements. "I, ah...I moved all my stuff into the other bedroom." She was hoping he would object and tell her they would sleep together but that didn't happen.

A flat sounding, "Okay," was his only comment.

"I thought that's what you'd want but if you'd rather sleep together, I..."

"No, it's better this way," he said, not even allowing her to finish.

She was expecting him to say that but hearing it still took the wind out of her sails.

"I've got a couple hours of editing to do so is there anything else you can think of that we haven't covered?"

"No," she replied. "I think we've done everything we're supposed to do."

"Okay, I'll be in the office then. If you think of anything let me know." And with that he rose from the table and disappeared around the corner.

Alicia went into the living room and curled up with a book. If she tried real hard she could hear him working in the other room. Even in lieu of all their problems it was good just to have him back in the house. She felt safe when he was around.

Over the weekend they lived as cohabiters of the same house, not much more. Monday morning Alicia was already sitting at her desk when Vanessa walked in. One look and she could see there was something definitely wrong. It was obvious she had been crying; in fact she was still sniffling as she walked by.

"Vanessa, what's wrong?"

"Oh, Lees," she whimpered, "Terry wants a divorce."

"What? Why?"

"He...he knows...he knows about the party."

"How? He wasn't even at the reception. How did he find out?" Alicia inquired.

"Mindy's husband, Mark, the guy has gone nuts. He's suing the stripper and the company he worked for. I've been called in to give a deposition," she said, starting to cry again. "Terry was home on Friday when I got the summons. He started asking questions and when I couldn't answer them he got angry and started making phone calls."

She wiped her eyes again. By this time she had a small audience of the other secretaries. "I don't know who all he called but by Sunday he had a copy of that damn video." She sobbed and tried to catch her breath. "I...I looked like such a damned slut..." she wept.

"I'm sorry," said Mindy, apologizing for her husband. "I knew Mark was going after the stripper but I never thought it would involve you guys."

"NOW what's going on?"

It was Mr. Johnson. He looked at Vanessa and saw she'd been crying but was finding it increasingly hard to sympathize. He had a business to run and for the last month his secretaries seemed to be having one calamity after another. His patience was wearing thin.

"I...I'm sorry, Mr. Johnson," stammered out of Vanessa's mouth. "I'll be alright, girls," she said, directing her attention back to her friends. "Come on, we all have work to do."

Mr. Johnson turned and walked back into his office as the girls dispersed to their desks. He had no intention of getting involved with his employee's problems but something had to be done. They didn't know it yet but that day was the last time they'd all be able to commiserate together over lunch. About three o'clock Mr. Johnson called them all into a meeting. Once he had them all assembled he laid down the law. From now one, he told them, lunch hours will be staggered every fifteen minutes starting at eleven-thirty. He left it up the girls to decide who went when.

Later in the week Alicia and Dexter had their second counseling session with Dr. Lindstrom. She asked the couple if they had followed her guidelines and they said they had. The prior week had been a revelation for Alicia. In her own mind she knew that, except for the party, she had been a loyal and faithful wife so it really hurt her to know Dexter suspected otherwise.

After hearing her husband's reasoning during the former session she understood completely and couldn't blame him for feeling like he did. As long as those doubts were present she didn't see how he could ever trust her again, even with Dr. Lindstrom's help.

For the next couple of weeks life seemed to exist within a fog. Alicia's life at home hadn't changed since Dexter's return. Every day she had her phone laying on the table for him to check when he got home; sometimes he would and sometimes he wouldn't. Not once in that time had they made love or had any sexual contact. Not once had he kissed her or even told her he loved her.

He was no longer the man she married. He never came home laughing and in a good mood like he used to. The corners of his mouth rarely pointed up anymore and she saw nothing but sadness in his eyes. She knew it had to be affecting his professional life as well as his personal life but he no longer talked about work with her. She missed those stories he would tell about things going wrong on a shoot. Somehow he always made them sound funny.

At work it was more of the same. The boss' new rules did more than just stagger their lunch hours, it showed them he was fed up with all the drama in the office and they knew he was not shy about firing people. Everyone started to withdraw and keep their marital problems to themselves, even though they were all in it together.

Alicia was finding it hard to tell if the sessions with Dr. Lindstrom were really helping or not. She was thankful that Dexter was back home but she had her doubts on whether he still loved her. It took her awhile to build the courage to ask and she thought she might need some support when she did, so she waited until their fifth counseling session.

"Dexter," she said taking a deep breath and looking over at him. "Do you still love me?"

The doctor sat quietly back in her chair and waited with Alicia for his answer.

"You don't think I still love you?" he snapped.

"I...I'm asking. Since you've been back home we hardly ever talk and you...you never say it anymore. You never tell me you love me."

"You think I'd be doing all this if I didn't still love you?" he quipped.

"Mr. Samuelson," said Dr. Lindstrom, joining in. "It was a straight-forward question, it deserved a straight and forthright answer."

He looked into the worried face of the woman who betrayed him and gave the only answer he could. "Yes—yes of course I still love you...but I...I've never been so hurt by anyone in my life and I just don't know how to deal with it."

Earlier in the day Alicia had thought of giving up but his answer gave her new hope. As long as he still answered her question with a yes, she would never give up. On the way home in the car that night she came up with an idea, but under the current circumstances it was impossible. How—she had to think about this.

The following morning was the end of the work week. When Alicia walked in to the office her eyes met Vanessa's. They were all red again. As she wondered what new fate had befallen her friend, Vanessa stood and approached.

"Can...can I just talk to you for a few minutes, Lees? I'm so scared."

Alicia's eyes darted to Mr. Johnson's door to make sure he wasn't watching.

"Oh don't worry, Mr. Johnson is out for a meeting until eleven," said Vanessa.

"Okay," Alicia replied. "Let's go in the break room."

They both got a bad cup of machine coffee and sat down at a small round table. Tears were starting to form in Vanessa's eyes. She took a deep breath and started to talk in a voice that was hoarse from crying.

"Lees, I'm so scared. I've never even lived by myself before, now I'm going to be a single parent with two small children to support. I don't know what I'm going to do."

"Has he said for sure he's getting a divorce? Maybe there's still time to..." She noticed her friend's head slowly nodding up and down.

"Oh yea, he's already got everything started," she replied. "He moved out and got an apartment. He's got a lawyer and everything. I got the papers yesterday."

Alicia reached over and held her hand. "I'm so sorry," she said trying to comfort her friend. "Surely he'll have to pay child support and some alimony."

"No alimony," she told Alicia. "I will get child support but the most I can get in this state is twenty-five percent of his gross pay. I looked it up on line. That's the max, even with two kids. That's a little more than three hundred and fifty dollars a week." She pulled a napkin from the holder on the table and wiped her eyes. "That covers the mortgage but not a whole lot more, I'm not sure I'll be able to keep the house."

"Why no alimony, he makes a lot more than you do?"

"He's not offering any. I suppose I could get my own lawyer and fight him but then I have to pay the lawyer...and they don't come cheap, Lees. I called my brother to see what he thought I should do but he's not too happy with me either. He said I could wind up paying the lawyer more than I'd get in alimony."

She wiped her eyes again and continued.

"I—I guess I'll just take what he's offering." She closed her eyes as if she was praying. "I just wish I could get him to come home, Lees."

"I know, honey," Alicia said while squeezing her hand in support.

"How...how are you and Dexter getting along?" Vanessa sniffled.

"I don't know—it's been tough. The therapist we're going to has a certain program that we're following but I don't really know if it's helping that much. I guess we just have to give it some time. I read that repairing a relationship after something like this can take years so if that's how long it takes I'm prepared to wait. I just wish I could have my old Dexter back. I don't think I've heard him laugh once since he found out...not once."

The two ladies talked a little more but had to get back to work.

Alicia had been giving a lot of thought to the idea she'd had in the car the other night and had most of it figured out...with one big exception, that damned GPS. She couldn't tell Dexter what she wanted to do and she had no idea how many times during the day he checked her location—if he did at all. She would just have to take a calculated risk.

That night, as soon as she got home, Alicia ran into his office and checked out her husband's work schedule. The following week he was going to be very busy on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday with a major shoot. Some would be studio shots but there were also three location shoots.

This was perfect, she thought. Chances are he'll be so busy he won't have a chance to look at my GPS.

The weekend was quiet, as they all had been lately.

Early Monday morning Alicia stood at her dresser and closed her purse with extreme sadness. She took a deep breath and steadied her resolve, knowing it was the only way.

As soon as the regular start of the week chaos died down at work she asked to see Mr. Johnson. "Mr. Johnson, I, um, I know I shouldn't ask and believe me, if it wasn't so important I wouldn't but...ah, well, sir, I need tomorrow afternoon off."

Mr. Johnson just looked at her and sighed. "Tell me, Mrs. Samuelson, what can I do to prevent this from happening again?"

"Sir?"

"Well, before Wendy's wedding I had seven good, loyal, hardworking secretaries. Since then two are gone and the rest of you seem to be going from one crisis to another all the time; so...I'd like to know what I can do to prevent this from ever happening again," he stated with authority.

Alicia was getting nervous. It was starting to sound like she would be denied the time off. She wondered what she would do if that happened. She knew she might have to quit her job. Now it was starting to look like that was a possibility. Still, she wasn't panicking yet.

"I don't really think there's anything you could do, Mr. Johnson, but I wouldn't worry about it ever happening again. I doubt very much if you could find another seven women who were as stupid as we were," she lamented.

"I see," he replied. "This time off you need, does it have anything to do with what happened at the wedding?"

Alicia had learned her lesson about honesty and being completely up front. "Yes, Sir. I was just as stupid as everyone else. As a result I'm fighting for my marriage."

He seemed to stare right through her for a moment before asking, "Do you need the entire afternoon?"

Alicia's hopes rose. "I...I'm not sure," she answered honestly. "I have an appointment downtown at one o'clock but I'm not sure how long it will take. If there's time I'll be back before the end of the day."

"Okay," he said. "Just try to get as much done as you can in the morning."

"Yes, sir. I'll make sure everything is done before I leave...and, thank you, sir."

He looked at her a little pensively. "My wife and I will be celebrating our fortieth this year. We've both made mistakes; not the kind I think you're talking about, but let's just say it hasn't always been a bed of roses. Yet, after all the ups and downs, we're still together and still very much in love. I wish everyone could have what we have after forty years. Maybe this is your chance for that kind of happiness. If it is, I wouldn't want to be the one to stand in your way."

Alicia had tears of gratitude as she profusely thanked him again and left.

At noon she had to skip lunch. She wondered if Dexter was watching as she drove through town. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she felt the sadness of her mission.

When she got home that night she was on pins and needles, wondering if Dexter had followed her GPS. When he hadn't mentioned anything by bedtime, a thankful Alicia slipped under the sheet with a sigh of relief. Now if only her luck will hold one more day, she thought as she laid her head on the pillow.

She contemplated her husband's schedule for Tuesday. He and Cindy would most likely grab a quick bite to eat at the little diner a block down from the studio. Then they'd pack all his gear for the trip and by one o'clock they'd be on their way to meet the client.