Talk of Betrayal

Deb launched out of the kitchen. She shouted desperately.

"I've finished packing Mike. If you grab my cases, we can get out of here now."

"Be quiet Deborah."

This last was said in a low but implacable voice. Surprisingly, the voice was Mike's. Deb stopped dead in her tracks. Mike turned back to face Dave.

"Deborah assured me that she wasn't cheating because you had an open marriage Dave."

"Did she look you in the eye when she told you this Mike?"

Mike looked at Dave, then at a cringing Deb, then back to Dave. Dave saw in Mike's eyes the sudden realisation that he wasn't as good at spotting liars as he'd believed.

"What did she tell you about the state of our marriage Mike?"

"She said it'd been shaky for a few years Dave. That you'd been going to counselling for a while but neither of you were that hopeful."

Dave didn't say anything. Just looked at Mike until he kept talking to fill the void.

"Now I think of it, that's not really consistent with what you said about still having date nights and asking if she still loved you."

Dave again just kept looking in Mike's eyes. He picked the exact moment that Mike realised he'd been played for a complete sucker. A look, easily interpreted as self-loathing, washed over the smaller man's face. Mike turned to a frozen Deborah.

"You fucking bitch! You've turned me into the type of person I despise the most. A man that screws other men's wives without their knowledge."

With the force of this statement, Deb sank to her knees. Mike was suddenly at a loss for words and took an interest in the same patch of carpet that Deb found so fascinating before. He finally rallied and looked back at Dave.

"Please Dave, you have to believe me, I'd no idea..."

"Don't sweat it Mike. I told you she was a good liar. Christ, I wish she'd told me we had an open marriage. That way I may have got laid in the last year."

The deliberate use of humour in the very intense situation seemed to work. Mike relaxed a little but remained silent.

"Does this mean the engagement is off?"

"Er, yes, definitely."

"In that case, there's a couple of people I want you to meet. John, Alice."

At that moment the door to the basement opened. At the noise, Mike turned to see a young man and woman approaching.

"Mike, I'd like you to meet my son John and daughter Alice. They've been listening to our conversations via a microphone. John finished law school two years ago and Alice finishes a science degree this year."

Both John and Alice shook a bewildered Mike's hand. John then grabbed the envelope off the table and started perusing the contents emotionlessly. Dave turned to his daughter.

"Do you believe me now Alice?"

"Yes Dad. There's no doubt she is one cold, conniving schemer."

All eyes turned towards the groan. Deb was still on her knees, but now her head was in her hands, resting on the floor. When she sensed the silence, she looked up into four accusing stares. She jumped up and ran out the front door. No one made any attempt to stop or follow her. John calmly finished flicking through the contents of the envelope.

"This all seems to be in order Dad."

"Good, thanks. Now, who would like a beer. That fizzy cat's piss is fine, but I need a beer to get the taste out of my mouth."

"Um, I think I should go."

"You stay right here Mikey boy. We still have some things to sort out."

"Like what?"

"Well, I can forgive you for sleeping with the dopey bitch, her claims of having an open marriage and all that, but I've still to decide whether to rip off your head and spit down your neck for trying to steal her away."

Mike looked at the other man, noting he was a head taller and much bigger, due to his manual job. Then he looked into the eyes and saw the now familiar twinkle. Mike was starting to regret not bringing some muscle with him. He could have asked them to belt their own client, until the lesson that he'd been stupidly naïve was firmly entrenched. He had no idea where he stood now. Dave decided to ease his confusion.

"John is in the same line of law as you are Mike."

By this time, Mike was not at all surprised that Dave knew so much about him. Then the penny dropped.

"How's your current job, John."

"The hours are crap and the salary sucks."

"Would you like to come and work with me?"

"Shit yeah."

Dave smiled.

"Then there's the matter of my ex-wife's upkeep until she can find a job. Thanks to your excellent work, she no longer has a house or any money."

With a growing feeling of relief, Mike entered into the new spirit.

"I'm sorry Dave. As soon as she lied to me, she breached the implied contract we had. In cases of breach of contract, ownership reverts to the previous title holder."

"Yes but morally...?"

"Don't talk to me about morals, I'm a lawyer. John, do you have a dictionary? Look up the word morals will you. I'm a bit hazy on what it actually means."

Everyone laughed.

"No, seriously Mike, I think you owe it to me to look after her till she's back on her feet. If you play your cards right, you can pretend to be considering keeping her and get the shit spoiled out of you in bed for a while."

"Ugh, no, I couldn't go there. I will see she's right though. Not for her, but for you. I admire skill wherever I see it and I've been totally outclassed tonight haven't I? Have you ever considered a career in law Dave? The way you kept me off balance by posing negatives as positives and never giving me time to think, was worthy of the best prosecutor I've ever seen."

Dave smiled modestly but didn't answer. He loved his job and the people who surrounded him at work.

"Right, that's four beers then, is it?"

For the first time, Dave looked away from everyone. Until he was sure the tears forming in the corners of his eyes were gone, there would be no more eye contact.

By this time, Deborah Brown was 700 metres away, on foot and still accelerating away from the burning bridges.

The end

I am pleased to say that despite being married for 17 years, I still have a full, rich and satisfying sex life.

Shit, sometimes my wife even joins in.

Smile! If for no other reason than it makes people wonder what you're up to.