It was 3:10 in the morning when my wife came home from her school's Christmas party, a party that ended at 11:00. I stayed in bed pretending I was asleep as Jesse jumped in the shower. That was my cue to head to the guest room. I was on the edge of falling asleep when I heard Jesse push open the door. A few minutes later I heard the door shut. This was the first Christmas party we didn't attend together. Jesse made sure I knew that I wasn't invited.
My alarm woke me at five and I prepared to leave my wife. My bags were already packed and in the trunk of my car. I checked my cell phone and thanks to some app, it had captured last night's text messages between my wife and her lover. The last message was pretty graphic, Jesse complaining about all of her lover's come that was dripping out of her pussy and ass into her panties which were now trashed. She hoped her husband wouldn't pester her for sex because she was going to be sore the whole weekend. I knew where those panties were going to end up and after fishing around the kitchen trash, I placed them in a Ziplock bag using the salad tongs.
And that was the end of our marriage of 25 years. After transferring those messages to my new phone and the cloud, I left my wedding ring and old cell phone on the kitchen table. It was time to start a new phase of my life, after almost 30 years of my relationship with Jesse. On the way out, I went back and grabbed my old cell phone, there were still a few text messages I needed to send on it.
It had been my plan to send all of the text messages to our three children, but I thought the last message was too much. Jesse had already completely alienated our children. All three chose colleges on the other side of the country and stayed there when they graduated. As a psychologist, I recognized the signs of perimenopause but was unable to do anything about it. Jesse would lose her shit anytime she thought I was analyzing her. I took her shit though as her mood swings and irritability alienated one child after another. And when they were gone, she came after me.
I did work hard to maintain my relationship with my children. After Jesse refused to attend the wedding for our oldest because it was too far away, the three of them stopped calling her mom and she became Jesse. She wasn't invited to the other weddings or christenings. Jesse didn't seem to care.
Some people claim they had no idea their spouse's behavior was leading to infidelity. My training left no doubt in my mind. A friend gave me an app that would send Jesse's text messages which I used to track her relationship with shithead, another teacher in her school. Just because someone is heading in a bad direction doesn't mean they will actually be unfaithful. Like Jesse planning her big night in the Hilton, some wives will get all the way to the hotel room door and realize they were fucking up. I hoped that was going to be the case with Jesse. Obviously, I was disappointed, but it was time to put my plan into action.
That brings us to this cool Florida morning with me sitting in a restaurant eating breakfast. I had already checked into my hotel near the cruise terminal in preparation for a 21-day cruise that was leaving Sunday morning. I reviewed the email I drafted to my children announcing I was leaving their mother and my new cell phone number. After a long internal debate, I attached the text messages and hit send. Their response was swift and consistent, "what took you so fucking long dad?"
I also read the latest report from the PI I hired, showing Jesse and shithead leaving the Christmas party at nine and heading directly to the Hilton. There was a picture of them holding hands as they headed to their room. The picture of shithead walking Jesse to her car at 2:30 in the morning and then giving him a good-bye blowjob in the parking lot was going to allow me to enforce our prenup.
The PI report was forwarded to my attorney with directions to have Jesse served with divorce papers on Monday when she got home from work. She would be required to vacate the premises before I returned from my cruise. Shithead would be served with a restraining order barring him from my home. My attorney would also send the PI report to shithead's wife.
There was a four-hour drive to my hotel so after breakfast I headed out but not before turning off my old cell. The hotel was full of other people attending the cruise and I was shocked to see one of my co-workers sitting by herself eating dinner. Melanie was sweet and had survived a brutal divorce a few years ago.
"Hi Jack, I can't say I'm surprised to see you here," she said.
"Well, I am very surprised to see you here, care to explain?"
"I saw your cruise confirmation on the printer. Why would a married man book a solo 21-day cruise unless he wasn't planning on staying married. I knew you wouldn't be cheating on Jesse, you're not that kind of guy and everyone in the office knows what a bitch Jesse has become. We always got along with each other Jack, and I frequently referred to you as my 'work husband.' So, I booked the cruise, hoping we could have some fun together, whatever you are comfortable with. I also booked all the same shore excursions which I can easily cancel if you're uncomfortable with me joining you."
"Actually Melanie, it would be better for me if I didn't spend too much time alone so I would appreciate your company. But I'm not ready to commit to any long-term relationship," I said.
"Two psychologists thinking alike, who would have thunk it," Melanie added.
After a long dinner, I walked her to her room. At her doorway she said, "I'm not going to invite you in Jack. I'm in this for the long-term, not a one-night stand although my body is telling me I'm a fucking idiot."
I said, "I'm cool with that," gave her a kiss on her cheek, after setting plans for breakfast and headed to my room.
My mind was racing with thoughts of Melanie. We've worked together for at least 20 years and were always friendly. The only times it ever came close to being more than friends were at our company's Christmas party where Melanie would ask me to dance. There was something about the way she molded her body against mine which could be interpreted in many ways. It was after Melanie's divorce that Jesse went on a bitch spree about it. As usual, I was docile about Jesse's ranting.
Before going to bed, I turned on my old cell. There was one message to me from Jesse asking where I was around dinner time. I ignored it. There were several messages between Jesse and shithead beginning with her finding my ring on the table. There was no remorse in Jesse's tone, and I didn't expect any. I've treated enough patient to know the cheater rarely feels remorse. My feelings were hurt when she told her lover that she hoped I wouldn't do anything stupid like ask for her divorce because it would really fuck with her lifestyle. Funny, I knew that's why she stayed with me but seeing it in writing kicked my teeth in.
Over breakfast, Melanie asked me what triggered my decision to take the cruise.
"Are you asking professionally Melanie?"
"I'm asking in any capacity you want. We both know the more you talk about it, the less it will hurt. God, how many times was I in your office crying my eyes out when I discovered my husband was cheating on me. And I continued to cry in your office as he tortured me through the divorce. I think you're the only reason I didn't lose my mind. So, start talking Jack."
We had time before we had to board the ship, so I gave her the long story. I'll admit there were tears in my eyes at different points in the story and I'll admit I felt better after talking to Melanie. There was a part of me that didn't want to end up in the patient/counselor relationship with Melanie and I told her that.
"That's good Jack, because I ain't going to let that happen."
After boarding, Melanie surprised me again when I found out that she had the stateroom next to mine. We had dinner together and did some dancing that first night which ended with another kiss on her cheek. We had breakfast together on Monday morning and Melanie surprised me when she joined me on the treadmills in the gym. I didn't know she was a runner, and she said jogging was the best advice I gave her. We spent the rest of the day reading and talking in our deck chairs while enjoying the beautiful Caribbean weather.
Over dinner, we talked about my expectations for Jesse's response when she was served. Through the miracle of Elon Musk's satellite system, we were able to access everything through my phone.
The first thing we read was a text message from my daughter:
