Jared was drunk. He had cut back, he had been losing weight. He had been going to the gym. These were all things she had asked for. He had cut back on his travel. He wasn't leaving town every Monday coming back on Thursday. He was leaving for a day at a time, only when he had to, back the next morning if possible. He was making a list. He had sold the BMW she hated and bought a pick-up. He no longer commented on what she wore, ever, other than to say she looked nice.
She had been pretty specific in her demands.
And then she was cheating anyway.
"I don't know, is it cheating? She didn't fuck some dude?" he asked the blonde. He had forgotten her name. It was a K name but not Kay, or Kathy, or Karen... It was one of those new ones. Kirstyn, Krista... Probably Krista.
"Um, yeah. It's cheating."
"I thought so."
"What are you going to do?" she asked.
"I dunno. I would slip away with you to Mexico but i promised not to hit on you."
"I know. It makes this hard."
"Makes what hard?"
"Nothing. You want another?"
He got another beer, she got another Margarita.
"How old are you?" he asked her. He had put her at 45 or so at first but then she had moved from the end of the bar and he had put away three tall draft beers and two shots.
"Really?"
"Naw. I mean, I'm curious, but I know you aren't supposed to ask. I just, i would feel shitty if you were like 22 or something."
"Ha!" she said.
"Guys. I need to close Y'all out?" the woman behind the bar said. It made him sad. He was over the angry and had fallen into sad. He didn't want to not be married. He liked Julie. He knew her shit. He certainly didn't want to go through a divorce. Now he was sad the bar was closing and he was sad she hadn't come looking for him. He only ever went to one place. If she gave a shit, she would have come to find him.
Jared paid the check and promised he wasn't driving.
"How are you getting home?" K something asked.
"I can walk."
"Live close?"
"Not far."
"As close as Willow View?"
"What's Willow view?" he asked.
"Come on, I'll show you."
And so, at the lowest point in his life, he sunk lower. He followed the woman home. He didn't really follow, he staggered beside her. The apart complex was right behind the bar and the walk was mercifully short. He held her about the waist as they climbed steps to a second-floor apartment and held himself against her as she fumbled with the keys to get the door open.
"Hey, no hitting on me," she said.
"I wasn't. Purely support," he thought he said. It didn't quite come out that way but she didn't mind.
It was a short walk through a single room and she went to the bedroom and he went to the bathroom.
he braced his head against the wall as he peed loudly into a small toilet. He left the bathroom disoriented.
"Back here," she called.
He did not think he would do her. He had resolved not to. In a small dark bedroom lit by a single lamp that glowed pink beneath a flap or silk or something that was probably a fire hazard. She was laying on the bed. She was naked.
She was younger than he thought, definitely younger. She was heavier, possibly, a billowy pillowy sort of woman. Her soft pink flesh was marred by lines from a bra a size too small and jeans that left an imprint of stitched denim.
Still, she was lovely, and she called him to her. It felt good to lie down.
"Wait, I can't hit on you," he said.
"I know. Take your clothes off."
He did as she told him.