Over the years, Randi had discovered that his wife, Allison, could be fairly wild when he was not around. He had often heard snippets about times when she was "out with the girls." The girls in this case were women who taught at the same school where Allison worked. It was never very incriminating, just enough to make Randi wonder what he wasn't hearing.
The wondering drove Randi nuts, especially since his wife was very conservative, especially about sex. However, he was convinced that Allison was a lot less restricted when she was not with him.
She never drank around him yet the girls talked about numerous occasions where Allison had been drunk during one of their outings. The girls would talk about flirting with cute guys but, whenever he or any of the other husbands were around, they only admitted to the single girls doing anything.
Once, the girls had let slip that Allison had been dancing with another guy and Randi had questioned Allison on it. When he had questioned her, she said the girls were all dancing in a group so she wasn't really dancing with the guy. He was just dancing with him. It was now five years since Randi first began to question his wife's actions when he was not around but, in all that time, he had never had the nerve to ask her if she was doing anything.
Since he had admitted to fantasies involving other people, he felt that Allison would let him know if she wanted to fool around with someone else. In truth, he would let her as long as she let him be with another woman. He was comfortable enough not to feel threatened that Allison might be sexually attracted to another man. However, it drove him nuts not knowing what was going on. Was she hiding something or was his imagination getting the best of him.
8:00 a.m. MONDAY, APRIL 16
"Okay, honey," Allison said. "You have the phone number where I'll be staying. Give me call if anything comes up. If no one is there, it probably means we're out at the pool."
"Aren't you going to keep your cell phone on," Randi said, sitting on the bed putting his shoes on as he prepared for work. Allison was leaving for a few days with several other teachers who all had Spring Break off. They were headed for the desert where they'd be staying at one of the girl's parent's vacation home.
"No, it's really just a pain," Allison said. "Besides, it's not like you'll really need to get a hold of me at a moments notice. Just leave a message and I'll get back to you.
Randi stood up, adjusted his tie and began walking towards the front door. As he got to Allison, he bent down to kiss her. "Okay," he said and added playfully, "I love you and remember not to have too much fun." However, his heart dropped because there was always a part of him that wanted to ask her if she was having too much fun.
"I love you too, sweetie," Allison said just before Randi headed out the door.
4:30 p.m. MONDAY, APRIL 16
In five years, Randi had never asked for vacation days, except around Christmas or for an annual trip with Allison each summer. So Randi's boss and coworkers were surprised when he asked for a few days off.
"Where are you going," Randi's boss, Curt, asked.
"I thought I'd take some time to go visit a couple of friends I haven't seen in years," Randi said, surprised at how easily the lie came. "With Allison out of town, it seemed like a good time."
"Well, have a good time," Curt said as Randi closed his briefcase, turned off the lights in his office and left work early for the first time in his life.
5:45 p.m. MONDAY, APRIL 16
Randi had hoped there wouldn't be any traffic. With a five-hour drive ahead of him, the last thing he needed was the prospect of another couple of hours in stop-and-go traffic. Besides, Randi hated the inactivity since it gave him time to question what he was doing.
What did he expect to do, he asked himself. Spy on his wife and wait for her to cheat? That was, of course, exactly what he planned to do but he admitted to himself he had not really thought how he would do it. "Excuse me, do you mind if I hide in your bushes so I can spy on my wife," Randi imagined himself asking an anonymous homeowner.
All he knew was where she was staying and that they usually went out dancing a lot. Beyond that, Randi didn't have clue one.
11:35 p.m. MONDAY, APRIL 16
The house where Allison was staying backed onto a fairway of a private golf course. Allison had, of course, mentioned that the house where she stayed when the girls came out here was located in a private community but he hadn't really paid attention.
When he had seen the guard gate, Randi suddenly realized how important that fact was. In his mind, he had imagined driving near the house and watching who went in and out of the house and following them when the girls went out. Now, he realized that plan was not feasible. He had reservations at a nearby hotel and he considered calling it a night and sleeping on the problem.