As I sit here in my air-conditioned office I know that my lawyer is only a speed dial away but I still cannot bring myself to press that button. I have no idea why; divorce seems the only logical solution now but whoever said that the logical thing to do was the right thing to do?
She's embarrassed me before - my wife, Sheila, that is - and I've no reason to suspect that she won't embarrass me again, so why is it that I find myself unable to leave her? Maybe it's because our love runs deep; or maybe it's because I don't want to be by myself; or maybe - and this seems more likely - I just get a little bit out of the drunken, sluttish way in which she behaves!
As I've mentioned, she's shown me up many times before. Her choice of clothes care sometimes little better than "street corner hooker"style and she always adores the ogling stares that her lithe body and sharp features encourage from all around as she parades herself through a shopping mall or a hotel lounge. She has little or no concern for how this makes me feel and I am usually left walking a few paces behind her, my head down, in case someone recognises me. I have put up with this behaviour for several years now, but last weekend at a friend's wedding, things definitely got out of control!
The day itself was a little unseasonal for the time of year. A constant drizzle dampened the guests faces and a swirling breeze ensured that hats never stayed in place for very long. Originally, the actual ceremony was to be held in the open air in the bride's garden, but to save everyone the problems of wet clothes and mud, a small temporary marquee had been hastily erected.
After the minister had legalised the union between our friends, the whole congregation was moved into the main house for a reception and the marquee was left empty until it was due to be dismantled the following day.
As the reception started so my problems with Sheila began. My wife likes to drink. Actually, that's a little understating it; Sheila finds it hard to refuse a drink - especially vodka. The booze flowed freely during the afternoon and by 6pm I guess that she must have consumed around half a bottle. I know well from experience that to try and moderate her drinking is a mistake; when she is in the mood nothing will stop her. And that afternoon she was most certainly in the mood!
Several times throughout the afternoon and early evening I lost track of Sheila only to eventually find her, shoes and jacket off, dancing some wild, inebriated dance with any man that happened to be handy at the time. But this time it was a little different; the fast dances seemed okay, but as soon as a slow number oozed out from the sound system, her dance became much more intimate. I watched with growing annoyance as Sheila's arms wrapped themselves around a tall, dark haired man and her face nuzzled drunkenly into his neck. For his part, the young man seemed more than happy to flirt quite openly with her and made no attempt to hide the fact that his hands were at that moment firmly squeezing the cheeks of her ass through the tight fitting dress that she was almost wearing.
Every time that I started to make my way over to them, I was pulled back into one conversation or another by various groups of friends. I decided to try and ignore her, after a while the music would probably change again and the two would have to break up.
As the conversation in my group continued, I couldn't help but keep glancing over at my wife and her dance partner. The music did eventually change and so did they, but not the dance - they changed partners! The young man reluctantly disengaged himself from Sheila and left her swaying and a little unstable on the dance floor. I thought for a moment that this was a little inconsiderate until I saw the man's friend quickly replace him in my wife's arms. The first man returned to his position at the bar and I saw him laughing to yet another friend as they shared the joke. As I watched the man now dancing with and groping Sheila give his two mates a quick "thumbs up", It wasn't hard to work out what the joke was.
"Isn't that right, Danny?"
"Sorry?" I replied, I hadn't been following a word of the conversation to which I was supposed to be a part.
"Your firm is developing a new marketing section. Isn't that right?" My friend Lydia Wimslow repeated moving into my line of sight and blocking my view of the dance floor.
"Er... yes... yes, we are. "
"You should really read Jenny's resume," Lydia continued as she pushed her teenaged daughter forward, "She's just graduated business school with honours and looking for a position. That's right isn't it darling?"
"Yes Mr. Page. I got all my qualifications and... "
"Er... yes, Jenny... er.. Miss. Wimslow... good idea... make an appointment with my secretary... I'm sure that we... er... sorry, can you excuse me for a moment?"
Usually I would have been quite happy to stand and chat to the sweet eighteen year old that was trying to do her best to impress me, but I had lost sight of Sheila and I needed to find out where she was. I could hear Lydia Wimslow's words of contempt for such a rude man ringing in my ears as I strode off. I made a mental note to apologise to her and her daughter at a later date.
I scoured the main room downstairs fending off offers to join conversations and to have drinks with a wave of a hand. But as hard as I looked I still could find no sign of my wife. I glanced over to the bar where her dance companions had been earlier - no sign of them either!
Thoughts began to race through my head. It wouldn't have been the first time that the bitch had cheated on me, but with THREE guys and at a WEDDING?
Suspicion and paranoia running rife, I bounded up the stairs to the first floor. I stood breathless on the landing and listened. The music from downstairs drifted up to me but, apart from that, I could hear no other signs of life. Most of the doors were open and I peeked inside to check. Nothing. I began to feel a little more comfortable, perhaps I really was being paranoid, perhaps Sheila had just popped out for a breath of fresh air. Out, I thought. Outside! In a second all my fears came flooding back to me - I hadn't checked the marquee outside!
