This one is only a shorty, 1,900 words. No sex, sorry, and it is mostly dialogue.
My thanks to CTC, once again, for the ideas and edit.
There is no twist, just a different way of presenting things.
++++++
THE SCENE: Dave Brown is sitting at the kitchen table. It is Sunday evening and his wife, Deborah, has just walked in, carrying a small suitcase. They have been married for five years and are currently childless but aim to rectify that in the very near future.
"There you are, Dave. Wendy said to say hi. She was going to come in but wanted to get home to Mick. When you didn't meet me at the door, I thought you mustn't be here."
Seeing her husband's despondent demeanour, Deborah took another step toward him. "Dave? My god, what's wrong?"
Dave remained looking down at the table but spoke quietly.
"I've been sitting here since Mick rang me, asking myself the same question, Deb. What is wrong? What did I do wrong?"
"What on earth are you talking about, Dave? What did Mick say on the phone?"
"Well, let's just say that Wendy is in for a rude shock when she arrives home. Or should I say, her former home. She'll find her key doesn't work, her bank cards don't work, and all her stuff in garbage bags on the front porch."
Deb pulled out a chair and sat down heavily before she fainted. Dave remained silent.
"Oh god. He found out, didn't he?"
"Yes, the P.I. emailed him photos from your suite in Sydney, taken this weekend. He said they were pretty graphic. What was his name? Pete?"
Deb reached into her purse and grabbed her phone.
"Christ, I have to warn her."
Dave grabbed the phone out of her hand and threw it into a corner of the kitchen floor. It skidded across the tiles before hitting the cupboard under the sink. Deb looked from the phone to her husband and back again in bemusement. He finally raised his eyes to meet hers. The look in his eyes was alien to her. His voice, when he spoke, was tense and clipped.
"The only fucking reason the locks haven't been fucking changed on our house is that the hardware store was fucking closed after I got off the phone to Mick."
Deborah was confused. So many shocks were coming at once, she couldn't process them all. Then a dawning, horrible thought seeped into her consciousness.
"Oh my god. You think I was messing around on you as well, don't you?"
"Are you really going to say that even though your best friend was screwing her lover all weekend, in a hotel in Sydney, you were just up there to see the sights and go to that musical you said you went up there to supposedly see. Is that your defence?"
"Of course, Dave. I would never cheat on you."
"And I suppose you'll also say that on all your other trips with Wendy - Melbourne two months ago, Ayers Rock last year, Darwin before that, you just took in the sights?"
"I did, honestly, Dave. Yes, I knew all those trips were for Wendy to fool around, but you have to believe me, I didn't do anything that a wife shouldn't do."
"Except protect your husband's friend from a cheating slut wife."
A pregnant silence settled between the couple, where usually friendly banter came easily. Deb felt shameful. Dave was right; both Wendy and Mick were their friends. She'd covered one to backstab the other. The silence dragged on. Finally, Dave looked at his wife for the second time.
"Prove it."
"Prove what, Dave?"
"Prove that while your best friend was getting laid in one room of your suite, you were alone in yours."
"I was alone, Dave. All weekend."
Deb thought back to how the weekend had passed. She resented having to do this. Dave should know her well enough to believe her without proof.
"Well, after we arrived Friday afternoon, Pete met us at the airport and we checked into our suite. I walked to the monorail station and went to Darling Harbour. I had dinner at a small café overlooking the basin. If we jump online, you'll see I paid for only the one meal."
"You could have gone dutch with your boyfriend."
"Honestly, Dave! I went back and had an early night. I was asleep before Wendy and Pete got back from wherever. Saturday morning, I caught the train into the city and a ferry across to Manly, then walked to Manly Beach. On the way back, I spent a couple of hours at Taronga Zoo. Wendy wasn't there when I got back to the hotel. I showered, dressed, and went to the show. I can describe any of those to you if you like."
"Nothing you couldn't learn from Google, I suspect."
Deb was getting really annoyed with all this. She was innocent and Dave should know that automatically.
"Well, I can prove I went to the show."
At this point, Deb retrieved her phone from the floor, annoyed at the cracked screen, and scrolled through the photos. Finding the one she was looking for she turned the phone around to face her husband. He looked and saw a smiling Deb, standing in an auditorium, with a stage behind her.
"See; I told you I had seventh row seats, right in the middle."
