Out of a steady stream of arrivals at the event, she was the only one that he didn't introduce me to. As I chatted to one of his work colleagues, I kept half an ear open and managed to register the words 'hello fellow Islander' (my husband is from an Island off the coast of Ireland) and I noted the fact that they turned away from each other sooner than would be deemed polite in such a setting. The sideward glance she then shot me told me two things: she knew who I was, and she didn't want to meet me.
My mind was already abuzz at that stage. Although my husband had worked in his organisation for 8 years, I was only now meeting most of his colleagues for the first time. The odd shifts worked in the industry didn't leave many opportunities for social gatherings...or at least that's what my husband had told me. I had known that most of the creative team he worked with were women, I just didn't realise that so many of them were young and attractive. One rather flirtatious young blonde that had been at the event for far longer than we had was using my husband to hold herself up. The ease between them as she did this revealed a whole new side to my husband's life that was unfamiliar to me. He was very popular with his not-at-all old female colleagues. I had forgotten how much of a flirt he could be as that particular gift was wasted on me...he had me at hello.
I was just starting to get my head around the visual revelations all around me and reminding myself that I am married to the most loyal and loving of men, when she walked in. Blonde, cascading curls (I'm brunette), early 30's, (I'm early 40's), voluptuous (I am not) and dressed to kill. I couldn't take my eyes off her and couldn't believe I had never heard of this 'fellow islander'. I forcefully quelled the pang of resentment I immediately felt with a large gulp of my G&T, and returned to conversing with those around me. She disappeared into the crowd, and it wasn't until her exit hours later via the same route that my suspicions were confirmed. Again, no introduction was forthcoming from him, and her hasty goodbye to everyone left me sure that at the very least there was a very strong attraction there.
What to do with this information? We had both been working really hard for months and I didn't want to ruin our night out with a string of neurotic questions, so I satisfied myself with just one for that night. A laughably casual 'who was the girl that you didn't introduce me to?' No pause...no trying to think who he hadn't introduced me to. He knew immediately because it had been deliberate. And so I learned her name. In just as laughably causal a manner, he said 'Oh that's Lynn. She's Scottish'. God damn it. I thought as a vocalist and voice over artist, at the very least I'd have a more seductive voice than her, but who can compete with a Scottish accent? As we lay in bed that night, I felt the slightest tingle of arousal at the idea that my wholesome husband, of whom I thought I knew everything, had some secrets after all.
When wanting to delve into other people's secrets, social media is your greatest friend, and the following morning I quickly became an armchair detective. I found her second name on the group email that had been circulated for the event and got to work. There were many photos of her in killer dresses, with visible confidence and smiling eyes. I could almost hear her voice. I was surprised to learn that she was not single, and in fact was a mother of two. Having cast her in the role of femme fatale in the very short erotic thriller playing on a loop in my head (you can guess the ending) this information changed things slightly. Could two married people so readily play with fire? I began to question my instinct and resolved to find out more in the hope that I had been mistaken all along. The tingling sensation I felt every time I got to a certain point in the movie playing in my head was telling me something different though. A part of me wished I was not imagining things, and that my husband was a sexual being capable of sleeping with a woman like her.
I turned my attention to the second blonde, Jo, who was single and whose profile was all silly faces, alcoholic beverages and cleavage. Although younger and seemingly more carefree and adventurous, I considered her less of a threat. My bisexuality sometimes clouds my vision though, and I can presume that because I don't find a woman attractive, neither does my husband. I have been proven wrong on many occasions. I still felt that the only way anything could ever have happened between them was if she offered herself up on a plate. Slowly getting to grips with just how popular my husband is, I decided there was in fact a remote possibility that she had seduced him, and I filed her as a person-of-interest.
