Bzzt
The iPad vibrated in Thu's hands. A text message notification appeared above the Instagram feed she'd been scrolling through. It was from an unknown number.
That's odd
she thought, tapping the icon.
"Your appointment with Yoyo is confirmed, see you tomorrow. 4828 York Street," read the text. Thu felt her spidey-sense tingling.
"OK thanks, see you tomorrow," came a reply. Thu recognized her husband's number attached to the reply. Her husband, who happened to be in the washroom.
Did he forget his phone was synced to the iPad?
She heard the toilet flush before she could scroll through the rest of the messages. A moment later her husband exited the washroom. She closed out of the chat while her husband made his way back to the couch.
"Took you long enough," she teased.
"Don't ask," joked her husband, William, as he flashed a smile, grabbed a seat next to her, and pressed play on the Netflix movie they'd been watching.
Later that night Thu brought the iPad with her to bed. This was not at all unusual, as she had a bad habit of browsing social media before falling asleep.
"Good night," said her husband. He gave her a peck on the cheek before he rolled over to sleep.
Thu positioned the iPad so he wouldn't be able to see. She then opened the text message app and found the conversation from earlier. She quickly scrolled through the messages, and realized the conversation spanned almost a year.
January 5, 2021, 3:50 PM: "Yes, we do insurance massage. You want to book an appointment?"
January 5, 2021, 3:56 PM: "See you tomorrow with Mary."
January 24, 2021, 12:31 PM: "OK we will see you in half an hour with Mary. 4828 York Ave."
Thu skipped ahead.
August 18, 2021, 11:10 AM: "Sorry Mary not work here anymore. You can see Yoyo instead. She does good massage."
Thu felt her spidey-sense growing strong and stronger, but she needed more confirmation before coming to any sort of conclusion.
William's breathing had slowed down as he lay face down beside her. He could always fall asleep so quickly. Thu was envious of that.
Thu reached over and grabbed William's phone. She typed in his pin and opened the messaging app.
The last conversation read: "Be home by 6:30."
It was a conversation with Thu about when she'd be home for dinner. William had deleted the conversation with the apparent massage receptionist that he'd typed out in the bathroom.
It was at that point that Thu decided to Google the address. She punched "4828 York Street" into the iPad's search browser.
The first Google result showed was the contact information for Sunshine Massage Therapy. She saw that it had 2.9 stars. Strange, as her husband was always a stickler for reading reviews. She decided to read some of them.
Bruce M, five stars, wrote: "The best service. Shower and sauna included. I always tip well but there is never any nagging!"
Caroline, one star, wrote: "Stay away!!! This place is gross. Caught my husband going here from the stinky baby oil they use."
Nathaniel, four stars, wrote: "Always left happy when I saw Mary. Haven't been able to find a decent SP since."
Thu's stomach dropped as her realization had been all but confirmed. She turned to look at her husband. While her stomach was in knots, her mind had yet to process things. She felt numb. Numb and confused.
She pulled the blanket off her husband. He was a Ying to her Yang. Thu was Vietnamese and petite. Her husband was a white Canadian. Slim, but tall.
She stared at William. She wondered what the massage ladies saw when they looked at him. He was 35 years old now, just at the cusp of middle age.
Thu and William had been married for over 10 years. For the past few years, she felt like she was looking at the idea of William. An idea which her mind had conjured from shared experiences. That idea looked like something between the man she married, the man who existed now, and this fictional idea of the roles he'd adopted. Now though, she looked at him through a stranger's eyes.
She looked at his shoulders, which were wide and had grown broader with age. She ran her fingers across them feeling their stiffness.
Would the ladies remove the stiffness in them, or simply tease and excite?
Thu decided to use some pressure and work William's shoulder muscles. She imagined that Mary or Yoyo would at least keep a faΓ§ade of a legitimate massage in the beginning, lest their clients were shy.
She traced along his biceps. William was a computer programmer with two kids. He used to go to the gym every other day. That had lapsed since their second child. Yet she still felt a certain bulk to him. She grabbed those muscles. More curious about their strength then she'd been in years. She had been proud of how well-rounder William had been. He'd been a husband, father, provider, and friend all while keeping himself up as an individual.