Enjoy the Soup

Dear readers and commenters;

Thanks so much for reading the 750 word version of "Enjoy the Soup". It started as an idea for a story and I thought I could work it into that short format. Some liked it, some not so much. Believe me, the 750 word format is a fascinating challenge. Many commenters wanted a bit of a follow up. I intentionally left the question of what might be in the soup vague. I thought a bit of Hitchcockian mystery at the end would get the readers imagination going. Anyway for those who are interested I have added a follow up chapter. I've included the 750 word 1st chapter for those who haven't read the first one.

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Original Chapter 1 (with slight edits)

She had been acting strangely.

I know that video evidence is the 'ne plus ultra' to prove that someone was lying and cheating on you. I could never bring myself to watch one. Instead I set up a voice activated recorder and placed one in the guest room and one in our bedroom. I wasn't sure I wanted to hear what got captured on the recorders, but I wanted to know the truth.

The guest room recorder hadn't been triggered. The master bedroom recorder had recorded something. Reluctantly I turned on the playback.

At first there were kissing noises.

"Marilyn..." a male breathy voice.

"Oh, Jeremy, that feels so good," my wife's voice.

"I can't believe that Joe agreed to this!"

"He didn't."

"What? You didn't bring it up with him?"

"No, why would I? Joe lives in blissful ignorance. He's at work, bucking for a promotion. As if he had a chance at that position!"

"I don't like the idea of us cheating. I thought Joe was on board with this."

"Just think of it as swinging but without Joe fucking Millie. Millie wouldn't touch Joe with a ten foot pole."

"Millie didn't want to sleep with Joe, true, but you're being a little harsh on Joe."

"I married Joe because I was desperate. My boyfriend had knocked me up and he ran for the hills when I told him. Joe stepped in and offered to marry me, then I miscarried. He is such a fucking Boy Scout. He is dull-witted and boring, sex with him is so lame. That's why I need a bad boy like you!"

I shut off the recorder, I'd heard enough.

Jeremy and Millie were friends of ours. Good friends I thought. It was bad enough that he was fucking my wife but the real pain I felt was the disrespect.

On a day to day basis, Marilyn was never dismissive of me. She encouraged me to try for that promotion. She said that sex with me was wonderful. She thanked me for being so galant, wanting to save her from embarrassment. I had one thought come to mind. 'This shall not pass!'

Armed with the knowledge that Jeremy was unfaithful to Millie didn't help me. From the sounds of it she and her husband are swingers. I wanted revenge and I wanted it bad. I swore to myself, no more nice guy, no more boy scout, if she wants a bad man, I'll show her bad.

Marilyn got home before supper. I was busy in the kitchen making soup.

"Hi dear, how was your day? Any news on the promotion?" She was downright cheerful.

"No word yet. How was yours?

"My day was pretty good, Joe. I'm glad to be home with you though. What kind of soup are you making? It smells heavenly."

She was acting so sweet, it just about made me gag.

"It's beef noodle with root vegetables. Very hearty. It's something I learned when I was a Boy Scout."

The mask dropped a little, just for a moment. The reference shocked her a little but she recovered quickly.

"Well I can't wait to try some."

She came up behind me and put her arms around me. I stiffened up but made myself relax.

"I was thinking about some friends of ours today, Jeremy and Millie." Her mask dropped again for a moment.

"I was wondering why we haven't seen them lately. Sometimes I don't think Millie likes me."

"Why would you think that?"

"I just get the feeling like she wouldn't touch me with a ten foot pole."

The mask dropped completely.

"What do you know? Tell me.."

"I know that you and Jeremy have been having sex. I know Jeremy thought you had told me about swapping partners, of course you didn't bother. That didn't stop you from fucking him in our marital bed. You must think I'm a complete idiot.

I don't blame Jeremy as much as I do you. You are the one who was to forsake others. Is Jeremy the first or have you had many lovers?"

"Joe, it's not like that."

"You called me dull-witted and boring, that I was bad in bed. You said you wanted a bad boy, well you've got one! I have had enough of this farce. You come home to treat me as sweet as pie, yet in bed with him you call me a dullard. Well fuck you. Enjoy the soup, bitch. Goodbye."

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CHAPTER 2

"Wait! Joe!" She bellowed. "Please stop, this is so sudden and confusing. Please let's talk about it I can explain."

"No, not now. I'm afraid of what I might do if stay any longer. Think about all I've said and you'll figure it out pretty quickly."

I walked out of the house and drove off. I should have called for a cab or an Uber I was shaking so badly. The adrenaline was pulsing through my system and I was truly afraid of what I might have done if I'd stayed. Making souo had always been a calming thing for me, creating comfort food. it hadnt calmed me diwn this time. I wanted to release my inner cave man and show her I was not the milquetoast guy she thought I was. The drive out of town helped me to calm down. I found a small motor motel outside of a small town an hour away from our house.

Marilyn (after Joe stormed out of the house)

What the fuck. This was not the Joe she knew. The man's lost his mind! How the hell did he know what Jeremy and I said to each other that very afternoon?

Joe had given me no indication that he was even vaguely aware of any difference in my behaviour. I've been very careful to convince him that everything is fine between us. Whatever it was, I have never seen Joe as pissed off as he was.

The other thing I don't understand at all is, why the soup? Why prepare a meal for someone you are about to expose as a cheater? Damn, he must have put something in the soup, he wants to kill me! It could be anything from spit to rat poison.

I took a sample of the soup and stuck it in the freezer. It could be evidence of attempted murder! She dumped the rest in the toilet and flushed it away, even though it smelled wonderful.

I had to call Jeremy, maybe that blabbermouth let something slip.

"Jeremy, it's me. Joe knows, he confronted me and ran out of the house in a snit. Did you say anything to him to tip him off?"

"No, last time we were golfing everything was fine. We both talked about our wives. He didn't know a thing. He did say we hadn't been together as couples in a long while."

"I don't know how but he knew exactly what we said to each other this afternoon. It was spooky."

"Hidden camera or voice recorder is most likely. It would have been removed by now. He must have gotten wind of something going on to set something up like this."

"I don't know what clued him in but I'm going to try to set things back on course. Until then we should cool it for a while."

"Marilyn, we should stop this altogether! I'm sorry, but I was nervous about this in the first place. Now I think it's just not right. I like Joe and I don't want to hurt him. You are a beautiful woman Marilyn and you drew me in but it can't continue."

"Don't be too hasty, I've talked my way out of tougher spots."

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Joe

The motel mattress was lumpy and I slept like crap. The room smelled like crap too. Thank God it was cheap.

In my sleepless state I was highly introspective. My dear wife was somewhat right. I am a boring and predictable man.

I was always "the nice guy." I was never a "dangerous bad boy." I had no sleeves of tattoos. I shaved clean every day. I took personal grooming seriously. I showered regularly. I said please and thank you, helped old ladies cross the street and held doors open for women. I was the kind of guy that mothers and fathers wanted their daughters to bring home to meet them. The problem was, most of their daughters would never date a guy like me, they all wanted a dangerous dude.

Marilyn seemed to be the exception. She had a boyfriend who was the poster boy for guys you wouldn't bring home to mother. He was big, not fat but not a body builder either. He was never going to be a Rhodes Scholar. In short he was knuckle-dragger.

One day he left town and never came back. Marilyn had started coming around talking to me. We went on a few dates. A couple of months later she tells me she is pregnant. We hadn't had sex so I asked whose baby it was. Of course it was the knuckle-dragger's spawn. Marilyn was crying, beside herself with fear and confusion. She put on a good show.

I was always a white knight. I offered to stand in for the mug and marry her so her baby isn't born out of wedlock and sparing her reputation. Then she miscarried.

The part that galls me so much is that Marilyn has always praised me for being a "nice guy." It's not like she was complaining about me. According to her everything was great between us.

That is why hearing her denigrating me to Jeremy was so shocking. She said I was dull-witted and boring, a Boy Scout and boring in bed. Unbelievable because she always praised me.

I needed to discuss this with Marilyn after a good breakfast. The local diner had a wonderful breakfast menu, eggs, bacon, home fries, rye toast and strawberry jam and strong coffee, the breakfast of champions!

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It was close to noon when I arrived at home, considerably more relaxed than I left.

"Marilyn?" I called once I had closed the door.

"In here, I'll be out in a minute." She called from the bathroom.

I heard the toilet flush and the water run in the sink. I pulled a cold bottle of water from the fridge and drank.

"I wondered when you'd be back," she said casually almost dismissively.

"We have some details to go over," I said.

"Let's sit in the living room, it's much more comfortable."

We sat in chairs opposite each other, appropriate I thought.

"So, what was that hissy-fit about last night? Why do you think I've had sex with Jeremy of all people?"

"I placed a voice activated recorder in the bedroom. I listened to the conversation. I dropped enough hints last night that I thought you would have figured it out by now."

"Joe, I confess that Jeremy and I had...a moment together yesterday."

"And by 'a moment' you mean you fucked him in our marital bed."

"That is so crude!"

"I'm just stating the facts."

"My denigrating talk about you is not how I feel at all. It was "pillow talk." It was to build Jeremy up as a better man. I was acting."

"How do I know that? You could have been acting all those years with me. Marilyn, you and I have regular sex but not nearly as often nor is it as exciting as it used to be when we were younger.

Have you grown tired of weak-willed and boring me? Why did you pursue Jeremy? He sure as hell wouldn't have pursued you. Millie is almost ten years younger and more energetic than you. She is also an extremely beautiful woman."

"That's just mean and hurtful, Joe."

"Good, you see I'm not the pushover nice guy you thought I was. Millie and Jeremy are swingers. Apparently they now have an open marriage as well. I know Millie doesn't like me because you said so yesterday in your bedroom talk and Jeremy agreed. The only reason Millie might not like me is that you have been poisoning her with the same crap you've been feeding Jeremy, that I'm a dud in bed!"

"Joe, please honey. I am sorry. I knew Jeremy and Millie were swinging. I was curious about the lifestyle. I was afraid that Millie being so young and gorgeous that it might tempt you to leave me. But I wanted some excitement, so I wanted to try Jeremy first. If it was worthwhile I'd then talk you into swapping. It wasn't worth it. What I don't understand is why you suspected anything."

"I am not the blind, blissfully ignorant moron that you thought I was. My time in the Boy Scouts, which you think was a waste of time, taught me a lot, most of all to be observant. In today's parlance it would be called situational awareness. Millie and Jeremy have been friends of ours for a long time and we got together often. Recently that changed. So I thought there must have been a change in the dynamics between us. I golf with Jeremy and I he didn't show any signs of pulling his friendship away from me. In fact we talked mostly about our wives and how much they loved us. It made me think that any rift between us and our friends had to be because of you and them. In retrospect, he kept telling me about how good Millie was in bed. It was almost like a sales pitch. He was likely trying to get me warmed up for a swap.

You and I have been quiet lately. Our interactions have been very muted. Your thoughts lay elsewhere.

Another reason I knew something was wrong happened last week. The laundry hamper was over flowing the other day so being a "nice guy," I did the laundry. Putting it away I found your "sexy knickers" hidden away at the back of a drawer. That was what made me put 2+2 together.

The voice recorder idea was just a shot in the dark. It was a cheap exercise and if it bore no fruit I was fine with that. Instead it produced a smoking gun that shocked me into taking action."

Marilyn sat looking out the picture window with a thousand yard stare.

"Joe, I'm sorry. It was a weak moment in my life. It was a temptation I couldn't resist. I meant no harm. I thought it could open an exciting new life for us. I never meant what I said to Jeremy. You did save my honour and you are my white knight, my Boy Scout who is always prepared for anything. I love you."

It may be cliche, but I started giving her a slow hand clap.

"Well done, bravo, a tour de force performance."

She sat silent and still for a moment looking at me with a mix of surprise, shock and fear.

"Yes my dear, I do have a backbone. If you had suggested to me that you wanted to try swinging I would have listened and given you all the reasons why it would never work for us. You opted for the clandestine option, cheating. You wanted a taste of the forbidden fruit before you bought the whole bushel. Paint it in as artistically as you like, it still breaks my trust and our vows. I know this will be painful, but like pulling a bad tooth, it will feel much better after the pain. I'm contacting a lawyer today. I can't stay married to woman as two faced as you."

"No, please Joe, I said I was sorry. It was a moment of madness. Let's take our time and think about it. You know that the voice recording can't be used as evidence since neither Jeremy or I knew we were being recorded."

"The time to think about it and talk things over was before you fucked my best friend. That is a done deal. As for the recording, it was never going to be used as evidence it was just so I could be sure of the truth. I'll leave now."

I stood up, grabbed a water and walked to the door.

"Wait! I have to know. What did you put into the soup?"

"Really? Onions, beef, carrots, acorn squash, turnip, parsnips, garlic, oregano, beef stock, white pepper, basmati rice and a few dashes of hot sauce, why?"

"I thought maybe you had done something bad to the soup. After all, you were angry with me when you made it."

I smiled.

"Believe me I thought about it but no. I've always been a Boy Scout and I'll always be that "nice guy." I hope you enjoyed the soup, it was the last meal I'll ever prepare for you.

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