Just another take on a story that spurred so much interest.
I stood and looked down at Jane. "Yes, I would be tempted, but I would turn her down. You see, I have a wife, and I don't want to hurt her. At least, that's what I'd have done before tonight."
There was another one of those deafening silences. I looked around the table at each of my former friends, all of whom were siding with my cheating wife. At that moment, I sincerely hoped never to see any of them again. I pulled out a twenty and dropped it on the table. "That will pay my tab. You're all covering for the slut I came with; you might as well cover her bill, too." I turned on my heel and stalked out of the club.
As I strode out of the swinging doors, I was stopped in my tracks by a frigid blast. My mind went blank. For several minutes, nothing came to my mind. Finally, my feet started moving as if they had a sense of purpose of their own. Somehow, I stopped at an intersection as my thoughts caught up with my body.
I had walked a few blocks, in the wrong direction! Shaking my head, I turned retracing my tracks in the inches of fresh snow. As I neared the scene of my humiliation, I crossed the street to avoid walking past the club. I had to wait before crossing due to a turning fire department ambulance. Tunnel vision took me back the Madison and up to my room. I broke down and the tears kept up until I fell asleep wrapped in a sexy, silk nighty.
The sun and my traitorous phone woke me around 5 A.M.
"Hello"
"Is this Mr. Jim Owens?" a melodious voice asked. And after an affirmative response.
"Is Mrs. Linda Owens your wife?" Another affirmative, though qualified.
"This is Mercy General Hospital. Your wife is being treated here and you are the one she asked to be notified. Do you know where we are located?"
"WHAT!!! What's wrong with her? Was she in an accident? Did he beat her?"
"That's all I can tell you on the phone. She is stable and you can learn more once you get here."
"Thank you. I'll be right there."
Now I was fully awake. Did I really want to hurry to be at my bitch-wife's side? My curiosity was strong but emotionally I slowed down. I showered, slowly, changed to casual clothes, packed my belongings only and headed down to breakfast. Only then did I grab my bag and head to my car to head to Mercy.
By the time I got there, she had been moved from the ICU to a room. She had her eyes closed when I arrived. I sat in the visitors chair and waited. Minutes later a nurse came in to give her some pills. Neither the nurse nor my wife acknowledged me. Déjà vu. I thought back to last night. As she was putting the plastic cup on her table she noticed me... and the tears started flowing.