It had now been five days since she had last encountered her secret admirer. Every bone in her body was telling her this was all wrong...but every bone was craving the touch and the attention he gave her just as badly. She sat each day by the computer, waiting for him to log on, but he never did. She would stare at the phone beside the table, willing it to ring, but it never rang. She wondered what she had done wrong. Was it over? Was he finished with her now that he had seen her vulnerability exposed? She would think about all the possibilities, trying to remain strong, but tears would soon swell up in her eyes. She cried for a mixture of what she wanted and what she had given. Her husband would come home and try to talk to her, but she could not look him in the face without a feeling of guilt - the guilt that she still craved this man and what he had stirred in her body.
Day six dawned and she was beginning to realize that he was not going to call. She never even bothered to turn the computer on. She sat with her head in her hands, whispering to herself, mad at herself for being used, for giving herself to a complete stranger. She took a long hot shower, as if trying to wash away all that had happened. By the time she stepped out of the shower, she had vowed to never get caught up like that again. She took her time getting changed, even put on a bit of make up to cheer herself up. Going back downstairs, she walked past the room where she kept the computer. She stopped in the open doorway like a deer caught in headlights. She looked at the machine that had started all this. It was silent, cold, and dark without a flicker of life. She decided to leave it in that state - her heart still yearning, but her brain was at last taking control.
She went outside for some fresh air. They'd said on the news that morning that it was to be a fantastic sunny day and for once, something in her life had not lied to her. She looked at the pool that her husband's hard work had just paid for and the hot tub at the side that they had bought the summer before. She realized in that moment how lucky she was and she swore to herself that this was the start of a new life for her.
She walked back into the house and switched on the computer. As it sprang into life, she placed her hands on the keyboard. Within a few minutes, she found the files containing all the emails she and her secret lover had exchanged. With one click, they were gone, banished to the void of cyber space. She pulled up her instant messenger; her eyes went straight to his handle. She stared at his screen name. Just as thoughts of his touch, of his body started to send that tingle she craved so much down through her body, though, she clicked delete and he was gone forever. It was strange, but in the world of the internet, things can be over as quickly as a click of a button. She looked at the other friends she had on her list - did she need any of them? Could she live without the daily interaction, the false promises, the flirting that she encountered with almost every male she had ever chatted to? For now getting rid of him was enough, she decided. She'd removed him from her computer and in her eyes, that made him out of her life for good.
Grabbing a cold can of soda, she went back outside and sat in the garden chair. She leaned back to enjoy the rays beating down on her body. Her mind was starting to clear, starting to think of things in a more realistic way instead of the dream world she had been caught up in recently. Just then, the phone rang. Her eyes opened quickly as she turned her head to look at the phone. Did she dare pick it up? Nervously her hand reached out to take it. "Hello?" She breathed in deeply as she waited for a reply.
"Hi hun it's me. What are you cooking for dinner?"
The breath she was holding in came out as a mixture of relief and sadness swept through her body. "Not sure yet - what do you fancy?"
"Well, I have a little surprise for you, so how about we grill out tonight?"
"OK, hun, I will run to the store and get a few things."
"Great, we will be home at seven."
"We?"
"Yes, get enough for four...you are going to get the shock of your life!"
The phone went dead and for the first time in weeks, her mind was thinking of something other than "him". Who was her husband bringing home?
At the market, she wondered what to get. Is it a couple we know that he is bringing home? But then if it was, why would it be a shock to her? Did he get promoted? Is he bringing his boss and his boss' wife home? That's it! That's the shock! Oh my god! I have to make this nice tonight!, she decided to herself. She went from stall to stall, picking out the best steaks she could find, the freshest fruit and vegetables, and then she went for the wine. Red or white? Both, let's play it safe...and beer...what if they like beer? By the time she got home, she was weighed down with shopping bags. It had better be a good promotion, she thought to herself, because I've just spent all the money we had left on this party!
She looked at the clock - ten to five - two hours to clean, get the food prepared, and make the place look great. This was just what she needed, something to focus on. Besides, this was her chance to show Alan what a good wife she really was. For the next two hours, she worked hard and it showed - the place looked great. The beer was outside on ice, the steaks were marinating, and the only thing left was to decide what to wear. She looked through her wardrobe...no, no, no, no, no...she grabbed her cell phone.
"Alan, it's me...everything is all finished except I just don't have anything to wear!"
"Well, it's hot and they are looking forward to trying out the pool, so I guess your bathing suit would be good."
"Well, if you say so. I am so proud of you, dear...this will make a big difference to our lives."
Before he could ask her what she meant by that, she hung up the phone. Alan turned to the couple in the back seat of the car. "I'm so glad you found a place to stay so quickly down here."
"Yes, me too! When he flew back last week and told me we would be moving so soon, I couldn't believe it!"
"Yes, I drove him all over looking at places."
"Well, with what he told me, he did a lot more than just look at apartments!"
"Come on baby, what about the guy you took home while I was down here?"
"Never mind him! What about the man I am going to have tonight?" With that, she leaned over and kissed Alan on the cheek.
She heard the car pull up to the house. Outside, she opened the white wine and added it to the beer in the ice bucket. The front door opened, and she peeked through the backdoor to see three people walking into the room. She shouted to her husband that she was outside. Standing there in a red bathing suit, wrapped in a multi colored sarong around her waist, she hoped his boss would not think her too forward. As they walked out to meet her, she smiled like the perfect hostess and held out her hand.
"Leann, this is my wife Linda."
The two girls shook hands.
As Leann moved to the side, Linda offered her hand out again to the man stood before her. "And you must be Alan's new boss."
Then she saw his face. Her eyes opened wide and her jaw dropped. "No it can't be! Brian?"
"Yes it can be... I told you we would meet one day!" Linda threw her arms around him.
