Is It Real Two

Chapter one: Morning

I trembled as I called my best friend's number. After two rings his wife answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Joyce? This is Roy."

"I know... We need to meet. Soon. You know there is something going on, don't you?"

I did know. I had been ignoring the signs, because I trusted my wife and my best friend. But now I knew something was not right.

"Where, and when?" I asked quietly.

"Can you meet me at 'The Breakfast House', about three this afternoon?" Joyce asked.

I took a breath and let it out.

"Ok. I'll be there."

"Good, we can compare notes. But Roy. I am not liking this at all."

"Me either Joyce. I hope I am wrong. God, I hope I am wrong."

"Me too!!" Then she hung up.

Chapter two: Lunch

I arrived early and sat by myself thinking over the last three months. Nothing added up in my head. I hoped that, together, Joyce and I could make some sense of our partners' behavior.

Her husband, Mike, and I have been best friends since college. He met Joyce and she introduced me to her best friend Anna. Twenty-six years ago. We had a double wedding twenty-five years ago next month.

I was shocked to hear that Joyce shared my suspicions. We had been aware of our mates spending time with each other. A lot of time. They had been meeting secretly. For almost a month. Maybe more.

The restaurant hostess seated me, and I nervously waited for my best friend's wife. I felt ashamed that I was meeting Joyce, alone, in this way, though I wasn't doing it for the same reasons that I suspected Anna and Mike were meeting.

Joyce came through the restaurant entrance, scanned the tables, and spotted me. She pointed to me, looking at the hostess, and walked across the restaurant to take a seat at my table.

"Roy?" She asked fearfully. "Are you sure? Do you have proof?"

"I am sorry, but I watched them go into the Four Seasons last Wednesday, together," I replied.

Tears formed in Joyce's eyes. I reached for her hand and held it firmly, trying to comfort her. It was very hard to do that when I felt so miserable myself.

"How long do you think it's been going on?" Joyce asked.

"I don't know. I know Anna has been acting funny for about three months, but I never thought that she would do this."

"Mike has been acting funny about the same amount of time," Joyce said, looking down onto the table.

"What are we going to do?"

I shook my head, "I don't know Joyce. We've been together for 26 years now, I don't know what to do."

"Me either," Joyce confessed, putting her other hand on top of the one I was holding.

The waitress came over and asked us what we wanted.

"Two coffees and ice water please," I requested, while staring miserably at the top of the table.

I sensed the waitress hesitating, but she didn't speak before leaving to fetch the beverages.

"One hell of a time to find out," Joyce said, then added, "I found eight thousand dollars missing from our savings. What about you?"

"The same," I replied, then looked down again.

"She withdrew eight thousand dollars three days ago. I am sorry." I said, squeezing her hand.

I released her hand and sat back in my seat.

We sat in silence until the coffee and water was served. The waitress began to ask if we needed anything else, but I just shook my head. I couldn't eat and I didn't think Joyce could either.

"I have never known a man I wanted more than my Mark. I can't believe that my best friend Joyce would..."

"I couldn't believe it either. Do you know exactly when Mike began to act suspiciously? I need to know how long this has been going on."

Joyce looked at me trying to think.

"It was around the time of my birthday," she said.

"That was about three months ago. He was away for the day. He stood me up, and arrived later with, admittedly, a really great gift. He said he had been with Joyce."

She shook her head.

"He never said why he had been with Joyce, or where they had been, only that they got caught up with some sort of planning."

We sat and talked for over an hour, without touching our coffees. We left a generous tip and walked out, sadder and no wiser than when we walked in.

We had no answers, only shared suspicions.

Chapter three: Home

I had come home early, cleaned up the house, and then started dinner. With our kids in college, it was just us two. I fixed a simple meal of baked chicken and potatoes, hoping that Anna would enjoy the day off cooking. She didn't know that I had come home early and started dinner. She also didn't know that I knew she had been secretly meeting Mike.

Joyce and I had worked out that they had been meeting together for almost four weeks by now.

I didn't want to confront Anna, because I didn't want to take the chance of losing her. She is the only woman I have ever loved, and I would be lost without her.

We ate our meal with companionable conversation. Anna was all smiles and affection. She seemed happy, but was more excited than usual.

Finally, after dinner and cleanup, she sat me on the sofa and said, "Honey, we are going out Monday after you get off work. I made reservations for the four of us."

"Four?" I questioned.

"Yes, all four of us. Mike and I have a little announcement to make."

This is it, I thought. Anna is going to tell me that we're over, and that she and Mike have been seeing each other and have fallen in love. My heart felt so heavy and full of pain that I could only nod.

It was Saturday night. Two days until she ends our marriage, I thought.

I slept fitfully and got up on Sunday morning, still tired. I often played a round of golf on Sundays. Today, had called Joyce to join me for nine holes. She was also a regular golfer and gratefully accepted my invitation, relieved for the distraction. We met at the golf course.

She told me that Mike informed her, last night, that Anna and he had plans to make a big announcement during dinner at the restaurant.

"What are we going to do? I can't go on without Mike..." She sobbed.

I held her in my arms and tried to comfort her, but it was difficult, since I felt as devastated as Joyce seemed.

We didn't play golf that day. We just sat in the lounge miserable and consoling each other.

Chapter four: Monday

I went to work having not slept much, if at all. My ass was dragging, and colleagues assumed that I had partied hard over the weekend. I wished that were the problem.

Mondays are bad anyway, but this day was made even worse with the added pressure of the impending loss of my marriage. I couldn't tell my troubles to anyone, because I didn't want acquaintances to know that I was losing her.

I couldn't understand what had gone wrong. We had such a marvelous love and life together. We had raised two kids. We took vacations to the Grand Canyon, Carlsbad caverns, Washington DC, and even went to the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas.

We had more than that. We were soul mates, forever. Or so I thought. Somehow Anna was getting something from Mike that I was unable to give her, and she was about to destroy my heart. And not only my heart, but Joyce's too.

I didn't get any work done on Monday. None at all. I had brought my 'going out' clothes with me to work. I changed before I left for the restaurant.

I waited in my car until I saw Joyce pull into the parking lot. I walked to her car and opened her door. She looked up at me with tears in her eyes. I helped her out of the car and embraced her. Then I pulled out my hanky and offered it to her.

After a breath I asked, "Are you ready? They're already here."

Joyce took my arm and said, "No, I will never be ready. But let's go anyway."

We made our way to the table Anna and Mike were at. I sat across from my wife Anna, as Mike held out Joyce's chair for her to sit across from him.

Anna reached across the table and squeezed my hand tightly.

"I am so excited," she declared.

During dinner both Joyce and I could see the smiles and glances passing between Anna and Mike. They weren't even trying to cover up their affair!

Finally, after dessert was served, Anna and Mike shared an intense look and both put their hands on the table, with Mike covering my wife's hands with his.

"Roy, Joyce," Anna said, to get our attention.

"We have something to tell you."

She looked at Mike with a big smile.

"We both do," Mike added.

I felt Joyce put her hand on my leg and dig her nails into my thigh. It hurt, but not nearly as badly as my chest. My eyes were stinging with unshed tears. I knew this announcement wasn't going to be pleasant.

"You know how we all met, and became friendly, in college?" Anna asked.

"We two couples were even married together too," Mike added.

"We are so close, and always do things together," Anna expanded, excitedly.

Joyce and I were about to pass out, as neither of us could breathe. I was becoming light-headed with all the suspense, knowing that the end of both our marriages was imminent.

"Roy?" Anna looked at me, "I love you with all my heart.

"Joyce?" Mike looked at her, "I love you with all my heart. So, Anna and I decided this year, for our twenty-fifth diamond anniversary, that we would all go to Hawaii together. All four of us. You see Anna and I have been planning the celebration for some time."

I sat confused. Lost for words. WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED? I was so relieved as I realized that nothing had been going on between my wife and best friend.

Joyce started to laugh as the tension left her, and I fell in right behind her.

Thank you for reading.

lee