As I entered my street, I slowed down and drove more carefully. The city council had still not fixed that dangerous bump in the middle of the road, despite my weekly phone calls and letters. Our street was at the bottom of a steep hill, which caused cars coming in to speed more than they intended to, and I was worried someday there would be an accident. Apparently it did not merit fixing, as I never got any response beyond "we are working on it". Well, perhaps I would work on voting for the opposition at the next election.
As I came closer to my house, I noticed a big car I didn't recognize parked in my driveway. I wondered if Emma had a friend over. I was well acquainted with her friends, and from time to time they hung out at our place, so it would not be strange, but the car didn't look like anything her friends might drive.
Emma and I had been dating for four years and living together for the last one. I knew she was expecting a ring soon, and it was in my plans to give her one, as soon as I came out with a proposal memorable enough to make it a lifelong memory. Turns out she was about to give me my own lifetime memory instead.
I parked inside the garage, and entered the house, announcing my presence:
"Honey, I'm back from work!"
She was sitting in the living room, sharing the sofa with a man I had not seen before. I had a very bad feeling about this, but I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt before becoming angry.
"I didn't know we had a visitor. Who is this, Emma?"
"Welcome home, dear. Mark, this is... this is Donovan. I think... I think we need to talk."
My fears confirmed, I tried to remain calm about the situation, knowing that there was nothing to gain by being violent.
