Mary phoned to tell me that her husband Eric and my wife Alice had been fucking each other. I thanked Mary and phoned a solicitor. I made an appointment to get a divorce.
When Alice got home I told her our marriage was over. She informed me that she and Eric were going to set up a home together.
THE MEDIATION
Alice and I agreed to go to a professional divorce mediator. They make divorces easier because they help reduce the anger of one or both parties.
I wanted to know the why, where and when of her affair. Alice point blank refused to spill the beans. Her intransigence confirmed that I had been right to sue for divorce.
Our mediator got us to agree to pay off the mortgage. The 3 of us would stay in it while my wife and Eric found somewhere to live. Once they had found somewhere Alice and I would put the house on the market. I would then stay there by myself until it was sold. Then we would split the net proceeds of sale.
Alice promised to be discrete about satisfying her lust. We have a 4 bed house. So I agreed to stay in the bedroom furthest away from the master bedroom. That way I was less likely to hear my wife and Eric's passion.
It was the longest and loneliest period of my life. Luckily they found a flat in only 2 weeks. Two weeks after that they moved out. I was ambivalent about my wife leaving. I hated her being with Eric and them sleeping in my bed. They didn't rub salt in my wound. They didn't show affection in front of me or talk all lovey dovey.
Eric tried to settle in peacefully. For instance he came with me to watch rugby matches in the pub, even though he was a football fan.
Eric and my wife were company and now I was alone.
ALONE
As Alice had agreed I booked 3 estate agents to give us valuations. Alice and I appointed the one that I thought the best.
The estate agent said to us "You will get the best price if the place is practically empty. It can mean you getting an extra £15,000 or even £20,000."
Alice and I agreed, even though it meant a delay in putting the house on the market.
It was surprisingly therapeutic de-cluttering. It gave me something to do in the evenings. I put things that were Alice's in one bedroom. In another bedroom I put things which she may want. In the other things I wanted to keep.
Eric and my wife came and collected the items they wanted. They left some items for me to give to our local charity shop and some to bin.
I thought of employing a professional house cleaner, but they are expensive and spring cleaning stopped me feeling lonely.
At last the house was ready for sale. The estate agents came and took photos and then emailed both Alice and I the text and photos.
I had hoped with all the de-cluttering that the house would sell within a month. But despite all my work we never got an offer.
The estate agent said "It's a bit of a slump market at the moment. You could drop the asking price, but I think it's better to wait for a couple of months."
Alice and I agreed to bide our time and not drop the asking price. The downside was that I was now going to be alone in a big house. With the house in pristine condition I wouldn't have anything to take my mind of being lonely.
The house sale went slowly. I had the occasional prospective buyers come. Each time I hoped they would make buy my house. Each time they didn't. Each time I felt more lonely.
I resorted to watching porn and wanking.
