The Empty Chair

Hi all,

The Empty Chair is a story about what happens to a relationship after a dramatic disclosure. It has been written in three parts and I'll apologise now for those who will later comment about my grammatical issues.

As before, I welcome and look forward to your thoughts.

*****

The hospital room was not quite dark, for a lonely streak of light intruded, shattering the solitude felt within.

Outside the stubborn refusal of the raging storm to disappear quietly into the night had finally woken him. In pain and alone, he looked despondently around the empty room. As if to further cement the personal torture he felt, the single ray of light settled on the small unoccupied chair in the corner.

The reality of the past twenty-four hours surged painfully through him. His own fragile insecurities had brought him to this position. He had no one else to blame. His futile actions had cost him his family. Had his wife already gone? Would he ever see his daughters again?

Desperately, almost pleadingly, he looked around the room and then back to the vacant chair again, hoping to be wrong.

Alas, it was time to face the truth. The chair was empty, he was truly alone!

Discovery, six weeks ago.

Hi, my name is David Patterson and like most happily married people in this world, I lived in blissful ignorance. I had met and won the heart of the women of my dreams, Beth and we had just recently celebrated our sixth anniversary together. Our union had been further blessed with Katherine and Victoria, two beautiful and precocious five-year old twins. Money was initially tight with only one wage coming in, however if anything this brought our union closer together.

Life as they say, was perfect.

My world as I knew it came crashing down one normal Wednesday morning when Katherine asked me why Mummy was crying. Now, any married bloke would probably assume that this was fault. So, in a mix of mild panic I went to address my obvious failing.

Nothing immediately materialized, so over the next couple of days I observed my wife closely. The first thing I noticed was that she seemed slightly out of sorts. Nothing obvious, just slightly distracted. Around the girls, she was the same loving mother she had always been. However, underneath the smiles I could sense something was troubling her.

Maybe I was in trouble, deep trouble.

Now, I started to analyze everything she did. I even found myself at night replaying every conversation we had throughout the day. Every word, every mannerism, every act, as if it would give me a clue as to the cause of her unhappiness.

I didn't want to jump to any conclusions, however the only thing that made sense was that Beth was unhappy and therefore the logical choice was that it stemmed from me and our marriage. Once I reached this conclusion, several unpleasant thoughts leapt into my mind. How could life go to shit in just a few weeks? We were, or at least I thought we were great, radiant and ridiculously happy together. Only two weeks ago before her trip, we were seriously talking about adding to our family union.

Wait what, a eureka moment - The trip?

Chloe and Rob were our best friends and near neighbors. Living just around the block we spent most weekends together. They had two young children just like us. To give the ladies a much-deserved break, Rob and I had bought them a little present. A weekend getaway at a local spa to be pampered silly.

Had something happened on this trip? Before everything was great, afterwards my wife was distant, distracted and crying to herself. Devasting thoughts flooded my mind and without any evidence to the contrary I knew the Beth had been unfaithful to me.

Once I reached this conclusion, I started re-examining my life with her. I suppose I was looking for the smoking gun. Several memories leapt forward. Two days after returning I was putting the girls to bed, I could hear Beth's phone ring downstairs. Nothing unusual I agree only she must have got lost in her conversation for as I re-entered the living room she abruptly ended the call.

Another uncomfortable memory came to the fore. Only last week, she left the girls with Chloe, so she could go shopping. I thought I would surprise her and meet her for lunch, only she never answered my calls. Later that evening she claimed she had left her phone in the car and had missed my call entirely.

Innocent events or proof of betrayal?

Stop jumping to stupid conclusions I quickly told myself. She loves you. She loves you. She loves you! Despite how many times I told myself I kept arriving at a but... Yes, I just couldn't shake that 'but'.

Sleep now had deserted me and worried that I might wake Beth up with all my tossing and turning, I retreated downstairs to ponder my fate.

The first thing that hit me was how could I carry on playing the role of the poor, clueless, devoted husband. I essentially wore my heart on my sleeve and it wouldn't take long for Beth to realise that something was wrong. No, I needed answers and I needed them quick. The first problem solved itself straight away. Beth had left her phone on charge in the kitchen overnight. Ensuring that she hadn't followed me downstairs, I quietly unlocked her phone. With a heavy heart and filled with trepidation I started my quest for answers.

The starting point was obvious, the call I had inadvertently interrupted. My heart plummeted when I saw the name Alex stare back at me. Worse still there was nearly a dozen calls to and from this Alex, the first starting just after Beth returned from the spa.

Proof!

Right up until that moment I was still hoping that I was wrong.

A thought quickly emerged: Alex could be a girl's name?

An emergency called me to work early the next morning, while my loving family slept peacefully in their beds. I returned later to an empty house. Beth had taken the girls to school and was then visiting her mother. This gave me the whole of the morning to search for any incriminating evidence.

Did I have a plan, no! I was flying by the seat of my pants and not enjoying the ride.

The family laptop was a dead end. Her emails revealed nothing. Accessing the online bank accounts proved tricky. She always dealt with the family finances, I took a gamble on the password and hit with my third try. Interesting, last Wednesday she paid for a meal with our debit card. What had she told me? Oh, yes, she had visited her mother who wasn't feeling well for the evening - or should I now say, Alex!

My next stop was her clothing, especially her underwear drawer. Nothing, no new surprises that I hadn't seen or enjoyed before. Was I jumping to conclusions? I decided that I wasn't and went on a mission to inspect everything.

At the back of her wardrobe I found a small black box. At first, I thought It was her jewelry box, but she always kept that on her dressing room table. The lid was stiff, and the contents tumbled onto the bed as it finally opened. It was the photos that struck me first, five in total. The first one was of a young couple on their prom date. They both looked innocent and very much in love. The next three were taken in various different locations but showed both of them hanging off each other as if their lives depended on it. The last one was taken in the bedroom and showed them both in the afterglow. The young man was definitely handsome, I felt my heart churn. Putting the last photo back I quietly told myself, so she had a past; hell, we both did.

For some reason, we never spoke about our past. It wasn't that the subject never came up. We were together, neither of us were virgins when we met, we were planning our future together and that was all that mattered. I suddenly felt incredibly guilty. I felt like I was invading her privacy. This relationship to her was special and I was trawling all over it looking for some kind of dirty indiscretion. Beside the box lay a small velvet bag. Opening it, I saw an engagement ring. It was simple, it was beautiful. With trembling fingers I held the ring in my hands and without any reason a jealous rage consumed me. I never knew she was engaged. Maybe we should have had the talk, what else had she not told me?

When I saw the letter, my world stopped. By now my emotions were all over the place and whilst I knew it was wrong to read something as personal as this, I also knew that I couldn't stop myself. Whilst my inner demons argued between themselves I picked up the letter. Any doubt immediately left me when I saw the name on the bottom. Yes, you've guessed it, it was signed, "lovingly yours, Alex."

It took me a couple of minutes to bring myself to start reading. I was struck by the intense love flowing between the pages. The letter had no date but if she had responded in kind, then I realized that I was truly in trouble. Alex must have been her first love and from all the evidence of the photos, the ring and the letter well she must have loved him deeply and now he was back.

A horrible thought struck me. Was he back, or had he ever gone away?

The beginning:

Now, I would never class myself as a traditional lady's man. At school I was painfully shy until it took a very wonderful lady called Amy to bring me out of my shell, so to speak. You see I'm tall, just a shade under six feet three inches, and some would even say I'm good looking. The first thing I realised at University was that love seemed plentiful and free. I dated constantly but the word exclusive seemed a foreign concept to most. I suppose deep down, I saw myself as a one women man.

I remember first seeing Beth at a friend's University party. He had a large house and I had gone almost on a whim. She looked amazing, as I spotted her on the far side of the room. Five feet eight inches tall, long dark brown hair and a sumptuous model like slim figure. She even topped it all off by wearing the classic little black dress. At some point in the evening we ended up talking. No great moves on my part, it just seemed to happen. We laughed, joked and mildly flirted. She had come with a couple of friends, no boyfriend. I can't explain how I felt, however it seemed to me that within minutes of talking to her, I felt that it was just the two of us. Despite being in the midst of a large and raucous party, in her presence it was almost as if we were alone.

The evening ended way too soon for my liking, so to prolong things I offered to walk her home. My reward was a nice kiss on my check and a promise to meet up again next weekend. During the next couple of weeks, we got together several times. Nothing amazing, I took her to dinner — a friend's party and the latest Bond movie.

Our relationship reached the next step after three weeks. She invited me over for a dinner of pasta bake. She stated that it was the only thing she could cook and not burn. Funnily enough we never ate and as I left her flat the next morning, I knew I was in love. She was perfect in every aspect to me. The next couple of months we spent every moment we could together, becoming hot and heavy. She was an amazing and intelligent person. I found myself comfortable with her in all situations. It turned out we both loved sports, so Sunday afternoon we would quite often be together watching the latest football match. It normally developed into her staying the night and as we continued a few nights after that.

The next step came quickly, some would say too quickly. A friend of mine had a large cabin by the lake and as we had finished our exams, we decided a party was in order: a weekend of frolicking in the water, grabbing hold of my bikini-clad girlfriend at every opportunity. After the first night, several of our companions complained about the noise and lack of sleep. Trying to be both romantic and thoughtful, I persuaded Beth to spend the next night with me under the stars. The stars paled in comparison to making love to my stunning girlfriend. Unfortunately, I was young and in love. Up until then we had always used protection, but that evening we were both lost in lust and intense desire.

One month later, she told me she was late. It took two more days for her to pluck up the courage and take a test and then the reality hit me: I was going to be a daddy. It wasn't planned, and I could see the fear in her eyes as she told me. I imagine she thought I would be furious, but I was delighted. We had never spoken about the future, but I think she realised how happy I was when I knelt in front of her and kissed her belly. The future was ours, and we were going to be a family.

Both parents were slightly reserved with the news until the next day when I took her to the beach. We had a favourite little spot, a little cove where we had gone one night to watch the sunset and ended up making love. This time I was prepared. I had a blanket, and a small picnic including champagne and a ring — well, you only propose once. I made a small fire and as the sun finally slipped out of sight I kneeled before her and asked if she would consider being mine for the rest of our lives. Tears welled in her eyes, but it seemed an eternity before she uttered the immortal word — yes.

We held a small but emotional wedding. The perfect day was topped off with the news that our parents had got together and raised the deposit for us to buy our own home. Six months later, our band of two became a family of four. I was now the proud father of two precocious daughters. I felt like the luckiest man alive.

Of course, it wasn't all plain sailing. Money initially was very tight. I was quickly able to get a good job with a small but well-renowned insurance company. Nine months into blissful married life disaster struck. I was driving to pick the girls up from the in-laws as Beth was taking her first break away from the girls. She and her friend Susan were going away for the weekend. Unsure and anxious, I told her she deserved the break. I never saw the car that jumped the red light and smashed into me.

Fortunately, I had been on my way to pick up the girls, for if, well I can't think of the other consequences. The lady was drunk and managed to walk away from the accident without even a scratch. Me, well I wasn't quite so lucky. I suffered several broken bones, a collapsed lung requiring an operation and severe concussion. For the next week they kept me under constant observation. I remembered the sensation the first time I woke up in a strange room like it was yesterday. It was sunny, and someone had partially pulled down the blinds as to protect me from the glare. As I moved my head, my heart stopped. A perfect vision lay asleep on the chair besides my bed. Her hand rested in mine, holding me as tightly as she dare. I was later told that she hadn't left my side from the moment she arrived. She must have sensed my movement for she instantly became awake and I witnessed her heart-warming smile through a heavy layer of tears.

She quickly followed this up with a smothering kiss followed by the words that she would never leave me alone again!

The showdown:

Just what evidence did I have?

Nothing, I had nothing that proved she was actually having an affair. Everything I had uncovered could be easily explained and yet deep down I knew something wasn't right. Looking back, I quickly realised that in my blissful married state, our happiness together had clouded everything about her. She could walk on water in my eyes. I trusted her and our union completely. Never, in the six years of being together had I ever held a suspicion that she had or would ever cheat on me.

My wife is a good-looking woman and was constantly dealing with attention and the unwanted advances that came with it. However, in all our time together I was never suspicious, I never had any cause to be concerned about her behavior. So, why now? Just what had changed. Deep down, I knew I wasn't going to get the answers I craved unless I challenged her. So here I was sat alone in my house, dealing with my inner demons. Like judgement day, I was waiting for the love of my life to come home and then with little actual evidence, I was going to accuse her of cheating on me!!

To try and control the build up of nerves, I poured myself a small drink in my favourite glass. Spiced Rum and Coke, with ice. The perfect drink for any occaision, I said to myself. Gallows humour, and yes it failed miserably.

As the countdown to Beth's appearance and the potential end of my marriage came closer, I tried and failed to formulate a plan. It was fruitless! In less then twenty minutes, I was going to jump in with both feet and lose everything I held dear.

And the worst of all, I knew I couldn't stop myself.

She came into the hallway calling my name. She was wearing an attractive white dress that I hadn't seen before, was it new? My first thought was just how beautiful she looked, however the demon on my shoulder told me that she was dressed this way for him, not me. Had she been with him this morning?

Pull yourself together, I patiently tried to tell myself.

I heard her asking if everything was alright. If I was feeling alright. She wasn't used to my being at home during the day. Are you okay? Her voice betrayed the concern she obviously felt. She repeated the question again as she walked into the living room. She knew me so well and I could see her tense as she looked upon me. Something was wrong, only what?

No, I barely whispered...

Looking up I was temporarily taken aback by her beauty.

Beth, please sit down, I have something important I need to ask you?

The next couple of minutes were lost as we kind of danced around the issue before I could hold off no longer.

Beth, are you having an affair with Alex Pressman?