This story is written for Loving Wives and is my first solo submission. It's vengefully dark and sadistic, but something that just came to me. I'm not really this heartless, but I felt I needed to get it out. A bit of sex and a couple of twists. For those who know me, please "Bear" with me...hehehe.
*****
James
My name is James Tremaine, an attorney, and senior partner in the firm of Tremaine, Anderson, and Dowling, Attorneys at Law. I have been married to Sonia, my wife of fourteen years. She works in a money management firm downtown.
I thought I was happily married, but as they say, the husband is always the last to know. We are a medium-sized litigation firm, and we do quite well. There is a bit of pro bono work, and we also advise the local Archdiocese.
A while back, I began to suspect I had a cheating wife problem. It appeared that she and her associate at work, one Marcus Blaine, were swapping bodily fluids on a regular basis, i.e. every Tuesday and Thursday night, and possibly on Friday evenings. That would have been bad enough, and I was just about to get a private investigator involved.
But I am getting ahead of myself.
Her birthday was approaching, and loving my wife so much, I knew she had always wanted one of those 5G smartphones, so I figured, "What the heck, she's worth it." I got her the one with all the bells and whistles, and an instruction manual about three-quarters of an inch thick. I didn't understand half of it, and I'm pretty computer savvy, but the one thing I noticed, towards the back, was a chapter on the tracker app. Unfortunately, my Gibbs-type phone didn't support it. Y'know, Gibbs from NCIS? Never mind.
So, I sprang for a cheap 5G phone for me to load the app on.
She was over the moon with hers, since she was the first one in her office to get one, and you would think that she would be very appreciative of the gift. But no, a perfunctory "Thank You" was all I got. Even a hearty handshake would have been nice.
Then, one Tuesday evening, when she'd gone to a Library Committee meeting, I figured I would try and surprise her with a little late-night drinks, dinner, and dancing. I drove to the main branch of the City Public Library, to pick her up about 8:00 pm, but the building was dark, locked up tighter than a drum. It wasn't very late; she usually got home about 9:00 - 9:30.
I noticed the security cop parked over by the front door, so I strolled over and asked when the Committee meeting was over. He looked at me like I had two heads.
"What Committee meeting?" he asked.
Stunned, I asked him if they had moved it, or rescheduled it.
"What the hell are you talking about?" He asked again, this time like I'd just inquired about a UFO sighting.
So, okay, something just wasn't right. I tried calling her cell from my new phone, the one she didn't know about. It went right to voice mail.
That's when it hit me. Oh, Christ. Suddenly, I remembered the tracking app on her phone. I scrolled to it, and punched it up. Seconds later, it showed a flashing icon. I tapped the "Show Address" function, and it came up with The North Loop Radisson Blu. Oh, Christ-again. Somehow it started being my go-to exclamation...sorry, Lord.) I drove home and swapped out my Jag for my 1980 full-sized Ford Bronco. I immediately drove to the swanky hotel, parked in the lot, went in, and asked where the City Library Committee meeting was being held.
(Hey, don't judge. I'm college and law school educated, and I'd never claimed to be particularly bright, but I began to catch on.)
The guy behind the front desk must have been telepathically linked with the Library security guard, but he had concierge level standards to uphold.
"I beg your pardon, sir?"
"There is no City Library Committee meeting here, is there?" I said. Without waiting for an answer, I turned and left. I went out, and got in my Bronco. I began to feel sick, my stomach turning over.
I started it up, and backed out of the space. I drove around the parking lot for about five minutes until I saw her three-year-old BMW. 'Fuck this,' I thought. I pulled up carefully to the driver's side rear quarter panel, dropped the transfer case into 4Lo, then drove the winch bumper into it. Satisfied, I backed up, and went home. As I turned onto the street, I saw her come out of the hotel with Marcus Blaine on her arm. Well, at least I knew who would pay for this crapfest.
After getting home and pulling into the driveway on my side, while leaving her side clear, I got out and checked my bumper. Nothing major, just a small scuff, and a scratch on the black, powder-coated bumper. I got a rag, some rubbing compound, and a can of gloss black lacquer. Five minutes later, it looked as good as new. I went into the house, poured myself a scotch, and turned on the Yankees' game.
She came in about five minutes later, looking pissed.
I asked, "How was the meeting, hon?"
She stared at me, then mumbled something about her car getting wrecked. I bolted up, struggling to cover my amusement, "Are you alright?"
"Yes, yes I'm fine," she said.
"Let's go look," I urged, grabbing a flashlight. We went out to survey the damage.
After several minutes of "Oh, man," and "Awww shit, honey," I asked her if she got the cop's card, so we could get a copy of the police report, for the insurance claim.
"UH-uhhh, ahhh...umm, no." she stammered.
"Why not?" I asked incredulously, now in full lawyer mode.
"It's not a big thing, just a dent," she mumbled.
"Honey, it's a BEEMER. The door frame is bent, the glass in the window is broken, and the door itself is, for all intents and purposes, retired to Florida."
"I was too upset. I just wanted to come home," she defended sullenly.
"We'll be paying for this ourselves." I knew she didn't contact the police, because the report would have listed place and time. And that wasn't at the library.
"Fine. I'll pay for it. It's my car
& & &
Arctic, described the climate in our house for a while.
The next day, I took off for some personal time from work and got her car to the dealership. I gave them her office work number, arranged for her to get a rental, and told them to contact her about the cost.
Then, I went to the local electronic spy shop, and picked up several voice-activated recorders, as well as several motion-activated cameras. I also got a landline monitor for our old-style phone.