I was bored and stuck with trying to work out some holes in a plot I had written earlier and needed a break. In order to clear my head, I picked this back up and gave it a short little ending I had thought of. Just something to clear out the cobwebs of my mind. I hope you at least find it somewhat entertaining.
If not, then please write your own ending to it. All I ask is to please message me so I can read it as well when it gets posted. Take it and run with it. This is my permission for you to have a go at it.
Also, there is no sex in this story. Maybe in later versions though.
Usual disclaimer: All characters are fictional and any resemblance to actual persons is coincidentally and unintentional.
D_U
Unmasked - Stage and Screen
The coffee shop was fairly quiet for this late in the morning as the door swung open and an unassuming man stepped in and gazed around. There was nothing special which stood out about the man. He appeared normal in appearance and dress. To the average individual he was just a normal middle aged business man coming in for a late morning pick me up. Most of the tables were empty by this time of the day, just a couple of college students working on their computers, a couple of housewives at another discussing God only knew what and a lone man looking at his phone oblivious to the world around him.
The newest customer stepped up to the counter and ordered a plain black coffee and a piece of coffee cake. He didn't want or need the sugary treat but it made him a little less memorable if someone asked. He grabbed his purchases and sat at a table next to the man who had his head buried into his phone.
When he pulled his chair back, he made just enough noise to roust the stranger's attention without being overly obvious.
Just as the man was about to lose himself once again in his phone, the newcomer started up a conversation.
"If I was to ask you what you fear the most, what would you say?" He asked. Making sure he had the man's attention he continued on in his pleasant friendly tone. "Oh, I know most people would answer that question with some fear of the dark, or maybe high places or public speaking. After all, we all have fears."
The man with the phone looked at the person sitting at the next table with annoyance and was about to dismiss him and his questions but there was a look in the stranger's eyes which sent a strange tingle of something up and down his spine. He wasn't sure if it was fear or dread or something far worse. "Not sure. Never really thought about it much." He finally replied hoping the stranger and his even stranger conversation was over.
"That's a pity really." The stranger replied. "You see, most people would think mine is somewhat dark by normal standards. First, you have to understand, I am a student of human behavior. I study people and what makes them do the things they do. Take those two college students over there. I can tell you with absolute certainty the one on the left is actually trying to study in order to pass an upcoming test while the one on the right is trying to figure out what it will take to get into her pants. Or the two housewives there. The cute blond is worried her husband is sleeping with someone and confiding it to her friend. Sadly, what she doesn't know is it's her friend who her husband is sleeping with."
The man sat there in shock looking at stranger as if he was insane.
"Ahh, there is the look I was expecting. The "just how crazy is this guy" look." The stranger said while chuckling softly.
"I see how this conversation can be a little unsettling so how about a different one? What sort of pet peeves do you have? Me, I hate clichés and stupid sayings like "I found it in the last place I looked." Seriously? You're going to keep looking after you found it?
"But the one I hate the worst of all is, "The husband is the last to know."" He said as the smile disappeared from his face. "He's not really. Just the last one of importance to find out. But once he does, it's at this point he begins to decide how to deal with the fallout as he sees his world start to crash and burn and all Hell breaks loose.
"The players in these little dramas are sadly almost always the same. You have the slut of a wife, the walking dildo she's screwing, at least one of her friends usually covering for her or at least being a sounding board for her and finally the ignorant husband.
"The set-up is also mostly the same as well. The wife's attitude changes, either becoming more attentive in the bedroom or all attention dropping off. The husband coming home early to "discover" them or an overheard comment. Rarely is it ever a "friend" stepping up and delivering the bad news. After all, who wants to be the one remembered as destroying a friend's perception of their perfect life? Well, let me help you try to understand a little better. As a friend, you aren't the one destroying the marriage. The selfish, cheating, bitch of the wife is the one who has destroyed the marriage. You, a friend delivering the news, are the one stepping up and letting the poor sucker of a husband know he has at least one true friend who has his back. For arguments sake, if the roles were reversed, would you be begging someone to step up and stand beside you as well?
"Sadly, I've found out I neither have nor had any such friends. I thought I had. Fuck all those so call "acquaintances" she and I had forged over the years. They let me know just how much I meant to them after they needed my help with their personal problems.
