Three is a crowd: Julie still needs her funder, David

David and Diane have been married for years; then there is Julie, the young secretary whose axis collides with the couple’s in ways none of them saw coming.

DAVID

Thanks to my monster hangover, the day trudged by slowly and painfully, and the minute it struck five, I was more than ready to get out of the office.

Although I would have liked nothing more than to get back to the house and try to recover with a cold shower, hot, cup of coffee and a good meal, I knew I had to make one very important stop first; so, I reluctantly headed for the mall.

Unlike women who enter a mall and then wander about from one shop to another like they don’t know what it is that they are there to buy, I knew exactly what I wanted, and so made a beeline for the first ladies accessories shop I saw.

Although Diane had at least two dozen pairs of shoes, which in my opinion were too many shoes for one woman to own – in her mind, there was no such thing as ‘too many’ when it came to shoes – she was constantly on the lookout for the next ‘must have’ pair.

Fortunately for her, I had a pretty decent fashion sense, and almost as soon as I entered the store, I spotted a pair I knew she would love. It cost a vulgar sum, but I was in a hurry to get back to the house, and did not have the patience or desire to look for something else; so, I paid for it and left.

Diane was sitting in the living room when I walked into the house, though she appeared to have arrived only shortly before I did, as she was still dressed for work, and her purse was next to her on the couch. Other than a cold ‘hi’, she did not pay any attention to me, until I held out the shopping bag with the shoes, and then her eyes lit up, and I saw the hint of a smile beginning to form on her lips.

When she opened the box and saw the shoes, the smile broke forth fully, and jumping to her feet; she literally flung herself at me with a warm, excited hug.

“They’re beautiful! Thank you so much, darling!”
“You’re welcome,” I smiled softly; relieved that the costly purchase had at least accomplished what it was meant to – my sins were forgiven.

DIANE

Just like I suspected, Tracy was not too interested in listening to more of my ‘David woes’, as she referred to stories of my problems with David, but like any best friend, she, nonetheless, dutifully heard me out.

“At least you know he wasn’t with that woman,” she pointed out comfortingly, once I was done.
“I know, but I’ve never seen him that drunk, and then he was so mean to me, and there was just no reason for it; I just don’t understand what’s going on with him!”

“Like you just said, he never drinks that much; so, it clearly got to his head and you know how alcohol makes people act like fools; I wouldn’t pay that much attention to it if I were you. The most important thing is that he’s no longer making you and the kids share him with that woman and her baby; be happy about that and stop looking for things to get upset about. So, he drank too much last night, big deal; it’s not like he’s an alcoholic or anything! He’s coming home to you and the kids every night, and if the DNA results come out the way you  expect them to, the only real problem you’ve ever had in this marriage will be gone; can’t you just relax and celebrate that?” she challenged me, her tone
exasperated.

Maybe she was right; maybe I had become so obsessed with ‘fixing’ things in my marriage, that I had forgotten how to let go and simply enjoy being married.

Besides, like Tracy had just reminded me, I had more important things to focus on than David having an isolated drunken night; the DNA results would be out soon, and once they were, and that whore was out of our lives for good, my marriage would go back to being the perfect marriage it had been before her; and that was a picture too pretty to ruin by fretting over David having one drink too many.

JULIE

Kenneth had worked the night shift the previous night and had the day off; so, we were having a late and leisurely lunch, when the day’s pleasantness was interrupted by a call from my mother.

She never called unless there was a problem and she needed something, so, I was instantly on edge.

“Hello mummy; is everything alright?” I answered the phone nervously.

“Hello, Julie; yes, everything is fine. I was just calling to remind you that schools are breaking off next week; so, Sandra will be coming to you for the holiday as usual. Your brother will stay with me because I need him to help me with some work around here, but I hope you will be able to send us some money for food and upkeep. It’s been a while since I received something from you,” she said pointedly, her tone whiny and
accusing.

I sighed quietly, and closing my eyes, rubbed my face in a mixture of frustration and exasperation; my mother demanded for money like it was child support I owed her, and there were times I wish I could remind her that my siblings were her children and not mine.

“Since the kids are at school, I thought you were fine.”
“Eh, you mean it’s only them who eat?”
“I’ll see what I can do,” I answered tiredly.
“Thank you; I’ll be waiting for your call,” she replied, her tone instantly brightening.

“Alright; bye, mum.”
“Bye,” she answered gaily and hung up.

As I set down my phone, I sadly noted to myself that not once had she even asked how Junior and I were doing; it was always about her and her needs, and as long as those were met, nothing else really mattered.

Upsetting as that was, what really bothered me about her call was how it had intruded on my idyllic existence here with Kenneth and reminded me just how much I still needed David.

For starters, as much as I loved being here with Kenneth at his place, I would at least for the holidays have to return to the flat, and more uncomfortably, even though I had tried to avoid any contact with David, I would now have to ask him for money to send my mum. Would I ever truly be free of him?

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