Jason’s informant got bored with her assignment. She was not getting any tangible information, as there seemed to be no men entering number 18 apart from the neighbour at 17. She was certain that there was nothing between them, so there was nothing much to report. She pulled up from the investigations, but Jason was happy with the service and assured her he would contact her when another opportunity arose.
It was a difficult moment for Ron. He couldn’t look straight at his wife, and he felt a terrible insecurity. His dread was that one day, this would come out, and all that he has invested into his marriage would be down the drain. He was a dead man walking.
How could I stoop so low for this to happen? I love my wife so much, so what went wrong? Why have I let myself down? God help me out of this mess. And Shirley won’t bloody stop her nagging. I don’t love her. I know that for sure. It was not the same; my wife is special. God bloody help me!
‘I am the only person who can end this, and I must do it now before things get nasty!’ he said aloud. ‘I must man up and confess to my wife and let her know how sorry I am. It’s better for me to tell her before someone else mentions it. I must save my marriage no matter, no matter how much it costs me. I certainly do not love Shirley. It was just lust, and she seduced me, giving me flirty looks when Maria was not watching, Bitch!’
I don’t know how Maria will take it if she finds out. The children will be mad, and there will be misery and broken hearts, including mine. I will lose my beautiful family home. What a fool I have been, gambling what I have for lust, something that will end nowhere.
The thought made him shiver, and he prayed that the flirting might stop, but that was easier said than done. Shirley knew his soft spot and would prey on it until he broke. He would let her know how much he loved his wife and was not prepared to wreck his own home. He would tell Shirley that he did not love her and that what had happened was a mistake.
As possessive as she was, Shirley had threatened Ron with telling Maria what had happened between them. She wanted him to finish up with Maria, or else she would do it for him. Ron had made it clear over and over again that he would like to take things slowly, but Shirley wouldn’t have that.
Ron and Shirley always met when both of them had finished work. Shirley would still be in her uniform. It had always been brief but not without a snog. Both were careful not to draw suspicion, but this time Jason had managed to get a few clips too.
After having a good time at the rest house the other day, Shirley had assumed that her relationship with Ron was now confirmed, and as much as someone was going to be hurt, she was happy to go ahead with it.
He has chosen me over her. And after all, shy is such a handsome man wasting his time over an old baggage? She is old baggage, so she must go! she thought sarcastically and smiled to herself.
To be sure, she was struggling with the two boys. Working as a single mother was not easy, and her mum’s health had been bad lately. So when number 17 had generously assisted her, she quickly found an opportunity to do what she did best: seduce the man and make him her own. That would give her a permanent helping hand. It was just as easy as ABC; the man was soft and easily manipulated. Her plan had worked; she was just waiting to strike the head of the snake and kill it.
She had told Maria that she was not ready to go into a relationship, but in fact she was and wanted Maria’s husband. She wanted to draw her attention from what she had planned to do; that part of her plan was also working. The unsuspecting man had been caught in the snare.
‘I can’t be your second best. It’s either me or her,’ she said seriously when they met at their usual spot. There was a long silence, and impatient for a reply, she continued, ‘I love you, Ron. You know that, don’t you? I want to have you every day by my side. I don’t want to share you with anybody. I want you all by myself. Please say something; please tell me you love me too.’
Ron drew a breath and picked his words cautiously. ‘I can’t do that to my wife, I love my wife so dearly. I have been thinking about this since the rest house. I cannot leave her for any other woman. I’m sorry—we must stop this. I don’t want it any more.’
‘Wait, you must be joking. Did I say something wrong?’ she responded, alarmed and confused.
‘No, it’s not something you said. I just can’t do it. I don’t love you, Shirley, I don’t,’ he said at last.
‘You can’t be serious! You took advantage of me. Tell me you did not enjoy the sex, I dare you!’ she shouted hysterically.
‘I don’t want this, and I am out!’ Ron said looking away from her.
‘All right, we’ll see about this,’ she stormed. ‘I will make sure you eat hot chili raw, stupid man!’
One of the upper-class boys called, ‘Hey, Mr Makintosh, which way are you going? Can I get a lift?’
‘Hop in, son,’ Ron answered. As he drove off, his heart was racing. He prayed that he might get home in time to confess to his wife what crime he had committed against her.
Shirley consoled herself, I don’t believe what he said. Maybe I am putting too much pressure on him. I will back off and take things slowly, as he said. She also drove off, making up her mind not to give up on him.
Jason had arranged to meet Maria to present the results of his investigation. She rang her husband to let him know that she would be coming home a bit late. Ron was not happy about it; he wanted to tell his wife what was on his mind. He said, ‘I really want to talk to you urgently. I can’t wait; I need to, babe.’
Maria changed her mind and decided to go home. To her surprise, Ron had ordered food from Harvester. He knew that she would not reject what he had ordered. She had never said no to roast duck with vegetable and sweet potato mash. There was a bottle of wine too. She became suspicious. What has she done to earn all that? she thought.
‘What is the occasion that I don’t know of? Have you won the lottery?’ she asked teasingly.
She could also see how nervous her husband was and knew there was something seriously wrong, so just after the dinner she asked, ‘Ron, what is it that you want to tell me?’
He gave a deep sigh and said, ‘I love you, my wife. I love you very much, and I know you know that.’
‘Tell me what has happened,’ she asked again seriously.
‘Please don’t be angry with me, love, please,’ Ron said timidly.
‘You haven’t said anything so far for me to be angry. What is it? Are you having an affair?’ Maria asked.
‘Sort of,’ he murmured.
‘What do you mean, sort of?’ she asked angrily. ‘Oh, my guess was right! Who is the woman?’
‘Shirley, next door,’ he said quietly.
‘You dirty, stupid old man! Get out! Out!’
‘She tricked me! I have finished with her; please listen to what I have to say.’
‘Out! You disgust me. Out!’
He left the room and drove to the nearest pub. He ordered a big lager and downed it in minutes. It was not enough, and he ordered more and more. The idea was to knock himself out, and he did.
Maria was not surprised that her husband was cheating. His sudden change in attitude said it all, but what she was most surprised about was his carrying on with the lady at number 18. They were family friends. She had helped Shirley so many times with her children, so how could Shirley look her in the face and do that to her?
Both had acted as if nothing was happening between them. The favours she had done for Shirley were uncountable, and she did not deserves to be repaid that way. Maria sat on the couch, not crying but brooding over how they had committed their crime under her nose without being noticed.
She was terribly disappointed in Ron but decided not to act now until she heard what the investigator might have for her. She would like to know long the business had gone on and where they met. She had many questions to be answered. Maria knew her husband very well, though; being married for thirty years had made them inseparable. But after this new turn of events, she was unsure, unable to comprehend why her husband would behave so immaturely.
She began to question herself: What had she not been doing? Since their return from South Africa, their sex life had improved, and she was always looking out for fantasies that would keep an older man on his feet. Was she growing old and losing her appeal to him? He might have had his own shortcomings in the bedroom department, but that was not the case. He was a good companion, someone to spend her last days with.
Shirley got home feeling betrayed. She’d thought she had everything under control. She could not face Maria as she used to. She didn’t even know how to behave, it was such an awkward situation. She still hoped that Ron would change his mind; she would not mention the subject again. She would be content with the snogs and occasional sex until she could prove to him that she was the better woman for him.
As she collected the post and made herself comfortable in a chair, there was a knock at the door. Who can that be? She got to the door and looked through the peephole, thinking it might be Ron, but found it was his wife instead. She rolled her eyes in disgust but opened the door and put on a pleasant face.
‘You slut, leave my husband alone!’ Maria growled, still on the porch.
‘What do you mean, Maria?’ Shirley asked, shocked. Has someone spotted us?
‘You know exactly what I mean, you slapper! I know what’s been going on. He told me. He does not love you, so leave us alone! Do you hear me? Don’t ever come to my house; you and your children are barred, and take this as a final warning.’
‘I don’t know what you are on about,’ Shirley insisted.
‘You’ve been warned, Shirley, not in my house again,’ Maria finally said and walked away.
As Maria stopped at her door, she saw a police car stop at the roadside, and two policemen got out and walked towards her. ‘Mrs Makintosh?’
‘That’s right,’ she answered.
‘We found your husband in a pool of blood after he stumbled and fell on a broken glass at the pub.’ one of them responded. ‘The emergency service was called, and he has been taken to the hospital. He is responding to treatment, but be aware that he is seriously hurt. He was pronounced very drunk.’
Maria felt embarrassed that for the first time in her life, the police had come to her door with such a message. As they left, she stood briefly by the door, indecisive whether to go looking for the man who had betrayed her or to defy her duty as a loyal wife and ignore him.
It was decision time for Maria. She still didn’t know how long things had been going on between Shirley and Ron. One thing she did know: she would not give up her marriage. She had loved her husband before he proposed to marry her. It was at the Golden Gate pub, at their favourite spot. There was music playing, with strong lyrics that kept her heart beating faster. She locked eyes with Ron, and he stared back.
Then he took her hands and asked for a dance. As she rose, he held her and drew her strongly to himself as the song got to ‘You were always on my mind; you were always on my mind.’ At that moment, she felt very much in love with him. He held her tightly and smooched her, whispering in her ear, ‘I am crazy for you, and I love you.’ She was lost of words and wished he might never let her go, wished the music would never stop. They held each other until the end of the song. Maria felt safe and wanted.
She now blamed herself for not doing more to show how much she loved him since then. She had let her job take first place over her relationship. When they returned home from work each day, Maria would rather talk about her job than anything. Working at the justice office was so demanding and challenging that she forgot to display affection for her husband. Ron had doubted Maria’s love for him.
I love him … only God knows how much love I have for him, she said to herself and shook her head sadly. Maria loved Ron, but she never said, ‘I love you.’ Ron had been very frustrated about that, and it made him ask her constantly if she had ever loved him. I pushed him away. It’s all my fault. I should have given him some sort of assurance. While he showered me with lots of affection, I gave him little.
Maria and Ron had been married for more than two decades. They’d had their ups and downs just like any relationship, but nothing serious to trigger a decline in their relationship. She never dreamt that Ron would give any thought to another woman until the neighbour at number 18 came into their lives.
Maria paused for a while and remembered that she had just learned that her husband had been taken into hospital. She wasn’t going to allow anyone to take her gentle giant away from her. She must go and look for him and bring him back home. She was not going to throw away all their years together. What he had done was wrong, but she could forgive him, at least for once.