“I love Golden Grams, these things are delicious!” I said to Melissa, as I was sitting at the kitchen table pouring milk over my bowl of delicious gram crackery goodness. She was at the kitchen cupboards looking over the cereal boxes for what seemed like fifteen minutes. “In the commercial when they say, ‘how do they cram all that gram?’ it’s supposed to be a joke, but seriously, how do they do it?” I put a spoonful in my mouth. “This stuff is amazing!”
“If you were seeing someone else, would you tell me about it?” asked Melissa, clearly not as excited about cereal as I was.
“Yes.” I said, swallowing and feeling the mood take a more serious tone. “If you were seeing someone else would you tell me?” I asked in return.
“Yes.” Was her response, still deciding between the three cereal options we had available. “If you fell out of love with me, would you tell me?”
“Yes.” I said, trying to figure out where this conversation was leading, “Why do you ask?”
“Just wondering” She said shutting the cupboard doors. “Nothing here looks good, I think I’m gonna go to McDonalds and come back with some breakfast.”
“Ok?” I responded unsure of the rationale behind this conversation. Before I could ask for a clearer explanation, she grabbed her keys off counter and headed out the front door.
I heard her car leave the driveway and stayed there at the kitchen table eating my cereal and trying to remember everything that happened the night I was supposed to meet Stacy at her house. I had been through a few relationships and from my experience questions about infidelity and falling out of love were never a case of “just wondering”. Think Steve, think. Was I even cheating on Melissa? I was willing to admit I may have been emotionally cheating, but she couldn’t prove that. She must have talked to someone from my work. They told her about the conversations Stacy and I would have. How I’d hang out with her for hours on the bread truck and that we planned to meet up alone together one night at her house. Wait a second, how can I prove I didn’t cheat on Melissa that night? I started to put my Forensic Files trained investigative skills to the test:
2) I knew before leaving that there was a good chance that Stacy and I would have been alone together.
4) Cameras. Everything’s being recorded these days. I’m sure it wouldn’t take too much convincing to get the video feeds from local traffic cameras and Wal-Mart security footage shipped to the house. Then, one night when I’m on my way to work…BAM I’m on Cheaters.
Just as I realized how bad the case was building against me (and that I probably watch a little too much CSI), I heard the sound of a phone vibration on the kitchen counter under the cereal cupboards. I started to get up to see if it was my mine, but noticed that my phone was sitting on the table next to my bowl.
Broken from my self-interrogating daze, I finished my bowl of cereal and took my dishes to the kitchen sink. As I passed by Melissa’s phone, I glanced down to see who the text was from expecting it to be from Karen. She probably had a question about the birthday party we’d be throwing for her on Christmas Eve. To my surprise, the text ID said it was from one of her supervisors at work, Adam Schefield.
I had met Adam a number of times. He stood a little over six feet tall in a thin frame with fashionably styled blond hair and blue eyes. He was in his mid twenties and was the youngest manager at the casino by about fifteen years. He had been Melissa’s supervisor at the casino for years and would come over to our house for a party about twice a month always driving a new car. One morning Melissa came home excited to tell me how Adam had let her drive his 2006 Mustang in the parking lot at work, then the next week he showed up at our house for a get-together in an ’06 Ford Lightning. I asked him once why he was always driving a different vehicle and he said he got bored after a few weeks, wanted something new, and always got what he wanted.
He loved his toys, but Adam was harmless. On the nights he’d come over to our house, he would bring a bottle of Melissa’s favorite wine and case of beer for everyone else to share. As the night progressed and we had all loosened up with a few drinks, he would pull me aside and give me a speech about how lucky I was to have Melissa and that I should appreciate every moment her and I spent together. He was very protective of her because they had been working together for a year or so before I came in the picture. I think he saw himself as something of a big brother to her.
As I was loading my rinsed bowl into the dishwasher, I heard Melissa’s car speeding up the driveway. Something must have come up because the round to trip to McDonalds and back was twenty minutes and only about ten had passed.
“Is everything alright?” I asked as she rushed into the living room toward the kitchen.
“Yeah,” She said, snatching her phone from the kitchen counter, “I forgot my phone that’s all.”
“Oh, you got a text from Adam.”
“Did you read it?” She asked, flipping open her phone and checking the message.
“No, I just saw who it was from by the screen on the front.”
“Good. It’s rude to read someone else’s text messages you know. That’s their personal business.” Melissa stuffed her phone into her purse. “Did you want anything from McDonalds?”
“No, but I’ll text you if I change my mind.” I said in a serious but sarcastic tone.
“Ok.” Melissa said (oblivious to my well time whit) and started back toward her car.
“Hey, Melissa!” I called out stopping her mid stride with the door half closed. “What did Adam want?”
“Just work stuff, don’t worry about it.” She shut the door.
*Don’t forget about the giveaway that was on Photog Friday! Click HERE and enter to win a free photo session worth $200!
+ COMMENTS
add a comment