what’s going on?” he asked.
“Ben, I don’t know how to say this but to say it direct and straightforward.” She stopped, all the while looking down and avoiding eye contact with Ben.
“Go on,” Ben nudged.
She looked up, directly into his eyes. “Your wife is cheating on you with Aaron Carroll.”
The blankest, most emotionless stare must have come across Ben’s face as he looked into Terri’s eyes, a gaze that could have drilled a metaphorical hole through her head.
A man constantly worried about the impression he made on others, it killed him to be told this by someone else other than his wife, and it also hurt to think that if Terri knew about it, that it was very possible a large number of others did as well. What made Rachel’s past transgressions easier to deal with was that he did not think the folks around town knew, so when she asked for forgiveness and he granted it, Ben thought the hard part was just between the two of them. If a church-going, good girl like Terri knew about his personal problems, he surely believed they had become ingrained into the heart of Freeden’s gossip pipeline, and the old adage of everybody knew but him was probably applicable.
He did not want her to know, but his heart was breaking again. He could feel the tears welling up, but he fought hard to keep them away. He had tried so hard to be a better husband and had blamed himself entirely on previous occasions for the marital issues. But now, he knew he had given everything he could in the last year to be the best husband he could be, and, despite the agony, he felt comfort in knowing that this time it wasn’t his fault. He didn’t encourage any of this. Rachel just could not resist living her double life.
“Well,” he started as he stared down at the table, avoiding eye contact himself now, “I can admit I was not aware of this.”
She continued, “I know this is tough, Ben, but I just could not live with myself knowing that I knew this was happening to you and not telling you what was going on. It just isn’t right, and–”
“I know,” he interrupted, “I know you mean well, Terri.” He then looked up, paused for a moment, renewed eye contact with her, and smiled. “I know your heart is good, and I know you mean well.”
“I truly do,” she said.
Terri was a respectable woman, a wife who encouraged her family to live morally and honorably, and certainly not someone Ben suspected would ever be unfaithful. She was happily married to an equally respectable farmer, so Ben knew her reason for telling him this was not to get close with him and take advantage of the situation. She was a straight-shooter, and she was being truthful about what she knew.
Ben carried on, seeking more details. “How do you know this?”
She gulped, as if she was nervous to tell him. “I had already heard this about four months ago.”
“Jesus, that long?”
“I’m sorry, I should have told you before.”
“No, no, I’m not upset with you, just a little surprised that, you know, if in fact it’s going on, that I wasn’t aware and that it was going on that long.”
“It’s definitely going on, Ben.”
He stopped. “Okay, well how do you know for sure? I mean rumors get around.”
She looked around again, then leaned in to talk softer. “I saw them.”
Ben’s eyes opened wide, both eyebrows raised. “You saw them?”
“Yes, I saw them.”
He whispered, “Where? How?”
About that time, Buck Henson walked in. Buck led the Freeden Planning and Development Department as the senior city planner and was one of Aaron’s friends, or goons, as Ben saw it. And like Aaron, Buck was an active participant in the town’s social arena.
Buck sped right in, headed to his usual lunch table to wait for Aaron and the other city hall folks who hung together. He surprised Terri when he came up quickly behind her and said, “What’s up, guys? Are you working hard today or hardly working?”
Terri smiled and said nothing. She was visibly uncomfortable, especially now that her fear of someone listening in may have, in her mind, become a reality. She was unaware that Buck had been too far away when she last mentioned Aaron’s name to have heard anything.
“Always working hard,” Ben said in his typical jolly way, carrying on as if nothing was wrong.
“Well, that’s good,” Buck replied. He sped back up and walked on to his table.
Terri gazed at him to ensure he sat down and was far enough away, then said, “Did he hear me?”
“No,” Ben assured her. “I saw him come in, you’re good.”
“You know how people are around here.”
“Yes, I know,” Ben said while nodding. “So, where did you find them?”
She looked around once more to assure no one was listening. “Well, I had to go into the church the other night to get my sheet music. I had left it at rehearsal Tuesday night, and, because I am chairperson of the social committee, they gave me a key a while back. Well, it was about eleven-thirty, my husband was home with our baby girl, and I had not worked out all week, so I went to the gym. Got done and realized I did not have my sheet music and figured since I was out and about that I would just go ahead and get it. When I got there, I parked out front on the street, but my key would not work for the front door, so I walked to the back since I knew my key would get me in there as it had before. As I turned the corner to the back, I saw what I thought was Aaron’s Denali and Rachel’s car parked in the alley behind the church. It is not very lit back there, so at first I thought it was them but I still did not know for sure whose cars they were. Then I got closer to them and it became very apparent that these were definitely their vehicles. So I walked up to the cars, trying to see if anyone was in them and if they were okay. As odd as it may seem to you that at first, I still did not realize what was going on, and when I got about twenty feet away from his Denali, I heard her…” She paused.
“Go on,” Ben said.
“Well, it’s just….”
“Please, Terri, just tell me,” he pleaded.
She breathed heavily. She was ashamed to tell Ben for sure. Ben was embarrassed, too, but at this point he considered the damage done. Whatever she had seen was engrained in her mind, and she already knew all she would know.
“It’s okay,” he said. “Please.”
She continued, “The street light in the alley was pretty bright. I don’t think they saw me, but I assure you that it was definitely them, Ben. What I saw was validation of what I’ve told you today… I’ll just leave it at that.”
Ben wondered if he looked shocked enough for her. It hurt to know Rachel was doing this again, but it unfortunately did not come as much of a surprise to him. With the news came humiliation and sadness, but in reality all of that was coupled with a great sense of relief. Ben needed to know this. He knew there was no need for this
