David, Diane and Julie Story

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.

DIANE

I gave David the silent treatment the next morning, and we both left the house without as much as a ‘good- morning’ to each other. I was angry and wanted him to know it. That way, he would not be able to ask ‘where did that come from?’ once I got my revenge. At the boutique, Tracy immediately picked up on my foul mood.

“What’s wrong? Did you and David have a fight?” “You won’t believe what he did,” I fumed, then relieved to have a vent to my thoughts and feelings, and told her all about last night and how I suspected that he was back with that low-life secretary.

“With men you never know; you may find it’s another woman altogether,” she shrugged matter-of- factly.

“You know, right now I don’t even care who it is, the mere fact that there is someone is the issue. I really thought he had changed – I can’t believe I was so wrong.”

“What you need is a toy-boy!” she declared. “Not a serious guy like Mark who could become a problem; I mean a campus boy who can keep you happy for a bit of pocket money and an iPhone. That way you get a fresh, energetic distraction from David’s wandering, and a young buck who can satisfy you whenever you need ‘some’,” she reasoned.

I was not sure if she was being serious or just playing around, but I knew I could never go the route she was suggesting. I wanted a man, not a boy; someone I could have at least a bit of respect and admiration for.

Anything less would be pointless and I would be the only one put down. I could already hear the whispers: ‘Can you imagine she had to pay a young boy for sex!’ and “If she had to pay for it, no wonder her husband strayed”.

No, a toy-boy would never do.

DAVID

The next morning, I was still mad at Julie over the previous day’s drama; it had turned out that all she had was a simple infection, and for that, my evening and night had been ruined, and after all my efforts to reassure her, Diane was back to suspecting me.

It is true what they say about women; no matter how much good you do, mess up once and all that is forgotten. It was certainly true as far as Diane was concerned; even though I had been coming home early for weeks, the one night I got back late, she had thrown a fit. Women! That said, Julie was the main person I blamed; if only she had gone to the hospital as soon as she felt ill, instead of waiting for me to go and chauffeur her like she was a young child, it would never have gotten that serious.

It was part of the reason I was so generous with the money I gave her – so she would have the ability to handle situations like yesterday’s on her own. I planned to pass by the flat later that evening, mainly to have a serious talk and make it clear that there could never be a repeat of yesterday.

I would fix things with Diane, probably by buying her a piece of jewellery or taking her out for dinner.

JULIE

I was feeling much better by the time I woke up the next morning, and David’s text saying he would pass by after work made me feel even better. Although I was feeling much better and the fever was gone, I still felt weak and it took effort to brush my teeth and take a shower.

Once that was done, I managed to fix myself some coffee, and then proceeded to spend the rest of the day on the couch. I got hungry later in the afternoon, but I still did not have the energy to cook anything and since David was coming by in a few hours, I decided to wait for him; he was bound to bring something. He arrived a little after five, but I knew from the minute he walked in that this was not going to be the happy, pampered evening I had imagined.

For starters, he arrived empty-handed and even though there was space besides me on the couch, he sat as far away from me as he possibly could without actually leaving the room.

“How are you feeling?” “Better – but hungry,” I added pointedly. “Why didn’t you order for something? This is exactly what I wanted to talk to you about; I think I give you enough money to take care of yourself – if you’re sick, you have money to go see a doctor; if you’re hungry, you have money to order for something. You don’t need to wait for me to do that, you’re not a child!” It took a few seconds for his words to register and me to realize that he had not come here on a wave of concern – he had come to complain about my involving him!

“If that’s what you came to say, then you should just turn around and go!” I fumed, my voice choking up with hurt. “This is the childish behavior I’m talking about! You’re about to be a mother, but you want to act like a child!”

“Get out!” I repeated, angry and hurt tears rolling down my cheeks. “Fine! If you want to be a kid, go ahead, but for goodness sake, keep me out of it! I have met all my obligations and if anything, gone over and above them. Don’t mess it up by taking a mile when I’ve given an inch,” he said warningly, his tone dark and angry. Then getting up, he stormed out, slamming the door behind him.