Silence Gives Consent

JAQUELINE

“So, what did Casey need at this time of night?” I said as I handed him his glass of wine.

“Oh, um, she just wanted to remind me about a meeting we have in the morning.”

“Well, isn’t she just the sweetest thing?” I chirped out, smiling like a madwoman. “I don’t know what you would do without her. She must be an amazing woman to put up with all you lawyers. And your dad says she’s working to be a paralegal! Amazing. I admire her for that.”

He was probably wondering how I knew so much about her since he’d never introduced us any time I had come into his office. The thought of him trying to figure this out gave me such a thrill.

I wanted him off his game. I wanted him to think that I had no clue what was going on and that I was just a stupid housewife with no idea that her husband was screwing his receptionist.

“Why don’t we head upstairs?” Russ said, wiggling his brows.

Bile rose in my throat at the thought. I knew I needed to keep him thinking that everything was fine, but I couldn’t do that.

“Oh, hon. I’d love to, but Aunt Flo came to town early,” I said with a sour face.

One thing that grossed Russ out to no end was the monthly affliction that women dealt with. I couldn’t even get him to buy me supplies when I needed them. I had to call my best friend, Rena.

Now that I had stopped trying to keep him on a pedestal, I could see all the ugly things in my marriage that I had been hiding from. Insignificant things were now huge red flags.

“Oh, well then, no thank you!” he said and rushed off.

Just what I wanted. I turned and headed back up to the guestroom to start getting ready for bed. I had slept in there last night, claiming to have fallen asleep while working on redoing the room. I used the same excuse tonight. Tomorrow, I would start my journey to freedom.

***

I pulled up in front of the strip mall where the private detective’s office was. Harris McAlpin was said to be one of the best in the city at helping catch adulterers. I had made an online appointment last night for the first thing this morning.

I walked in and looked around the office. It was nice to be located in a strip mall. The receptionist looked to be a woman in her late forties. She had a kind smile and a beautiful aura.

“Good morning. How may I help you?”

“Hi, I’m Jaqueline Mast. I have an appointment,” I said pleasantly.

“Oh, yes. Harris is expecting you. I’m so sorry to have to meet under these circumstances, Mrs. Mast.” She looked at me with pity.

“Thank you. That’s very kind.”

She led me into his office, and I saw a man around the same age as her sitting behind the desk. His eyes lit up when he saw her, and I could see the love between the two.

“Mrs. Mast, this is my husband, Harris. He’ll help you get everything you need,” she said and left the room.

“Please have a seat, Mrs. Mast. Tell me what brings you here,” Mr. McAlpin said.

His eyes were kind, and it put me at ease. There was a strength there, and I could only imagine what it was like for someone to be on the wrong end of one of his cases. Reviews had said he was a sweetheart to his clients but hard on the adulterers.

“Mr. McAlpin, I believe my husband is cheating on me.” I went over every detail of what I thought had been happening, including the condom wrapper, the earring, and the phone call I’d overheard last night.

From the outside, he looked like he was taking all this in well. As I finished, I watched him for a moment.

“So, you think it’s the receptionist that he’s been seeing?” he asked.

“Everything points to it, but I don’t want to jump to conclusions. I need evidence before I go after him. I worked to put him first while he went to law school. I’ve held off on having children. I’ve put my life on hold for his dreams. I think I deserve a bit of justice. And if what he said on the phone yesterday is true, I don’t have long to act,” I told him honestly.

“I can tell you this. Most men are stupid when it comes to these things. Your husband being a lawyer may make him harder to catch, but then again, it may not. I’ll find the evidence you need. If you can give me some information, I can find some leads,” he said.

I pulled out a folder full of information I thought he may need. I had done my homework ahead of time to make things as easy as I could. I hoped he could see how important this was to me.

“You are certainly prepared. I’ll start immediately. Best-case scenario: I’ll have something in a couple of days. Do you have somewhere you can stay for a while?” he asked.

“I hadn’t really thought about that. I guess I had it in my head that this would be over quickly. I could stay with my friend. I know she would be happy to help me,” I told him.

“Go for it. It may speed up the process.”

***

I drove home and packed a bag for a week. I hoped it would be enough. Next, I called Rena.

“Hey, Jack! What’s up, my sister from another mister?”

I chuckled at her silliness.

“I need to come stay with you for a week. If Russ contacts you, say it’s because you’re sick,” I told her.

“All right. Are you going to explain it to me?”

“Yes. And Rena, thank you.”

Rena and I had been best friends since we were in high school. She was my ride or die, and I trusted no one on this planet more than her. She had always been supportive of my relationship with Russ. He wasn’t always her favorite person, but she didn’t bash him. I knew she would have told me if she had suspected Russ of doing anything like this.

I stopped by the store on my way over and picked up all our favorite junk food. Any time we’d ever had a crying session, junk food had been a staple of how we got through it.

She opened the door and put my bag near the hall. We headed into the kitchen with the snacks. I saw two glasses and a bottle of our favorite wine sitting there. She poured me a glass, and we headed into the living room.

“I know it’s something bad because you’re staying for a while. Go ahead and tell me,” Rena said gently.

“Russ has been having an affair with his receptionist. I hired a private investigator today, and he suggested staying somewhere else. He thinks it might help catch them quicker,” I said.

Suddenly, the dam burst. I shook uncontrollably as I started sobbing. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t breathe. The pain I’d kept under control surged forward. My heart felt like it was being ripped in two.