They were on the bed. James was shirtless, wrapped around the mayor like a teenager sneaking around his parents’ house. He saw me first, and his face went white as paper.
“DAISY?? Oh God. Daisy, I can explain.”
Billy scrambled to sit up. “LINDA? What are you doing here?”
“What am I doing here?” Linda’s voice could’ve cut glass. “What are YOU doing here, you lying piece of garbage?”
Feet of two men intertwined in bed | Source: Pexels
The next 20 minutes were a blur of shouting, crying, and accusations. James kept saying it wasn’t what it looked like. Billy tried to claim they were discussing city business.
“City business?” I laughed through my tears. “In a motel room? On a bed? Naked?”
“Daisy, please. Let me explain.”
“Explain what? That our entire marriage is a joke? That while I’m home with YOUR children, you’re here with your lover?”
James reached for me. I stepped back like he was radioactive.
“Don’t. Don’t you dare touch me.”
Linda was taking photos with her phone. “Say cheese, boys! These are going to look great in divorce court.”
Grayscale shot of a woman holding her phone | Source: Pexels
Billy tried to grab her phone. But she yanked it away.
“Too late, honey. I already sent copies to myself. And to the local news channel.”
***
I filed for divorce the next morning. Linda did the same.
James came home that afternoon to find his bags packed and sitting on the porch. He begged and cried. He even promised it was over with Billy.
“It was just a phase,” he said, following me through our house. “I was confused. I was going through something.”
“Confused?”
“I love you, Daisy. I love our kids. This was a mistake.”
“No, James. Forgetting to buy milk is a mistake. Cheating on your wife with a married man is a choice.”
A man staring with a serious expression | Source: Midjourney
The divorce moved fast. Small-town scandal has a way of speeding things up.
Billy resigned as mayor. The local newspaper had a field day. And James moved in with his brother two towns over.
I kept the house. The kids stay with me during the week and visit James on weekends. It’s awkward, but we manage.
Linda and I grab coffee sometimes. There’s something bonding about being betrayed so spectacularly by the men you trusted most.
Two women chatting in a coffee shop | Source: Unsplash
“Any regrets?” she asked me yesterday at Rosie’s Diner.
I stirred my coffee and thought about it. “Just one. I regret not seeing it sooner.”
“What gave it away for you? Looking back?”
“He started humming in the shower. James never hummed. Like ever. Should’ve known something was up.”
We laughed until we cried. Then we cried until we laughed.
A woman laughing | Source: Midjourney
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