The Note

The Note

It was a normal day, Cecile waved goodbye to her husband David as he drove away to work. Cecile smiled as she cleaned up the breakfast dishes. Her life was good, solid and safe. She had almost missed all of it.

Her parents’ marriage was a travesty. They were still together after thirty-seven years but Cecile couldn’t figure out why. Maybe they knew no one else would tolerate being with either one of them for very long. Their escapades were an open secret. So many affairs, so many arguments, so many secrets produced a constant tension in their home.

Cecile vowed she would never get married. She believed there were people who were happily married, but she had no idea what that looked like or how to build that kind of relationship. She wasn’t equipped genetically or emotionally. There were plenty of single men to date and have an occasional fling with but no commitments. Then she met David.

David was patient and persistent. She met his parents who had a strong marriage. She saw the affection between them and they understood her skepticism. Both of them were children of divorce and were determined that they would do whatever it took to make their relationship work. Most of all it was about honesty and trust. Even if it involved painful conversations, tell the truth – no secrets. She married David six years ago and slowly learned how to trust.

Pulling herself from her musings, Cecile got ready for her day. She had a bunch of errands to run before she went to her job teaching at the junior college. She pulled out clothes from the closet for the cleaners.David needed his lucky blue suit for the board meeting next week.

Cecile went through the pockets and that’s where she found the note. It was a 4x6 post it note that read: Thursdays,1:00 pm., 1140 Conway Trail. See you there. What was this? Conway Trail was a residential area, David wouldn’t have a business meeting there. She almost threw it away but something made her slide it into her purse. Maybe she would ask David about it tonight. Tomorrow was Thursday. She was sure he had a good explanation.

That evening at dinner, she inquired casually what David’s plans were for Thursday, maybe she could come by about 1:30 and have lunch with him. He fidgeted a bit and said it was a full day of meetings and he probably would just send out for something and eat at his desk. He wouldn’t meet her eyes and quickly changed the subject.

Surely David wasn’t lying to her. He knew how sensitive she was about secrets. Cecile decided she would just ask him about the note. But she hesitated. The doubts and fears crept into her mind. Were their more notes, phone calls, emails that she didn’t know about? How long had these Thursday afternoon rendezvous been happening? She had to know and for the first time in her marriage should didn’t think David would tell her the truth.

1140 Conway Drive was a typical two-story house in a fashionable subdivision. Cecile found an inconspicuous parking space near the playground area with a clear view of the home. At exactly 2 pm David arrived, rang the bell and was greeted by an attractive woman. She gave him a hug and let him in. He stayed for about two hours. She trailed him back to his office.

That evening at dinner, David was all smiles. Cecile asked about his day and he said he had been at his desk all day, even eating lunch at his desk as he told her. He added that the next few Thursdays would be very busy. He had meetings planned with his staff to discuss a big project they were working on that had to be completed by the end of the month.

Cecile was angry, and puzzled at the same time. How could he do this? Why hadn’t she seen the signs? She remember her father smelling of perfume or having to explain suspicious charges on credit cards. She had seen none of that. Either David was really careful or could she be wrong?

For the next four weeks David repeated his visits and Cecile was there observing and taking pictures. She never asked him about the woman. She pretended all was well but knew she couldn’t keep it in much longer.

It was their wedding anniversary, 7 years, and David had planned an evening out. He said he had a surprise for her. She had a surprise as well – a confrontation and a demand for a divorce.

To her surprise, David made reservations at the Greenwich Club. It was elegant with wonderful dance band. She loved to dance but David didn’t so maybe he was just overcompensating for his infidelity. After they were seated, with drinks and dinner ordered. Cecile took a deep breath and was ready to launch into her well-rehearsed speech. It would be short, low-key. She wouldn’t make a scene.

But David spoke first “May I have this dance?”

Cecile was dumbfounded. “Dance? You don’t dance.”

“Let’s just give it a try,” David replied

David whisked her onto the dance floor and flowed into a foxtrot, a rumba and a two-step. When they returned to their table, Cecile asked in astonishment, “When did you learn to dance?”

David beamed. “I’ve been taking lessons for the past few weeks on Thursday afternoons. You are well known in town and I didn’t want anyone to see me at the dance studio so the owner and her husband agreed to teach me at their home. With both of them helping I learned really quickly. I never knew dancing could be so much fun. Ah, here’s dinner, let’s eat.”

Cecile’s eyes filled with tears. She reached for David’s hand and croaked, “Thank you.”

“Anything for you. I didn’t like keeping secrets but the look on your face right now is worth it,” he replied. He had no idea.