The Husband looked at her.
“Why?”
“Because this is our marriage.”
“No.”
He glanced toward the staircase.
“You invited an audience.”
One of the men muttered:
“I’m leaving.”
The Husband held up the keys.
“Go.”
The man stared.
The Husband pointed toward the door.
“Nobody is stopping you.”
No one moved.
They wanted their cars.
Then headlights swept across the front windows.
The Wife turned.
A vehicle pulled into the driveway.
Door slammed.
Another car arrived behind it.
The Wife looked toward the Husband.
“What did you do?”
He said nothing.
A second door slammed outside.
Then a third pair of headlights washed across the foyer.
One man finally understood.
“Oh, hell.”
The Wife looked toward him.
“What?”
He moved toward the window.
Then stopped.
The first Betrayed Wife walked up the driveway.
The Wife recognized her immediately.
Color vanished from her face.
“No.”
The Husband watched.
The front-door handle turned.
The door opened.
The Betrayed Wife stepped inside.
She wore jeans, sneakers, and a coat thrown over pajamas.
Her hair was pulled into a hurried ponytail.
Her face looked calm.
Too calm.
Her Husband stood halfway down the staircase.
Barely buttoned shirt.
She stared at him.
Then at the Wife.
Then at the Husband holding the keys.
Nobody spoke.
The Betrayed Wife said:
“Which one?”
The Husband held up the key fobs.
The man pointed weakly.
“That one.”
The Husband placed it into her hand.
The Betrayed Wife looked at her husband.
“Come downstairs.”
He said her name.
She repeated:
“Downstairs.”
He obeyed.
The Wife whispered:
“This is not necessary.”
The Betrayed Wife turned toward her.
“Do not speak to me.”
The Wife immediately stopped.
A second woman entered.
The Second Betrayed Wife.
She had obviously been crying in the car.
The moment she saw her husband, crying stopped.
Her face became blank.
Behind her came the Fiancée.
No coat.
Still wearing work clothes.
Engagement ring visible.
She looked at the third man.
He closed his eyes.
The Husband stepped aside.
Three men.
Three women.
One Wife.
One betrayed Husband.
Nobody could now rewrite what had happened.
The Fiancée spoke first.
“How long?”
Her partner raised both hands.
“Listen.”
“No.”
She stepped closer.
“How long?”
He looked toward the Wife.