The rest of the story

My office is reasonably generous in size, bigger than some at the university, there is an adjoining door through to Randolph Parkers office which I decided should remain locked, I normally unlock it when I'm working but given the conversation that was likely to take place I thought if Randolph walked in, it was likely to be awkward.

“Okay Gin, so you divorced and ahh, know wait so where did the affair come in, obviously it wasn't during the last year of your marriage, so what role did that play in the eventual outcome and divorce, or did it?”

“Honestly, it was an affair in the very loosest of terms Mike, and yes it did take place through the period that the divorce was being played out, about nine maybe ten months but not often, half a dozen times, less than Rob for the same period, the cheating prick. If he had given it up I would of considered him, well maybe, whatever, it would have been a lot more amicable that's for sure.”

“True ....Really?!” Ginia had me gobsmacked.

“Yes, but as for the affair actually it was therapeutic at most, and rather dirty at the least, for me that is, I'd never done anything close to that before and it reflected the same amount of disrespect that he'd shown me during our marriage, oh and I got my **** on Rob good and proper, after the divorce was settled I sent him a video of it.”

“You are kidding me Gin.”

“Nope, you know how I am about closure M.” (It wasn't a question).

“So do you know, how he took it then? No? Yes?”

“Ah yeah, badly. The worse thing about the whole lot was he took it out on Paul. He cut his stay's for Paul for three months, actually til our lawyers threatened him with cutting his visitation rights and access. Yeah it hurt him bad, see the video showed two of the snoots and I mean Husbands and Wives cavorting around in various sex scenes with me, what was worse was the final scene had us all smiling and waving at the camera. He took the betrayal, he called it that - BAD, like real baaaaad so they said and when the group kicked him to the curb well he left for good, even they tired of his behaviour, actually it was an approach from them that got the ball rolling, if you get my drift, he-he-he.” We both laughed. “Anyway I don't know where he is or what he's doing, the money goes into the bank each month and that's all I know or care to know, I'm over him and if I never see him again, well Mike you know how it goes.”

“Shit Gin, I don't know what to say, fuck, I feel like I've watched a horror movie. Here I am acting like a wingey whiney bitch over a slip off the road, and you've had to deal with that for how long, a decade, over a decade, geezus Gin, how do you not hate the world?”

“Because Mike, there's good people in the world, more good people than bad, lots of people like you M, and Liz, Sally, Toni and Mal and me, some times bad things happen to good people, that's how the saying goes ay Mike? I got my closure and I'm back living my life.”

Even though she was happy with where she was, and come through it all, (What kind of complete fucking drop kick does that to his wife for seventeen fucking years!) Where was I? Oh yeah - and come through it all takes a lot of rebuilding to have faith in people again.

We were sat in contemplation, well I was anyway, I was sat at my desk looking at the blotter, my cheek was resting on my fist, my arm on the desk, slouching in my chair, my foot resting on the bottom drawer I always keep open for that very purpose. She was watching me, trying to get my head around everything, I swivelled my eye's around towards her, not breaking her stare, after a while she must of reassessed something in her mind, I noticed the corners of her mouth start an upward curl and turn into a subtle smile. That was always an indicator that something was going on in that head of hers. The sparkle in her eyes as she refocused let the cat out of the bag, “Okay Gin, say it.”

“So Mike, do you want to know the details, or watch the video?”

I know what your thinking and no I didn't say it, three times in one day weren't happening. I bit my tongue, no literally, I bit my tongue.”