The ’ fuck’

One day a mysterious letter arrived in Dawn's mailbox.

It felt kind of exciting at first. Dawn never got old-fashioned mail these days except for bills. This one was a plain white envelope, addressed to Dawn and inside was a single handwritten page:

”Dear Dawn,
You don't know me, and I'm so sorry that you have to read about this in a letter, but I'm too much of a coward to speak to you in person. I'm so sorry, but your husband is not faithful to you. I know this because I have been having an affair with him for a little less than a year. I started working as his secretary about a year ago and one thing led to another. I know he's been telling you that he's working late, but he has been spending most of those nights with me. And you know that conference in Phoenix? There never was a conference. Jason was with me in Vegas the whole time. There are others too. Jason has slept with at least one other girl at work, and I know that he fucked a stripper at Matt Butler's bachelor party last year. He recently dumped me though, said he didn't want to be unfaithful anymore. But that was bullshit and he's chasing some new 20-year-old intern. The reason I’m telling you this is because I care about you, Dawn. I saw you at the last office Xmas party, and you seem so kind and sweet, and I just don't want him to hurt you anymore. I know you must think I’m a slut and I don't expect you to forgive me, but I'm SO SORRY!"
xoxo
Nicole”

An hour later.

Dawn sat on her friend Sandra's couch, sobbing into a huge glass of red wine.

”Fuck that little homewrecker,” growled Sandra and poured herself another glass of wine. At least that letter was a good excuse for drinking in the afternoon. ”Whore,” she added for good measure and took another sip.

Sandra Mackenzie was one of Dawn's closest friends and she lived a few blocks up the road in one of the more luxurious houses of the neighbourhood. She was a bored trophy wife of a 50-something corporate lawyer. This was her third marriage and she looked like one of those 'real housewives' on tv with her platinum bleached hair, pumped up lips and expensive boob-job. She had no children of her own but her husband Robert had a deadbeat teenage son from a previous marriage. Sandra was very sexual and was also quite outspoken about it. Dawn and her friends used to joke about how she was ’the Samantha’ of the group, and she always made Dawn (who was Charlotte) blush with her straightforwardness.

”Can you believe that pig,” said Dani and handed Dawn another tissue.

Danielle Harding was another close friend of Dawn's and she was somewhere between ’the Miranda’ and ’the Carrie’ of the group. That had been the subject of much debate. Unlike the others, Dani had a college degree. She worked as a reporter at what was left of the local newspaper and she helped out at an organic co-op. She was a redhead and a left-leaning feminist, and she was always bickering with Sandra. Dani and Dawn had been best friends in high school. Back then they were so inseparable that they even shared a nickname: ’The Double D:s’. The name derived from both of them having names starting with D – but also from their similar cup-size. Sometimes they went by the less ambiguous ’The Titty-twins’. Dani's breasts rivalled Dawn's both in size and shape and today she flaunted them braless in a tight and washed-out old Bikini Kill T-shirt. Although ’the Double D:s’ had grown apart a bit since graduation, they had remained good friends. Dani had no children and at the moment she had an on and off thing with a yoga instructor. The most recent in a long series of unsuccessful relationships.

”No! I just can't believe it,” Dawn sobbed. ”I just can't believe Jason would do a thing like that!”

”Denial,” said Dani, ”The sooner you reach acceptance and leave him the better.”

”About that,” said Sandra, ”From my own experience, you should probably believe that whore.”

”Oh? What makes you say that?” Dawn asked.

”Well, now might not be the best time to bring this up... but I kind of gave Jason some head at your birthday party three years ago. In the garage.”

”What!?” cried Dawn, ”You had sex with my husband?”

”No, calm down. It was only a blowjob... and he only lasted like five minutes.”

”So those stains on your dress that I helped you get rid of... ?”

”Nope, not icing from the cake,” Sandra said apologetically. ”But what was I supposed to do? Jason was drunk and obnoxious and he was hitting on me all night. He literary pushed me down on my knees. I had to get rid of him somehow.”

Dawn buried her face in her hands and Dani sat down next to her, putting her arm around Dawn's shoulder.

”Sandra! She was not supposed to find out about that. What’s wrong with you?”

”You knew about this?” Dawn sobbed.

”What's wring with me?” asked Sandra and shot the redhead an angry look. ”I’m not the one who actually fucked him, right Dani?”

”What?” cried Dawn again.

”Oh fuck you, Sandra, that was ages ago, and they weren’t together then!”

She turned to Dawn. ”Alright, I’ll suppose I’d better tell you. Remember that trip to Europe?”

Dawn nodded. How could she forget? Right after graduation, Dani, Jason and a few other friends went on a trip through Europe. Dawn was supposed to go too, but her parents wouldn’t let her. And to make matters worse, Jason dumped her right before the trip – only to take her back a few months later when he returned. It had been the worst period of Dawn's life.

”We were young, and in Amsterdam. We drank and smoked a lot of weed and I guess one thing just led to another. It only happened a few times,” Dani said.

Dawn started bawling uncontrollably. How could her friends betray her like this? But she didn't really resent them for it. Jason was to blame here and she had to leave him. Dawn couldn't fathom it. Was this it? Was she going to get a divorce after a whole life together?

”Whoa! Let's not be rash here,” Sandra said. ”If women would leave their husbands every time they acted like idiots there wouldn't be a married couple left in the world. And I know you'd get an alimony, but are you ready to take the financial consequences? Are you prepared to give up your personal trainer? To shop at the discount store? To get a job?” she said with disgust.

Dani rolled her eyes. ”Working for a living, what horror.”

”But what am I supposed to do?” Dawn sobbed. ”Just act like nothing happened?”

”Of course not. I got two words for you,” Sandra said and paused for effect, ”. Fuck.”