---

 

This writing was accepted for publication in the 108 page perfect-bound ISSN# / ISBN# issue/book “The Beach at Night” Down in the Dirt v212 (10/23) Order the paperback book:

Order this writing that appears in the one-of-a-kind anthology Instant Karma the Down in the Dirt September-December 2023 issues collection book		get the 422 page September-December 2023 Down in the Dirt 6" x 9" ISBN# perfect-bound paperback book:

Her Dilemma

E.P. Lande

    When she heard a ring, she looked at her iPhone, but realized it wasn’t hers that she had heard.
    When she heard a second ring, she realized that her husband must have left his iPhone on the counter before leaving the kitchen. She glanced at its face.
    Stella? Stella Wilson? Why would Stella be texting Karl?
    Stella had attended their wedding two years before as she was then dating Ted, her husband’s closest friend and best man. They hadn’t heard from her since. While Karl spoke with Ted regularly, they hadn’t seen him either since the wedding, as Ted lived in Washington while she and Karl had made their home in northern Vermont. Karl never spoke of Stella, who seemed to be out of the picture, and, soon after their wedding, she and Ted ended their relationship.
    She put down the rolling pin—she was making the crust for an apple pie, the dessert for their dinner—picked up Karl’s phone and started walking to his study to give it to him.
    She stopped midway to Karl’s study and returned to the kitchen. Rather than ask her husband, she decided to read Stella’s message. She and Karl didn’t have secrets from one another, so she didn’t see why she shouldn’t. But her hands began to tremble as she entered Karl’s password.
    “Great hearing from you, baby.”
    Baby? Stella calls my husband baby?
    “Miami would be great....”
    Miami? Karl would be going to Miami on business the following week. His agent lived and worked there, and from time-to-time Karl said they had to meet in person, which I thought reasonable. He always asked if I wanted to accompany him. I went once, but I don’t take well to hot weather and the ocean didn’t attract me either.
    “Same hotel?”
    I felt a stomach cramp coming on. Was Stella meeting Karl and staying with him in the hotel?
    She touched her belly, to feel if the baby was moving.
    “I still get goose pumps all over when I think of last month....”
    Of my god. Karl had been in Miami the previous month, for another meeting with his agent. Did Stella stay with him?
    “You’re hot, baby....”
    Hot! Am I reading too much into her words? Or...? I shouldn’t read any more.
    Her heart started racing, beating hard against her chest. She got up and began to pace.
    I can’t believe what I’m reading. This can’t be Karl. What Stella is saying can’t be true.
    She stopped pacing.
    I’ll go to his study and ask him. No, that wouldn’t be a good idea. He’ll deny it. When I show him Stella’s text, he’ll make something up, like it’s the first time he’s heard from her. He’ll say that Stella’s delusional and that she lies too. He’ll tell me that’s what Ted told him, and that’s why Ted finally ended their relationship.
    She walked back to the kitchen and sat down. Fear griped her as she picked up her husband’s phone. She needed to know more.
    “You know, honey....”
    First she calls him baby, now honey? I call him honey now and then, but never baby! I can’t believe I’m reading this.
    She felt a movement in her stomach.
    Holy shit, the baby. The inconsiderate bastard. He probably doesn’t give a fuck about our baby.
    “I love it when you whisper in my ear....”
    Her heart was racing so fast she couldn’t catch her breath; she couldn’t breathe. She needed to pee. As she sat on the toilet, all she could think about was her husband’s duplicity.
    We never talk about fidelity; I took it for granted, both his and mine. Now, how can I ever trust him?
    She got off the toilet and walked back into the kitchen. She picked up the rolling pin, to continue rolling out the pie crust, but almost immediately put it back down on the counter.
    How can I concentrate on dinner after what I’ve just read?
    “The sweet little nothings that make me tingle all over....”
    I know we haven’t had much of a sex life since I got pregnant, but wasn’t that part of a decision we made together?
    “The feel of your body, pressing hard into mine....”
    Disgusting, that little whore. Who does she think she is? I’m glad Ted got rid of her; he was smart, a lot smarter than my husband.
    “I love your smell. You remind me of the ocean spilling over me....”
    Fuck the ocean...and fuck you, Stella!
    “Do you think we can have another cozy dinner at that little out-of-the-way place we found the last time?”
    That fucker, taking his slut to Mamma Mia’s. I found Mamma Mia’s, and he’s taking her there?
    “The way you spooned the crème brûlée into my mouth....”
    The fuckin’ bastard. Crème brûlée is my dessert, and he feeds it to her? He should shove the fuckin’ spoon down the whore’s throat. I can only guess what else goes into that mouth of hers and slithers down her fuckin’ throat.
    “I want to ride you like I did before....”
    She put down the phone. She didn’t want to read more. In her heart, she was miserable. She felt her belly, now grown hard and round. Next month, the baby would be born. She had that to dream about. What urged her to read Stella’s message? Curiosity?
    I shouldn’t’ve. I wouldn’t have known, —but I would have been happier.
    She picked up the rolling pin and continued to make the crust for their apple pie that night, falling tears wetting the dough.

Copyright of written pieces remain with the author, who has allowed it to be shown through Scars Publications and Design.Web site © Scars Publications and Design. All rights reserved. No material may be reprinted without express permission from the author.

Problems with this page? Then deal with it...