Mary and Allan were happily married for four years. After having met in university, they got hitched as soon as they graduated. Mary was a painter who worked from home. She was able to manage her own schedule for when she worked and when she had free time. Allan on the other hand worked for a sales company. His position required him to take business trips every now and then. In Mary’s opinion, there were far too many of them, and she missed her husband a lot when he was away.
The two did not have children, even though Mary’s mother was always on her case to give her grandchild. It just did not seem possible yet with all of the work trips Allan had to take. He did promise that he was working his way up the ladder so he could provide for their future family. Mary agreed, and so she endured more than the occasional lonely weekend.
Disappointing change of plans
One evening, Mary had been slaving away in the kitchen cooking a feast for when Allan got back from work. He has been away two weekends in a row, but he promised that the next would be full of alone time, with just the two of them. Mary was so excited. She had made reservations at her favorite restaurant and made a mental itinerary of romantic excursions. She wanted to talk about her plans with him that evening over a delicious meal.
Allan walked in the door, and the first thing he said was how delicious the food smelled. Mary smiled and said that dinner was almost ready. Allan came over and gave her a kiss. He seemed apprehensive. When Mary asked what was wrong, he looked at a loss for words. Eventually, he managed to say that his boss needed him to take another work trip this weekend. He saw the shock and disappointment on her face and took her in his arms. He promised that he did not know about it until this evening, and he would make it up to her. She nodded in agreement, but couldn’t hide the fact that she was upset.
While Allan was in the shower, Mary had an idea. She wanted to put one of the desserts she had made for dinner that night into Allan’s briefcase. So that when he opened it the next day, he got a nice surprise.
That next day
As she opened the briefcase, two small pieces of paper slid out of one of the pockets. Mary’s heart sank. they were two plane tickets to Cancun in Mexico. In a typical situation, this should be an exciting moment. However, the second ticket was not for Mary, but rather for another woman named Rachel Whitterman. Suddenly, Mary heard the shower turn off, and she quickly stuffed the tickets back in the briefcase along with the dessert and closed it. She left the room hurriedly with thousands of questions running through her head.
Mary was beside herself with fear. After Allan had left early the next morning, she collapsed on the couch, feeling very sorry for herself. Mary was an over-thinker, and she could not help but fill her thoughts of Allan being with another woman. She began to doubt other memories she had of him and somehow convinced herself that all the business trips in the past had been a lie.
Enough was enough. she could not sit there wallowing in self-pity. If Allan had truly been unfaithful all this time, then he had been delaying her chances of having children for his own selfish reasons. she had to get to the bottom of it. Mary knew the password to Allan’s email account, and after a little motivation, she got herself to log in. There she found more heartbreaking disappointment. Allan had booked a hotel room in Cancun. It was one room for two people. This just about confirmed all of her suspicions. But, she had to see it for herself.
Mary went on a little trip
Sitting on the plane, Mary was a nervous wreck. She had always wanted to go on holiday to Cancun with Allan, but not under these circumstances. When she arrived at the hotel, her heart was hammering in her chest. Scenarios after scenarios were racing through her mind, and she could not help but deepen the rabbit hole of thoughts. She imagined herself seeing Allan romantically swooning a strange woman. In her mind, this woman was picture-perfect in every way. Mary already felt jealous, even though he hasn’t even seen was this Rachel woman looks like.
Mary waited near the entrance to the hotel hoping to catch a glimpse of her husband with this woman. She thought it strange that she was anticipating catching him in the act– whatever that was. After a long while, Mary started to lose hope. Until, suddenly a car pulled up, and Allan got out. He walked around to the other side and opened the door. Mary thought to herself that he had always been a gentleman. Next thing, someone took Allan’s extended hand and exited the car. However, she was not at all the young model-like figure of Mary’s imagination. In fact, she was a much older elderly woman.
Coming Clean
Wrought with confusion, Mary stormed up to Allan and the old woman. He looked as if he might collapse from fright. He clearly did not expect to see her there. He stammered a hello, but the surprise in his voice was obvious.
After explaining how she had found the two plane tickets, and how she had thought he was having an affair, Allan’s eyes seemed to click with realization. He took her hand and introduced her to the older woman. Her name was Rachel, and she was the mother of his best friend Simon.
It all made sense all of a sudden. Mary knew that Allan had served time in the Air force. One of his best mates, Simon, had actually saved Allan’s life once. Their plane had gone down and Simon managed to pull him from the wreckage. However, in the process, Simon died. Allan had promised to look after his mom, and now she was dying of cancer. Mary was heartbroken, and furious with herself for allowing such negative thoughts. Allan went on to explain that he found out she was dying and bought tickets to take her to a holiday destination of her dreams for one last reunion.
Forgiveness
Getting down on his knees, Allan begged for Mary’s forgiveness. He should have been upfront about the situation and he was mad with himself for not trusting her. Mary blushed and pulled Allan back to his feet.
She told him that of course, she forgave him, she just wants him to be honest from now on. Mary turned to Rachel, who was standing with an understanding look on her face. She took her hand and said it was nice to meet her. Together, the three of them enjoyed a holiday that would never be forgotten.
This fictional story was inspired by stories from around the web. Any similarities between this story and actual people are purely coincidental
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