“I drove up my driveway, pulled into the left side of our two door garage, parked then reached between my car’s center consoles, picked up my wedding ring and replace it at its rightful place. Entered through the kitchen door, checked to see if dinner was prepared and of course none was.
While standing in front of the mirroring undoing my tie, Mary appeared in its reflection. She was wearing a sexy evening gown that hugged her petite curves tightly, exposing probably two-three inches above her knees. For some reason every night I came home, she will be wearing that same dress.
I said good night. But she didn’t answer. I was not surprise though; she has been giving me the silent treatment for the last six and a half months now.”
“What happened then that gave her reasons to do that”
“I got into a really bad car accident.”
“Were you injured badly?”
“Let’s just say that I reshaped the windscreen with my head, and weeks after the accident, I’m still paying for that in the form of headaches.”
“Were you in the wrong?”
“No. I was hit by a drunk driver.”
“How did the accident happen?”
“While that’s why I’m here. I honestly can’t remember much leading up and after the accident due to some memory loss also.”
“Did anything else significant happen that night or around that time that could cause your wife to stop talking to you? I know you say you’re having trouble remembering, but close your eyes and think really hard. It could be something big or something really small.”
“Well, ummm….I…I met Ruth.”
“Yes. Ruth” he said as he wrote something in his note pad, “I’m afraid we’re out of time Mr. Jones. We will continue from hear next week same time.

“Good morning Nancy.”
“Good morning Mr. Jones. Is everything OK? This is the first time you have been late in the few weeks I have been working for you.”
“It is. Any messages? ” Cliff asked as he stood in his wide open office holding the gold knob for his heavy dark furnished office door.
“A Ruth called and asked that you return her call please.”
“Ok.” He closed the door, sat in his black thick cushioned leather office chair and slide under his long wide office table that matched the color of his office door.
Cliff played with his wedding ring on his finger wondering to himself if he should return Ruth’s call now or later. He took it off and placed it on top of one of the many folders scattered about his table. He picked up the receiver in one hand and dialed her number with the next.
Ruth works as a doctor’s assistant in one of the hospitals in Atlanta. A job that very much suits her as she is kind hearted, patient and very sympathetic to everyone she encounters. She always goes the extra mile to see to her patients’ recovery, some even after they are no longer her patients and has no one else. For some reason, even though Cliff did not need the extra attention. She gave it to him anyway. In fact, she was the one who got him in to see Dr. Parker.
Dr. Parker is not your normal general family practitioner. He specializes both in medicine and Psychology. And capable of putting ones spine back into place if need be. He is from the British system, so he is not afraid to touch and feel to give a good examination instead of depending on un-needed test and machinery that can slow down the process of finding out what’s wrong with his patient. He believes in not covering up symptoms, but getting rid of the problem all together once possible.

“Good morning beautiful. You called my office?”
“Hi honey, I was just curious to know how it went at Dr. Parker’s office this morning?”
“Not much, he treats me just like my…I mean he doesn’t talk much does he?”
“Well this was only your first session. He properly just wants to learn as much as possible about you.”
“I guess.”
“Did you see Mary last night at home?”
“Actually yes I did. I guessed she had just got home before I did, because she had on her favorite evening gown.”
“Humph, OK. Are you coming over tonight? I’ll make you your favorite dish.”
Cliff thought to himself how amazing Ruth was, that she already knew what his favorite dish was in the short time they have met. He tried to remember how long it took his wife to remember these sorts of things, but he couldn’t.
“Yea, I’ll be there a little after 7. Bye, see you later sexy.”
“Bye baby.”
Cliff replaced the receiver, replaced his wedding ring on his finger and picked back up the phone to dial his wife’s cell number to tell her he would be extra late coming home from work. It went straight to voice mail followed by an automated machine saying that this user’s voice box is full. He second guessed himself wondering whether he had dialed the right number. With the phone receiver still in his right hand, he pushed the button on the phone and dialed again. “Humph,” same as before. That would explain why she never hinted at getting any of his messages. He would have called the house number, but he couldn’t remember it.

Cliff arrived at Ruth’s apartment at 7:03PM exact. Dinner was already on the table when she answered the door.
“Hi sexy”
“Hi handsome,” They kissed and she walked back towards the kitchen, glancing over her right shoulders and taking off her apron she said, “I was just about to light some candles.” She folded the apron, placed it on the kitchen counter and turned back around to light the candles. “How was work?”
“It was work.”
She grinned and looked up at him finishing lighting the last candle. “OK, any headaches today?”
“Actually no,” he took his jacket off, hanged it up over his chair and shifted his tie left to right, but not really slacking it too much. “Everything looks and smells great baby.”
“Thanks, that means a lot. I really worked my butt off.” She smiled.
“Well judging from the size of your butt, it must really been a lot of work then.” She smiled even more.
Ruth isn’t as small as his wife. But she wasn’t over weight either. She is what you would refer to as thick in all the right places, which gave her that Coke a Cola bottle shape. And if her curves weren’t enough to put a man at her heels, her sparkling dark brown eyes would put him down there.
He continued. “If we were married, I would have assumed that it’s our wedding anniversary and that I forgot.” He laughed and she stopped smiling.
She stared at the table for a while, as if trying to remember a line for a play.
She shyly looked back up at him and said. “I know we have not known each other that long, but I wanted you to know how much I really care about you. You mean a lot to me. You’re all I think about during the day and night. Ever since the death of my parents, I have not cared or loved anyone else as much as I do for you. You’re different from any other man I know. Your kind, you listen to me. When you look at me, you don’t seem to see me as a piece of meat like other men do. All the late nights you have been here in my bed, you never made a move to have sex with me. I would like to believe is not that you don’t want to, but that you respect me. And I respect you for that. I also would like to believe that you also have some feelings for me as well.”
Cliff’s faced was emotionless as he listened to Ruth with his elbows on top the table fingers interlocking each other. He was neither shocked nor surprised. He was however ashamed and embarrassed a little. Everything Ruth just recited was true. How did he let himself get into this predicament? Trapped, but somehow free. Trapped because he was married; free because those emotional feelings that Ruth mentioned, he was having them also.
She interrupted his thinking. “You’re not going to say something?”
“I…I don’t know what’s the right thing to say.”
“There isn’t any wrong or right thing to say,” she glared at him. “Just tell me what’s on your mind right now.”
“I mean, I’m married”
“Married!” she shouted at him. “Cliff you need to let go of her,” glaring at him. “Do you love me at all or even at least feelings for me?”
“Honestly….. I’m just realizing that I do. All this time I thought I was just infatuated with you. But I do love you Ruth, problem is, I think I also love my wife.”
This wasn’t helping Ruth feel any better. “You need to realize that the woman hardly exists. You said to me that she hasn’t spoken to you in a long time. Open your eyes Cliff. Why do you think that is?
Cliff realizing that the food was getting cold, he was getting hungry and that the argument would probably not see any end any time soon, started to try and calm her down. “Ruth honey, from that night I opened my eyes on the hospital bed and my eyes met yours, I’ve always kept it real with you. The comfort you made me feel, was both wrong and magical. In a way I’m glad my wife wasn’t….” she cut him off.
“Please stop referring to her as your wife and start calling her by her name, Mary.”
“Ok, as I was saying, in a way I’m glad she wasn’t able to come to the hospital….” Still trying to calm her down more, he unlocked his fingers, reached over with both his hands and held hers, pulling them closer to him so he could really get her attention and her to look up and see the impression on his face. He smiled and said. “…I wouldn’t have gotten the privilege of getting to know you Ruth.” He mentioned her name as if they weren’t the only persons in the small room. He knew it would be more personal and it would do the trick.
“OK Cliff. Let’s just eat,” as she released her hands from his, “the food is probably cold by now. I’m sorry for all of this; I didn’t plan for our night to be like this.”
“It’s OK Ruth,” still emphasizing her importance to him. “In a way I’m glad. We probably should have started this conversation a long time ago.”
She looked up from her plate chewing on some mash potatoes, gave a fake but cute smile.

Cliff took the long way home after dinner with Ruth. He was taking his time driving, treating yellow lights as if they were red lights. He kept replaying the entire episode of the night over and over in his head. Wondering if he handled it the best he could, or if he could have handled it differently, trying to exam different scenarios.
He got home almost 12 midnight, still thinking about the night’s events, but without the drama.
After they had eaten dinner, they sat on the couch drinking wine and listening to slow love jams under more candle lights. Not saying much to each other, but just enjoying each other’s company. Feeling butterflies in his belly move around as the ceiling fan blew the candle’s flame round and round.

Cliff woke up sharply at 7:00AM thanks to his alarm clock. He thought about pressing the snooze button, but after getting into work late the day before, he had catching up to do.
He showered, dressed then went downstairs to the kitchen to make himself breakfast. Opening the refrigerator he suddenly realized that it looked the same as it did the last time he been in it. His wife hadn’t done any grocery shopping for a while. He shrugged it off and came to the conclusion that they were both adults without any kids. He hadn’t been spending as much time home lately. No use in her buying groceries and cooking for one. It’s not like they needed to live on a budget. He’s a manager at the number one branch of the number one bank in the country and she, a successful lawyer. Sometimes he wondered if that was why Ruth was into him so much. She is beautiful, both inward and definitely outward, and his attraction towards her had been blocking his suspicion of this theory.
Closing the refrigerator door and deciding to get breakfast on the way in to work. The phone rang. He didn’t answer because he rarely gave out his home number, so it was most likely not for him. At least that’s the lie he had sold himself. Actually, with his mind currently on Mary; he wanted to know if she was home. 1, 2...no third ring. Yep, she definitely must be in her room.
He went back upstairs to change his tie wondering to himself who she was talking to on the phone. Exiting the room he occupied, his suspicion was confirmed in the hallway. They both froze and stared at each other waiting for the other to speak first. Her lips began to move, but then stopped. “I’m leaving for work” He spattered out quickly, running down the stairs and out the door.

“Good morning Mr. Jones”
“Hi.”
“What’s his problem this early?” Nancy said under her breath. “Everything alright?” She shouted at him as he speed into his office and half slammed the door.
He stood staring out the window of his 10th floor view of Atlanta with his hands in his pockets, throwing around ideas and thoughts in his head about Mary, Ruth and his future.
He decided he needed to see Dr. Parker. His head was really hurting and he was already told that his headache could mostly likely be physcological. Could this be due to the admitted feelings towards Ruth or seeing his wife this morning? Problem was that the stack of folders on his desk was getting higher. There was no time to speculate.
He called Dr. Parker’s office, scheduled a late afternoon appointment, opened his top right desk draw, pulled out a bottle of aspirin hoping that it would mask his headache temporarily, swallowed two, replaced it then found his zone.
He stayed in that work zone until 4:30PM. Only stopping twice for bathroom break and to eat some of the pizza he had Nancy ordered them both for lunch.

Walking towards his Lexus in the parking lot, he contemplated between driving 75 north and ending up in bumper to bumper traffic versus using the back roads. He opted for the by roads. Getting into his car, he didn’t bother to allow the engine to heat up before speeding out of the parking lot and onto Peachtree Street.
Arriving at Dr. Parkers office twenty one minutes later, his IS250 hadn’t come to a complete stop before his door was open ready to hop out the second it did. The two Aspirins he took didn’t help much for too long. And though Dr. Parker wasn’t a relationship expert, he figured he could get some helpful advice concerning the latest developments in his love triangle.
He hopped out of the car not bothering to apply the emergency break and jogged into the office.
At the receptionist desk he was a little glad she was on the phone. He needed to catch his breath before speaking from the workout he just did getting to the desk.
“Good afternoon. Cliff Jones. I have a 5:00 o’clock appointment”
The receptionist looking sympathetic, “I’m very sorry Mr. Jones, Dr. Parker had an emergency he had to attend to.”
Cliff slammed his hand on the desk. She screamed. One hand still on the phone receiver and the other now on her chest to add to the sympathy in her voice “He just ran out a few minutes ago, I was just about to call around to reschedule appointments.”
Cliff with a frustrated look on his face looking up passed her with both hands in a ball of fist on top the desk. She waited for him to say something. When he didn’t, she added, “Since you had the trouble of coming in before I could called you, I can reschedule you for first thing in the morning, is 8:30 possible for you?”
“Yes, that can work.”

Cliff sat in his car still feeling upset. He was convinced talking to Dr. Parker would have helped him feel better. He really wanted someone to talk to. He now realized that he and Ruth hadn’t spoken to each other all day and he kind of missed her.
He pondered between calling Ruth and going home. He certainly enjoyed Ruth’s company; sadly he couldn’t say the same about his wife. It’s been a while since he been home early. It was either work or Ruth that kept him from doing that. He thought to himself if changing up the routine would have an impact on his wife. It certainly should be a pleasant surprise to her regardless of how things were between the both of them.
Looking through the parking lot and a cross the street, he noticed a flower shop and decided to up the ante. He bought twelve bright beautiful red roses.
Stepping out of the flower shop, looking both ways before he crossed the street, he started feeling better even though he didn’t know what to expect. But at least he felt confident he was doing the right thing. His rightful place is with his wife. He committed himself to her eight years ago before God and man.

Cliff parked in his spot in the garage. Engine turned off, he inhaled deeply and exhaled. Grabbing the bouquet off the front passenger seat, his cell phone rang. He held it in front of his face for a good five seconds almost hoping the name on the caller ID would change or it would stop ringing. He quickly dropped the roses, pulled his ring off and answered.
“Hi Ruth” sounding indecisive.
“Hello sweet heart. How are you doing? Have you been busy? You haven’t called all day.”
“I’m sorry babe, been playing catch up with my work.”
“Well are you still there? Am I gonna see you tonight?”
He lied. “Yes I’m still here and I’m not sure at this moment. I still have a lot to do.”
“Well I hope you can come over tonight. I missed you and in fact I have a special surprise for you.”
“OK babe, I’ll try my best to. I have to go now, bye.”
“OK bye baby, but let me know ahead if you gonna come”
“OK.”
Cliff turned his phone off before putting it back in his pocket, replaced his wedding ring, grabbed the roses again and headed inside. He couldn’t stop wondering what surprise Ruth had for him as he walked around the house. He didn’t call out for his wife, because with his manly ego in the way, he didn’t want to be the one to speak first. His plan was that she wouldn’t be able to resist the flowers and him coming home early from work. Getting ready to make his mind up that she wasn’t home, he decided to man up and knock on the bedroom door. No answer.
Well I tried thinking out loud to himself. He was both disappointed and happy. He had made an effort to patch things up between him and his wife. Even though he didn’t know what would be the outcome if she was home. But on the other hand, he really wanted to know what surprise Ruth had for him. And he is happy with her.
He was out the door and in his car within three minutes after those thoughts.
As soon as he got on I-285, he pulled out his cell phone and turned it on and dialed.
“Please say that your coming over.” You could hear the excitement in her voice.
“Yes ma’am.” he said blushingly.
“Yaaaaaay.” she said even more excitingly this time.
He smiled shock his head and said bye.
Twenty one minutes after he hung up, he was knocking on her door.

“God damn!!. Are you here to take me to heaven?”
“I’ll take you to heaven alright, but you will not be riding a spaceship though.”
Cliff running his eyes head to toes and back up again asked “Then what?”
She stepped toward him and leaned against him with a pair of size C breast and whispered in his right ear. ”Me.”
Ruth was wearing a very sexy seductive all red lingerie and sexy, open toe, six inch heels. The lingerie consisted of lace knee- high stockings which were strapped to see through panties that had a few straps running around her body leading to what was supposed to be a see through bra. But luckily for Cliff it rested under her two handfuls of breasts, supporting them , up and out. A single strap ran between her breasts from the half bra and encircled her neck. She had a heart shape sticker over her right and left nipples. Cliff imagined his name on them.
With Cliff still standing by the door from muscle lost, Ruth turned around for him to see more. But all he saw was her firm, thick, upright ass.
She grabbed his left hand, pulled him inside the apartment, closed the door and pushed him back against it. Kissed him vigorously then whispers in his left ear. “Surprised yet?” Cliff nodded and grinned.
Still holding his hand, she walked him slowly to her bedroom, rested him on the bed and said “When I’m done with you, I’ll be the only woman on your mind,” putting emphasis on the word only. “And Mary will only be a memory; you will not have a need to see her ever again.”
Ruth took Cliff to heaven, got turned away by God and returned him safely to her bed. At the end of the journey, he had seen and had things done to him that was out of his imagination.

Cliff woke up next to Ruth for the first time since they started their secretive relationship. He peeked at his cell phone for the time and noticed he had two missed calls. It was 9:30. He didn’t bother to check the missed calls or guessed whom they were from. He rolled back over and spooned tightly with Ruth.
Half hour later they were both sitting up in bed and decided that they would play hooky. Cliff decided to check his missed calls. One call was from Dr. Parker’s office and the other from his office. He called Nancy and made up a lie to why he wasn’t going in to work. He didn’t bother to return Dr. Parker’s office call. He figured he would just go in for his regular appointment the next morning.
Cliff and Ruth spent the entire day and evening together. Cliff didn’t think about Mary until he realized she didn’t even bother to call him after he hadn’t come home last night. He thought to himself that he should have brought the roses for Ruth instead of leaving them on her bed for her. Then he remembered sometime after his accident, he had gotten a new cell phone number.
He had snuck a quick call to Nancy while Ruth was in the bathroom.
“Nancy, Nancy, ” interrupting her from answering the phone professionally. “Has my wife called for me?”
“Uhhhhhh…..” Then he remembered that Nancy was new and he been wrapped up with his personally problems, they never really talked and got to know each other story outside of work.
“Well did any woman called for me?
“Yes sir. But she didn’t say who she was or even concerned with making an appointment. She just wanted to know if you were in.”
‘Sounds like her. Thanks. Bye.” He hung up.

Cliff was sitting across from Dr. Parker the next morning at nine.
“I have some very important developments in your situation Mr. Jones.” Cliff raised an eyebrow.
“Certain things that you said to me last time you were here didn’t add up to me, so I got a detective friend of mine to do some research for me.”
“Detective? Research? What does that have to do with my headaches and memory loss? I know I don’t remember much about my accident. But did I commit a crime or something?”
Dr. Parker raised one hand in defense up from his crossed legs. “No, no, Cliff, nothing like that.”
“Then what?” Cliff asked sharply.
Dr. Parker’s hand still in the air, he answered. “Let’s take it slowly.” Cliff glanced at his left wrist. He was starting to see Dr. Parker as a con-artist, out to drag time out so that he can make more money off of him. At $175.00 p/hr., every minute counted.
“Dr. Parker could you please get to the point and just tell me?”
“You see Cliff it’s more helpful for you, if you figure it out for yourself.” Cliff sucked his teeth and looked down on the ground.
“OK, well then help me figure it out then, today. Because if you can’t, I’ll just find someone else that can.”
“Noo noo need for that, calm down and let’s get started.”
“Started! Didn’t you say the clock starts when I sit down? I’m expecting to see God come through that door any time now.” Cliff said angrily.
“Ok OK Cliff. Let us begin by me asking you some questions to help jog your memory. Do you remember what happened last January 7th?”
Cliff shrugged “Of course not.”
“Try hard to. You were driving with your wife beside you in a Toyota Camry.”
“I have a Lexus IS250.” Cliff retorted.
“Yes now you do, but then you didn’t. As a matter of fact what happened that day is how you came along to buy the Lexus. Ok umm…”
He was cut short by Cliff. “Can we get back to the detective and the research you had done?”
“Yes sure. You mentioned that recently whenever you did see your wife, she was wearing a sexy black evening gown. Well it sounded to me that maybe she was having an affair at first. So I hired a detective to have her followed from your home, etc.” Cliff seated himself upright straight in his soft cushion chair.

Dr. Parker allowed him to get more comfortable then continued. “Will he never got a chance to do that because he never saw her after surveying your house for quite some time.”
“What are you saying?” Cliff asked now leaning forward. “He may have simply just missed her, because I must admit I don’t see her often. And because of the fact we are not speaking to each other, and as you know, I do have a girlfriend, we tend to avoid seeing each other.”
Dr. Parker uncrossed his legs. “That makes perfect sense and yet I’m certain that you do still love your wife also.”
Cliff Nodded. “Mr. Jones, after the detective scouted out your residence with no sign of your wife, he decided to do some research to track her down somehow. “
Cliff impatiently asked, “Did he?”
“Yes, he surely did.”
Dr. Parker voice began to get soft. “He found her at 2000 Cobb Pkwy S, Marietta.”
“What was she doing there? Does she live there?”
“Yes she does and before you ask with whom, I will say with lots of others.” Cliff looked puzzled. “Mr. Jones, it’s a cemetery.” Cliff was speechless. “Mr. Jones, last January 7th around 8PM, you and your wife were in a horrific vehicular traffic accident. You were driving and she died on impact. You both were going home after dinner. That’s why whenever you see her now; she is wearing the same black evening gown. You never forgave yourself, so much to the point that after your more recent accident, your head injury caused you to start seeing her again. And I’m very certain that you only see her at home whenever you thinking about her. I’m I right Cliff? Does it all make since to you now?”
Cliff with tears in his eyes, answered “Yes.” After a minute or two he asked. “So explain phone calls to the house and my secretary said a woman called my office looking for me.”
“Dr. Parker shaking his head, “Mr. Jones, that could have been anyone.”
Cliff replied “I guess.” Still taking in what he had just been told.


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