Two Steps Behind

Part 9

 Elizabeth and Eddie were walking off dinner through town. She had met him at the store after he had closed. They had grabbed dinner at the Mexican place in town. It had been a wonderful meal, both of them steering clear of the topic of her marriage. Elizabeth knew he probably wasn't going to let it drop forever but she was grateful for the reprieve for now. After dinner they decided a nice, long walk sounded good on this beautiful, warm spring evening.

"So, tell me about you," Elizabeth urged, hoping to keep the topic of conversation off of her and genuinely wanting to know what had been going on with him since they last spoke. "I know you are a successful businessman now, but what about your love life? Any ladies in your life?"

"Nope, not right now," he answered, shaking his head. "I decided I needed a bit of a break after the last relationship. I was actually engaged a year ago, but it didn't work out."

"What? Why not?"

Elizabeth could not imagine someone walking away from Eddie. He was such a catch. He was good-looking and sweet and kind. He was affectionate and fun and brilliant. He was always there when you needed him. He didn't judge no matter what you told him. He gave the best hugs and she imagined he had to be a great kisser with those lips, not that she knew personally but she'd thought about it enough times. He was so funny and genuine and loyal. He would do anything to make someone he loved happy. He was passionate about music and books. He was the perfect package, the perfect guy. What idiot girl walked away from that?

"Well, she cheated on me so that kind of ruined it for me," he snorted, shrugging. "Her name was Amanda, and we dated for about a year before I asked. I thought it was going well, but I don't know. In hindsight, we probably weren't the greatest match. She was the definition of high maintenance and she hated coming to my gigs. She thought DnD was stupid and something I needed to grow out of. Our communication was horrible and I think maybe we were just going through the motions. You know, we were dating and we were nearing thirty so marriage seemed like the logical next step, but I think I only proposed because I felt like I should. You know? Like, dude, you're getting up there so you're supposed to do the marriage and kids thing now. I mean, I want kids, but I also don't want to rush into anything just because, especially if it's with the wrong person."

"That really sucks. I'm sorry," Elizabeth said.

"It's okay. I was angry for a while, especially after I walked in on her and her boss in the office at her work. I went there to surprise her. I had closed up the store early and was going to take her out to dinner after work because she'd been complaining that we hadn't seen each other very much. So, imagine my surprise when I walked in the office and found her bent over the desk, her boss ramming her from behind."

"Jesus," Elizabeth muttered, her eyes wide. "I can't even imagine. Well, maybe I can."

Eddie's head snapped over at her, eyes narrowing. "You can? So you're telling me that David, on top of being a low life abuser, is also a disgusting cheater?" he asked, his voice like ice. "Well, imagine that."

"Eddie," she begged, pleading with him to not play the 'I told you so' card with her eyes. Shit, why couldn't she learn to think before she opened her mouth? "Yes, he cheated on me multiple times with who knows how many women. I caught him once and he swore it was a one time thing and it would never happen again. But it did again and again and again. I mean, they say once a cheater, always a cheater, so I shouldn't have been surprised."

"Goddamn, why did you stay with him for five years?" Eddie asked, shaking his head. "After I found Amanda with her boss, that was it. I walked away. There were no second chances. If someone doesn't love me enough to not fuck around with other people, they are not worth my time. Why would you put up with that shit?"