The Life Of Michael Afton

{5} Cheater

It is eleven o'clock at night, and William has not come home.

Kathy put the children to bed hours ago. They're asleep and cuddled up in their room, she's eaten dinner and placed William's aside for when he comes home later. But this is hours past the latest he's come home yet.

Oh, William...I wonder if he's alright. Could something have happened? Maybe he got in an accident... what if something went wrong with his robots? What if someone crashed into his car on his way home? What if he's dead?! No, Kathy, get a grip! He's probably just working late...yes, he probably just got caught up in his work and didn't notice the time. He'll be home soon.

Her reassurances are thin, though. William has never come home after nine. He'd promised her he would never come home after nine. William had taken her hands in his and told her, "I promise." Could he really have broken that promise so easily?

Kathy looks at the clock again. 11:07.
She should really get to bed, it's not like staying up will make him come home...

I'll wait just five more minutes.

~/~

Kathy wakes up on the couch the next morning. "Ow, my neck..." She tilts her head, trying to get rid of the soreness developed from sleeping on the couch. She's in yesterday's clothes, having never changed them. Instead she'd opted to wait for her husband to return...

Oh.

Is William back yet? He must be, it's...six in the morning. Did he come in while I was asleep?

Kathy stands, yawning and stretching her arms above her head. "He's probably in bed," she assures herself. "I bet he's tired after being out so late."

So she makes her way to their room, intending to change and shower. But...William isn't in the bed. Peeking around their room, he's not there. Where is he? Quickly, she rushes out of the bedroom, checking each room in the house. "William?" She calls softly for him. He doesn't respond.

He's not here.

He's not home. The shock hits her like icy water. He didn't come home. Oh Cupbearer— what if he did get hurt? What if he's in the hospital and I missed their call?! Frantically, she runs to the phone, tapping through the messages on the answer machine. Telemarketer, telemarketer, telemarketer, offer for City Counsel...

William.

"Hey, darling, I've got something I need to do. Don't wait up for me, okay?"

That's it. She replays the message a few
times, but that's all there is to it. Checking the date, it was sent... this morning.

Kathy grinds her teeth and grips the phone with such force the metal almost bends under her grip.

He couldn't even send that before midnight. He didn't warn me—his wife—that he was going to be out late until it was already one in the morning! What was he doing, that he wouldn't think to call until one? The man couldn't even be bothered to tell me what it was that would keep him out late! I worried so much, over nothing?!

Kathy doesn't know what to do. William didn't say anything or give any clues as to when he'd be home... what if he stays out the next night too? What will she do then? The children are used to going to bed before their father comes home, but usually they see him in the morning. What will they say when he isn't there? What will she tell them then?!

Like every time she's felt like this, lost and worried and scared, she calls her mother.

She picks up on the second ring. "Mother, William didn't come home last night, and he left me a message but he didn't say why or when he'd be back, what do I do? What do I—what do I tell my children?" Kathy practically babbles into the receiver, tears gathering in her eyes. She didn't realize how much this worried her until she said it out loud.

Her mother sighs softly from the other side of the line. "Oh, darling...I'm so sorry, Katherine. I can't believe he did this to you. You must feel horrible..."

She nods. "I'm just scared of what Michael and Imira might say. What do I say if they ask where their daddy is? How—how am I supposed to answer that?! He didn't even tell me where he was!"

"Katherine, I'm so, so sorry to say this. But I think he may have...he...might have been...seeing someone. Seeing someone else."

What?

"Mother, what are you saying? You're not saying what I think you're saying, are you?!"

"I'm afraid so, Katherine. I think William might be cheating on you."

Her words hit like a blow to the head and Kathy staggers under their weight. "You can't be serious, Mother." Kathy chuckles in disbelief. Surely her mother is kidding. She must be joking.

Right?

"I'm afraid I am, dear. I told you, marrying for love never works out...men are too unfaithful to deserve you. I do wish you'd just married who the family suggested, dear, Monsieur Aubert. He was respectable and wealthy, and you would have stayed in the country..."

Kathy shakes her head, leaning her back on the wall. "I—I thought I made the right choice, marrying William..."

"We are all wrong sometimes, dear. That's just how life works."

Kathy hangs up, having had enough. Then she slides down the wall and cries.

917 words
3/28/23