Two Different Roads

Unfaithful

"Monkees In Paris" had wrapped, and now the group was in London to perform at Wembley Stadium. Ellen found herself once more a guest in her former lover's home along with her husband and her sister who had flown in specifically to visit her old haunts again.
Mike and John's growing friendship expanded to the point where the two men went out together on a guy's night leaving the women behind with Cynthia Lennon.
They were seated at a table in the Bag Of Nails, the ever present cigarette in John's hand, glasses of Beatle favorite Scotch and Coke in front of them both when Lennon suddenly remarked,"I'm surprised Ellie didn't want to come along."
"She stays home a bit more these days. She doesn't always feel well in her condition."
"Condition...she sick?" John asked, worry furrowing his brow immediately.
"Nah, just pregnant."
There were still moments of awkwardness and outright weirdness between the two men. This was one of them. Mike looked at his secret rival pointedly, seeking a reaction. He refused to give him one.
"Really?" He asked mildly. "She didn't say anything."
"We haven't told very many people yet. She's only a few weeks along."
"Let me be one of the first to congratulate you then," he said with a conviviality he definitely did not feel.
"I'll drink to that."
The Texan scanned the room. John watched his gaze settle on a tall blonde seated with a couple of friends who caught his appraisal and returned it with an obvious attitude of welcome. Lennon knew instantly what was happening here. Hadn't he himself played out this same scenario countless times?
He frankly hadn't expected it of Mike though. He'd impressed him as a definite boy scout type. He'd actually hoped to some degree strictly for Ellen's sake that he in fact WAS what he'd appeared to be. God knows the woman had been let down enough already by the stupid things HE'D done to her.
Maybe he was wrong. Maybe it wasn't what it looked like. Maybe he was unfairly accusing the man prematurely based on what his own behavior had always been.
"I'll be right back."
Shit! No doubt about it now. There went Mike, scant seconds later there went the blonde like a puppy going for a treat. John followed automatically, not really understanding why. No, he KNEW why. He felt the irrational urge he supposed to protect Ellen., to at least in this one instance prevent the man she loved and trusted from cheating on her.
He was certainly quick. When Lennon came upon the pair in the dark corner they'd crept to, the woman already had her tongue down Mike's throat, her hand on the rather large bulge in his pants. He was in the process of raising her short, tight skirt.
She froze instantly when she saw they had company then smiled a bit suggestively when she realized who it was. Apparently a Beatle was an upgrade from a Monkee. "You're John Lennon."
"That I am, and the man you're groping is the husband of one of my best friends. You did know he's married, right Luv? She couldn't be here cause she's pregnant and feeling poorly."
The woman's mouth would have dropped to the floor had it been physically possible. A wife obviously hadn't phased her, but a pregnant one was a bridge too far. She fled in a huff.
"I never took you of all people for a cock blocker," Mike commented as they returned to the table.
"This is Ellie we're talking about."
"John I like you. I consider you a friend, but my marriage is none of your business. There's no reason for you to worry about it anyway. We're doing just fine, more than fine. I love Ellen. She means just about the world to me actually. I'd never want her to be hurt, and she won't be cause she's never gonna find out about what happens when she's not around."
"Yeah? That's what I said. Well Ellen is a lot more perceptive than you might realize. I think she knew on some level what I was up to all along, but since she never actually caught me at it she chose to ignore it because she loved me. Fuck, she practically worshipped me. We were together off and on for years and she never even wanted to LOOK at another man.
I took that loyalty for granted, took ADVANTAGE of it really. I was so sure she'd never leave me. I got more and more careless. I finally threw it right in her face and she COULDN'T ignore it anymore. Then, this woman who'd never loved anyone but me for literally her entire life, who'd never let anyone but me TOUCH her, left me flat and married someone else. If it happened to me, it can happen to you. Don't ever get so sure of yourself that you think it won't."

"That wouldn't be a bad thing for YOU though, would it? Don't give me that innocent look. I know you're still in love with her. And I also know that if I were suddenly out of the picture you wouldn't waste any time trying to get her back. Hell, maybe you already are. But she loves ME now. She's MY wife, and she's gonna STAY my wife. I intend to do everything I can to keep her happy. Any others don't mean shit, and I plan to make damn sure none of them ever come close to threatening my marriage."
"I'm not stupid, John. I know what I've got, and I sure as shit know what I've got to lose. Ellen is one in a million, and I plan to always treat her that way. I will never give her any reason to doubt me, and she shouldn't cause no matter how many women I fuck, it's her I LOVE. It's her I belong to, always."
"Life happens though, don't it? I won't say anything because it would hurt Ellen too much, and she probably wouldn't believe me any road, but someday, somebody might. Some woman might decide she wants to get herself a bit of attention by selling her story about her night with a Monkee. Or one of them might decide that's not good enough, that they want to be the NEXT Mrs. Nesmith, and that the easiest way to do that is by getting rid of the first one by telling her what her husband's been up to behind her back."
You're right. I'm not telling you all this for your sake. It's for her. She DOES love you, and she'd be devastated. So keep doing what you're doing and see what happens. Don't say I didn't warn you."