The Forgiveable Journey Of The Cheated

17. Something Beautiful Hidden Within the Mess of Derailment

Wednesday evening is arcade night, a family social activity for Dan’s workplace. Eve is considerably preoccupied by how it will all go down if she sees Charlotte. She knows she will look Charlotte straight in the eyes, and she knows she wants to make sure that Charlotte sees her and Dan looking good together and in fake love. She would like to slap her or spit on her, but she is unlikely to do such a thing. She plans on preparing a written message to give to Charlotte should she approach them, but Eve is pretty positive she won’t – it would take a lot of balls. Eve also plans on having a drink or two before going, so as to have the courage to approach her instead. But fantasy is not the same as reality. 

One friend also reminded her “not around the kids…”

Dan suggests not going, but she tells him that they have to go and that she expects him to act (yes, she said act) as though he is in love with her. She tells him that he has to be affectionate and cheerful, witty and charming. He is to have eyes for Eve alone. 

Dan tells Eve that Charlotte will probably not be there, though he’s pretty sure she will. He doesn’t expect that Charlotte will approach them together, but considers that either he or Eve alone will be easy prey. Charlotte is not very shy and doesn’t have a problem with making a spectacle, despite the discreteness of their affair. She has not held back anything when it comes to insulting Dan in public and making flirtatious displays towards other men whenever Dan is in the room. 

Eve tells him that it is in Charlotte’s better interest to not show up, because although Eve will not make a scene, she might say some things that Charlotte won’t want to hear. Dan is pretty sure this is a possibility. Though he is absolutely terrified of what will happen Wednesday evening, he sees that Eve is set on going and is holding firm. He inventories possible excuses, knowing that even if he doesn’t go, Eve will, and that will be worse. He has a fleeting thought that he could arrange for Eve to get food poisoning or for both cars to break down, but knowing her, she would take a taxi puking if she had to. Attendance is inevitable.

 Eve fantasizes for days about what she could say to Charlotte. Most ideas revolve around the surprisingly accurate hypothesis that Charlotte is nice as long as she gets what she wants, uses sex to get some things, and will likely be unhappy all her life because her happiness depends upon how others perceive her. Let us not forget that one day she will be old and wrinkled, and everyone will know she is fake, manipulative, and an overall a bitch. Blowjobs won’t go very far then. 

Eve’s speech is hardly the stuff to make a dent in Charlotte’s carapace.

She spends so much time thinking about how she will respond to Charlotte, that even Dan can see she’s “not there”. She’s elsewhere. She sleeps poorly. 

Charlotte is also looking forward to this event. She worked hard to make sure she would not be encumbered by her children. She shaved those secret places and her legs. She plucked her eyebrows and applied the special and expensive makeup that hides the bags under her eyes. She had her hair highlighted and coiffed. It is now a full mane of lustrous silky soft nice smelling hair perfect for running one’s fingers through. She selected stylish clothes and made certain to be there early. 

Charlotte has several relatively simple scenarios for this evening. In the first one, Dan would be there without his kids and wife, with some intention of crossing paths with Charlotte in an informal work setting, fertile grounds for replicating the multiple post work event parking lot car sex sessions while fooling the colleagues. Despite the fact that Dan had held fast to his decision to leave her, she knows through her minions that post enlightenment has been a serious challenge for his relationship with Eve. She knows it is fragile and although she has no intentions of pursuing a relationship with Dan (well, she could reconsider), she enjoys the challenge that seducing him represents. She also knows exactly what he likes a lot in backseats.