Moonlight

Three

The driver helped Alice carry Tom upstairs. The man was used to it. After all, the same scene was happening at the same time in many mansions around town. But Alice still found it rather embarrassing.

She undressed Tom, struggling with his bulk, often getting whiffs of his various smells.

Alice walked into the bathroom, undressed with tired movements, and walked into the shower. She let the water run on her back, while pressing hard with her palms against the wall, her head hanging low between her shoulders and her hair covering her eyes.

She was thinking about Vincent. Why had she pushed him away? She had often thought to herself that he was quite handsome: tall, with a powerful yet lean body, dark hair, and grey eyes. He was often amusing with his quips and was a good listener.

Alice somehow knew that she had foolishly imagined she could have her cake and eat it too. She had enjoyed the attention, and she had cherished their talks. Somehow, she had painted a picture of Vincent in her mind as an old-fashioned gentleman. But what did that really mean? He was still a man. But she also knew that tonight he had not just torn the picture of him she had painted: he had given her a new one, and it was almost a copy of her husband, Tom.

He was one of them, and he would never be anything different. That's what had shocked her; that's what she had found so appalling.

Then, her thoughts wondered to Tom. She didn't know when she had started to find him irksome, but their relationship had grown cold over the years. Tom had always had a limited talk, Alice had to admit, but she had never noticed how much she needed to talk and be talked to when she was younger. Also, the sex between them had become perfunctory, almost a duty that they both found almost repulsive as they felt obliged to perform.

The water was warm, and she could feel her body relax a little. In the next room, Tom was snoring. At the end of the corridor, their children were asleep. Alice and the driver had made quite a bit of noise, as they had dragged Tom to bed. Alice had heard some crying from the kids' room, but a light behind her had told her that the nanny was up and would put the child back to sleep.

Alice felt alone in the house. Tom didn't need her anymore, and even her own children knew to rely on the staff for anything.

She wondered if Tom had a girl on the side. Even if he had the interest, was he even capable to perform anymore? He was still in his thirties, and something could be said for a young body's ability to bounce back. Yet, the drinks seem to interest him above everything else: cases of expensive whisky were delivered to the house every week, and he was never without a full glass nearby.

The only other regular activity he performed was work. He would go to the office every day, but she knew that his involvement in the business was almost nil. Other people had the reins of the company. Once again, he was no different to the other guests at those parties: they took big swings whenever the fancy took them, regularly go broke, borrow from each other or get bailed out by the Government, then come up again richer than before. There seemed to be no risk.

Tom also had had his ups and downs. He had probably been bankrupts many times before, but the system they were in wouldn't let him. If a strike threatened his interests, police would break it, the law would change. If contracts had become unfavourable, lawyers would expertly circumvent them, sending smaller firms to the ropes, only to let Tom's company profit even more.

Less than five percent...

Yes, Tom probably had another girl on the side. It was a point of honour for those men. He certainly had a steady one. Someone to show his friends from time to time. Someone younger than Alice, someone without the hangups of a wife.

He probably had casual encounters on his business trips, secretaries, assistants, even prostitutes. He often liked to point out the illegal brothels he knew of when they were driving through the city.

Alice stepped out of the shower, not feeling much refreshed, and went to bed.