Roads Untravelled

The road stretched on endlessly, until the black tarmac eventually faded into the horizon.  Alastair Ford was preparing himself for the long journey ahead.  He was hoping to sneak away from Lucy, before the sun rose, but his second wife had caught up with him at the last minute.

"What are you doing, Alastair? Why are you here?" She asked.

"We've all lived long lives.  I have done evil in mine.  I need some time alone; just to think." Alastair replied, mysteriously.

Lucy frowned.  "I don't understand."

"I don't expect you to.  It's a long story."

**** 

She was twenty five years old and she was beautiful.  She had rich chocolate coated hair and mysterious, intense eyes.  She walked with confidence and left many men in a lustful dream, but it was a twenty three year old Alastair that had caught her eye.  Things had happened so quickly after that.  They had flirted.  They had courted.  They had married.  Alastair had been so young at the time, he had been completely oblivious to the evils of his first wife.  In retrospect, he knew he had been a naive fool.  His first wife had been a vicious Venus fly trap who was slowly baiting her jaws.  Alastair had fallen for her every trick.  He had become completely enamoured by her.  This had proved to be his undoing.

****

"I still don't understand.  Please come inside and let's talk about this." Lucy urged.

Alastair and his wife lived in an English country house in the middle of nowhere.  They had been living there for long over ten years.  The pair walked into their home and into the kitchen. Lucy picked up two mugs and turned on the kettle.

"Please explain to me why you have to do this.  I need to understand."

Alastair affectionately stroked his wife's hair.  "It's complicated and messy."

"Tell me about this first wife of yours.  Why have I never heard of her?"

"You never ask for anything Lucy; you're a complete giver and that's why I fell in love with you.  Simone wasn't like that, at all."

"I understand, but why am I only hearing about this now?"

"I'm not proud of what I did to her or of what she did to me."

****

Alastair had been with his first wife for two years, but it had already turned into a loveless marriage.

"Simone, honey, could you take the car to be serviced?"

"No, I have to do the paperwork." Simone had rarely used pet names and when she had, it was out of malice or manipulation, rather than affection.

"Simone, sweetheart, I'm going to be late home from work, could you pick up some dinner?"

"If you're coming home late, then you can pick it up yourself."

Even though Simone never performed any favours for her husband, she had been never hesitant about asking them.

"Alastair, can you pick up my dry cleaning?"

"Of course, honey." 

"Can you buy some champagne for a work thing? I'll pay you back."

"Certainly, sweetheart."

"I'm sorry to ask you this, but I'm going to a dinner with my friends.  Can I have some money to pay for it?"