First He Lies, Then He Cheats...

Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive! And if you tell one lie, you’ve got to tell another…and another…till even you don’t know the truth. Well all of this is so true, and whether or not Mr. Cheater gave a second or even a first thought to any of it when he came face to face with Alexis. Literally, it was not face to face because they were several feet away from each other when he came out of one of the private rooms all hugged up with another woman. But something had charged the atmosphere causing him to look around and when he did he looked smack dab in the face of his “one true love”.

Ever hear the expression “time stood still”? I think it’s supposed to describe something totally different than what was going on here though. It’s supposed to refer to to when two people who meet and immediately discover a mutual attraction for each other; in a good way of course. This situation was anything but beautiful but it sure was memorable!  Alexis looked at Frank, Frank was looking at Alexis, (Raquel who is Alexis’ friend) was looking back and forth between Frank and Alexis while the unidentified playmate with Frank just stood there wondering where to look.

Nobody moved for a full minute. Thankfully, Raquel had the sense to make the first move. She gently but firmly took hold of Alexis’ elbow with the intention of steering her into the next room; where they had originally been heading. She quietly urged her to come along and not cause a scene that would only make a bad situation worse. 

At first, Alexis resisted the movement, but when she did allow her friend to lead her away, she moved on, but was continuing to look over her shoulder at the retreating backs of her boyfriend and the stranger he was still hugged up with and now he seemed to be whispering something in her ear.

Here’s a little back-story to catch you up. Frank had called Alexis earlier on this Saturday night and begged off on a date because of car trouble. He had said that he would get the car fixed by a friend who could only do it right then and afterwards he’d call her. She was none the wiser, so she had settled down for the evening when her friend Raquel called and persuaded her to accompany her on a night out to have drinks and maybe get into a card game. This is how they ended up at Abe’s’ Place.

It goes without saying that the evening that had begun as a fun time had definitely lost its’ flavor for Alexis. She couldn’t concentrate; she was upset and still couldn’t believe what she had seen. Worst of all, she had a pain in her chest  brought on by realizing that Frank was just like the many men who had hurt her, lied to her and cheated on her in her past. There was no use in her staying here now. There was no way she would be able to concentrate on the card game. And she didn’t want to make conversation with anyone else right now, so she asked Raquel to drive her home.

She was very quiet on the ride back to her house. Raquel was respectful of this, so she didn’t ply her with the usual platitudes that one dishes out at times like this. She merely touched her hand while they were driving along, and when they got back to the house and before Alexis had gotten out of the car, she simply told her friend “Call me when you want to talk. Anytime, you need me; just call”. Alexis had nodded her head and let herself into her house where only hours before she had left in such an upbeat mood.

So, she made herself and cup of herbal tea, and changed into her pajamas. Curled up on the couch in her family room, she didn’t turn on a lamp. The lamp she always left on in the dining room shed enough light into this room. Besides, she needed the dimness to frame a backdrop for her little pity party she was about to throw. 

Putting her head back against the cushions and making herself comfortable, she blew out a big sigh, and just let her thoughts free fall while she sipped the delicious pungent brew of her tea. For a moment she had considered spiking it with a healthy dose of brandy, but nixed that idea for several reasons. After her pity party, she was going to have to put some things into serious perspective and she wanted to be sober for that. She let out a wry chuckle because the mellow buzz she had gotten from her drinks at Abe’s had quickly faded away the moment she caught sight of Frank and his little honey.

Yes, it was time for a close introspection and possibly a plan of action. She knew that there had been times in her life when she thought she knew how to make the right choices, but she just knew all of that was behind her. There was only a slight issue here; should that plan of action be revenge or the decision to simply move on?