glared at her. "Oh? Why's that, pray tell?"
"Well you know he got fired from sheriff on account of pulling a gun on that other officer his wife was banging, don't you?"
Mary Jane sighed. "I have no way of knowing if that's true or not, Doris," Mary Jane said, desperately clinging to her patience.
Doris snickered. "Oh it's true alright, why don'tcha ask him? I mean, he's your lo-ver and all."
"What is your point?"
Doris grinned. She leaned closer to Mary Jane as though about to share some girlish secret. "Well, because, what I hear is that she screwed around because he was a horrible husband and a general nut job. Like… Way past just a prickish cop. We're talking-" Doris raised a finger to her temple and twirled it in a circle, whistling through her teeth.
Mary Jane rolled her eyes. "Gee, thanks for the info, sweetie ," she said snidely. She turned and walked away, resolving to go back to her strict policy of ignoring Doris.
But a shiver raced down her spine.
***
They lay in bed once again that night following an intense lovemaking session. She nestled her face into the crook of his neck, exhaustion consuming her. She struggled to remain awake, and contemplated just abandoning the question she had for him. But she wanted to catch him in that particular moment, when he was most tender.
"Dominique?"
"Hmmmm?" he murmured against her hair.
"Can I ask you a question?" she asked nervously.
"Of course, love."
Mary Jane hesitated and then finally proceeded after one deep breath. "There's been this rumor, I've heard several times over the years. That you switched to police because you lost your job with sheriff, over a… Tussle with another officer?"
Dominique laughed. "Oh yeah. I've heard that one."
Relief washed over her. It wasn't true. Which meant that Doris' other claim was invalid as well. She giggled. "I didn't think that could possibly be true."
He laughed again. "Well of course it's true!"
Her relief dropped off a cliff and anxiety slammed back in. It was true. And he thought it was funny.
He shifted to prop on an elbow and peer down into her serious face. "Oh come on, what's the big deal, baby?" he asked jovially. "Everyone makes mistakes. Heat of the moment type thing, you know."
"Because your wife was having an affair?"
His smile faded. He didn't answer but she took his silence as consent.
Her voice was barely a whisper. "Is that why she isn't around? Isn't in the boys' life? She left to be with another man?"
"She made her choice," Dominique said somberly, a spark of anger flickering in his eyes.
Her heart broke for him right then. According to the time that those rumors had surfaced around town, the boys would've been toddlers. She couldn't even fathom what sort of woman she must've been, to abandon her own children. She mentally chided herself for giving Doris' rude assumptions a second thought. She stroked his cheek as he stared down into her eyes. Her gentle touch brought the tenderness back to his face. Whatever momentary darkness she'd seen in his eyes evaporated.
"Believe me, I never intended to hurt the guy," he imparted with a small smile. "Because if I had, he'd be dead."
***
One afternoon when she arrived home before anyone else after work, Mary Jane decided to login to her email, which she rarely checked. She had placed an order for an item on the Internet, and wanted to check the confirmation email for some sort of tracking number.
The top unread message was from an "Elisa Monroe."
She cocked her head to one side and frowned at the computer screen. Elisa Monroe. Why did that name sound so familiar? She began to feel apprehensive, without understanding why this unread email was making her feel that way. She considered deleting it without reading it. It certainly couldn't be too important if she didn't even know who it was. But, curiosity provoked her to click on it.
Mary
"Well you know he got fired from sheriff on account of pulling a gun on that other officer his wife was banging, don't you?"
Mary Jane sighed. "I have no way of knowing if that's true or not, Doris," Mary Jane said, desperately clinging to her patience.
Doris snickered. "Oh it's true alright, why don'tcha ask him? I mean, he's your lo-ver and all."
"What is your point?"
Doris grinned. She leaned closer to Mary Jane as though about to share some girlish secret. "Well, because, what I hear is that she screwed around because he was a horrible husband and a general nut job. Like… Way past just a prickish cop. We're talking-" Doris raised a finger to her temple and twirled it in a circle, whistling through her teeth.
Mary Jane rolled her eyes. "Gee, thanks for the info, sweetie ," she said snidely. She turned and walked away, resolving to go back to her strict policy of ignoring Doris.
But a shiver raced down her spine.
***
They lay in bed once again that night following an intense lovemaking session. She nestled her face into the crook of his neck, exhaustion consuming her. She struggled to remain awake, and contemplated just abandoning the question she had for him. But she wanted to catch him in that particular moment, when he was most tender.
"Dominique?"
"Hmmmm?" he murmured against her hair.
"Can I ask you a question?" she asked nervously.
"Of course, love."
Mary Jane hesitated and then finally proceeded after one deep breath. "There's been this rumor, I've heard several times over the years. That you switched to police because you lost your job with sheriff, over a… Tussle with another officer?"
Dominique laughed. "Oh yeah. I've heard that one."
Relief washed over her. It wasn't true. Which meant that Doris' other claim was invalid as well. She giggled. "I didn't think that could possibly be true."
He laughed again. "Well of course it's true!"
Her relief dropped off a cliff and anxiety slammed back in. It was true. And he thought it was funny.
He shifted to prop on an elbow and peer down into her serious face. "Oh come on, what's the big deal, baby?" he asked jovially. "Everyone makes mistakes. Heat of the moment type thing, you know."
"Because your wife was having an affair?"
His smile faded. He didn't answer but she took his silence as consent.
Her voice was barely a whisper. "Is that why she isn't around? Isn't in the boys' life? She left to be with another man?"
"She made her choice," Dominique said somberly, a spark of anger flickering in his eyes.
Her heart broke for him right then. According to the time that those rumors had surfaced around town, the boys would've been toddlers. She couldn't even fathom what sort of woman she must've been, to abandon her own children. She mentally chided herself for giving Doris' rude assumptions a second thought. She stroked his cheek as he stared down into her eyes. Her gentle touch brought the tenderness back to his face. Whatever momentary darkness she'd seen in his eyes evaporated.
"Believe me, I never intended to hurt the guy," he imparted with a small smile. "Because if I had, he'd be dead."
***
One afternoon when she arrived home before anyone else after work, Mary Jane decided to login to her email, which she rarely checked. She had placed an order for an item on the Internet, and wanted to check the confirmation email for some sort of tracking number.
The top unread message was from an "Elisa Monroe."
She cocked her head to one side and frowned at the computer screen. Elisa Monroe. Why did that name sound so familiar? She began to feel apprehensive, without understanding why this unread email was making her feel that way. She considered deleting it without reading it. It certainly couldn't be too important if she didn't even know who it was. But, curiosity provoked her to click on it.
Mary
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