Fallout From an Affair… Ugliness

The call came in at exactly 3:27 am. I know because I asked Alexa. My Echo dot sits perched beside my bed. I slowly rolled over, removed my CPAP mask and found my phone. Whoever was calling wasn’t giving up, they wanted to talk.

I half looked at the display screen and I thought it read ‘’Jodi’’. She was a good friend, but not somebody who would normally call in the middle of the night. I immediately thought of her husband Ben and I hoped he was okay.

I took a deep breath. ‘’Jodi, what’s going on?’’ There was gurgling come over the line and sobbing. ‘’I have no place to stay or go, can I come to your house?’’ I was taken aback, what did she mean she had no place to go, she had a huge house on the lake. ‘’Jodi, calm down. Where are you?’’ She started crying again. ‘’I’m in Toronto, Ben won’t let me in our house, I need a place to stay for a couple of days, please Alan, we’ve always been there for each other.’’’ I didn’t know if that statement was exactly true, but I didn’t want to start arguing with her. ‘’Uh, Okay, Sure, Do you remember the address?’’ Through her sobs she whispered ‘’No’’ and I immediately responded. 50 Rosehill Avenue.’’ There was a pause on the line. ‘’I’m calling the Uber, I’ll be there in about twenty minutes. Thanks Alan, I will always be grateful for your kindness.’’

My first instinct was to call Ben and ask what was going on, but I thought better of it. I would get the story from Jodi. I got dressed, turned on all the lights downstairs and outside and made sure the guest room was made up and clean.

Jodi rang the bell a few minutes later and when I opened the door, she looked like a huge mess. She looked so bad, I had an urge to call the Police. It looked like she had been through hell. She had a suitcase, so she had either taken it from her home or had been travelling.

She walked in, I closed and locked the door and she hugged me. I asked if I could make her cup of tea, and she nodded. ‘’I haven’t had anything to eat or drink for the last few hours.’’

I went into the kitchen and looked in th fridge. ‘’Would you like a couple of slices of Cheese Pizza?’’ She responded that one piece would be enough, as she had lost her appetite. I told her to take a seat at the dining room table and after making her tea with the Keurig, I brought it to her. I threw the slice in the oven and waited for the alarm to go off.

After taking a sip of her tea, Jodi looked up at me through shaded eyes. ‘’Alan, I Fucked up. I really Fucked up. I’ve ruined my life and have hurt Ben. I am a Fuck Up. I don’t know what to do.’’ The alarm went off so I excused myself and went and got her the pizza. I presented it, and she kind of ignored it.

‘’Alan, I don’t know what I’m going to do. You know how much I love Ben.’’ I just sat in my easy chair kind of dumbfounded. ‘’Jodi, I have zero clue what you’re talking about.’’ Her lips started trembling, ‘’Can I please have a cold drink?’’ I stood up and grabbed a glass, filled it with ice and asked if she wanted pop or water. ‘’Uh, can I have ginger ale?’’ I poured some Canada Dry, handed it over to a distraught Jodi and walked back to my seat.

‘’Please don’t judge me, just help me.’’ Alan shook his head ‘’Jodi, since you called and walked in the door, everything has been cryptic. What’s going on?’’

She sipped her ginger ale. ‘’I’ve worked for Seriously Singed Productions for the last three years. My job is Executive Producer, Documentary division. We were nominated for an Emmy Award. Ben couldn’t go to Los Angeles because he had to perform a serious operation that had been scheduled for months and he couldn’t get out of it. There’s not many Neuro surgeons, and he is rapidly being recognized as one of the Best in Canada.’’

He took me to Pearson and I joined my collogues. One of the partners in the company is Troy Whitticomb. I’ve known him for years and we always had a great relationship. It has always been respectful and plutonic.’’ The first warning sign flashed in my brain.

Jodi sipped her drink and started to cry again. ‘’We stayed at The Peninsula Beverly Hills. We went to the Emmys and much to our shock we won the Emmy for our documentary ‘’Lost In Canada.’’ There was an amazing after party at Avra. It’s an incredible restaurant. I called Ben and he was exhausted and since I was three hours behind, the call was short. In the meantime, I started toasting with everyone and I drank a lot of Margarita’s. I drank more than I should have. I never lose control and for some reason I did. I regret my actions.’’

There was a long silence after her last statement. Was that why Ben didn’t want her to stay at their house, because she had gotten drunk and rowdy. Didn’t sound right. Jodi looked over and her face turned beet red. ‘’So, I started dancing with everyone and before I knew it, I was dancing with Troy. We kept dancing and…’’ Jodi stopped and looked away. I knew what was coming, she didn’t have to say it. ‘’So after seven years of a very happy marriage, I slept with another man. I feel sick about it. Troy means nothing to me, and I can’t believe I was intimate with him. I know I let my guard down because I was drunk, but that’s no excuse.’’ I didn’t know what to do. I woke up in the morning sick to my stomach. I booked an early flight home. I sent Troy a message that I was resigning from Seriously Singed, and I was going to devote the rest of my life to trying to make amends to my husband for my infidelity. Troy was kind of flippant and said it was just one of those things. Maybe for him, but for me it was devastating. I still can’t believe I cheated on Ben, he’s such a good and loyal person. I’m a shit.’’

I felt like throwing up. Jodi had always been a person I respected for her dedication to her marriage and life with her husband and she had thrown it away for one night of sex, ‘’Anyways, when I got home, I made a really nice dinner for Ben. ‘’I told him how much he meant to me and how much I loved him and then I told him about my mistake. He didn’t take it well. He asked me to leave and to get a divorce lawyer. I can go back to the house at the end of the week as he’s planning to go stay at our cottage till after our divorce. He doesn’t want to discuss mediation or counselling. He said once the Trust is broken, it’s broken for good. He wouldn’t even look at me. Alan, I made one mistake and now I’m in Hell. What can I do?’’

I shook my head. ‘’I don’t know Jodi, I’ve never been in that situation. I’ve never cheated when I’ve been with a woman on a regular basis. I have no clue how you deal with it, but I’m a friend of yours and Ben has been my buddy for years, I’m in an awkward situation.’’ She cried again. ‘’How could I have been such an idiot. Troy is nothing, compared to Ben. I Love Ben with my heart and soul. How could I have betrayed him. I don’t get it, I just don’t understand what prompted me to cross the line.’’

I felt exhausted. It was early morning, I glanced at my watch, 5:12 am. ‘’Why don’t you try and grab some sleep. Maybe it will allow you to think clearly and formulate a plan of action. I’m sure Ben will be more receptive as time goes by. We’re all human and we all make mistakes. You’re a great person.’’

Jodi cried some more and slowly stood up, She walked towards me and gave me a hug, ‘’Thanks Alan for believing in me.’’ I wondered if I believed in her, but that was irrelevant. She went to the bedroom and I carried her suitcase up the stairs for her.

I was awake, no sense going to sleep. I turned on my computer and looked up Troy Whitticomb. I thought he looked like a snake. I turned off the computer and took a long hot shower, and got dressed.

Jodi came downstairs at 10:00 am. She had showered and put on makeup and looked alive again. ‘’I’ve decided that Ben is worth fighting for and I’m going to do everything in my power to win him back. I made a mistake, I fucked up, but never again.’’ She ate some toast and eggs and drank a coffee.

Jodi had eggs dripping down her lips. ‘’’I’ve put you in an awkward position. I know how good a friend Ben is to you. I called my Mom and I’m going to go back to Montreal for a couple of weeks, while I strategize about saving our marriage. My Mom is excited about spending time together. I appreciate you Alan and I’ll never forget your kindness. Can I ask one more favour, can you drive me to the airport?’’ I didn’t hesitate and told her it was no problem.

I dropped her off at six pm, and headed home. I really hoped she and Ben could straighten their lives out, but I had no clue how you came back from betrayal. It was like trying to climb out of the abyss,

I got home and was barbequing a steak when my phone rang. I looked at the screen and it said Ben. I took a deep breath and answered like I was oblivious to everything going on. ‘’Alan, it’s me Are you around tonight? I have some serious stuff regarding my life I’d like to discuss with you. I need your take. I’m hurting right now and I could use a friend.’’ I felt uncomfortable. How would he react when he found out Jodi had spent the night at my place? I exhaled ‘’Dude, I’m always available for you? Want to go to Tim Horton’s for a coffee and a donut?’’ He said that sounded like a plan and he’d meet me at eight at the Tim’s at Bathurst and Eglinton. I felt more tired than before. I was mentally exhausted.

I realized I hated affairs. They don’t just impact on a couple but when it becomes public it hits family and friends. I knew I was about to have another sleepless night, because some dick named Troy seduced a drunken married woman. The whole scene was proof positive that getting drunk and acting stupidly could ruin a life forever. Jodi and Ben were proof positive. I was the collateral damage and it wasn’t fun.

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This post was previously published on medium.com.