Surrender

Heart racing, Jade pulled herself up from the floor, gripping the footboard of the king-sized bed that she shared with her husband of twenty-two years.

She and Beau had been grilling out steaks on the deck. They were catching up with each other as their busy life was controlling them. Beau taught math at the local high school. Jade taught special needs children at the nearby elementary school. Their teenage kids were involved in sports, and oftentimes rest and conversation with each other didn’t happen; and then it started all over again in the morning. Suburbia.

It was a cool, crisp evening. The moon and stars illuminated the darkness. Crickets chirped, and the meat sizzled in the background, filling the air with mouthwatering aromas. The mood was perfect, but their connection was lost. Jade sensed Beau’s preoccupation. In fact, she sensed it for a few weeks. They were short with each other, making sarcastic comments. They watched TV in different rooms. When Jade would join Beau in the basement after cleaning up the kitchen after dinner, he would often tell her to go upstairs saying, “I know you’re tired. Go relax upstairs in bed and I’ll see you in a bit.” Sometimes he would be on the phone and hang up abruptly when she entered the room. Or was she imagining things? Jade excused herself from the deck to relieve herself. She headed to the bathroom that connected to their bedroom. After using the bathroom, she saw her phone lying on the bed. She instinctively picked it up, thinking she had not checked her messages in a while. She always kept her phone with her when the kids were out. She would never forgive herself if she missed an urgent phone call from one of them. The first glance was a text message on the face of the phone.

“I love you.”

A smile spread across her face. They had raised very loving kids. It wasn’t unusual to get random texts like this from them. Her next thought was that it was attached to a phone number, not a name. She had the kids’ names attached to their numbers and locked into her phone. She laughed. It was Beau’s phone! Beau had no technical skills and wasn’t afraid to admit it. He had no idea how to put the kids’ names in his phone. Jade looked closer to see which of their precious children sent the text.

She didn’t recognize the number.

Jade felt a sudden sickness come over her. This is ridiculous, she thought. She trusted Beau with her heart and soul. She couldn’t control her curiosity just the same. She opened the phone and looked at other texts from the same number.

“Can’t wait to see you.”

“I miss you.”

“Waiting for you.”

With every text, Jade sunk a little closer to the floor. Then she crawled into the bathroom and vomited. Collecting herself, she returned obsessively to the phone. She checked phone messages next. Jade felt like she was having an out-of-body experience. Who is this woman? Anger flared within her! How could this be happening? She felt out of control!

She took the phone and headed back out to the deck. Beau was sitting at the patio table sipping his drink, staring into the distance. He was pensive and absorbed in his thoughts, not even acknowledging her return.

“Your girlfriend called.” Jade tossed the phone toward him. She had one of the messages on speaker phone. The words echoed into the night, “I am in my car waiting for your call. I can’t wait to see you.”

Beau’s reaction was startling. “Why are you checking my messages?” He questioned her angrily and Jade’s fury raged!