Not What He Seems
"I dumped John last night. I just couldn't take it anymore," Jill cried on the phone to her best friend Sue.
Sue stopped pacing up and down her kitchen floor and took a seat. "What? Last week you were telling me you two were made for each other. And now this, what happened?"
"I found out he'd been cheating on me. I feel like such a fool. It was going on right under my nose and I never suspected a thing. I should have known better. If it seems too good to be true it probably is." Jill sniffed and wiped the tears from her eyes.
"Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear that. That's awful. And he seemed like such a nice guy, way better than the other low life I've seen you with before. It looked like you'd finally found someone good for you. I'm so sorry, Jill. Really, I truly am."
"Not as sorry as I am. I never want to see that cheating liar ever again. He's going to regret the day he cheated on me. I can tell you that for sure."
"What do you mean, Jill?"
"Let's just say revenge will be mine, and it'll be sweet."
"Jill, you're clearly upset, and rightly so, but please don't do anything you'll regret later. Take some time to calm down first. I hope you're listening to me. This is important."
"Ok, ok, I hear you, Sue. I'll wait until I calm down, then, I'll get my revenge."
Sue spoke more firmly. "Look, take it from someone who has been there before, revenge can back fire, badly. That's all I have to say about it. And you're positive, absolutely positive he was cheating on you?"
Jill took a deep breath before continuing. "Yes, he was fooling around with my neighbour, Sally, the glamorous one, from across the street. I never liked her that much but I never expected she'd stoop this low, the bitch. There is no doubt in my mind that the two of them were all over each other. I bet they had a good laugh at my expense. John of all people, I never thought he was the kind of person to do that, just shows how wrong you can be."
"Jill, have you two talked it over? It might be worth doing if only for the sake of closure."
"I confronted him and he denied it, he said he didn't even know what I was talking about. He said Sally was the last person in the world he would choose to have an affair with. Of course, that was purely academic at that point given that he'd already tried her out as it were, that smug bitch." Jill dried her eyes.
"So, was this going on for a while or did you catch them at it right at the beginning?"
"I don't know, Sue. Like I said, John denied the whole thing had even happened. He made me sick just looking at him so I told him to pack up his stuff and move out. By the time I got back from the office that evening he was gone and all his things were too except for that weights machine he kept in the garage. He'd even taken his precious bikes, all three of them, I always suspected he loved those silly bikes more than me. I'll be dismantling that weights machine and trashing it before he can come back for it." Jill sniffled and blew her nose.
"This is awful, just awful. I never guessed John could be so deceitful. You'd think he'd at least have the courage to own up to it when you caught him out. It sounds like you're better off without him, much better off in fact. If you can't even trust him with the neighbours it's just not worth it. You did the right thing, Jill. I'm behind you 100% on this."
"Thank you Sue, I knew I could count on you. Unfortunately you know only too well what it's like when someone cheats on you. Now that I've been through it too I'm determined to never let it happen again. And I will get revenge just not in the way you think."
"What exactly do you have in mind?"
With raw determination in her voice Jill started speaking more quickly. "I'm going to get out there and find someone better than John, someone more successful, someone younger. I'll show him he just made the biggest mistake of his life. He'll hear about it from his friends, how I'm going out to the best restaurants
Learning to Kill: Stories