You can learn a lot about someone by playing tennis with them. Generally speaking, I think gentlemen on the tennis court are gentlemen off the court as well. Instead, I watched a man display the worst sportsmanship I’ve ever seen while playing his best friend. Later, I wasn’t surprised when the guy abandoned his family and ran off with another man’s wife.
And then there’s Frank Calhoun. Frank was a big guy; in fact, he played football at Georgia Tech until he injured his knee. After a plastic surgeon repaired it, Frank turned to tennis. But he plays tennis like a football player, hitting powerful serves and attacking players at the net from the baseline.
But I can beat him. I like to go to the net and put pressure on him and let him hit the ball past me. He would often hit the ball over his head and bounce it off the back fence. Don’t bother me on his calls. Let’s just say the doubt is always in his favor when he makes a decision.
As a result, Frank always wanted to play with me. He couldn’t stand losing to “a little guy.” Now I’m not short, I’m actually six feet tall. But I was very skinny and dwarfed by Frank, who was three inches taller than me and seventy-five pounds heavier.
Not surprisingly, I was reluctant to play with Frank, but since we both lived in the Eden Point subdivision north of Atlanta, it was hard to avoid him. Since Atlanta is a big tennis town, our subdivision is built around a clubhouse with a swimming pool and several tennis courts. With so many people playing on teams in the Atlanta Lawn Tennis Association league, it’s hard to avoid a guy like Frank.
But the good news is that I get to play with a lot of great people too – like my mixed doubles partner Penny Pennington. I met Penny through my wife, Melanie. Melanie is a Pilates instructor and many people who live in Eden Point take classes at her studio, including Penny. Unfortunately for me, Melanie didn’t like tennis, but when she found out Penny was looking for a partner, she introduced me, and Penny and I have been playing together for about a year now.
The club we were playing today was far away in Stone Mountain, so I offered to drive Penny to save gas. Given the traffic on a Saturday afternoon, it took us forty-five minutes to get there.
As she walked out the front door, I wondered again why Penny was still single. One reason is that she lost her husband in a car accident three years ago. One way to deal with her grief after a long period of mourning was to attend Melanie’s Pilates classes. Another option is to start playing tennis again, which she played in high school. The result of all this physical activity is a healthy, slim, dark-haired woman in her early thirties. I thought that a beautiful woman like Penny would attract suitors like flies to honey. But she kept telling Melanie that she hadn’t found the right man yet.
“Hey, Penny,” I greeted her as she opened the car door, “are you ready to pick them up today?”
She smiled at me. “You bet, Michael. I’ve been waiting a long time for a rematch with these guys.”
As I pulled onto I285, we were discussing race strategy when I was interrupted by my cell phone ringing. “Hey Robert. Are you kidding me! No, it’s perfect here. Damn it. Okay, we’ll reschedule.”
Penny gave me a quizzical look as I took the next exit for home. “That’s our opponent,” I told her. “They told me there was just a rainstorm and the ballpark was unplayable.”
Penny was clearly disappointed. “Hey, I’m really looking forward to the game today.”
“Look,” I said, “why don’t we go back to the club? We can get some training in and maybe there will be someone there who wants to play.”
As soon as I reached the main entrance to Eden Point, I turned onto the road leading home. “I just wanted to stop by and pick up my check for this quarter’s club dues,” I said to Penny. “I won’t, just for a minute.”
I parked on the side of the road and ran to the front door. I wrote the check last night and left it on my dresser so I knew where to find it. But as I was walking down the hallway, I heard something from the master bedroom that I shouldn’t have heard.
“Oh, please, do it again. Yes, that’s it. Ooh!”
That’s Melanie’s voice! What exactly is it?
I tiptoed across the corridor and peered in the door. Melanie was lying naked on the bed with her legs spread over the edge. Between them, a man was bending over and touching her with his mouth and hands while she moaned and gasped.
I felt like I had been in a car accident. I was stunned, unable to move or think. Everything changed suddenly and I couldn’t understand what was happening.
Then the man stood up and lifted Melanie’s legs up in the air to make his penetration easier. “No, that can’t be,” I thought as I recognized the figure of Frank Calhoun. I heard him groan as he slid into her. Then he chanted: “Oh god, oh yes, oh god!”
I stumbled back out the door as if I had been punched. It was too much to bear. My first reaction was to rush into the room and attack him. “But what good will that do?” I asked myself desperately. “He betrayed me, and fighting him won’t change that. And even if I strike him first, he’s much bigger than me and could still beat me to death. But I don’t want him to get away.”
As I stood there, I suddenly remembered that Penny was waiting in the car. “Oh crap, I have to get her home before I have to come back here and face them,” I thought.
I found myself walking numbly down the hallway back to the front door. I felt like I could vomit at any moment. I looked up and saw Penny watching me from the car window. A little while later, I got into the driver’s seat and started the engine.
I don’t know what I look like, but it definitely won’t be good. “Are you okay, Michael?” Penny asked anxiously, staring at me. I couldn’t say anything. I held the steering wheel as tightly as I could and drove to Penny’s house. I put my car in the park and without looking at her as I walked forward I said, “I’m sorry, Penny, but I can’t go with you today.”
“What happened, Michael, what happened?” she asked with growing concern.
When I didn’t respond, she reached over and turned off the ignition. Then she got out of the car and came to my door with the keys. I turned to her. “I have to go, Penny. Please give me the keys.”
“No,” she said firmly, “not until you tell me what happened.”
Seeing that I didn’t say anything, she opened the car door and grabbed my arm. “You can’t go anywhere until you get in and tell me what’s going on.”
I automatically get out of the car and let her lead me into her house. She disappears for a second, then returns with a glass of ice cold water. I unconsciously take a sip while she watches. As soon as I put the glass down, she grabs my hand and clasps it in hers. “Tell me, Michael. What happened there?”
Suddenly, all my resistance collapsed and I fell back against her sofa. I was about to speak, but my throat suddenly tightened again, so I took another sip of water.
“This is Melanie and Frank,” I said in a nervous voice.
He looked at me in surprise. “Go ahead,” he said.
“They were in our bedroom together. They were…” I trailed off.
She gasped. “No! That’s wrong. Melanie would never do that!”
The image of the two of them came to my mind so strongly that I felt tears start to roll down my cheeks. “I didn’t expect him to do that.” I said hoarsely as the pain in my throat grew.
“Could it be something else, Michael? Could you be wrong?” he asked.
I knew she was trying to help, but that didn’t stop my anger. “When I looked inside, she was lying on her back and Frank was licking her pussy. When I pulled away, he put her ankles on his shoulders and put his cock in her. So, Penny, you tell me, am I wrong?
She flinched at my angry sarcasm. “I’m sorry, Michael. It’s not that I doubted you, I was just hoping for another explanation.”
My body ached even more. “And Frank Calhoun!” I said angrily. “How could she let that big baboon get near her?”
“I guess that explains why Frank started taking Melanie’s Pilates classes,” Penny said thoughtfully.
“Is he taking her class?” “He never mentioned it to me.”
My anger is still welling up. “Thank you so much for warning me,” I said bitterly.
Penny was hurt now. “That’s not fair, Michael. I don’t know what happened between those two.”
“I’m sorry, Penny,” I said, “I didn’t mean to blame you. I’m just really green.”
He squeezed my hand. “It’s okay, Michael. I can only imagine how you feel.”
I confronted him. “I have to go,” I told him. “I have to go back and see what happened.”
“You’re not going to do anything violent, are you Michael?”
“No, I just want some answers.”
He squeezed my hand. “Please tell me what’s going on, Michael. If there’s anything I can do to help, please let me know.”
I thanked her and got back into my car. As I drove home, I was terrified of what was going to happen. I thought about all the questions I wanted to ask her and tried to anticipate her possible responses. I expected tears, denials, and angry words. How should I respond to them? What about Frank? What if he was still there? I could feel the adrenaline pumping through my system.
Melanie must have heard me as I walked through the kitchen door because she came out to greet me. She was wearing a robe; her hair was wrapped in a towel. “You’re back so early.” she said cheerfully. “How was the game?”
“We got caught in the rain,” I said in a broken voice.
“Oh, I’m sorry you couldn’t compete,” she said. “I’m sure Penny is disappointed.”
I just kept looking at him. I didn’t want to make small talk.
“As soon as we left, he called to tell us it was raining,” I said softly.
She blinked, but her facial expression didn’t change.
“I’m home,” I tell her. My heart beats faster. “I saw you with Frank.”
Of the many scenarios I imagined, Melanie’s reaction was something I had not expected. “I’m sorry you had to see that,” she said softly.
“Is that all you have to say?” I asked in disbelief. “You cheated on me and you’re sorry I saw it? Aren’t you even willing to say you’re sorry for fucking her? How long has this been going on? Don’t you have any explanation?”
She folded her arms and sighed. “Sit down, Michael,” she said, pointing to the breakfast room table.
“I prefer standing,” I said angrily.
“Whatever you want,” she said, sitting down in the chair. I stood there, surprised at her lack of reaction.
“Look, Michael, we’re going to tell you soon anyway, but I think this will speed up the timeline a little bit. I’m leaving you. Frank and I are in love, and I’m going to be with him as soon as we get divorced, we’ll get married.
I decided to sit down; I didn’t want to risk falling.
Before I could say anything, she jumped up, said, “Wait a minute,” and disappeared into our bedroom. A little later she returned with a stack of papers in her hands. She slid them across the table to me.
“That’s not supposed to be sarcastic,” she said. “I don’t want any alimony from you either. I’ve taken all the money out of our savings account, but it’s only fair because I’m leaving the house to you. It’s better than what we would have gotten if you’d done a lot more.
I looked at the stack of papers: it was a divorce petition.
“Have you seen a lawyer already?” I asked in surprise. “What about our marriage? What happened in the last ten years we spent together?”
“I’m sorry, Michael. This wasn’t something I planned; it just happened. Accept it: it is what it is.”
“Accept?” I yelled. “Do you accept having my lovely wife fucked by that bastard Frank Calhoun in our own bed? Accept that our marriage is over?”
She stood up. “I’m disappointed, Michael. I was expecting a more mature response from you.” She turned and walked back into the bedroom.
I sat at the table, staring at the divorce papers in front of me, trying to understand what was happening. If someone had asked me that morning, I would have told them that I loved my wife and that we were happily married. This afternoon I found out that she is leaving me for another man. Talk about cognitive dissonance!
In the silence, I heard my phone beeping, then intermittent conversation.
“He saw us…as you can imagine…it’s going to be great.”
When she came back, she was all dressed up and had her travel bag and toiletry bag. “Now that you have forced the issue, I will not stay here tonight. Frank will come to pick me up. We will come back on Monday when you go to work to get the rest of my stuff.”
“So you’re just going like that then?”
“That’s the way it should be,” she said.
“Okay,” I said bitterly. “What do you want me to tell our friends?”
She sighed. “Look, Michael, Frank and I haven’t done anything wrong, and we’re not going to hide like criminals. We’re going to remain socially active. In fact, we’ll probably go to the Eden Point reception tomorrow night. You don’t have to tell anyone anything because they’ll find out anyway.
Just then a horn honked outside. Melanie looked out the window. “Frank is here,” she said. “I’ll go now.”
As she closed the door, she leaned back in her chair and looked at me. “Just sign the papers, Michael. The sooner you sign, the better it will be for all of us.” And she left.
I don’t know how long I sat there. Emotions flashed through me like trains crossing a crossing. One minute I was seething with anger; the next I would remember happy moments and be filled with sadness. I told myself I was treating her like a queen, then I wondered what I had done to push her away. “I’m better off without her,” I repeated. Until my heart was filled with loneliness.
The notification tone on my phone startled me, so I answered it immediately. Subconsciously I thought I expected to hear Melanie’s voice, but it was Penny. “How are you, Michael?” she asked.
“Not so good,” I replied. “He left me.”
“I heard it,” she said.
“Have you heard of it?” I asked in surprise. “Where? What to do?”
“I’m sorry, Michael,” he said sadly. “Frank’s been bragging about it in the clubhouse.”
“Oh, shit,” I thought. “It’s already started.”
On Sunday I called the captain of our boys’ team. There was no way I was going to make it there. “I’m sorry, Joe,” I told him, “you’re going to have to take me out of the lineup today. I have to deal with some personal issues.”
“Yeah, I hear you,” he said sympathetically. “Sorry. Good luck, man.”
I thanked him, but I knew I could only expect more misfortune.
I stayed there all day. I think I was hiding, even though it pains me to admit it. There was a sporting event on TV, but I wasn’t paying attention. My thoughts kept flashing back to my marriage to Melanie. What went wrong? When did she stop loving me?
When I got married right after college, I was sure she would love me. We were pretty consistent throughout our senior year. I proposed to her during Christmas break.’ She was a health and physical education major, and whenever my fraternity brothers saw her in gym clothes they would tease me. She is beautiful, healthy, and sexy all at once, which makes her almost irresistible. As soon as I saw her I gave up trying.
We adjusted to married life easily. I got a great job in Atlanta and she got a job as an aerobics class instructor. A few years later, when we had saved enough money for a down payment on a house, we found what we were looking for in a new development called Eden Point.
I think we really enjoyed our time at Point Eden Hotel. I got a few promotions in the company and Melanie decided to leave the company on her own. By then we had enough money to rent space for her studio in a small shopping mall in the area, and her business was doing well. Our savings account continued to grow, we made many friends and acquaintances, especially in Cape Eden, and we even started talking about starting a family in a year or two.
Our sex life has calmed down a bit, but that doesn’t surprise me. My job keeps me very busy and teaching Pilates every day would be tiring for anyone. When I think back, I start to realize that things have definitely slowed down over the past six months, even if I didn’t notice it at the time. I also remember that Melanie sometimes seemed a bit lost, as if she was in another world. But when we did have sex, it felt as good as ever to me and I thought Melanie felt the same way. Obviously, I was wrong.
I mentally kicked myself. How could I be so blind that I didn’t realize that she was already having an affair with someone else? How did I not realize that she had stopped loving me and loved Frank Calhoun? The only thing I can think of is that when you love and trust someone, you don’t see the signs of betrayal and deception. “No,” I thought sarcastically, “you just have to wait until they slap you in the back of the head.”
I went to work early on Monday to try to get ahead of the game. Around nine o’clock, I called my lawyer’s office to try to make an appointment. When the secretary asked about the purpose of the meeting, I didn’t want to talk about Melanie and me, so I told her I needed to make some changes to my will. When she came back she told me she would meet me after lunch.
When I arrived at his law office, Jonathan met me in the lobby. He was our classmate in college, and when Melanie and I decided to draft our wills, I went to him.
As we sat in his office, he looked at me with concern. “Is everything okay, Michael? I understand you need to change your will. You or Melanie aren’t sick, are you?”
“Thanks for your concern, Jonathan, but it’s not that bad,” I told him. Then I handed him the papers Melanie had given me on Saturday. When he read it, he made a “tsk, tsk,” sound to himself. After he said that, he looked at me.
“I’m really sorry to hear about that, Michael. Do you think there’s any chance of reconciliation?”
“I don’t think so. She has moved out of our house and is living with her boyfriend. She told me they are planning to get married right after our divorce.”
She shook her head. “I never expected that. You two seem so well matched.”
Then his expression changed and his voice became professional. “Given these circumstances, as your legal advisor, I recommend that you sign this agreement immediately.”
“So did ten years of marriage just disappear like that?”
He nodded patiently. “In things like this, Michael, you have to stop thinking with your heart and start thinking with your head. My interpretation of it is that Melanie has made you a very generous offer, much better than what you got when you decided to fight. In fact, if your marriage ends, it’s the best deal you can hope for.”
