She brushed back a few tears, then thought about when she had become suspicious.
One day she had called the garage, discovering that her husband had left some one hour earlier.
It wasn’t like the Joel she knew, she recognized, to just leave the garage and go somewhere without letting her know where he was. He had always been so devoted to her, so considerate when it came to letting her know precisely what he was doing.
When she tried a second time a few days later and discovered that he was gone as well, she began feeling a little suspicious. Finally Sheila had decided to follow her husband, and that was precisely what she had done for the first time that day.
Sheila had discovered the one thing she was hoping she wouldn’t-that her husband was seeing Faye on the sly.
CHAPTER 13
When Joel arrived a few minutes after Sheila, the still stunned wife almost erupted angrily at him.
She managed to maintain her composure, however, telling herself that the best strategy would not be that of blowing up immediately at her husband.
Instead she decided that she would go and see Faye. By talking things over in full with the beautiful blonde wife of Mickey, just maybe she could end the affair. But in any event she looked forward to ironing things out with Joel.
She didn’t know whether she would continue to live with him or whether they would get a divorce. But one way or another she wouldn’t allow things to continue in the secretive manner in which they were gravitating at that moment.
A few days after Sheila had observed Faye and Joel leaving the motel room, she received a break. Both her husband and Mickey were slated to leave for Fresno, where they would be competing in a race that Sunday.
“Would you like to go along?” Joel asked Sheila two nights before he was slated to leave.
“I think I’ll stay home.”
“Wouldn’t you like to get away from the place for a little while, honey?”
“I’d really like to stay home. I could use a little peace and quiet.?’ “Meaning you could get it here alone a lot easier,” he chuckled, a little pathetically, Sheila thought.
“I just need the peace and quiet. By the way. Is Faye going along with Mickey?”
“No, she isn’t. I guess she’s like you. She needs her peace and quiet.”
Sheila heartened by the knowledge that Faye would not be accompanying Mickey to Fresno, planned to get together with Faye. She knew she had to time her meeting for when Faye would be alone. It would be just too embarrassing to discuss the matter out in the open in Mickey’s presence. Sheila knew that it was the type of tense confrontation that should involve only the two wives.
On Saturday afternoon, after giving a lot of time and thought to what she would do, Sheila walked over and picked up the telephone. She quickly dialed Faye’s number.
“Hello,” she heard Faye’s voice.
“Faye, this is Sheila,” she began tightly.
“Hello there, dear. So we racing widows are staying home while our husbands are in Fresno,” Faye laughed.
“That’s right. I’d like to see you.”
“Fine. When?”
“Right away,” Sheila said, trying her best not to give away the sense of urgency she felt, even though it was hard.
“All right. Would you like to meet for lunch?”
“I already ate. I’d like to see you over at your place, if that’s all right.”
“Of course. That would be fine. I’ll be looking forward to seeing you. We haven’t talked in quite a while.”
“It has been a little while.”
“Too long,” Faye laughed pleasantly. “So I’ll be looking forward to seeing you in a few minutes, my dear.”
“Good-bye,” Sheila said.
Once Sheila hung up the phone, she felt a tenseness tugging at her throat.
Before going over there, she decided to have a shot of whisky. Perhaps that would give her a little more inner fortification, making it simpler for her to face up to the question of bringing up an unpleasant matter.
She wound up having not one but two shots of Scotch, after which she got into her car and drove over to the apartment shared by Faye and Mickey in Sherman Oaks in the San Fernando Valley.
Her legs felt like lead as they walked up the stairs leading to a second-floor apartment. Her heart palpitated, and Sheila in many ways dreaded such a confrontation with Faye. But it was ultimately essential, and she could not put it off any longer.
Sheila rang the doorbell, and Faye was there to answer it a few moments later.
Faye looked highly attractive clad in a pink blouse and a pair of red shorts.
She wore no shoes.
“Excuse me, dear, but I was just kinda relaxing,” Faye smiled, holding the door open for Sheila to enter. “I hope you don’t mind me being a little casual.”
“Not at all,” Sheila said.
“Sit down.”
Sheila seated herself on the living room sofa. The longer that she looked at Faye’s fine form, the easier it was for her to see why her husband liked her so much.
Her eyes focused on the trim lines of her ivory legs, after which she looked up and observed her firm breasts tugging out at the tight blouse which she snugly wore.
“Why don’t I get us both a drink,” Faye smiled. “I’ve got some Vodka. I like to think I mix some of the best Bloody Mary’s in town.”
“No thanks. There’s something I want to talk to you about right now, Faye,”
Sheila said, her voice trembling slightly.
“What’s the problem, dear?” Faye said, her face showing concern as she sat down in a chair across from the sofa.
“I know all about what’s happening, Faye I know about every bit of it,” the words gushed forth from Sheila’s mouth.
“What are you talking about, honey?” Faye asked.
Although Faye was questioning Sheila to the limit, she knew down deep that Sheila had found out about her affair with Joel.
“You know what I mean. You’ve been seeing Joel, and quite a bit,” Sheila said.
Faye’s eyes dropped downward toward the rug. She sighed then looked over at Sheila.
“I’m sorry, dear. I just couldn’t seem to help myself.” “Do you want to divorce your husband?”
“Oh, no I love Mickey”
“Do you love him more than Joel?“
“That’s an awfully difficult question to answer.”
“I’d like an answer,” Sheila shrieked. “After all, you’re taking my husband away from me. I’m entitled to a few answers.”
“Please try to be calm, honey.”
“How can I be?” Sheila asked as the tears began to roll down her face.
“I see your point,” Faye sighed. “No, it isn’t all that easy to be calm considering all that has happened. Well, all I can say is that Joel more or less swept me oft my feet. I was kinda hoping we could have a continuing swap relationship. That way we could continue to be married to our husbands, and we could get in a little experimentation at the same time. I told Joel this, and several times he mentioned trying to get you involved in
