Lounge Lizard

It was a Sunday night at the end of the summer. Dick had spent the day at a cookout that I was not invited to...well, I was probably invited but apparently not welcome there because he just sort of announced that he was going to JT's for the day and could I pick up some sort of dessert for him to bring when I went food shopping. I wanted to say "not a chance in hell A**hole", but instead I said "not a problem". It was weird. I really didn't mean to say that but it just came out of my mouth before I could stop it. It was habit I assumed, that and the fact that if I had said what I was thinking I may have given away my disdain for him and I just couldn't have that, not yet anyway. He needed to remain completely unaware of everything I knew about his ongoing affair. That type of reaction might make him wonder if I was on to him and he might start being more careful, something else I couldn't have. He was so not good at covering his tracks, I didnt' want to make more work for myself if he were to get more careful. If he changed his M.O.then I would have to come up with all new and different investigative techniques. So off to the food store I went. I picked up a dessert for him just like he asked...some cookies...Fig Newtons. I also got a brownie mix in case I chickened out on using the Newtons. I know what you're thinking, how could I bake something for him to take to a cookout that I wasn't even asked to attend? Well, its simple...I made the worlds worst brownies that day. Its amazing how by adding a whole bottle of anise extract and some salt can change the taste of a brownie mix. And no, I did not taste them. But believe me they were bad. The smell alone was enough to turn your stomach. I baked them in the morning the day before the cookout while Dick was at work so the odor would dissipate before he got home. Then I cut them up and put them on a plate, wrapped them first in foil then plastic wrap. The plastic wrap was to keep the smell of anise from escaping and the foil was so Dick wouldn't notice the Fig Newtons I tossed in for good measure. I never heard if my brownies were a hit or how the Fig Newtons went over because Dick and I had other more important things than my culinary genius to discuss that night when he finally got home.

I had of course placed my trusty GPS tracking Snitch in the car before he left for the cookout. When 9:00 pm rolled around I called him to see where he was. I already knew that bit of information because I could see it on my computer screen, but I wanted to hear it from him. I just loved having the opportunity to catch him in a lie. But, the little bastard surprised me. Wonder of wonder...he told the truth! He said he was with Harry and Dom exactly where the Snitch said he was. Of course, the GPS only told me where he was, not who he was with. So, since I still had my mother's car I drove down to see for myself who he was with. I couldn't believe what I saw. Harry's truck and Dom's car parked right next to our car. This can't be right I thought. When the hell did he start telling the truth? I went into the bar and took a peek. There the three of them were sitting at the bar....no women in sight. Dam...he was telling the truth! Then I realized that he was being honest because he had no reason to lie. He wasn't doing anything wrong. I should have known just by the way he answered me when I asked him where he was. Dick had a distinct way of answering me when he was lying. He would always preface his answer with a long drawn out "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh....". then state where he was as if it were a question like ..."at the packie?" When I had asked him where he was he responded without hesitation and very matter of fact. Oh well, I thought, this night was a bust for evidence gathering. Nothing to see here, so, I went home and went to bed. Somewhere around 12:30 am I woke up. He wasn't home. I checked the computer. He was now at a different location. I remembered that I had seen that little red dot hover there many times before, but I couldn't figure out why Dick would be there because it was a new strip mall. It was a brand new development and most of the places were still empty. The only thing that was near by was The European, a restaurant frequented by families and well, older people. I never thought he was spending time there because of it's clientele and because it was a nice place. They had a "lounge" not a "bar". I checked their website and the dining room closed at 11:00pm, but the lounge was open until 1:00am. It suddenly dawned on me that "she" must work there. I had long suspected that his girlfriend was a bartender. One of the things I found in his top drawer was a piece of paper with her cell numbers on it and the words Fri-6-1am. I had friends call various bars that he hung out at and ask for her by name as if she worked there and they all got the same response, "No one by that name works here." I never thought about calling the European. I knew I was right about this. Why else would he be spending so much time there? I planned on having someone call the next day to confirm it, but the events of that night that followed made calling totally unnecessary.