Copyright C E Ayr
“How could you? You? My oldest friend?”
I can’t meet Lou’s gaze; I’ve known for months that this day would come.
In the study, drawers are opening and slamming shut.
“I knew…” she sobs, “I could tell… the way you were with him. Something had changed.”
Tom appears in the doorway, files under his arm, suitcases at his feet.
“You had to tell her, didn’t you?” he sneers at me.
But Tom’s secret hadn’t been mine to tell; I’d stayed silent.
Someone else hadn’t, and now my friend will never forgive me.
Together, but alienated now, we watch him leave with his mistress.
Friday Fictioneers kicks off again today under the leadership and cool gaze of Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. I finished Rochelle’s book”Please Say Kaddish For Me” this weekend; a thoroughly enjoyable read. I stand in awe of her talent and dedication.
castelsarrasin 
Dear Sandra,
Friendships can be such tenuous things. You evoked so much emotion through well written dialogue. I feel for the MC who has lost two friendships at once.
Shalom,
Rohelle
PS Thanks again for the kudos of PSKFM and for the glowing review on Amazon. 😀
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No winners in this situation, as we all know. And the rest was my pleasure. 🙂
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Partings are painful .
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Thanks for visiting.
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You twisted this story from start to finish, making it unpredictable and amazing.
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Thanks Lore, glad you liked it.
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Wow, sensational.
Brilliant misdirection, superb writing.
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Thanks CE. Loved your picture.
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Excellent misdirect, Sandra. At least they have each other. Good riddance to Tom.
janet
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Thanks Janet. Missing you on here.
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Oh.. when you loose your friend and your lover at the same time.. there’s no safetynet… it will all crumble.
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Thanks for visiting Bjorn.
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When she’s finished howling at the friend she’ll howl on her shoulder – true friends stay to be yelled at.
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Always a difficult one, this. Thanks for dropping by Liz.
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Had to read twice. Lovely fiction!
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Thanks for persevering Graham. 🙂
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Was there another, unnamed person in this story? Wasn’t quite sure who left with Tam. Either way, I still enjoyed the flow of your tale.
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The mistress left with Tom. The wife blamed the friend for not telling her that the husband had been having an affair. The husband thought the friend had split on him. The mistress waited outside in the car while he packed. The friend got it in the neck from all angles. Perhaps Marie-Gail was right – too ambitious a concept for 100 words. 😉
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All around, wreckage. How perfectly painful.
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Thanks for reading Lorna.
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Dear Sandra,
Good work as usual. I like your abstract take on the prompt.
To me, it seems that you bit off a little too much in trying to add a third woman to this story. It does bring a twist for the reader, but in 100 words, the addition of a mistress when we are all assuming that Lou has been the adulterer is too much to adequately explain. (And now I feel as though I’m not doing a good job at explaining my objection.)
Anyway, I do like the concept, and it is a good story even if not quite up to your usual delivery.
All my best,
MG
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Interesting that you think I attempted to ‘add a third woman’ to the story, MG. The third woman was the pivotal point of the story. It’s the eternal dilemma. You know your best friend’s husband is having an affair. Nobody will ever thank you for telling them this, but neither will they see that your silence was an attempt not to muddy the waters of their possibly already troubled relationship. Damned if you do, and damned if you don’t. And, it appears, damned if you ‘bite off more than you can chew’ and try to get this concept across in 100 words. Only joking, of course; I appreciate your candour. 😉
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I do get it, Sandra. And I fully understand the dilemma. I’m in a similar situation right now (thankfully with life circumstance other than an extra-marital affair). My issue with the story is that the conundrum seems to need more than 100 words for explanation. This is solely my opinion, of course, and that in no way diminishes the fact that I always look forward to reading your work.
Cheers!
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No great loss to either of these girls. I’m sure they’ll make up. 🙂
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Hopefully. Thanks for reading.
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I have been that silent one. You are so right, you are damned if you do, and damned if you don’t. Well done!
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So have I, Dale. No winners in this situation. Thanks for reading.
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I’m never forget my best friend’s husband came on to me at my very own wedding. I told her, because I thought I should. She didn’t speak to me again until they divorced.
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I’ll never! Ugh
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Didn’t even notice that Dawn. And yes, that must have been horrific. Hope you’re friends again now.
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Well, that was a mess she should just back away from. She needs to let the couple work out things for themselves and end her part in it. It’s a mess and not of her making. The wife should have realized something was going on and is probably looking for someone else to blame. Well written as always, Sandra. 🙂
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Thanks Suzanne, good to see you on here.
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Sad story. Convoluted relationships, as ever. Trust no-one.
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Thanks for visiting Patrick.
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What a terribly painful scene! Well-captured emotions, and superb re-direction of the reader’s preconceptions.
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Thank you! 🙂
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I didn’t comment earlier because I needed to “rest” on this one. Took three readings to get it straight in my mind and then read the comments. I think your story is very well done ~ it just took a bit to get the characters straight. May I never be in this situation. Cheers!
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Sometimes I can’t decide whether I’ve been too abstract or I’ve done the thing to death. My instinct veered towards the latter but I think it may have led me astray this week. Thanks for persevering.
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I must confess, I still was confused after two readings. But then, that’s not unusual for me.
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I thought it was great although I didn’t get that she had know about an affair, I thought she was having the affair with the husband. But I loved the unexpected twist at the end when it all became clear. I loved it. Yes you are dammed if you do and dammed if you don’t.
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Am not sure, as of its related to the picture, but as a write up its beautiful and painful
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I prefer to take an abstract or tangential approach to the photo prompt, Gravadee, so the motivation here was in the titled. A wrecked building, a wrecked marriage, and a wrecked relationship. Thanks anyway! 🙂
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Ah – I struggled with this to start with, as I figured there was some third, unseen figure (turns out it was the mistress), but couldn’t quite work out the angles. Saw your explanation earlier, and re-read.
With that context, it makes perfect sense!
Regardless, some great dramatic dialogue here.
KT
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I wondered whether people would get this KT. Seems about fifty-fifty. Thanks for persevering.
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In my opinion, spilling the bean about the cheater helps no one. I did it once and ruined two relationships. Now, I’m a see no evil, hear no evil type of monkey.
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My standpoint exactly. There’s no going back for anyone once the beans have been spilled.
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Great twist, Sandra. I hope the friend will just stay and accept the wife’s anger, let her grieve, yell, hurl obscenities, etc., and fix her cups of tea and glasses of wine.
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I hope so too Jan. There’s no right way to deal with this.
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A tangled situation you’ve painted here. Very good!
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Thanks for visiting 🙂
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more often than not the relations survive on make-belief perceptions.
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Tom’s a right arse but telling her friend is a no win situation. I swear, people are a lot of work. Best to stick with words…well done.
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Too true; my laptop gives me no problems at all. Nor did the dogs, when we had them. 🙂
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Great dialogue; I could feel the knife to the heart. You evoked so much more story than seems possible in 100 words. Bravo!
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Thanks Dawn. 🙂
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I think you can always tell when you see them together. That was an effective line. Great dialogue and wonderfully written story, Sandra!
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Thanks Amy. 🙂
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Lovely tale of betrayal. Felt the knife twist. Well done!
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Thanks Yolanda.
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A tangled mess tightly told in 100 words. Well done, Sandra. It’s sad that the poor girl has to shoulder the blame – she couldn’t win here.
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Yes, no winners in this situation, I fear. Thanks for visiting Margaret.
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Very cunning, Sandra!! I had no idea it was headed in this direction. I love being surprised in a novel or story…brilliant!
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Thank you Oliana. 🙂
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As others have said, I like the twist at the end, although I had to reread it to make sure of things. That’s a terrible dilemma for the friend to be in and there’s really no way to win that one: by telling her or not telling her.
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What great tension and emotion. At first I thought the friend was the mistress. An awful situation to find oneself in. Wonderfully written.
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