“That’s what I thought,” Troy replied. “What have I done to deserve this?”
“Daddy, it’s not like that, really,” Michelle stated. “You should talk to Mom.”
“Don’t fucking call me Daddy,” Troy fired back bitterly, “I’m no longer your father. You betrayed me and chose her side in this. You’re dead to me.”
Michelle cried out, “No! Daddy! Please, listen!”
“Listen? What can you possibly say to make me understand?” Troy demanded. “You’re mother retired from her job without telling me! She’s moving to Southern France with her asshole boss, without saying a fucking word to me!”
“What?” Michelle asked incredulously. “What are you talking about? Mom didn’t tell me anything about this!”
“You didn’t know she was cheating on me with her boss?”
“No, I swear! I thought you were talking about something else! I don’t know anything about this. Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m fucking sure! I saw her with him! I saw her at her retirement party five minutes ago! She told everyone she’s moving to Southern France, then kissed that asshole the way you kiss a lover, not a boss!”
“Dad,” Michelle cried, “I swear, I didn’t know! I thought you found out about Darryl and Mom.”
“What? Darryl? Darryl who? What are you talking about?”
“Oh shit, Dad, I’m sorry! I thought you knew!”
“Knew what?”
“Remember the pool party we had back in June, right after school got out?”
“Yeah, of course.”
“Remember the guy I brought with me, Darryl?”
“Yeah, the guy from the SMU football team,” Troy replied. “What’s that got to do with anything?”
“Remember how you got really drunk and fell asleep by the fireplace on the back porch?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, Darryl and I went skinny dipping, and he convinced Mom to join us. She was drunk and got too carried away. He was flirting with Mom, and she was responding. I got mad and made the mistake of going inside and leaving them alone for a few minutes. When I came back, I could tell that while I was gone, Darryl fucked Mom. I was furious, but she was drunk and swore she regretted it. She begged me not to tell you because she knew you would leave her. I didn’t want you guys to get divorced, so I forgave her and never told you. That’s why I stopped seeing Darryl and why Mom and I haven’t been as close as we used to be.”
Troy struggled to process what his daughter had told him. Not only was Dana sleeping with her boss, but she’d also been fucking at least one other person. He felt sick. He was overcome with the feeling that everything he thought he knew about his wife was a lie.
“Dad?” Michelle called out. “Are you there?”
“Yeah, I’m here,” Troy replied. “I don’t know what to believe anymore.”
“Daddy, I swear I didn’t know anything about her fucking her boss,” Michelle said. “If I had known about it, I would not have kept it from you. The thing with Darryl was bad, but she convinced me it was a mistake and the only time she’d ever cheated on you. I believed her. But, if what you say is true, she was lying to both of us!”
“It’s true.”
“Do you have any proof?”
“No.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know,” Troy answered. “I have no fucking idea. If she divorces me, she’ll ruin me! I’ll have to sell the house and all our property! She’ll get half of everything. The worst part is I started my business after we got married, so she’s entitled to half of that, too! Hell, I’ll probably have to pay her support on top of everything!”
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