As expected, their boat did a sudden u-turn that totally confused the wake boat coming in behind them. As they sped away, the alpha guy, sporting a foam neck-brace, turned in his seat and looked back at me. I smiled and waved. He immediately responded with his left-hand middle finger. The owner of the Marina had just come out of his garage, where he repaired boats, and saw them speeding away. I guess he thought the finger was for him because as he walked by me he said out loud to himself, “Frickin’ kids. They’re nothing but thugs. Their parents aren’t much better either.” I grinned and tossed my waste in a basket and returned to my boat. I watched for the kids boat all the way home. The last thing I wanted was to lead them back to my house.
I eased up to my dock and tied the boat fore and aft before shutting off the ignition. As I walked off the dock, Priya appeared from her yard crossing into mine. “Can we talk?” she said and I motioned for her to follow me up to the deck. I asked if she would like a cup of coffee and she declined. I turned on the Keurig Coffee Maker and popped in a coffee pod and waited for the water to heat. Priya had followed me inside but she just stood by the kitchen table and waited for me. I didn’t like the look of this. I brought my cup to the kitchen table and motioned for her to sit as I sat down. She hesitated but then sat. “What’s up?” I said, trying to sound upbeat.
Priya started, “I’m not sure how to say any of this. My emotions are all over the place right now and I’m pretty sure I should wait before saying this but I’m afraid I’ll chicken out if I do.” She put her hands on mine holding the coffee cup and said, “We’ve been going hot and heavy for a few weeks now and we’ve already talked about the guilt we both feel about cheating on my husband and you cheating on Anna. Our affair was comfortable because there was no danger of being found out but at the same time it felt safe because I was married and our relationship couldn’t become anything more than that. It was purely physical and I’ve loved and needed every second of it.”
I took a sip and waited for the shoe to drop. So far, all I’d heard was ‘I’ve loved our time together; but…’
Priya’s face scrunched up and tears flooded into her eyes. I was willing her to just say it. She continued, “Now that I’m divorced and trying to figure out what that means, I’m scared that I’ll just roll into a replacement relationship with you that will be harder to stop later on. I’m sorry Jack. I have to stop this now while I still can.” Her eyes pleaded with me to understand.
I took another sip and said, “I understand your rationale. It makes sense. If you think we need to stop our physical relationship to make sure that you don’t just plug-and-play me into your replacement husband role, I get it. I hope we can still be friends even if it is without benefits.”
Priya smiled and squeezed more tears from her eyes. She took my napkin and blew her nose on it. “I want that,” she said. “I value your friendship.”