A Suspicion

I love and trust my husband. I really do. We have been married for years and I can say we are happy. We both work a lot, so there has not been time for kids, at least not yet. There can be periods when we do no see each other that much, but we both give priority to career, and we agree that is the price to pay.

Recently he had such an overtime spell, working long evenings. He has done that before and I have never had the feeling that he was actually seeing another woman. Maybe the thought may have crossed my mind once or twice, but it never stuck. This time it was a little different, I can't say why.

He said they were preparing a tender for a big contract; it could be a breakthrough for his not-so-large IT consulting firm. And the late evenings was no surprise. What was surprising was that I found out he was working with a woman. He never told me about it, but for starter I overheard a phone conversation with her. They were talking about work alright, but wasn't the tone a bit too friendly? He knew I was nearby, and he would hold back any signs of emotions anyway.

What is different this time is that I have found out there is a woman at work, and maybe he might fall for her. They must have much in common from work, and during weekdays he is seeing her a lot more than me. And as it has been recently, week-evenings and some week-nights. And he has been at office week-ends too, but at least he got home for dinner every time.

I have checked his mobile in secrecy and found out that they are making a number of calls every day. Not many SMS, and they were only about when and where to meet. I did not want to believe he was cheating on me, but this time the suspicion did not go away. Now it stuck in my mind. So his announcement gave me shivers down the spine.

- Dear, I will be off for two days next week to finish the tender. Sorry but I need to be near the client's office to make the finishing touches on the documents and to be able to deliver signed copies to them.

I couldn't think of anything to say but to agree.

- Sure, you have to do your work. I'll miss you but have things to do on my own.

First I did not know what to do. Then I felt I needed to know, the suspicion was getting to me. I contacted a detective agency for a price, they answered that not much could be done for less than thousand euro.

That was a bit hefty, but then I knew how much I could spend and still make a bargain. For that amount I could afford a bit of spying on my own!

The next day I started my preparations by shopping for some clothes. I was looking for smart stuff at good prices. I needed to look discreet but smart. He would be staying at a business hotel for the finishing work. I would have to look like a woman staying at such a hotel to blend in, I thought. Not unlike the stuff I usually wear, but I had to find new styles such that I could move around without my own husband recognizing me! Not an easy task, but now I had set my mind to do it. I could do this for less than a thousand bucks!

I started off by finding a coat and some high-end blouses in a second hand store. I also picked up a new briefcase that I could use instead of my purse. I also found two pairs of sunglasses that looked ok. I had a lot of stuff already and way below budget!

Not only was I scratching that itch of jealousy, but I had a fun shopping spree too!

Then I found a nice pinstripe business suit at a sale in a boutique. They had a white suit too, it did not pass as discreet but maybe I could use it as myself at some time. The price was really low, white was the color of a past season. Got that too.

At home I took a good look at my shopping result and then made sure to hide it properly.

The next day I was ready for the next step of preparation. Wearing my pinstripe suit, I headed for a wig shop. Changing hairstyle seemed to be the key to this operation. There was a large shop available and I made my appointment to have sufficient time to get it right.

It was a lot of fun trying them on. I really took my time and had a blast. But I was also making some decisions. My first pick was a plain long black wig, going a bit below my shoulders. I looked really realistic and casual.

Then I picked a light-brown slightly curly wig at about the same length. It looked really casual too. And natural.

Then I had a long blonde one too. It was cheap, but really different from the others. At least from a distance it would be passable.

All three were longer than my own hair, making them different in an obvious way. But I was intrigued by a short platinum blonde pageboy wig. It screamed attention, but it was cheap and did not add much to the budget. I bought it too, but could not really say why.

My husband would be away for two hotel nights, and left Tuesday afternoon in our car. I had the evening for myself and could spend my time packing. I had a strange feeling about this project, but it was started. And I was still worried about what he was up to. So no backing off, but I was nervous about the whole thing and did not get much sleep that night.

On Wednesday I worked a short afternoon and took the train to the city where the action was. I had booked the same hotel just to be close. I was counting on the clerks to not make connections about our surname being the same.

When checking in I was wearing my long black wig and black pinstripe suit with my new coat over. With sunglasses on I felt completely safe, and could remove them at the desk. I left my luggage in the room and went to look around. I did not find anyone. Could I find him? And if he was up to something bad, wouldn't he be in bed with that woman? My heart sank a bit as I thought of that.

I sat down in the lobby with a book, choosing a remote corner with a cozy armchair. I may have been there for about 30 minutes when I realized my husband was at the reception asking for something. Then he went back into the conference area. I quietly followed him. I could see him walk into one of the smaller conference rooms. I had looked there earlier, but the door was closed. Now it was slightly open and I could have a peek.

Him and a woman were sitting at a large table with lots of papers spread and their laptops running. It was clear they were busy at work and I felt a great relief. But I did know they did work together, he could still be cheating on me. Right?

I stepped out of the line of sight and tried to listen to their talk. I could not hear words, but it sounded work-related alright. I waited a while but then I walked about just to not cause suspicion. I went to a nearby bathroom and could relax for the first time in some time. The wig was getting really warm, but I did not want to take it off, it would be a job to get it to look good again. And I did not have a brush in my briefcase.

I went back to check them out. But they had left the room and I met them in the corridor. They were busy talking and did not look my way, but my heart was beating like mad. I had to be careful, but I kept telling myself that my husband would not spot me. At least as he would never expect me to do what I actually was doing. For the first time I felt a bit like I was letting him down. But I still had to know more.

I turned around and followed them at a distance. It appeared they were going for dinner. I quickly got my coat from my room and waited for them in the lobby. They met and went outside. I followed them, carefully but did not want to loose the sight of them.

They entered a nearby restaurant, a quiet cozy Italian diner. I waited outside to see that they were seated. But as they had seen my current outfit, I did not dare to enter.

I went back to the hotel and quickly changed to casual clothes and the light-brown wig. Added a pair of glasses that I used to wear many years ago. They had been in a drawer for years, he had never seen me wearing them. I returned to the restaurant.

As I entered, I took care to pick a table that was close enough that I could hear some talking. I needed to check out how they were relating, now that they had some time off work. It would be valuable, I had to take a little risk on this one.

As I approached the table I had in mind, his female colleague briefly looked at me. Luckily my husband did not. My heartbeat did not raise nearly as much as on my first close encounter. I sat with my back turned to them. It was a relief to be seated.

I ordered a glass of wine as I was reading the menu. My husband and his colleague had finished with the starter and just got their main course. I was feeling that I was doing this just as well as a real detective would have. With some wine I could relax again and started to enjoy the suspense of spying in disguise. It was a quite a thrill!

Overhearing their conversation, I was relieved that it was oriented to work and commenting on colleagues. They discussed what might happen in the firm if they actually got the contract. Hiring more staff was likely, would there be opportunity for promotion for the two of them? Or at least a chance to raise the salary one notch?

They sounded friendly, but not passionate. I cursed my decision to sit with my back as I could not see their body language. Maybe they were holding hands? Or giving long looks? I could not tell. I looked for some useful reflection in some window or mirror but no luck. My wig started to itch and my glasses was not a good fit after all these years.

When they got their coffee, I went off to the bathroom. Lifted the wig carefully to scratch that itch. Jeeez ... Rubbed behind my ears and put my glasses back on.

Now I would return to my table slowly enough to see them, but not long enough to be seen. I stopped at a wall with paintings which provided an excuse to stop and look their way. I returned to my table as calmly as I could, very grateful that my husband had his back towards me. As I sat down, I felt that rush of excitement pass over again. I got a third glass of wine, and I felt I needed it.

Soon they paid and left. I got the impression that they would just go back to work. I knew where they were going. As they left I could relax and I finished my dinner at my own pace.

As I returned I switched back to the black wig and pinstripe suit. Then I hesitated and got a blouse and slacks instead. I packed the long blonde wig in the briefcase and went down to the lobby. I searched the conference area again, but the door was closed. I could hear some talking through the wall. They seemed to be working alright.

I was not sure what was best to do. I went to the bathroom in the conference area and switched to the long blonde wig. I needed a change. And another glass of wine. From the hotel bar I could see the lobby and the entrance to the conference area. I would see when they left their working room.

I turned to the hotel bar and ordered that glass of wine. I was worried that my wig looked too cheap and be spotted by the bartender. I took the risk and as he served me with a long look I got another rush of excitement. What if they would catch me as a hooker? Now I did look a bit that way.

I don't know how long I waited, but they came out and sat down in the hotel bar too. It was their time for celebration! She ordered a glass of champagne, my husband had some fine whiskey. They toasted and talked for a while, winding down it seemed.

As she took off I looked carefully. They shook hands, thanking each other for a job well done. My husband stayed to finish his whiskey.

I felt completely devastated! He had not been cheating at all! I had suspected him to be less a man than he was! I was so ashamed. But I was also excited. The disguising and sneaking had taken its toll. I was sitting in a hotel bar feeling like I looked, like a hooker. The thought got me aroused. Mixed with a feeling of guilt. I had to leave the bar. I had to make it up to him.

In my room I called my husband from my mobile.

- Hi honey, how are you doing?

- Great, you know we just finished putting the tender together. We were ready to stay up really late if necessary but things cleared during the afternoon as I talked with the client. I think we have done what we can do now. So I am celebrating in the hotel bar with a large whiskey.

- Congratulations! I'm so glad for your success.

- Yeah me too. I don't know if we get the contract, but we have put together an offer that should be tempting. Too bad, but I can't make it going home. I'm too tired and I just had a whiskey. Now I realize that I could have been going home now. Sorry about that.

- Don't you worry. But you should not be alone tonight. I have booked an escort girl for you.

- You have what???

- Promise me to have another large whiskey and just wait where you are.

- I can have anther whiskey, but I do not want to cheat on you. Sorry!

- Consider it a gift from me and it will be all that much easier. Enjoy!

- What kind of a joke is this?

- Don't go anywhere!

Then I hung up.

I jumped into the white business suit. I adjusted my makeup. Now I knew for sure why I needed to buy that short pageboy platinum wig!