Chance

It was by chance that the two met. Their class schedules were exactly the same, and when they realized that they were taking every class together they got to know each other, began to help each other with homework and class projects.

Since they spent so much of their time with each other, it was only natural that they became close with each other. It was even more natural that their closeness would lead to deeper feelings for each other, and soon they found themselves talking more about each other than about their school projects.

By the end of the semester, their friendship had become much deeper than either of them had anticipated, and they found themselves wondering what the other person was doing when they weren’t with each other.

This relationship did not go unnoticed.

She became distant with her husband, not letting him in to her life. Simple enquiries about her day at school were answered with a simple “fine” rather than any discussion of what she was doing in class. Her kids weren’t ignored, but they could tell that something was going on with their mother as she talked less than she had over the summer.

Phones calls between the two happened every night, but she made sure that the discussion was only about school if her husband or children were home. When they weren’t home, the discussions had nothing to do with school.

At the end of the semester, when the final exams were done, they two of them sat in her car, talking about how they could possibly see each other during the winter break. It was on that last day that the two of them finally gave in to their desires, first kissing, then petting, then driving to a local motel for a room.

During winter break, she got a surprise. Her husband decided that she needed to celebrate the end of the semester, and celebrate Christmas, so he organized a surprise party for her, inviting everyone from her classes to join the party.

He rented out a banquet hall, sent out invitations, got the bartenders for those that were old enough to drink, hired the caterer to create food for up to 400 people. It was going to be a complete blow-out, a party to end all parties. He convinced her that the two of them needed a little time without the kids, and that he was going to take her to a nice dinner on Saturday at one of the best restaurants in town. His mother would watch the kids.

That night, she dressed in her best dress, did her hair as elegantly as she could, and wore her diamonds, something she would never do at school. And when they pulled up to the banquet hall, she looked at him, concerned that he had driven to the wrong place.

She didn’t say a word as he parked the car and then opened the door for her. She remained silent as they walked to the building, where she could hear a rambunctious party going on inside.

But as he opened the door, she stopped him. “I thought were going to a restaurant,” she said, a bit of disappointment in her voice.

“This place is even better than a restaurant,” he replied, opening the door.

As soon as they stepped into the banquet room, two hundred people from school all yelled out surprised, and they received the proper shocked response in return. She was beaming from ear to ear to see all of the people that she knew, both from school and from her old job and from the neighborhood. It was the best gift her husband had ever given her.

Then she saw one particular person, and the smile on her face became even more radiant: her study partner, her confidant, her secret lover.

They walked towards each other and then kissed each other on the cheek, and then walked to a more empty corner of the room and began to talk.

Her husband was delighted that she was happy with the party, delighted that he had managed to pull it off. And as his eyes swept the room, they came upon his wife, in the corner, talking with another person. He watched her, and as he watched the smile on his face began to dim. She was standing so close to the other person, and the body language was a little too intimate. And when she turned and saw him watching her, he could see the twinkle in her eyes, that little spark of fire that she had had in her eyes on their wedding day, a spark that had gone missing during the last few months.

He smiled at her, raised a glass of champagne in a toast to her, took a sip and turned away. It was at that moment he knew that his wife was in love with another person.

He waited until a few days after the party to confront her, and she admitted that she had fallen in love with the other person, and that they had been having an affair. He stormed out of the house and drove off.

When he returned later that night, he asked for a divorce. She begged him not to do that, to give her time to figure out what she wanted. He said no as he packed his luggage. He was going to stay in a hotel until he could get an apartment of his own.

After he had gone, after she had cried to the point where she couldn’t cry anymore, she picked up the phone and called her lover.

“Tim has left me,” she cried over the phone. “He wants a divorce.”

“Just calm down, Lisa,” her love replied. “Give him a chance to cool off. Maybe he’ll come back.”

“I doubt it,” Lisa replied. “He was so angry. Oh god, Samantha, what am I going to do?”