The cup of tea knows everything

The elephant in the room. It’s heavy. I can’t talk, and my wife can’t speak either. I suggested making her a tea; she screamed, it’s not the teatime. I understood that we couldn’t make our relationship work again. I had a seat next to her, tried to count the flames in the fireplace. “They count five,” I said softly.

“They count four.”

Her answer gave a little hope. The difference between five and four is not a lot.

I would never cheat on you anymore, that what I thought to say now. But the elephant in the room stopped me from speaking my mind. I knew my wife had found out what I was doing, and her pride prevented her from opening the subject with me. I knew it was my responsibility to admitted I did something wrong, but feeling shame made me keep my mouth shut.

What a shame! I didn’t do it with someone where I could say that It was a slip or something like that. I did it with Rosaline, my wife’s lifetime friend. The woman who kind of became part of our life. When Rosaline divorced her husband and didn’t know where to go, my wife hosted her. When the heater went off in Rosaline’s bedroom, my wife invited her to sleep with us in our bed. What a shame; even though my wife’s confidence in me, her good husband, and Rosaline, her lifetime friend, we both took advantage of her faith. But did Rosaline and I did something terrible? After a long time alone waiting for my wife to come back from shopping or many other reasons to keep her away, Rosaline and I became intimate friends. We never thought having friendly sex would hurt anyone. But now I feel guilty and worried about ruing my marriage relationship with my lovely wife.

The silence is heavy, but it’s a kind of conversation and passive chat, but more expressing than words. I counted time and again the flames in the fireplace. They count five, not four; they try to tell me I’m right and I had good reason to do what I did. They tell me when my wife said they counted four; she cheated me. The silence started to turn to confusion. Few things you feel, but you don’t like to admit. Few things like the thought that my wife cheated me, saying the flames were four.

Eventually, my wife cried. It was a good sign. It sounded like she was pushing me to confess, and she was willing to forgive.

I hugged her. It felt like the elephant had left the room, and now we can reveal everything.

“We can’t keep things hidden forever.” My wife said while her tears all over her face.

“I know, darling, we must always talk and forgive,” I murmured, giving my wife a sidelong glance.

“You mean you’re going to forgive me!” She whispered.

“Forgive what?”

“You know what I’m talking about; you know everything,” she said hesitantly. “I know you had found out I was cheating on you.”

“Cheating on me!”

“We don’t need to go in details as long as you said we’re going to forgive.”

At that moment, I froze in confusion. Did she have an affair!

I asked my higher mind to help me. All is possible. I remembered the long hours I’d waited for my wife to come back home, her new boss who asked her to join him on business trips. The prince in me felt like turning to a frog. The sudden brightness in her eyes said something like; now we’re equal. My higher mind was going slower than usual, which didn’t help me with a decision yet.

To gain time, I asked her if she liked to have tea.

She smiled, “why not, let us enjoy a cup of tea.”