Lake of Tears part 3

by Joe Stanley

3

The balance of power had shifted. She spat her stinging words without effect, other than to see me smile. Fury trembled her frame and twisted her face into that of an old hag. I hadn’t told her anything, but somehow she knew it all. That she even knew Emily’s name told me, as I had already dimly suspected, that she was having me watched.

She admitted so frankly to my accusation and began to promise me Hell on Earth.

“But, Dear,” I observed, “The open marriage was your idea.”
She insulted me, she threatened not only myself but Emily as well. Now it was my turn to seethe, but after so long a treatment of cold cruelty, I simply returned the favor.

I quietly poured myself a drink while she gawked in disbelief.
“Accidents do happen, my darling, but you’d better hope none happen to me or Emily.”

She began to roar, but I silenced her at once.
“You shut your hateful face right now! You shut the hell up and you listen and listen well. Those classes I take, the ones you’re always ridiculing me for, I have to sit through a lot of lectures…”

“What’s that got to do with anything?” she demanded, trying to shudder me with her evil laugh.

“Shut your bitch-hole and you’ll find out.” I replied, very amused to see her eyes so wide they nearly popped from her head, “Like I was saying, I have to sit through a lot of lectures and I’ve never been great at taking notes…”

“You’ve lost your mind…” she bellowed, her voice becoming a growl, ” and you’re going to lose a whole lot more…”

“But the bookstore has lots of little things to help a student out. As for the lectures,” I said, reaching into my pocket, “This little recorder has been a life-saver. See here, it’s recording right now. Let’s see what’s on it.”

She listened with horror to her own voice promising an accident.
“You can’t record me without my permission!”

“I’m in my own home, I can do whatever I want. And if anything happens to us, the cops aren’t going to give a damn about the technicalities, they’ll be looking at you. In the future, if you don’t wish to be recorded, I guess it would be better if you simply didn’t speak to me.”

to be continued