The Home Wrecker

The Laundromat was busy the day he came into my life. He was the most handsome man I'd ever seen and I tried not to stare. Waiting for my clothes to dry, I sat in one of the chairs by the windows and smiled all over when he came and sat down beside me.

"Hello," he said with a gorgeous smile and those dreamy eyes of his. Blushing like a teenager, I responded in kind and grinned giddily, despite my attempts at trying to be cool. He seemed amused and laughed softly. "I'm Joel."

"I'm Lisa. Pleased to meet you."

"Do you live around here?"

"Right down the street."

"I'm from Jefferson. I sell insurance and I'm here on business for a couple days. I come here a lot, but I've never seen you here."

"My washer died so I'm doing my laundry here until I can replace it."

"You're the first person I've really talked to in this town. It gets a little lonesome being by myself for two days. It's almost lunchtime. Would you care to join me?"

The grinning and blushing came back even worse than before as I looked into his incredibly dark eyes and melted down to nothing. "I'd love to."

He was as charming as he was handsome and I found myself staring at the phone day after day waiting for him to call. He was only in town two days twice a month, but what a glorious time we shared when we were together. He was everything I dreamed a prince would be and he made me feel like a real princess.

I was a Christian and having lost my husband to cancer just two years prior to meeting Joel I was terribly lonely. Nevertheless, just like any other saved sinner, I succumbed to the lust of my flesh which completely blinded me to reality.

Each time he came to town we never went out. He said he was on the road a lot and wanted to spend quiet time with me. Sometimes I would cook him a meal, other times we would get take-out.

It was eight months later when Joel admitted to me that the reason he didn't want to go out was because there was another woman. I was furious at first but he made me realize that we had never really agreed to an exclusive relationship. As much as I feared losing him I had to insist that he make a choice and I was overjoyed when he said he chose me.

For the next few months we went out in the evenings for dinner and a movie or sometimes we would have a light dinner and walk along the beach.

Ultimately, the day came when I was leaving my apartment that I I saw Joel's car approaching. I was filled with happy expectations until I saw a woman behind the wheel as it pulled alongside my car and parked.

"You're Lisa, right?" she asked, getting out of the car, glaring harshly at me.

I was so taken aback, the only thing I managed to say was, "Yeah."

Joel won't be seeing you anymore, and if I see you within two feet-"

"You're the other woman!" I shouted.

She stepped forward, still glaring strongly when she said, "Two of my friends told me they saw you out with him. One of them followed the two of you here. Joel and I have been married for nearly nine years. We have two kids. YOU are the other woman!"

"Oh . . . my . . .God!"