Twisted Knot

the first twist (edited)

~Paul~

I waited for my best friend, the biggest douche bag I knew, to answer his phone. The only good thing about being friends with Stefan was that he never judged, and consequently, I could tell him anything. For instance, I just kissed a married woman wouldn't phase him a bit. Actually, he was sort of an expert in matters of infidelity. He'd been having side affairs for three years, and his wife never found out. He also never let me meet his wife, since he told me all the dirty details and I couldn't be trusted with a secret. We weren't close friends anymore, Stefan and I only talked when we had no one else. Sometimes I wondered why we were still friends, but then I remembered he was good in a crisis. And we had history; we'd been friends since high school.

​After the second time I reached his voicemail, I hung up. I replayed the moment in my head, knowing I hadn't imagined the way Liz had responded to my touch. We could never be friends now, and as long as she stayed with her husband, we couldn't be more. Shit, I was in deep shit.

My phone vibrated and I saw Stefan's name, so I answered.

"Stefan, I am in a crisis," I yelled. "What are you doing?"

"I bet my problem is bigger," Stefan said quietly. "My wife left me."

"Are you serious? Did she find out about the intern in February?"

"Worse," Stefan said. "She found a letter from our nanny, Isabella. It had...pictures."

"God, infidelity must be contagious," I said. "My friend, the married woman..."

"The one you're in love with a married woman secretly," Stefan said with a strange tone. He sounded bitter, but really, why would he give a damn?

​"Yeah, her," I said. "She called me, freaking out. So I met her and it turns out, her husband is a cheating bastard too." Stefan didn't laugh, but I did.

"Is she leaving him?" Stefan asked a bit too curiously.

"No," I said. "That's the problem. I lost my head and I kissed her. Stefan, she's going to stay in her marriage and I kissed her."

"Did she kiss you back?" Stefan asked. I let out a sigh, remembering it all.

"She pushed me away," I said. "I think it is pretty clear how she feels."

"Well that's good," Stefan said. "Now you can actually be her friend instead of hoping you can screw her someday. And then you could move onto to someone available."

"Yeah, I guess," I said, my voice trailing off.

"So your wife, is she coming back?" I asked.

"I don't know," Stefan said. "I screwed up man, I really did."

"Why don't you tell her the truth," I said. "I've known it for years, about your drinking problem. I mean, you've never cheated sober have you?"

"No," Stefan said. "I never would, I love her so much I can barely think straight right now. And I don't have a problem; I only get really wasted about once a month."

"That is still a problem," I said. "A big one. I don't know how the hell you're a Vice President of a major company man..."

"Because I've had a lot of practice at being an alcoholic, I'm functioning at this point." Stefan said. "I can't tell her the truth. It's been nine years, nine years of lies. I just... I can't. You know, I spent years being clean, sneaking off to meetings. And then it just fell apart, and I did some dumb shit. Then I did some more, and now my wife is in some hotel alone."

"Honesty is powerful," I said. "If she knew, she might be less angry. It's not an excuse, but at least it would explain."

"She won't listen to me," Stefan said. "I need your help. I need you to speak with my wife, get her to come back to me."

"How will I do that?" I said. "I can't even convince myself she should go back."

"She will," Stefan said. "You know me. I waited so long to get married, and I wouldn't have committed if I hadn't met her. She is exquisite, my wife..."

"Is that why I've never met her," I asked. "Are you afraid I'll try to steal her away?" Stefan just laughed as if I'd missed some weird joke.

"Just talk to her, tell her how I feel and how sorry I am," he said. "You're very convincing, it can't hurt anything."

"Fine," I said. "But only because I need to get my mind off of my own problems. Why not fix yours, since mine are not going anywhere."