This woman came into my apartment with a key and said my husband invited her. But when she saw him, she was all confused and asked, “Who’s That?”
I had been away for two months, taking care of my mom after her surgery. Those two months were long and tiring, with hospital cafeteria food, uncomfortable naps in a chair, and always worrying. The only thing that kept me going was the thought of coming back to my own apartment, my own bed, and of course, my husband Michael.
I had just been home for an hour, just out of the shower when I heard the front door unlock. My first thought was that Michael had gone out and forgotten something. My second thought was, why didn’t I hear his car pull up?
I peeked into the hallway, with a towel on my head and still in my bathrobe. That’s when I saw her. A young and pretty woman was standing there like she owned the place, her manicured fingers holding a set of keys. She froze, looking a bit confused and a little annoyed.
“Who are YOU?” she blurted out.
I blinked and said, “Excuse me? Who am I? I live here! Who are YOU?”
She frowned and said, “I’ve never seen you before.”
“Well, I was away for a couple of months. Who gave you a key to my apartment?”
“Michael,” she said in a matter-of-fact way. “He told me I could come anytime.”Michael, my husband.
A cold feeling spread through my chest, and then it was quickly replaced by a slow burning anger.
“Oh, did he?” I said in a dangerously calm voice. “Because I – his WIFE – am back, and that’s news to me.”
Her face showed something unreadable. Then, as if she realized she had made a big mistake, she took a small step back. “Wait… He told me he was single.”
I folded my arms and said, “Oh, did he now?”
She frowned even more. “Well. I guess I should go.”
