Free Suite 269 by Christine Zolendz Page A

at me from the corner. All their laughter ceased.
    I needed to think, and I certainly couldn't think with that stunning wedding gown on and my mother watching. Trager had said it was only one time .
    Only one time.
    He said it was only one time and that if I cancelled the wedding I'd be giving up our future for one silly little mistake. An accident. An ass fucking accident . I don't mean to be crass here, but that's what it was, it was exactly what I saw. It still lingered in my vision as if it were burned into the back of my eyelids. It made me want to pour bleach into my eyes and scrub them clean.
    I drove home enraged and on a mission. Every stupid love song that had ever been created sobbed out of my car speakers.
    The truth was I didn't want to forgive and I couldn’t forget. May God forgive me, but I didn't want to spend my life in a marriage where I would wonder constantly if my husband was doing something I knew him capable of once doing. Mistake or not. So, I needed more. I needed proof, because I knew in my heart that the whole 'only one time' had to be a lie. Just like everything else that fell out of Kevin's mouth…all lies.
    I stormed through my apartment on a mission: find proof. I searched through clothes, drawers, receipts, and calendars: nothing . Then I turned on his laptop. The idiot always used the same password for everything: moneyman789 .
    That was all I needed.
    As I scrolled through the countless porn and disgusting emails detailing their not only one time affair, my phone buzzed.
    Kevin.
    "Hello," I sung sweetly into the phone. My heart pounded in my chest. My stomach flipped and churned. Screaming at him and crying was all I wanted to do, but I held back, held myself together, and clenched my teeth.
    "Babe? My mom said you left the fitting. I thought we we're getting past this. I love you. Tell me what I can do to make you feel better about this situation," he pleaded.
    "Okay. I need the truth to make this decision; I want to know all the lies Kevin. No more games." Calm. Deep breaths. Breathe in. Breathe out.
    "Come on, babe; leave your fact checking for work."
    I hate you! I hate you for hurting me you stupid, stupid, stupid fool! Tears trailed down my cheeks.
    "Lex, it was just that one time. Only last Wednesday. I swear. I swear on everything. I promise you, baby."
    "Really?" Liar. Liar. Liar. Liar . I will never forgive you .
    "Hey, you know the scene in that famous movie, the one where the guy tells the girl how he feels and he holds up that big radio? Well, it's like that. That's how I feel about you. And I want to marry you so bad."
    "You can't even tell me in your own words, can you?" I barked out a laugh.
    "I'm not good with words, Lex. You're too good for my silly words. Come on, just forget about this, okay?"
    "I don't want to play games, Kevin," I snapped.
    "No games, baby. No games. I love you. Now get back to your fitting so you can look hot for me on our wedding day."
    As soon as we hung up, I dialed another number and cried while listening to the phone ring, "Hello. Dream Wedding Planners. How may I help you?"
    "Hello? Laura? This is Lexa Novak," I chirped through my tears.
    "Hi, Lexa! Are we excited? Only a few more days!" she sang, her words full of joy. I wanted to reach right into the phone and punch her in her cheerful little throat.
    "Yeah, about that. I'm going to need to cancel the wedding," I said in an eerily calm voice.
    "If this is a joke, Miss Novak, it's not really a funny one," she said in a low voice.
    "I really wish I were joking, Laura. But I can't get married now."
    "Well, how about a reschedule then? If you cancel now you will lose all your money, but if you reschedule, I might be able to pull some strings and..."
    "He cheated on me. I won't be rescheduling any wedding with him," I snapped. She gasped and coughed out an apology.
    "Lexa, hun. We can't cancel the wedding. We have five thousand dollars worth of flowers being made, guests are flying in; you need to