The Winner Takes it All

“Once in a while, we stumble upon others who inspire us for reasons that are best known to us. Somewhere, somehow, the actions of these individuals had an impact on our lives. Most times, we feel obliged to honor them. At every opportune moment, we shower them with adulation and commend their contributions to some worthy cause.

Singers belt out tunes that convey their sentiments. Writers pay tribute to them in print. As a musician wannabe and a writer, she too must now find the right words and melody, to acknowledge a very special someone. A woman! The other woman!! Under her foot, this she-devil of a woman tried to trample that which God had put together. With her bare hands, she tried to yank a father away from his children.

Several months ago, an email message from the Administrator of an online site (that she had previously contributed stories to), notifying her that she had a private message in her mail box caught her attention. Daniella was curious. In fact, two urgent messages from an unknown poster were waiting for her upon login. Both sounded frantic. But one was of greater concern to her. It read, “Daniella, I urgently need to speak with you. This is concerning your husband, Claudio. I am sorry, but I could not find a private email address for you. My email is blahblahblah@gmail.com. Please email ASAP.”

Daniella’s skin tingled from the warmth of the cold sweat that erupted through her pores. Her stomach churned as it threatened to hurl contents of her late afternoon lunch. Many scenarios danced around in her mind. Should she call him? Should she email him? What’s this about anyhow? As she pondered the situation, a jaw dropping thought crossed her mind…Holy crap! That Sonofagun is GAY!!! Here’s her rationale.

Not too far back, hubby was away from home on a business trip to the sunshine state for a few days. Sometime way past noon, on the day and time he had promised he would be home, he phoned.

“Are you almost home?” she asked.

“No, I’m getting ready to leave.”

Daniella was upset, but she did not want to cause a scene. He claimed he had gone out drinking with the boys and things got ugly. He claimed he had misplaced his cell phone was still waiting for the bar to re-open. Basically, he was telling her not to wait up for him.

First thing in the morning upon his return, he asked, “Am I that good looking?”

“Why?” she retorted, puzzled by such inquiry.

“A lot of people kept telling me that I looked great…even Bruno …walked up to me and said you make me feel like a school girl!”

“Who’s Bruno?” She asked.

“He’s the gay guy!”

So as she contemplated the best way to contact this mystery guy, scenarios that may very well have been right out of “Queer as Folks” danced around in her mind. She envisioned her husband walking hand in hand with some happy fella on some sandy white beach. Worst yet, in her mind’s eye, many scenes from the movie, Brokeback Mountain,” flashed furiously. Suddenly she felt a tiny chuckle welling up inside her throat; threatening to erupt into a hearty laughter. She held it down. She told herself that this was not a HA! HA! HA! Kodak moment. She told herself that the situation was far from funny as she picked up her cell phone and dialed.

“This is Daniella.” She began. “What’s this about my husband?” After a series of questions to verify that Daniella was actually the woman he meant to contact, a male voice said,” Sorry to tell you this. But your husband is having an affair with…

To be continued – :)”