Simply Complicated (41 page)

“I’m about ten minutes away. I’ll see you then, dear. Goodbye,” she said.

As soon as he hung up, he rushed out of the bed, hurrying to dress so he could beat her to his office.

“You’re leaving? I take it that was your wife. What did she say to get you to rush like this?” asked Lynn.

“Yes, I need to leave. Kristie is on her way to my office and I lied and told her that I was there about to go into a meeting,” he said hurriedly.

“I’ve never seen you move this fast. For someone who doesn’t love his wife and claims he could care less if she finds out about us, you sure look scared,” said Lynn sarcastically.

“Very funny. Where’s my other shoe? Oh—there it is. Okay baby, I’ll talk to you later,” said Don, kissing her one last time.

“Give me a minute to put my robe on, baby. I want to walk you to the door,” offered Lynn.

“You don’t have to,” he said, rushing out.

“I know I don’t have to but I want to,” she grabbed his hand as they walked to the door.

“I love you Don, and I can’t wait for us to be together,” she said as she kissed him in the open doorway.

“I love you too, baby. Now I really have to go,” he hurried out.

He never noticed Kristie across the street sitting in her car taking pictures. She was finally able to get a picture of him with his mistress. As Lynn stood in the doorway and waved goodbye to him, Kristie snapped several clear photos of her.

While Don raced to get back to his office, Kristie sat in her car, contemplating what she should do. She thought about confronting her husband’s lover but felt this was not the time to do so. She considered calling Don to tell him that she changed her mind about stopping by his office but opted not to.

Instead, she headed home.

Now that I have these photos I’m not sure what I should do next. I think first I need to get the pictures developed. Knowing Don like I do, he’s going to deny having an affair. And as soon as he does I’ll show him the pictures. Now I just need to find somewhere to get them developed,
she thought as she drove toward their house.

Perfect—there’s a CVS right over there. Once I get them developed I need to find a safe place to hide them. Maybe I can give them to Ted to hold for me. If I put them in our safety deposit box, Don will more than likely see them. Yeah, I think I will give them to Ted for safekeeping,
Kristie silently planned while walking into the CVS pharmacy.

After dropping off the film and learning the photos would be ready for pick-up the next day, she called Ted to tell him what just happened.

“Hey baby, I’m glad you called. I was just sitting here thinking about you. This is starting to feel like old times,” he said happily.

“Hey Ted, you’re never going to guess what just happened,” Kristie replied anxiously.

“What? Is everything all right?” he asked.

“I’ve been following Don all day and I tracked him to his mistress’s house,” she said.

“All right, Mrs. Private Eye. I didn’t know you were in the spying business,” he joked.

“Oh be quiet,” she laughed, happy he could still make her smile when she was so upset.

“I’m just saying. I never saw you as the snooping wife,” he continued.

“It was a last-minute decision; I just had a weird feeling. Anyway, let me tell you what happened. At first he went to work and then around 12:30 p.m. he left his office. As I continued to follow him, he pulled up to a house not too far from where we live.

“At first I thought he was going home but then he walked in the opposite direction. When he went up to the house I was expecting someone to greet him but instead he pulled out a key and let himself in. I couldn’t believe it. I was stunned,” said Kristie, still surprised at the audacity of her husband.

“Wow. Do you think they have a place together?” he asked.

“What? What the hell did you say?” she demanded, never having considered that possibility.

“Calm down, baby. I was thinking out loud. I am sure that’s not the case,” Ted tried to get her mind off of what he said.

“I never thought about that. I was only thinking that maybe she gave him a key to her place so he could let himself in. What if they are living together? Oh my God. I can’t believe this. I just can’t believe this. I can’t breathe. My chest is starting to hurt and I can’t breathe,” Kristie started hyperventilating.

“Baby, calm down. I apologize for saying that. Again, I’m sure that’s not the case. Please calm down,” he said.

“Ted, I’m starting to get a pain in my chest. I feel like I’m having a heart attack. I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. My chest, my chest,” she shouted hysterically.

Ted tried to calm her, “Kristie, pull over on the side of the road. Do you know where you are? I’m going to call 911.”

“Ted help me; I can’t breathe,” cried Kristie as she pulled to the side of the road.

“Kristie. You have to calm down. Where are you? Give me the name of a street. Come on baby, you can do it. Wait a minute—don’t you have Onstar on your vehicle?” asked Ted.

“Yes, I’m pushing it now,” said Kristie as she pressed the emergency button.

“Hello Mrs. Blakely, this is Sue. How can I help you?” said the Onstar operator.

“I think I may be having a heart attack,” Kristie wheezed painfully.

“We’re sending an ambulance right now; there was one in your area. I’ll stay on the telephone with you until they arrive.”

The ambulance rushed Kristie to the Emergency Room. The Onstar operator called her husband and told him what had happened. Don immediately hurried to the hospital. The children were still in school and would not be home for another hour.

When he arrived at the hospital he was scared and did not know what to expect.

“Hello, I’m Donald Blakely. My wife was brought here. Her name is Kristie Blakely. Can you tell me where she is?” he frantically asked the nurse at the front desk.

“Let me see. Yes, she was brought in for having chest pains and shortness of breath. The doctor is with her now. You can go in and see her. Go straight back and through the double doors. She is in bed number two,” said the nurse.

Donald was so scared. The thought of losing Kristie was too much for him. As he walked through the ER he started getting very nervous. Before pulling back the curtain to her bed he took a deep breath. He could hear the doctor talking to her.

“Hey honey, you scared me. Hello, doctor; I’m Kristie’s husband Don. What happened?” he asked.

“Your wife had what appears to be a typical heart attack. The machine you see here is an electrocardiogram or ECG machine used to discover any abnormalities. It is making a graphic record of her heart’s electrical activity. So far, according to the graph, we are accurate in our diagnosis. The rise in this area of the graph tells us the type of heart attack she experienced.

“We want to keep her overnight to continue monitoring her heart,” explained the doctor.

“What caused it?” asked Donald.

“Well, after talking to your wife it seems like it was brought on by intense stress. As I explained to your wife, it is very important that she takes it easy for the next few days. I recommend that she stay home from work until Monday. The key is getting plenty of rest.”

“Thanks, doctor. I’ll make sure she does,” said Don. He turned to Kristie and grabbed her hand. “Honey, I had no idea you were under a lot of stress. What can I do to make things better for you? I love you Kristie, and the thought of losing you frightens me,” he said as he kissed her on the forehead.

“I apologize for causing you to worry. I’ve been a little stressed lately but I didn’t think it was that bad. Where are the kids?” she asked weakly.

“They should be getting home from school soon. I came straight here once I received the call. I’ll call and check in with them in a few minutes,” he replied.

“Don’t tell them about me over the telephone, Donald. You need to be home when they get there and tell them what happened. You can bring them here after you’ve explained my condition,” she cautioned.

“I hate to leave you here alone,” he said.

“I’ll be okay until you get back. Hopefully I will be in a room by then,” she assured him.

“Okay baby; I’ll be right back. Do you want me to take your things home with me?”

“No, that’s okay. You can get them when you get back. Just hurry and meet the kids,” she urged.

“I think I should at least take your purse and jewelry. You don’t want your things taken or left here,” said Donald as he kissed her on his way out.

Kristie knew that Ted was worried about her. She wanted to call him but her cellular phone was in her purse that Donald took with him.

Ted left the office and headed home. He was very concerned about Kristie. He wondered why she hadn’t called him.
Maybe her heart attack was fatal or maybe she’s in ICU. I have to see her to make sure she is okay. Damn! How can I? I’m not sure what hospital she went to. Why hasn’t she called?
he thought anxiously.

When Don and the children arrived at the hospital, Kristie was already in a semi-private room. The children ran to her and immediately showered her with hugs and kisses.

“Mom, we were so worried about you! Dad said you had a heart attack. What’s wrong?” asked Katherine, burying her face in her mother’s arms.

“Yes sweetheart, that’s what the doctor said but he also said I’m going to be fine,” reassured Kristie.

“When are you coming home? Dad said you have to stay at the hospital tonight,” asked DJ.

“I’ll be home tomorrow, son. They want to keep me here so they can watch my heart on this machine. The doctor told me about thirty minutes ago that everything looks fine so don’t worry,” Kristie smoothed his hair and smiled at her son.

“We’re sorry for stressing you, Mom. We promise to get better,” vowed Katherine, trying to hold back her tears.

“Oh sweetheart—it is not your fault or your brother’s. These things sometimes happen. It was probably stress from work or something, okay? Don’t worry. Now how was school?” said Kristie as she hugged them and changed the subject.

“School was okay,” mumbled DJ.

“It was fine,” answered Katherine.

“Are you hungry? Dad will go to the cafeteria to get you something to eat,” offered Kristie.

“Kristie, I’ll take care of them. They are not babies anymore. You focus on resting and getting better. And when you come home the kids and I will do the cooking and cleaning. All we want you to do is rest and relax just like the doctor ordered,” said Don.

“That’s right, Mom. You do so much for us and now it’s our turn to take care of you. We love you and we’re here to help in any way we can,” said DJ, leaning down to kiss her.

“That’s right, Mom,” Katherine elbowed her brother aside to be closer to Kristie.

“You guys are so wonderful. That’s why I love you so much.”

Kristie was discharged from the hospital the next day. The results of her ECG showed no more abnormalities. She was ordered to stay home for the next seven days. Donald took off the entire week to take care of her.

She did not anticipate him staying home. She didn’t have a chance to contact Ted until she had been home for two days. Donald seemed stuck to her like glue.

She was able to send him a text message.
“Hey. Sorry I’m just contacting you. I had a heart attack. I’m home. I’ll explain later. Donald is home with me. Cannot talk,”
her text read.

“Oh baby, I am so happy to hear from you. I love you. Call ASAP,”
he replied.

“Okay,”
she texted back.

As soon as she finished texting Ted, Donald came into the room.

“How’s my girl doing? Is there anything else you need?” he asked.

“I’m doing better; thank you so much. I think I’m good. I don’t need anything. I’m going to try to nap for a few hours,” she said sleepily.

“That’s a good idea. I’ll be downstairs if you need anything. I will come and check in on you in about two hours.” Don kissed her forehead and continued tenderly, “I love you, baby. I know I’ve been acting distant lately and I apologize for that. I promise you things will be different. When I got the call about you having a heart attack, I was so scared.

“I promise that once you get well I’ll do everything in my power to make things up to you. You are a beautiful woman and it’s time I show how much I appreciate you. From this day forward I will make you happy. I just hope you give me another chance to prove my love to you,” he vowed.

“I don’t know what to say. I love you too, Donald,” replied Kristie.

“That’s okay baby; you don’t have to say anything. It’s time I do the talking with my actions. Now get some rest and we’ll talk later,” he said as he kissed her gently on the lips and then left the room.

Kristie didn’t know what to make of his new attitude.

Is that what it took to get his attention—the thought of me dying? Well I guess I can’t complain because he could have been happy that I almost died. Of course he could be lying or feeling guilty for seeing his mistress the same day I had a heart attack. Only time will tell how sincere he is,
she thought as she dozed off.

Donald kept his word. Nearly four months after her heart attack he continued to be a new man. He helped more around the house and he insisted they spend more time together without the kids.