Kate's Song

They say there is nothing like a woman scorned. This woman was well beyond scorned. Kate waited outside of a ugly dull brown apartment building in her car. She had turned off the motor and was in disguise somewhat. She had on a blonde wig that looked like it was ready for Halloween and some dark sunglasses. She hoped that nobody she knew would notice her or recognize her, especially her soon to be ex-husband, Don, if she was right. She sat there for about an hour just waiting. People came and went in and out of the building. She saw little kids holding their parents' hands going to school, big kids with heavy backpacks walking and looking down at their phones heading for school and bus stops nearby. She saw middle aged men and women dressed in business suits hurrying to catch carpools, buses and trains to work. She even saw a dog dressed up as Santa Claus in the middle of March. That made her chuckle. She thought she probably saw everyone who lived in the building except the one person she was looking for.  Don had not exited the building yet. She knew he was still in there somewhere. His car was parked on the dead end street a half block away. He thought she would not see it but she did. A few minutes after a woman pushing an expensive baby stroller came out of the building she saw Don. Don looked  like he had spent the night somewhere else. His hair was sticking up on the top of his head reminding Kate of Don King back in the day. His clothes were semi-wrinkled especially his shirt. “Dam doesn’t this woman have an iron?” She said to herself as she continued to watch Don't try to sprint to his car. He looked like a total foolish old man trying to run. He was slow and his feet looked like they hurt every time they hit the pavement. She laughed.

Don could sense that something was wrong. It was just in the early morning air. It was chilly for March. He forgot to bring a jacket or even a light weather last night. Of course he hadn’t been planning to be gone all night. But, things happen sometimes that you don’t exactly plan. He hadn’t planned to have an affair with Rita, his second high school sweetheart, Kate was the first until they broke up briefly. But, he ran into Rita unexpectedly at the doughnut shop. Don could not resist a good doughnut and strong coffee and the shop around the corner from his job had both. He was sitting there at the small white table on the stool to match reading his phone and sipping his coffee when the smell of familiar perfume entered his nose. There was only one person he knew who still wore Channel number five perfume except for his grandma. He looked up and there she was. Rita was standing there with a big smile and painted pink lips. She was still curvy and looked not a day over 30. He hadn’t planned to get her number or to call her two days later and he sure hadn’t planned to end up in bed with her four days after they met.

“Hey, Don?” Rita asked, smiling. Her brown eyes still lit up when she smiled.

“Rita? Rita King?” I asked, knowing the answer.

“It’s Rita Meadows now. I got married after college and got divorced eight years later but I kept the last name.” She said.

“It’s good to see you. Have a seat.” I said,

“Don, you haven’t changed a bit.” Rita said winking.

“Well, I could say the same about you. You are still beautiful as ever and don’t look a day over 25.” Don said

Rita blushed and took a sip of her coffee and smiled a big smile. She was just in town for a job interview. If she got the job she would move back to her old stomping ground. She was older and wiser but missed her hometown. She didn't know how much she missed it until she came back two days ago. Don looked good. This was one man she wished she never let get away. She was madly in love with him in high school but he was madly in love with someone else, Kate. She was the rebound girl and she knew it. He and Kate briefly broke up for a few months over the summer when they were juniors in high school. By the end of the summer they were back together just like that. She never knew why they broke up; all she knew was that for three glorious months she had Don to herself. They went to movies, parks, talked for hours on the phone, played cards, held hands walking down the street together, and went to a fish fry his uncle threw. They made love once. It was awkward but enjoyable too. Two weeks later right when school was supposed to start back he was back with Kate. He told me he hoped that I understood that Kate was the love of his life and he had to go back to her. He said he hoped that there were no hard feelings and that we still could be friends. She hated that last sentence. How could they be friends? 

“So, did you and Kate get married and have kids?” Rita asked.

“We got married and we have a daughter. Our daughter is in college now. She’s a junior at UC Berkeley.” Don said. 

“Nice. Very nice. I have a son who is a senior in high school.” Rita said. “He is into music. Wants to be some kind of rapper I think. Every day that changes. But, I told her that I wanted him to go to college and get an education in case this rap thing doesn’t work out.” Rita continued. 

“I remember those days with my daughter. She wanted to be Madonna in high school.” Don laughed. 

Don walked into the two story house he shared with Kate only to find out that she was not there. He was glad. He had to change his clothes and shower before work and come up with a lie as to why he was out all night. He hoped that she believed him. He would say it was work related. He was a lawyer and sometimes he was out late with a client. He would tell her that. He had just gotten out of the shower when he heard the front door open. He knew that it was Kate since their daughter, Jessie, was at school. He wrapped a bright blue towel tightly around his body and walked to their bedroom a few feet from the bathroom. He sat on the edge of the bed still wrapped in the towel and slid his feet into his slippers. He was going to be late for work but he didn’t really care. He prepared himself for the lie he was going to tell his wife, Kate.

Kate made a stop in the kitchen before she walked up the steps. There was something that she needed to get. She bent down to the cabinet under the sink and found it behind all the cleaning products she had collected but seldom used over the past few months. Katie grabbed a hot cup of coffee and walked up the steps. She found Don on the bed rubbing lotion on his freshly showered body. He was going to need more than lotion she thought. 

“Hey babe.” Don said, looking up at Kate.

“Hey yourself. Where were you last night?” She asked.

“I had a client and it was getting late so I stayed over at a hotel. I didn’t want to wake you up.” Don lied.

“A hotel huh? Which one?” Kate asked.

“The one on Bryant Street.” Don said.

“Oh really?” Kate said.

“Yes, really. You sound like you don’t believe me.” Don said, standing up to pull on his pants.

“Is there a reason why I shouldn’t believe you?” Kate asked.

“No, not at all.” Don said buttoning his shirt.

“I think that there is.” Kate said.

“Well, I don’t care if you believe me or not but I am telling the truth.” Don said raising his voice.

Kate reached inside her purse and pulled out her phone. She scrolled through the pictures until she found what she was looking for. She clicked on one picture and extended her arm for Don to see the picture on the phone. He gasped.

“Looks like you and your client got a little cozy at her apartment building last night.” Kate said.

“I can explain.” Don said.

“No need, Honey. A picture is worth a thousand words, so they say.” Kate said. 

Before Don could try to form his lips for another lie he felt something sharp on his shoulder. He felt excruciating pain. He didn't know what had just happened until he touched it with his left hand and felt the blood.

“What did you do?” He looked at Kate and fell on the bed. 

“Nothing dear. But something I should have done a long time ago. Now your things were sent to Rita’s house this morning. You can either stay there or go somewhere else. I don't care. But, get out.” Kate said, still pointing the gun at him.

“You shot me.” Don mumbled.

“Yes, Dear, I know. But, you will live. It’s only a flesh wound. I didn’t want to kill you. I only wanted to make you suffer like you made me suffer over the years. I know that Rita was not the first affair. I know about all the rest too. I know about Jackie, Amy, Nicki, Lisa and even Wanda the temporary secretary you had back in the 90’s. I know about them all, Don. I tried to ignore your infidelity over the years and raise our daughter. The most important person to me was Jessie. But, now that she is all grown up and soon will graduate from college I am done. I am done with the lies, the deception and the pain.” Kate said as she threw the gun on the floor near her feet.

“You are crazy.” Don said.

“No, you are crazy. Crazy to think that you could betray me over and over again and think that you would never suffer any consequences. Well, that day has come.” Kate said and walked out of the room.

Don drove himself to the hospital. Kate took the bloody bedspread off of the bed and burned it in the backyard. She knew that old nosey Mrs. Hattie probably was looking right at her when she did it but she didn’t care. She could even call the fire department if she wanted to. She didn’t care at all. She wanted it gone. She wanted Don gone from her life. She knew that she would probably go to jail when Don told the police how he got shot but she didn’t even care about that either. 

Katie waited all day and night for the police to show up. They never did. She had even called Jessie to tell her that she might not see her for about 5-10 years but didn’t bother to explain when Jessie asked her what she did. She just pushed the end call button. She was ready to pay for her crime unlike Don whose crime was breaking her heart over and over and over again. Today he paid the price. 

Don never told the police who actually shot him. He said that he was caught up in a drive by in the seedier part of town. The cops believed him. They had no reason not to. He had hurt Katie over and over and for that he was sorry. His shoulder healed and he never moved in with Rita. He stayed at a hotel for a month and rented a place on the other side of town. He wanted not to be near any of them. He never wanted to hurt anyone again. And he didn’t. He never remarried and although he had several girlfriends over the years after he and Kate divorced he never cheated again. He had the scare of cheating, literally. 

Kate never shot anyone again. After Jessie graduated from college Kate moved to New York and lived there happily ever after with her new non cheating husband. At least she hoped he wasn’t cheating. 

“What a day that was. What a day!” Kate said to her cat, Sadie.