Tying the Dots Together

“That was intense.” Declan picked up the stack of plates from the table.

“So it wasn’t just me who felt it?” Natalie turned around hands halfway to the sliding door.

“No, it’s was . . :”

“Right?” She finished his thought. “I didn’t know they were even having problems. They seemed fine last weekend. Has Daniel said anything to you?”

“No. But then again. We don’t talk about things like that.”

“I don’t believe you. You’re telling me you’ve never vented to your friends when we had a fight or you thought I was being unreasonable.” They both made their way through the sliding door into the kitchen.

“What, you being unreasonable?” Declan’s voice went up five pitches. His Oscar-winning performance was rewarded with a light punch on the shoulder.

“My husband. The comedian.”

“I’m just surprised you admitted you can be unreasonable.”

“You should stop while you’re ahead, mister.” She put the empty jug she’d been holding down.

“Oh yeah. And what are you going to do about it?” He placed the plates on the counter and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer.

Flinging her arms around his neck, she pushed herself on her toes and lightly brushed her lips over his. “We are not talking about us right now. We are talking about our dear friends who were yelling at each other and throwing cutlery and plates like it was confetti.”

“Which reminds me. Where’s the broom and dustpan?” His arms fell to his side.

“Hallway closet bottom rack.”

Declan disappeared from the kitchen as Natalie started packing the dishwasher.

“When you’re done sweeping, could you take out the trash, please?” She called to him a few minutes later.

“Okay.” He yelled back from the patio.

She made a few trips from the patio back into the house. The bowls of food were barely touched during dinner so they went into Tupperware containers and the fridge. What should have been an enjoyable evening with friends, turned into broken glass and cold food.

“Okay. I’ve gotten all the pieces I could see, but I’ll go back in the morning to make sure. So don’t go outside without any shoes on.” Declan closed the glass door behind him and locked it before putting away the dustpan. Moving around the counter, he wrapped his arms around Natalie’s waist and kissed her on the neck. “Can I pour you a glass of wine?” he whispered in her ear.

“That would be great.”

“White or red?”

“White please.” She said as she wiped the counter. “So what do you think they were fighting about?”

“I don’t know. They were talking in circles. I could barely keep up with the conversation.”

“Though, it seems Daniel did most of the talking.”

“Really? I didn’t notice.” He poured two glasses handing her one.

“Yes, he was definitely the one doing the accusing. Didn’t you notice how defensive she got?”

“Well, it was kinda hard to see who was accusing who with plates flying around.”

“I’m so glad I didn’t take out my special plates from my mother.”

Picking up the wineglass, Natalie walked to the living room and made herself comfortable on the couch. Declan followed grabbing the blanket hanging over the armchair and flinging it over the two of them.

“Maybe I should text her and see if she’s okay,” Natalie said after a while. She got up to get her phone on charge in the kitchen. Leaning against the sink, she started typing. She heard the swoosh on her phone confirming the message was sent but was confused when seconds later a beep-beep sounded through the room.

“Was that yours?” she pressed off the sink and moved towards her husband.

“Uhm . . . nope.” He said after checking his phone.

Looking down at the phone she sent another message and was rewarded with another beep-beep. Scrolling down her contact list she found her friend’s number and pressed the call button. Moments later the theme song from Friends echoed around her. She continued to let it ring until she found a phone tucked into one of the couches.

“Looks like someone forgot their phone,” Natalie said with the phone in her hand.

“I’ll text Daniel and let him know.”

“Maybe what they were fighting about is on here.” A sly grin spread across her face.

“Natalie, don’t.”

“What? Maybe if we knew why they were fighting, we could help them sort it out. Plus they kinda destroyed our dinner, so it’s the least they can do.”

“Baby –”

“I’m just going to take a peek.” She was happy when she got the password on the second try. Having been friends since college, Natalie knew and shared a lot with her friend. “Plus, if she didn’t want me to see what was on her phone, she wouldn’t have given me her password now would she?”

“Just because she gave it to you, doesn’t mean she wants you to see everything she does.”

“Declan, it’s fine. Why are you being such a buzzkill?”

“I’m not being a buzzkill, I just think we should respect her privacy.”

“It sure didn’t look like they cared about privacy while they were yelling at each other in front of us.”

“Nat –”

“It’s fine.” She started tapping and swiping. “Now, let’s look at her messages first. Maybe there’s something from Daniel, something that could have started their argument.”

Daniel’s name was third from the top, with the most recent one being the ones she sent and then someone named Dungeon. There was nothing from Daniel’s texts except things like what to get at the grocery store or what their schedule was for the week. Out of curiosity, Natalie went into Dungeon’s chat. And immediately the conversation was very different from the ones with her husband. There was a lot of flirting and sexting going on. Natalie couldn’t believe what was written on the screen in front of her. Never did she think her friend would ever flirt with another man, never mind cheat on her husband.

“Does Dungeon mean anything to you?” Natalie asked as she kept scrolling through the texts.

“Natalie, you need to stop that right now.” Declan rushed towards her and tried to get the phone from her. But she easily avoided his outreached arms and ran to the other side of the couch. “Natalie!”

“What? There are texts here that are very explicit and sexual. I think Daniel found out she was cheating on him and that’s what they were fighting about. I’m gonna text this number.”

“No, Natalie. Don’t.” He tried again to grab the phone from her but she only ran from him again.

As she kept her eye on her husband’s movement, she quickly typed a quick ‘I want you’. It kinda seemed like something she would say with all the dirty talk going on in the chat.

“And send.” The familiar swoosh confirmed the message went through. What Natalie didn’t expect was to hear a toot-toot seconds later. She recognized that sound all too well as it usually went off when Declan got a text. Looking up from the phone, she saw her husband staring back at her with a blank expression on his face. As her brain tried to tie the dots together, her fingers slid over the screen pressing the call button.

“Baby, it’s not what you think –” Yet before he could explain further, the screen on his phone lit up as the ringing echoed through the house.

“You’re Dungeon?”