Jack of Hearts

Melissa took a deep breath.  She checked her hair in the mirror one last time, and it looked exactly the same as the last five times.  She reached into her purse and pulled out the reddest shade of lipstick she’d ever bought.  As she put it on, she started to wonder if she’d gone overboard on makeup.  She had been waiting to go out for what seemed like forever, but now that she was outside the bar she was starting to have second thoughts.  She tossed the lipstick back into her purse and opened the door.  Her legs slowly emerged from the car, and her high heels clicked onto the pavement.  She closed her eyes to enjoy how powerful and sexy she felt.  Her new black dress was tight in all the right places, and her new shoes felt amazing in spite of the fact she hadn’t worn heels in years.  She held her purse tightly as she closed her car door.  She looked at herself in the car’s window, and she smiled as she half-struck a pose.  Damn, I am looking hot tonight.  This should be easy. She walked around the car to the sidewalk, and she couldn’t help but notice the men giving her the approving eye as she came closer to the entrance.  She had an odd mix of euphoria and anxiety as she strutted towards the man at the door.  The doorman’s hungry smile greeted her, and after looking her up and down, he crossed his arms.

“Can I see some ID?” he asked.  Melissa blushed a bit as she pulled out her driver’s license.  “Is this right?  You don’t look thirty-eight.”

“I don’t look thirty-eight anywhere” she replied, even surprising herself that she had said it.

“I’ll bet” he said with a smile.  “Cover’s five bucks, but…I’ve never seen you before, and I’d like to see you again, so just go on in.”

“Thanks…maybe you will see me later” she said as she walked by.  She thought of touching his shoulder, but she decided against it as she walked into the bar.  The sound of people talking was almost more than the blaring sound system.  Smoke seemed to be everywhere, and the smell mingled with a subtle hint of alcohol and sweat.  She spotted at least five guys checking her out right away, and it was becoming obvious she may not have to buy a drink all night.  She wove her way to the bar, and found an open seat next to the waitress station.  As she sat, she noticed the man sitting next to her.  He had thick blond hair that was wavy and almost too perfect.  He was nursing a beer, and as she looked forward, she saw his face in the bar’s mirror.  Oh my God!  He is the best looking guy here.  No pressure, no pressure…might as well start big…She cleared her throat and turned her face towards his.  He was still staring at his half-empty mug of beer, and she wasn’t even sure if he’d seen her sit down.  His eyes were ocean blue, and he looked like he could be a double for a younger Ben Affleck.  He had a white shirt, red tie and black pants that were without wrinkles or lint.  He hadn’t taken his eyes off his mug since she sat down.  She wanted him to notice her, but he looked like he had other things on his mind.  Slowly, she began leaning towards him, until she had the courage to speak.  “Are you okay?”  He blinked a few times, and his eyes slowly looked to his left.  A smirk began to form, and he straightened his posture.

“Yeah.  I’m good.  Just a long day at work.”

“Aren’t they all?” Gosh that was a stupid thing to say.

“Pretty much, yeah.  You’ve never been here before, have you?”

“What makes you say that?”

“A woman that looks like you?  I’d remember.”  He quickly pounded his remaining beer, and he loudly placed the mug back on the bar.

“Let me buy you a drink” Melissa casually remarked.  What are you doing?  He’s supposed to buy you a drink!

The man smiled and pointed to his mug.  The bartender, almost coming from out of nowhere, took his mug and started filling it once more.  “Tell you what, I’ll get this round.  You can get the next one.  What are you drinking tonight?”

“Bahama Mama” she said.  The bartender nodded and muttered something she couldn’t hear before moving a few feet away to begin making her drink.  The man pulled a ten out of his pocket and sat it on the bar.  “My name’s Melissa, in case you were wondering.”

“I was, actually.  Tell me Melissa, why did you decide to hit the town tonight?”

“It’s Friday!  Do I need another reason?”  She started to turn her body towards the man.  She started planning her next move, and she was leaning towards sliding her foot up his leg.

“Maybe you do.  When was the last time you went on the prowl on a Friday?”  She hesitated for a moment.  I don’t want to say last week and have him think I’m easy.  I don’t want to say too long, otherwise he… “I’m going to say over a decade, no offense.”

Melissa’s jaw dropped as the man took a sip of beer.  The bartender sat her drink in front of her, and lifted the ten off the bar.  “Do you need change?” he asked, but the man just shook his head.

“A decade?  You obviously don’t know me very well.”  Melissa grabbed her drink and was ready to stand up.  The man took a long drink of beer and then sat his half full mug down.

“The ring finger on  your left hand has a mighty deep divot from a ring with a small band.”

Melissa froze in place.  She stared down at her drink and sighed.  “Anything else give it away” she said just loud enough for him to hear.

“A few things.  New shoes and hose, but the dress?  They haven’t made that particular dress in a while.  I can see what appear to be lines from it being on a hanger for a long time.  Your makeup is now but your hair is a bit dated.  That and you’ve been second guessing everything you’ve been doing since you walked in.  That tells me you haven’t played the dating game in a while.”  The man started drinking his beer once more, and Melissa took a sip from her drink.  She didn’t taste anything but the alcohol.

“It has been a long time.  Almost 20 years.  I’m just trying to get back in the game after…”

“After what” the man asked as he looked at Melissa while pointing to his beer.  “Don’t give me some bullshit line that your husband is dead.  Where is he?”

“Business trip.  He’s gone until tomorrow night.”  The bartender took the man’s mug away and started filling it once more.

“Let me guess.  He doesn’t appreciate you like he used to.”

“It’s not that” Melissa said.  The bartender sat the mug back in front of the man once more, and he held one hand out to stop her while the other pulled out a five dollar bill.

“Well, since you stumped me, I’ll buy my own beer.  What pushed you out of the house and into a den of wolves tonight?”

“We don’t talk like we used to.  We don’t get physical like we used to.  We’ve been married for almost fifteen years, and I think we’re growing apart.  He’s always focused on his job and his hobbies.”

“You don’t have a job or hobbies?”

“I do have a job yes” Melissa said as she started to swirl her drink around.  “I have hobbies as well.  I know some of it is my fault.  We’re both wrapped up in our own lives, and we don’t have as much of a life together anymore.”

“Have you talked to him about it?”

Melissa took another sip of her drink, but the taste had only gotten worse.  “No.  He thinks everything is fine.  We have pretty average sex every week or so, but other than that we barely see each other.  He’s off playing on-line poker or reading, and I’m off scrap-booking or I’m getting together with some of my friends.  I just want things to be more like when we started out together.”

“You thought it would be easier to shack up with some random guy than talk to your husband?”

“I just wanted to feel alive again.  I just don’t think I’m going to be happy with him, so I thought I’d find some fleeting happiness.”

“Fleeting being the operative word.  At least you don’t have any delusions about what you were out here for.  I’m sure it felt good to have all the guys here crane their necks to look your way.”

“Yeah” Melissa said as she stirred her nasty drink.  “It did.”

“Well, let me give you some free advice” the man said as he looked at his watch.  “You should go home.  Forget you came here to do this.  Forget why you came her to do this.  If your husband saw you in that get-up, I can guarantee the fire would be back.  Then, you strike while the iron is hot.  Talk to him about the great night you two had, and how it should happen more often.  Play your cards right and he’ll open up.”

“You really think so?”

“I do” the man said as the bartender brought him another beer.

“How can you know?”

“I am a marriage counselor during the day.  It takes a lot out of you, listening to marriages dissolving in front of you.  For what it’s worth, you made my year.  It isn’t often I can nip the process in the bud.”

Melissa’s face was red as she sat the drink on the bar.  “All right.  I’ll go home.  Deep down, I think I always knew this was a bad idea.”

“Hey, sometimes bad ideas can have good outcomes.  We’ll see.  I hope my advice helps.”

“Me too” Melissa slid off the stool and took a few steps away.  “By the way” she said as she turned around quickly.  “I never caught your name.”

“Jack” the man said with half a smile.

***

Melissa plopped on the couch and turned on the TV.  She was still in her dress and heels, and her head was still spinning from her trip out on the town.  She was thinking about her wedding, and how much she had invested in her marriage.  She smiled as she thought of the good times, keeping thoughts of the rough times far away.  The TV was on, but it might as well have been turned off.  Slowly, she stood up and turned off the TV.  It was late, and she was thinking about finally changing out of her dress and into some pajamas.  The remote landed on the sofa, just as she heard the front door unlocking.  Her husband stepped in and his suitcase hit the floor with a loud thud.  “Melissa?” he asked.  His eyes were wide and he was frozen in place.

“Todd?  I thought you were gone until Sunday?”

“We got their and the company we were meeting had been sold before we arrived.  We just decided to come back.  Well, I came back.  The rest of the guys are spending the weekend in Denver on the company dime.  I’d rather spend it with you…and I see I made the right call.”  His hungry eyes looked her over, and Melissa felt more powerful than she had at any point at the bar.  “Why did you dress up like this?”

“Dry run for when you got home” she said as she walked towards him.  “You should see what’s under the dress.”

“I will soon enough” Todd’s arms wrapped around Melissa tighter than they had in years.  Melissa’s lips found Todd’s, and soon the remote was being hastily shoved off the couch.

***

“I’m so glad we had this talk” Todd said.  Melissa was running her finger up and down Todd’s bare chest.  She was pressing as much of her skin against his as she could.  She felt at peace, and a thousand times better about how their marriage was going.  “I’m sorry I’m a typical guy who doesn’t talk about this stuff more often.”

“Well, for not talking about it often,  you had a lot to say.  What is it, four in the morning?”

“I think so.  Nope, five.  Hey, remember what we used to do after an all -nighter?”

“Pancakes at Perkins?  I can’t remember the last time we ate there.”

“Then let’s get dressed.  I think I can talk more with a tremendous twelve in me.”  The two of them quickly rolled out of bed, and they threw on whatever clothes were handy and easy to put on.  Melissa grabbed her car keys and Todd tossed her a jacket as they walked into the garage.  Todd was almost at the passenger door when he noticed Melissa was still in the garage entrance.

“What’s that?” she asked.  She still wasn’t moving forward.  She was pointing at the windshield.

“Looks like…a ticket?  Wait no…”