CHAPTER ONE
I decided to run away from home. It didn’t matter that I was 33 years old and had bills to pay, a job and a soon-to-be ex-husband. If I ran hard and fast enough maybe my life wouldn’t catch up to me. I could start over and no one would even know the wiser, right? Does it make sense yet? It doesn’t to me either. Keep with me, maybe it will come to us both.
I thought things were going well in my life. I had a good husband who provided well for us. We had no children; he had decided three years into our marriage that he didn’t want to be a father. Too bad he didn’t tell me and I found out seven years into our marriage and a month before I kicked him out.
Jarod and I hadn’t been intimate for months. And even before that it was sporadic and sparse. Oh sure we went through the motions when around our friends but when we were alone, he hardly spoke to me. I cooked all the meals and he ate them. I washed all the laundry and he wore them. I walked in front of him naked and he ignored me. Go figure, I was the size of a ballooned out moo-moo, who would look at me?
My husband was a handsome man, by any standard. His light brown hair and hazel eyes were mesmerizing; at least they were to me. He stood 6 ft. tall, a full six inches taller than me. Jarod was slender and well defined, due to his going to the gym more often than I did. I rarely went, which is why I had shot up to the size I was now.
The day I decided to run away started like any other week day. I dragged my size 12 pants out of the closet, which was to the right of my former thinner size 6/8 pants that I hadn’t worn in years. I had various outfits in between the two sizes, depending on what phase I was in at the time. I can’t remember the last time I wore the smaller size. I ate according to my mood and how happy I was. The heavier I was the happier I was not.
I went out for my morning walk before work. I went to Blake’s Donut Shop, a block away. That was my walk. If I had kept walking and not stopping for donuts my marriage would still be grinding to a standstill.
I picked up my lucky glazed donut that was prepackaged for me, since I went there every morning. I went to my office and sat in my easy chair. I had forgotten to remind Jarod of our dinner party that night at Meredith’s, so I called and left him a voicemail telling him that I would just go to her house after work and would meet him there around six o’clock.
My work day was busy and I hadn’t heard from my husband all day. I called Jarod around 4:00 p.m. but he didn’t answer. I really wanted to freshen up and decided to change my clothes, so I drove home before going to Meredith and Leo’s party. The garage door was open and his grey Lexus was sitting inside so I guessed he had decided to shower before the party, also. I pulled in behind his car in the driveway and noticed a light blue BMW in front of our house. I didn’t think much about it. He had people from work stop in sometimes.
I walked through the open garage and went into the kitchen entrance. No one was in the living room so I checked the den, finding no one I followed the sound of voices. Imagine my surprise when the voices took me upstairs and even more shocked when the voices were coming from my spare bedroom. The sound of laughter wasn’t unusual; it was the sound of who was laughing that was strange. The door was slightly ajar and I slowly leaned in and looked through the crack of the opening.
Now at this point, you might think I ran in and freaked out, catching Jarod standing naked while a strange blonde woman, also naked I might add, lay on the bed. They giggled and chirped sweet little words of cozy love. I hadn’t heard those loving words from him in years. My first thought was, how long had this been going on? My second thought was, she had no cellulite, no wonder he is chirping.
