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| Site Page - The Estranged Affair |
| The Estranged Affair: A Love Story |
| BLURB All seemed perfect in Daniel's life. His wife was pregnant and he knew that a bestseller would leap from his fingers some time soon. Yet, things take a drastic turn when he is unexpectantly drawn into an attraction with his wife's best friend's husband. With romance, adventure, numbing comedy, and a hilarious African matchmaker named Ashaki who won't think twice about dead chickens, this novel is a must for anybody willing to take a moment from the norm and step into the lives of adulterers. Discover the thrills and pains of adultry through their epic adventure. Join Daniel on his journey through marriage, fatherhood, and the heart-warming outcome of his estranged affair... EXCERPT |
| “Tracy looks happy,” she said, moving her hand down to his free one. “Chandler doesn’t,” Daniel added, sipping his whiskey. “Perhaps you should go talk to him… It might do him some good.” “I don’t really like talking to him,” he admitted, though he hadn’t meant to. Now, however, the beans were spilled and there was no reason to stop. “He depresses me. A year ago, he was lively and humorous. Now, I think he’s going to cry every time I see him.” “Then do something about it!” Olivia persisted. “Let him know he has friends. You’ll feel good about it!” “I’d feel even better if I could get a few more of these in me first!” Staring into his empty glass, he took the three steps back to the bar to refill it. “I just don’t understand you sometimes! You are so good with animals! Why are you so anti-social at parties with people?” “Put a collar and some fur on them, and I’ll be just fine!” “Funny,” she stated plainly. “Now, are you going to cheer him up, or what?” Daniel was a wise young man and he knew when he was licked. Planting a kiss on his wife’s waiting cheek, he poured a second drink – this one for Chandler – and began his way over to him. Despite the numerous people at the party, the man stood alone, still beside the doorway where he had just kissed his wife. His eyes were staring at the ground and he shook his empty glass, as if there was still a hint of whiskey in it. Procrastinating just a bit, Daniel took another swallow of his drink, finding that the extra bit of alcohol in his system could only help him. Clearing his voice and taking a deep, sighing breath, he glanced down to ensure that he had, indeed, carried Chandler’s drink with him – he wished he had forgotten it so he could turn back – and he slowly moved forward. “I thought you could use another one of these!” he said with a bright, forged smile. His stomach wrestled against him and he felt very uneasy. “Thanks,” Chandler moaned, accepting the drink and setting his empty glass on the table next to him. “I’ve suddenly gotten a headache. Maybe this will help.” “One can only hope…” Daniel paused a moment, uncertain of what to say next. There were quite a few phrases that came to his mind. He wanted to tell him to get over it – he had lost his child, and now he was losing his wife. He wanted to tell him that this was a party, and that he should be happy instead of hanging around mournfully in a corner. He wanted to tell him to finish his drink, have another and then another, and when he could smile again, they would have a real conversation. Instead, he simply smiled and said, “I love the new paint job here in the living room. Green really suits it.” “It’s fine, I guess,” Chandler said, shifting his drink in his glass. “Tracy picked it out a couple of months ago. She said it would help her feel more lively. She hasn’t spent a full hour in this room since I’ve finished it…” Hmm… Daniel thought to himself. That didn’t work out quite as he had planned… “So,” he continued, “our high school is doing pretty well in baseball this season! They’ve beaten their record from last year so far!” “Is it baseball season?” Chandler asked, half-conscious of the conversation. “When did basketball season end? Tracy controls most of the television viewing, you know. She likes to keep it on the home and garden station, in case she ever decides to work around the house or garden again, I guess…” Daniel could not believe this! No matter which angle of conversation he attempted, Chandler found some way to work his wife into it, bringing the subject crashing down every time. There had to be something he could talk about that did not involve Tracy. “You know what? You look like you need some fresh air, and I need a cigarette. Why not join me out back?” “All the smokers have sort of gathered on the front porch,” the sad man slurred. “I don’t think anyone is out back.” Daniel noticed now that Chandler’s eyes were fixed on his Tracy, and they appeared quite spiteful. “That’s even better! Perhaps we should get away from all the people. You know… take a breather?” Chandler stalled for a moment, taking another large sip of his whiskey and closing his eyes. He released a low groan in the back of his throat as he swallowed, enjoying the burning feeling as the whiskey trailed down his throat. When his eyes reopened, they shot immediately back to Tracy, who had mingled away from her girlfriends and now chatted with four of the town’s prime bachelors. “Let’s go,” he said, looking back to Daniel. “Perhaps I might even be able to talk you out of one of those cigarettes…” “Anything if it will help, man!” As if they were a pair of invisible men, they shuffled and moved through the thick crowd of people, in and out of the kitchen which held even more rustling bodies, and through the backdoor, shutting it tightly behind them as they stepped onto the porch. Here, it was quite dark. The moon was almost full in the sky, and a galaxy of stars encircled it. It appeared quite like a connect-the-dots puzzles, only the black and white was inverted. Crickets chirped loudly from the yard, filling the air with the sweet sounds of their rhythmic calls. They were mating calls, Daniel thought to himself as he pulled two cigarettes from his pack. He lit them both at the same time and passed one over to Chandler, who took it with an eager and shaky hand. The man wasted no time lifting it to his lips and taking a long, hard drag. He began to cough terribly, nearly falling off the edge of the porch and down to the grass. Daniel caught him by the arm and began to pat and rub his back, hoping to ease the smoking pressure. “You have to be easy your first time,” he explained, taking a drag off his own smoke. “Otherwise, you’ll cough your ass off!” “I see that!” Chandler wheezed, catching his breath. Still, he was quick to take another puff. They stood together in the stillness of the moonlight for quite a moment, enjoying the thick smoke of the cigarettes and the escape from the sounds within the house. The party had grown considerably since Daniel and Olivia had arrived, and as large as the house was, it was filling up quite fast. He was pleased with the chance of escape. “She used to love me so much,” Chandler whispered, blowing a cloud of smoke into the night air. “She used to rush home from work to me, and she would kiss me and hug me as if she hadn’t seen me in a long time… Then, we would make love for hours sometimes, not caring for dinner or television or anything else. All we needed was each other…” Daniel did not know how to reply. The castle of his mind failed him, and he stared blankly at this man, feeling the sadness that poured from him. “And then when she found out she was pregnant,” he continued, “everything seemed perfect. She quit work, focused on decorating a nursery and childproofing the house… She even took a course on knitting so she could make the kid little boots and clothes. I would come up from the basement after working all day, and she would be here with dinner ready for me, instead of the other way around. Not that I particularly care for that sort of thing,” he explained himself, waving his cigarette around in the air. “No, I’m all for women’s lib! If they want to work, let them work, I say! Hell, let the men stay home and clean! I do it!” “I do it, too,” Daniel whispered, finally finding something to say. “Or at least I did, before Olivia started staying home…” Suddenly, he found himself speaking the very last words he should have been saying. “It’s a nice life, isn’t it?” Chandler whispered. “Having your pregnant wife at home… knowing that she’s not going to lose her child and that she’ll still love you in the morning… Aren’t you the fucking luckiest man in the world?” He took another large swig from his whiskey and topped it off with a final drag of the smoke before flicking it to the yard. “I didn’t mean anything by it,” Daniel consoled. “I was just trying to relate to you…” “I’m sorry,” the man grimaced. He downed the last of his whiskey. “I didn’t mean to snap at you like that. I just feel alone sometimes, like there’s no one to talk too…” His voice was merely a mumble, but Daniel understood every word as he watched him slide onto the porch floor and rest his back against the wall of the house. “You’re not alone,” he said, sitting down beside him. “I’m here.” “So you are,” Chandler whispered, staring into his hazel eyes. “So you are…” Daniel felt the man's hand grab his own and squeeze it gently. The grip was warm and friendly, and he gave a squeeze back. He felt that Chandler’s hand was still shaking, and he flicked his cigarette into the yard to cover it with his other one. Chandler never once moved his stare away from his eyes, and even the crickets seemed to silence as everything became very still. For a moment, Daniel thought of him as handsome… attractive… He did not know why these thoughts had suddenly flown in and out of his head, but he imagined it was just the stillness of the April night, and that his mind was playing foul, unnatural games with him. “Thank you for sitting out here with me,” Chandler said, breaking the stare and looking up into the dark sky. “I was feeling pretty lonely in there.” “You looked like you could use a friend.” The comment caught Daniel off guard as he spoke it. He had often associated with Chandler, but the idea of friendship and never once crossed his mind, until now. “You're right. I could use a friend…” Then, his stare left the sky and returned back to Daniel’s eyes. As if a gravitational force had captured them, their faces slowly began to drift closer together, until their noses were only inches apart. Daniel felt his eyes start to drift shut, and a nervous thrill rushed over his body and through his veins. The moment was quickly interrupted by a rustle of the doorknob and both men leapt to their feet. “Here you are!” Olivia called, stepping out onto the porch. She smelled the cigarette smoke immediately. Her eyes shot like daggers into her husband’ s. “I thought you quit those!” “I bought a pack for the party,” he smiled innocently. “You know I have to have them at parties!” “Just keep them away from me and my belly!” she said sternly, holding her pregnancy in her hands. “I’m feeling a little wiped out, honey! I’m about ready to go home!” Daniel’s eyes shifted first to the remains of his drink and then to Chandler, who stood with a nervous, wandering expression. Then, taking the final swallow of his drink, he smiled at his wife and said, “Go on inside and tell our goodbyes for us, and I’ll meet you at the car!” “Don’t take too long,” she scolded with a knowing smile, and then looking at Chandler, she added, “It was great to see you again, Chandler!” “You, too,” he said, leaning in to receive the hug she was offering. A moment later, they broke the embrace and she stepped back inside. Now, the tension quickly rose back through the air, much thicker than before. All of the crickets had died down, and not even the music or voices from inside the house were able to penetrate this silence. Daniel kept his eyes to the ground, uncertain of what had happened or was going to happen just before his wife stepped outside. Then, he thought, would anything, indeed, have happened? “Thanks for the talk… and the cigarette,” Chandler said, once again breaking the silence. “Maybe we can hang out again sometime, when there aren’t so many people here.” “You can always come by the house. Olivia and I are almost always there… Or maybe we can have a drink at a bar some night?” “That would be nice,” Chandler smiled – possibly for the first time since they stepped outside. As a goodbye, he offered a hug. Daniel accepted, and he felt the warmth of the man’s embrace against his own. The embrace lasted for an extended moment, and almost the instant that it broke, the crickets reemerged with their pleasant chirping. |
