The End of the Line

“I’m sure your dad will be back soon. He went to check up on your mom,” said Wendy to the young kids standing before her. Their inquisitive eyes were taking in her every breath, and she wished she could just run out of the house, or at least the kitchen.

“Is my mommy going to be okay?” asked Daisy, the younger child.

Wendy bit her lip and said, “Well, we’re going to have to wait –”

She was interrupted by Ben, the older child, as he said, “Why couldn’t we go with our daddy?”

“Well,” said Wendy, “he wanted you to stay here and –”

Again, Wendy was interrupted by the boy saying, “I don’t want to stay with you.”

Wendy had a bright idea. She walked passed the children and went into the living room. Wendy found the remote, turned on the TV, put on the first cartoon she could find, and said with a smile, “Hey, let’s watch some toons. What do you say, guys?”

The children walked over to the couch and sat down because it happened to be a cartoon they loved. Wendy walked back into the kitchen and pulled her phone from her pocket to call Frank.

“I can’t talk,” rushed Frank on the other end of the line.

“But I need to know when you’re coming back,” said Wendy.

“I’ll be back when I can get back. Just… just hold tight, okay?”

“If the accident was that bad why couldn’t your kids just go with you? I mean –”

“I’ve got to go. I’ll call you later,” said Frank, and then the call ended. Wendy ran her fingers through her hair and turned around to see Ben looking up at her.

“Do you have sex with my dad?” asked Ben.

“What?” said Wendy as a reflex.

“You said a bad word, Ben,” said Daisy, from the couch. “I’m telling Mommy.”

“Sex isn’t a bad word, dummy,” said Ben to his sister. He turned back to Wendy and said, “Well, are you?”

“Don’t call me a dummy!” said Daisy. “I’m going to tell Mommy.”

“Your dad and I are friends,” said Wendy. “And I’m sure he’ll be back soon.”

“You didn’t answer my question,” said Ben, but then they could hear the sound of the garage door opener humming. Daisy got up from the couch and ran into the kitchen to wait by the door that led to the garage.

Wendy gave a sigh of relief and said, “You see. Your dad’s home. I can tell him how well-behaved you guys have been.”

The door opened and in walked a woman in a dark business suit. “Mommy!” said Daisy, as she wrapped her arms around the woman’s waist. “Daddy left us with this lady.” The children’s mother put an arm around her daughter and looked across the kitchen at Wendy.

“They have sex,” added Ben, still next to Wendy, “but she doesn’t want to talk about it.”

“I don’t want to talk about it because it doesn’t happen,” said Wendy, through a clenched jaw and a nervous smile.

“Who are you?” asked the children’s mother. “And why are you in my house?”

“Your husband just wanted me to look after your kids for a little while, while he went to check up on you,” said Wendy, getting the words out as fast as possible.

“Check up on me for what?” said the children’s mother. “I haven’t seen my husband since this morning.”

Wendy was ready to blurt out some more information that Frank had given her before he left, but she managed to stop as the pieces started coming together.

Frank’s wife pulled out her phone and called her husband on speaker, while Wendy stood watching, unable to think of an objection. The phone rang twice before it was answered, and before the person on the other end of the line had a chance to speak, Frank’s wife exploded with, “Who is this woman in our house, Frank?” her eyes burning into Wendy.

“What is this shit, Frank?” said the female voice on the other end of the line.

“Wait. What are you doing?” Frank's distant voice could be heard saying.

“So not only do you have some hoe callin’ you, but that hoe found some other hoe in your house. I knew I couldn’t trust your triflin’ ass,” said the female voice on the other end of the line.

“Lafawnduh,” said Frank, his voice sounding less distant, “I love you. It’s just… I’ve just been so confused.”

“Well, the cat’s out of the bag now, Frank,” said Lafawnduh. “What you gonna do? I ain’t going to be no side piece.”

Wendy, Daisy, Ben, and Frank’s wife all unconsciously leaned toward the phone as the silence built the tension. “I… I… I…,” said Frank on the other end of the line. “I choose you, Lafawnduh.”

“Oh my God, Frank!” screamed Lafawnduh, so loud that it shocked Frank’s wife enough that she dropped her phone, or maybe it was the shock that her husband had just announced he was leaving her without any warning at all. The world may never know, but Wendy knew that she could finally leave.