At the factory, they all but forced me to take some time off. I hadnt taken any holiday last year, and I wasnt planning to this year either, but my boss insisted. Most of the lads at work had snapped up cheap seaside breaks, and I got one too. Strangely enough, my wife seemed put out that we werent going together, yet she didnt want to take time off herself. She was up to her eyes with work and had some important business trip on the horizon.
After a while, I even got the feeling she was oddly pleased to see me sent off on my own. She left first, while I was meant to head out two days laterbut the day before my trip, everything changed. My mate, David, practically begged mealmost in tearsto swap tickets with him, so that he could take the seaside holiday and Id go to the mountains. He explained his wife would only settle for the seaside, nowhere else, and so he needed the swap. I didnt mind either way, so I agreed.
The first few days in the mountains were brilliant. The place was stunning and peaceful, the food was served buffet-style, there were evening film screenings, and you could sign up for excursions. I put my name down for a ride on the cable car to take in the view from above. As I waited for my turn at the summit, a familiar laugh caught my ear. I turned around, and there stood my wifein sunglasses and a caplaughing with some bloke who was trying to kiss her on the cheek.
At first, I thought I must be mistaken. But the longer I listened, the clearer it becamemy wife wasnt on a business trip; she was on holiday with her lover.
I went home quietly, with no fuss. I got back a day after my wife and asked her straight out where shed really been, giving her the chance to come clean. She lied and said shed been at some conference in another city, but the blurry photo I managed to snap was enough to silence her.
She didnt even seem to feel guilty afterwards. Instead, she blamed me, accusing me of lying about the seaside holiday.
Maybe it was fate that sent me there to catch her out. If things had gone differently, Id have carried on, never suspecting a thing, convinced our marriage was perfectly fine.
