I hadn't noticed that Mary had slipped away. Then the doorbell rang. I went to open the door.
'Hi, I'm Margaret. I just popped round to check if you were OK.'
'Margaret?'
'Yeah, one of Mary's friends. Sorry, I guess I should have said. I thought you'd know.'
'Sorry, no, she's never mentioned you. Please, come in.'
She stepped inside and headed for the sitting room. Like she had been there before. Was I supposed to pick up on that, or was that just Mary acting out of character? I decided to ignore it. Mary could pick up on it later if it mattered.
'Can I offer you a drink, Margaret?'
'That would be good. Some white wine, chilled if you have any. And its Mags by the way. My friends call me Mags.'
'Are we friends already?' It seemed an obvious question. She just gave me a knowing smile. 'Mags it is then,' I passed her the glass and she sat down on the sofa.
I waited, but she said nothing. Looks like it was down to me.
'So you know then,' I waited for her to follow up on my opening.
'Pretty much everyone does.'
'How did you find out?'
'She told Dianne and after that it spread like wildfire.'
I nodded. Yes, that was the quickest way to get the message. 'Dianne can't keep a secret,' I commented.
'No, but this wasn't meant to be a secret. Mary wanted us to know, and fast. She was proud.'
'Proud?'
'Yeah, sure, It's an affair. You want to keep a one night stand secret, but not an affair.'
'Right,' I sounded hesitant because I wasn't sure why it made a difference.
'I hope you don't mind me asking, John, but how did you find out? I mean even Dianne wouldn't have come and told you.'
I managed to smile. No, even Dianne had more discretion than that.
'Actually, she told me. Just came right out with it. Said she had something to say and said it.'
'And what did you say?'
'Nothing. I didn't know what to say. I mean, there is no etiquette for that sort of situation is there. Anyway, she just carried on making the supper.'
'So what she say, tell me exactly.'
My mind worked hard. How would Mary announce this as she was cooking.
'She just said "John, I have something to tell you." I forget that I said. Then she said "I'm having an affair. It's been going on for a couple of months now. I thought it might just fizzle out, but it hasn't, so I thought you should know." And that was that.'
'Had you noticed anything different about her? When you were together?'
'No, nothing.'
'She's didn't lose interest, or call you by another name, or start doing different things or anything different from normal?'
'No, nothing, it was all just as normal.'
'And how did you feel when she told you, when it had sunk in?'
This was one of those slow sessions where I had to think about answers that were plausible but would take the story forward, not just one of those let's-try-something-different-for-a-change sessions.
'Disappointed,' I said after a pause. 'Disappointed, I never thought she would do anything like that, ever.'
'You weren't angry, you didn't want to hit her?'
'No, I would never do that.'
'Some guys do. Sharon's husband did, mind you he had just caught her in bed with his best mate.'
Really? Was she making this up? Sharon, the one we knew? Mrs Perfect Housewife and Mother?
'Not me,' I insisted. Although now she had me wondering how I would react?
She had moved along the sofa now. We were getting to whatever point Mary was heading for.
'And what about now? How has it been since?'
She was almost touching me now she was so close.
'What do you mean?' I was probing for some clue about where she wanted this to go with her Mags persona.
'Well, some guys like it. Karen says it rejuvenated her marriage. She and Paul fuck all the time now. She tells him what she did with Pete and that get them both off.'
'I really don't know how a guy could do that. I mean, the fact that Mary needs to go with another man tells me that I am not good enough for her. She is saying I am inadequate. The truth, Mags, is that I can't any more. We've tried, but I just can't. I'm impotent, Mags, that what I am. I never had any problems before, not ever. But that's what she's done to me. And she is still having her affair despite knowing that. It has to be deliberate.'
Right, over to you Mary.
And, by the way, if you were testing me out to see how I might react if you had an affair, that should give you something to think about.