My Final Story

My Final Story

Everyone was always telling me I need to take it easy; that I need to chill out. How I wish I had listened to them now. When I used to think about myself sitting in a cell like this I saw myself in glory, not being criticized and hated. A month ago I began walking down the road that would lead me to come to this prison cell. Let me show you how I got here, let me show you the beginning.

*****

I had left work early so I could stop by the bakery on my way home to pick up a cake for Sherry’s birthday and get home early to celebrate it with her. This was my wife’s favorite bakery so he knew exactly how she liked her birthday cake.

I was about a block away from my house but I could see the cars in front of the building. There was a light blue Mercedes SL-550 convertible. I’d seen it there before but I didn’t know who it belonged to. I’d guess it belonged to the well dressed man that I would see walking down the stairs as I got home, I thought he was there to see the new baby in number 5. I opened the door and heard the familiar sounds of mister and misses number 2 yelling about who knows what this week. When I got to the third floor I heard the new baby in number 5 crying. I smiled as I headed up one more set of stairs to get to number 7, my home.

I got to my front door and pulled out my key. I heard voices and thought she must be watching TV, must be a comedy with all the laughing going on. I put the key in the lock and turned the knob then opened the door very quietly. I wanted to surprise her. I walked down the hallway and peered my head around the corner to look into the living room. She wasn’t there and the TV wasn’t turned on, but I could still hear laughing. I heard her giggling from the bedroom and thought she must be on the phone.

I swung the door to the bedroom open and saw her laying in bed, not alone. She was with the nicely dressed man I saw walking down the stairs when I would arrive home so many times before. I was dumbstruck. I dropped the cake and the man got out of bed and began to get dressed. I just stood there watching him getting dressed and my wife was just watching me. She got out of bed and quickly put her robe on and walked past me and this man followed her. I turned and watched them go. I remember I couldn’t move, I felt like I had been cemented in place.

The second he was out the door and she had locked it, I regained my voice and mobility. I looked at her and yelled, “Who the hell was that? What that hell were you doing?”

She winced as I yelled that. Then she said sheepishly but with attitude, “That was Henry, and I think you could tell what we were doing.”

“I catch you having sex with a stranger and you give me attitude. Why?” I yelled back at her.

“Because he takes time off to see me. He likes me. He satisfies me.” she sneered.

“I love you sherry. I just have to work, and…”

“Well so does he but he still makes time for me!” she shouted back.

“I did make time for you! I took this afternoon off!” I shouted back to her.

Then my voice softened and I asked a question I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer to. She replied by saying, “About six months.”

I just closed my eyes, then with new rage forming in my mind I screamed, “I forbid you to ever see him ever again! Do you understand?” She looked truly afraid this time and nodded. I thought she would never do it again.

*****

The days that followed that event came in the eeriest silence in history. A family that’s deaf would have heard more noise than us. I came home the next few days at my regular time, but one evening my buddies from the office decided to go to a bar and invited me. It was either go home to loneliness or go out with the guys and have a good time. What would anyone else have chosen? I went to the bar.

After a few drinks were able to loosen me up to a point, I began to tell all my friends about what my wife had done. They either told me to ignore it or leave her. I couldn’t do either; I loved sherry way too much, even after what she did.

After the drinks I walked home, and I saw the same Mercedes outside of my building. It took me the next few steps to realize what that really nice car outside my home meant. I walked up to it and then looked around until I saw a tire iron in the alley and picked it up. I turned back to the car and pulled my arm back and swung. I began breaking the windshield then I moved on to scratching the paint and tearing up the leather seats.

I stumbled a little as I ran to my building. I tore up the stairs; falling to my knee every once in a while when the alcohol got the better of me. I charged through my door, I didn’t care if they heard me coming or not this time. I was still holding the tire iron when I walked into the bedroom. I looked at him then to sherry’s face and I began to cry.

“Sherry? How could you?”

“Scott…,” she said looking down at the tire iron, “Scott. What is that? What are you going to do?” Her voice was shaky and breathless.

The man was still in my bed. I couldn’t believe he was just laying there.

I looked over at her and answered her quite cheerfully, “I’m going to save our relationship Sherry.” I began walking closer and closer to the bed.

“Scott stop!” Sherry was screaming at me. Then she began calling me

names, names that I wish I was able to forget.

I got to the edge of the bed where he was and looked at Sherry and said, “Sherry, this is for us. I’m saving us Sherry. Can’t you see that?” With that said I raised my arm and began beating this mans head in. I don’t know how long I stood there beating him, but by the time the police were pulling me away you couldn’t even tell it was a head anymore.

*****

That’s how I got here. That’s how I came to be sitting here in this lovely cell. I know Sherry understands why I had to do that. I know the next time I see her she’ll thank me for saving us. I love Sherry.