Denise was not satisfied with his response that all this had just suddenly occurred. She suspected that there was more to it. “Could it be that this was not his first use of drugs or his first affair?” was a thought that kept popping into her mind. Knowing the danger of having cocaine in their Scarborough condo, she took the whole bag and flushed it down the toilet. She had never used drugs and did not want to be anywhere near them.
“From working with Erica you have graduated to using drugs and having an affair with her. I don’t believe that this was the first time.” Denise stated. “I don’t want to be married to a user. I don’t want to be second to a mistress. I want a divorce.”
Boiling inwardly with rage, but maintaining a calm, outward composure, Robert tried to placate his wife. “My cocaine use has no effect on you,” he said quietly, smiling at her. “And Erica was a momentary diversion. She is a kitten and I stroked her. But you are my wife, and I refuse to allow this episode to upset our marriage.”
Denise relented and agreed to forgive him if he gave up drug use and Erica. Robert said with great sincerity that he would and Denise believed him. Indeed, things seemed to be going smoothly for the next week or so. Robert was a most attentive husband. And Denise was a most loving wife. It seemed as if nothing had ever happened. The road was straight and there was no nasty curve leading to a black hole.
Then one Tuesday evening, about ten days later, Robert suggested that they take an evening walk along the road to the Bluffs not far from their condo. They linked arms as they walked. The sky was overcast with the threat of a thunderstorm looming. As if preparing for the onslaught of the thunderstorm, Lake Ontario was choppy. The weather looked more like an evening in March than an evening in June. Was this foreboding scene a sign of the events to come?
As they reached the edge of the Bluffs, Robert and Denise began arguing. She demanded that Robert have Erica fired from the firm or she would divorce him. She still had pent-up anger and could not stand the thought of Erica being around him. Robert became furious. If he did that, then Erica would seek revenge on him and everything would come out. If Denise divorced him, everything would also come out. He would lose his job and be disbarred either way. It was a no-win situation. He could only satisfy one of these women and which one did he really want?
