The Long Weekend

No character development, no dialog, no plot, and no sex. Sorry.

The Fairhome Inn wasn't the oldest motel in town, but it was close to it. It was a relic of the fifties and built accordingly. The walls were concrete block, the doors were steel and the single window was bulletproof and shatterproof; so much for fire department access. The hurricane roof was a simple concrete slab. The upside was that it was cheap.

Room 120 was at the far end of the first floor, near the wooded area behind the building. That's the room that my wife, Sarah and her workmate used every Friday evening when she was supposed to be out with the girls from work. Bob Davis was not one of those girls.

The kids were gone and Sarah and I were going through the empty nest syndrome. I was concentrating on getting cash together for our retirement and she decided it was more important to enjoy life in the present, which didn't include me. I didn't especially like machine shop work but felt that I had to endure it. In addition to her getting extremely snippy and argumentative, our sex life suffered greatly.

I decided it was time to take corrective measures.

She didn't know that I knew about her affair with Robert. I never felt the need to confront her about it. I don't know if she noticed that my interest in sex had been steadily diminishing over the last month. I hadn't lost my sex drive, I just didn't want to have sex with her.

On Monday I gave my notice at work. The second step was a quick trip to Harbor Freight. For less than $150, I was able to get a 110V arc welder and a nice set of goggles and gloves. I spend that evening in the garage learning how to set up and use the little sucker. I was not very good at it, but I was able to do what needed to be done. Sarah never bothered me while I was working on projects.

I spend most of the day Tuesday taking care of everything necessary for a clean exit; banking, utility services, insurance, and all that other junk. The credit cards could wait until Friday. I got the oil changed in my ten-year-old Outback and put on a new set of tires.

While Sarah was at work on Wednesday, I was able to carefully select all of the things I wanted to take with me from the house. Not much really. Since I was going south, I concentrated on comfortable clothing. It took far less time than I had anticipated getting loaded. There was so much stuff leftover, that she wouldn't even notice that anything was missing. After lunch, I went downtown and was able to get a hold of a cell phone jammer. That little item cost me a lot more than the welder since they are illegal.

I made a reservation at the Fairhome Inn for Thursday and requested room 120. I contemplated using a false name, but in the end, I decided that it didn't matter. I checked on the availability of the room for Friday and they told me that it was already reserved. Good old predictable Bob.

Thursday was preparation day. My relationship with Sarah was normal for the whole week. She had no idea that anything was going on. She did not know that I quit work. She did not know that I emptied all of our bank accounts except for $100 that I left in checking. She did not know that I was aware of her relationship with Bob. She did not know that I took out a second mortgage on the house. She did not know that all of the utility bills were being mailed to my brothers' house. She did not know that her car insurance was canceled. I had lunch at Red Lobster and checked into my room at the Fairhome Inn shortly after four o'clock.

There wasn't a lot to do, so I took my time. I removed the batteries from the smoke alarm and CO2 detectors. I removed the telephone connector cover, disconnected the wires, and dropped them down into the wall cavity.

I made sure that housekeeping was gone for the day and started work on the door. First I drilled a small hole in the lower-left corner of the door and installed a self-tapping bolt. I needed a ground for my welder. I took a heavy-duty piece of aluminum oxide sanding belt and carefully cleaned off three three-inch sections of the door and door frame on each side and the top. I contemplated turning off the toilet and sink water services and removing the handles, but decided against it.

It was all over far quicker than I had anticipated. As I left, I checked the hallways for CCTV and noticed that there was none. Interesting!

I was home in time for supper. I thought about having sex with my wife one last time but quickly decided against it. She was still attractive at forty-two, but I just could not convince myself to do it.

As Sarah left in the morning she reminded me that it was Girls Night Out that night and that I would have to get my supper. I smiled and nodded.

Friday was a boring day. I had over-planned and over prepared to the point that there was nothing to do but wait. I made a few final checks and then drove over by the inn to wait for the lovers to arrive. I parked in an inconspicuous spot and ten minutes later they showed up. They didn't go in the front, but parked and entered by the back door. I figured that I could do the same. Thirty minutes later I made my move.

Ten feet from the door was an emergency fire station. It was a typical glass front unit with a hose and an emergency ax. My cell phone jammer attached to the bottom with an earth magnet. It would block all cell phone signals for a forty-foot radius. The nine-volt battery would last at least seventy two hours. It could not be seen without stooping down.

The rooms were almost soundproof, but I was still worried. It only took about five minutes to get set up. I attached the ground and started welding the door together where I had it sanded clear. The hot paint smelled a bit, but not extremely bad. I was over halfway done when the door to room 119 opened.

I stopped and looked over at an extremely large hairy man wearing a MAGA hat. We started at each other for a few seconds and he started to smile. He realized what I was doing.

"Cheating Wife?"

I just nodded.

As he walked away toward the lobby he looked back and said "Cool".

Two minutes later, I was done and out the door. Nobody ever showed up.

By six o'clock I was on the road wondering if I had just wasted my time and made a bigger fool out of myself. I was hoping that Sarah and her lover would be trapped in the room for the weekend, but it didn't work out that way. Somehow or other they were able to get out by Saturday afternoon. The Fire Department was called to cut the door open, and there was also a bit of publicity involved. I found this all out from my brother after I got settled in my new place.

Having a common name like John Smith can sometimes be a good thing. Even so, I decided to go by my middle name for a while. Nobody is looking for David Smith in Moss Bluff, Florida. I have no credit cards and no checking accounts. I have enough money to last almost twenty years. I pay everything cash, including the rent on my single wide mobile home. Yes, it does have air conditioning.