The Gathering of Friends

The Gathering of Friends

This story was inspired by an excellent minimalist story called "Suffer" by blackelite1. I think the ability of one short story to inspire another is a sign of a well-written and engaging tale that captures the reader and stimulates their imagination. Because their story inspired this, I took the liberty of recycling the names as well.

This is a story of the end of a marriage.

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Adrian stood silently, his tears mixing freely with the light, misty rain as it struck his face. The last three weeks had been nothing less than a journey through Hell, but that journey would end tonight. He stood by the corner of his property, hidden by trees, as he watched the figures moving as silhouettes in the bedroom window. How considerate of them to close the curtains! If he hadn't already known, the car in the driveway would have been enough to reveal the identity of his wife's visitor. Caleb had always been the one ne'er do well within their group of friends. He was the underachiever who seemed to pass from job to job without ever forming a real commitment to anything. He seemed to handle relationships in much the same way, but for some reason he had attached himself to Adrian's group of friends and never left.

Adrian struggled to remember how he came to join their little circle of friends, and for the life of him he could not remember. He had occasionally overheard the wives talking about Caleb and they seldom had anything good to say. It seems they tolerated him because he was a friend to their husbands. In rare instances, the husbands would also complain about Caleb, and it seemed they tolerated him more out of habit than intention. It is true that Caleb could sometimes be amusing but rarely was he helpful. To say the least, he was not the one you would call when you needed assistance. Adrian might have been the only one who saw something good in Caleb, and he would come to his defense on those moments when the complaints grew too loud. That, too, ends tonight.

Adrian struggled to gain control of his anger as his pain fueled his imagination with images of retribution. He would smash Caleb's face, break his ribs, and stomp on his balls, but whenever his fantasies of revenge turned to his wife, they dissipated. He loved her. Living a life without him would be the only revenge he could embrace. She would be out of his life, and he would move on to rebuild.

It was nearing time. His bedroom light was extinguished. He turned to look at the three friends he had called and asked to help him with this ugly business and found no fewer than ten friends standing behind him. He had called only three, but they told their wives, and their wives called others, until the message went out.

Adrian was briefly embarrassed as thoughts of his own failure and inadequacy as a husband flooded his mind. Now everyone would know. "We've got your back, Adrian! You're a good man. We love you and we're here for you." Later, when he thought back to that moment, he could no longer remember who had said it. It was one friend among many who spoke for them all while standing there in the rain to support him in his hour of need.

Adrian nodded with a sad smile. "Remember, we're just going to embarrass them. Nothing physical."

One of the women quipped, "Can I pull her hair?" That made the other women laugh.

Even Adrian had to smile. "If you must." He paused for a moment and then said what he wanted everyone to understand. "Nobody gets arrested today." His friend all nodded.

With that, the group walked quickly across the wet lawn to the front door. Adrian had his key ready. They entered quietly and began climbing the stairs to the unmistakable sound of betrayal. Nobody hesitated, nobody spoke. The bedroom door was closed. That was good. It made things easier. Adrian paused, looked behind him to see his friends all assembled, and decided on stealth rather than surprise.

He quietly opened the bedroom door and walked into what had been and would never again be his bedroom. It hadn't taken the lovers long to reach the heights of sexual intimacy, which only reinforced Adrian's knowledge that this was not their first time.

Quickly, quietly, the group entered the room and gathered around the bed, each of them watching in silence. It was bad pornography no better than a sex show in some seedy theater. Adrian's heart finally broke those last few threads that held it secure as his friends felt nothing more than disgust.

When he'd seen enough, Adrian asked in a raised voice, "Are you two about done? We can come back if you need more time!"

It was almost humorous to watch how slowly those words and that voice penetrated the consciousness of the two lovers, but penetrate it finally did. They paused their activities in a moment of confusion and looked around them. Eliza screamed in shock and embarrassment while Caleb searched for a way to hide, but there was no way to hide their betrayal as the group stood silently staring with judgement written across their faces.

Eliza began to cry, but even in the days that followed Adrian could not decide if she cried for him, for their marriage, or for the simple embarrassment of being caught by friends. She began to mutter incoherently while Caleb grew angry and threw threats. The words of both fell on deaf ears.

Adrian said nothing more, but decided the deed was done. Turning, he walked around the circle of friends and left the room as silently as he had arrived. The men followed, and then once outside they took Adrian down the street to the home of one of the couples where they shared a few drinks and gave their friend the support that he would need for weeks or months to come. It wasn't until then, when it was over, that Adrian finally broke down and cried. He had loved her completely, but his commitment to her was not unconditional. He needed her support and fidelity, and when they were withdrawn, he felt his love draining away.

In the weeks that followed he heard vague comments about what did and did not happen once he left the house that night. There had been no hair pulling, no slapping, and no one had laid a hand on either of them. There were jokes that they should have shaved her head, but it never happened. Instead, the women had delivered rejection in the way that women do best - they had turned their backs on her and then forgot that she ever existed. Wives like her are a threat to all good wives, and they knew that they must stand against her broken commitment as the best way to honor their own.

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Revenge can take many forms and seldom brings true peace. What I figure would bring peace to Adrian was the support of good friends and distance from the betrayal. In my mind, he moves on, keeps his friends, finds new love, and builds a better life. However, that is the material for another story someday.