“What did you do?” she asked finally.

“I went home.”

“You didn’t stop them?”

“No.

“Did you speak to her when she came home?”

“No. Not right away.”

“But you have not confronted her?”

“No. I don’t have the strength. I’m afraid to lose her.”

“You were afraid to lose her,” Kelly said.

He nodded sadly. “I was so weak. Here I had been humiliated in the worst possible way and I lacked the nerve to confront her. You must think I was a spineless toad.”

“No. I understand exactly how you felt.”

He glanced over and raised a hairless eyebrow. “I suppose it’s an old story.”

“Unfortunately. Please continue.”

He gestured weakly. “The next week, being in the same house as she, was a living hell. When I was at work it was even worse. I kept imagining them together. I would sit alone in my office and cry. Maggie and the kids were my life. I thought if I confronted her she wouldn’t be able to face the shame. She would take the kids and leave town. But I thought if I didn’t stop her, I’d go insane. I didn’t know what to do.

“But the pressure kept building. In the end I don’t think it would have mattered what I decided. The pain had a mind of its own. One night—it was about ten days later—I caught her alone in the upstairs bedroom, laughing on the phone. The look she gave me when I barged in the room—I knew she was talking to him. She had Scott in her arms but I didn’t care because obviously she didn’t care—about either of our sons, about me. I rushed in and slammed down the phone and screamed at her about what I had seen. I’ll always remember her expression right then. She didn’t say a word in her defense. It was almost as if a peace settled over her face. Maybe it was a relief for her to have the secret out in the open. I kept yelling and threatening her and she hardly responded at all. But at one point she stood and walked out of the room and stopped at the top of the stairs. She still had Scott in her arms. He was crying; she was rocking him to get him to stop. But I was shouting so loud there was no way he was going to stop. I was half out of my mind. The neighbors could hear everything I was saying. If there was anyone in town who didn’t know my wife was having an affair, they would surely know by morning.