She held up her hand. “I’m not giving you anymore, not that I have more to give. You’re on your own from here. But all I got to say is she’s the real hoe. He’s been cheating on me with her the whole time, always talking about breaking it off with her and he never does.” Her tone was filled with all kinds of attitude.

Cheating on her? Ummm...WHAT? This woman had just admitted to having an affair with my husband and she was pissed about some other woman? My head was spinning with confusion. My husband was cheating with Katrina, but he had another woman, too?

I had only one thought at first: when in the world did Jeremy have time? I shook my head. I had no idea why Katrina would add another woman to the mix. Maybe just to do maximum damage to me and Jeremy.

“So really,” she continued, “I would advise you to talk to your husband and check out that other one who’s about to bring you a whole bunch of trouble.”

And with that, she slammed the door right in my face.

*****

Before I went to college, my mother sat me down and gave me what she called her pearls of wisdom:

“Never rely on a man for money.”

“Never sleep with a man if you’re not willing for him to be the father of your children.”

“Never make a decision when you’re angry.”

“Never show your full hand when you’re in the middle of a negotiation.”

It was her last two pearls that rang in my ears now. I was angry, beyond that really. In fact, there wasn’t a word to describe all of my emotions. So, I needed to rely on one of those pearls — this was not the time to make a decision.

And I had a full hand. I had the truth and now, I had to determine when and how to use it. It was going to be even more difficult to hold everything inside. How could I not slap the slime out of Jeremy with what I knew?

That was why I was still sitting in the car. Because Jeremy’s Jag was in the garage. I had no idea why he was home so early, but I knew I couldn’t go inside our home. Not yet. I didn’t have the ability to walk into the house and not turn into a wife scorned.

But I couldn’t sit in the car until I figured out what to do. So, I slid out and as I walked toward the door, I pressed play on the button that had my mother’s words in my memory:

Never show your full hand....