The Other Team

I don't know how long I'd been staring at the computer screen when my wife walked in. She gasped as she saw the website that I was viewing. I felt the tentativeness in her steps as she walked in my direction. "H-Harold?"

"How long has this been going on?" I asked without preamble. Images of her secret life flashed across the monitor, and I fought back my anger at them.

"Let me explain," she pleaded.

I stood up so quickly that it startled her. My fortitude betrayed me as tears began streaming down my face. "How can you do this to me?" I sputtered. "After all we've been through."

"Harold," she cried, "I never meant to hurt you. It's just that--I couldn't control myself any longer. I had to give in to my own desires."

"You've betrayed my trust," I muttered. I felt drained of energy.

"Oh, Harold," my wife said, dropping to the floor crying freely. "Please forgive me. I'll still go to the games with you and cheer them on with you. I'll even wear the jerseys. Don't turn your back on me now. I beg of you!"

I started to walk away from the den. I thought my wife was as big a Green Bay Packers fan as I am, and all this time she was rooting for a different team. And the Patriots to boot! She has an account in their forum, forgodsakes! I felt lost at that moment, realizing that I'd been living with a lie.

I heard her sobs, heavy and burdened, and felt a little sorry for her, but I couldn't ignore my own feelings. I grabbed my cheesehead from the entry table, put it on, and walked out the door.

Maybe in time, I'll come to forgive her.




Written for 06/01/08 "Daily Flash Fiction Challenge" 
Prompt: A wife (or husband) finds something unexpected on his (or her) spouse's computer.
Word Count: 298