"Good afternoon, Mr. Hill," said the little check out girl from Meg-Lo-Mart as she scanned the 'sorry' card and flowers.
"Oh hi there Tiffany," Hank said as he looked around at his selections. "You think the missus would like these flowers?" She observed his selection for a moment and smiled.
"They are stunning. She's going to love them!" she pushed a strand of blonde hair behind her small ear and looked at Hank wide eyed. "She's a lucky woman," Hank sighed inwardly. If the little girl only knew the truth, she'd know that Peggy wasn't lucky at all to have him or else he wouldn't be buying apology cards and flowers for her.
The ride home was short and he couldn't wait to surprise her with the bouquet and card. He pulled into the drive and walked in to the house quietly. His hands were sweating violently and his nerves were frayed to no end, but he just couldn't wait to make it up to her for being such a crass jerk. The house was dark and Peggy was nowhere to be found. He walked into the kitchen and looked around to see Dale's cigarettes on the table along with his lighter. Hank picked up the pack and watched five or six of them fall to the floor. What were Dale's cigarettes doing on his kitchen table? He would never leave them behind. Strange, Hank thought inwardly. He shrugged it off and set the flowers on the table and got a large crystal vase out of the cabinet and began to arrange them as nicely as possible. They really were very pretty for Meg-Lo-Mart flowers considering they usually didn't have that great of a selection as a smaller shop. He knew Peggy would love them so very much and it had been years since he had gotten her flowers.
"Mm-mm," came a loud moan. Hank looked over his shoulder as he snipped the last dead leaf to the floor. His stomach twisted slightly as he walked closer to where the moans were coming from.
"Oh Dale, you are a MUCH better lover than Hank. Right there, baby!" Hank's breath caught in his throat and he choked. He couldn't say a word as he rounded the corner and peaked in on his wife and he couldn't believe it. It was Dale, his best friend, in bed with his Peggy. He wanted to kill him, but then he wanted to cry from the betrayal. His heart felt as though it would explode and a heat rose in him that he never knew existed. The woman he had spent twenty years with was in the bed they shared as a husband and wife for the same amount of time with another man, a man he considered to be one of his best friends. They were friends for thirty years no less. Hank's mind was spinning as he watched Dale push Peggy's knees into a position they had never done together. Her moans were loud and violent and they completely disgusted Hank to the point of near vomiting. He stepped back and nearly fell into the wall where earlier that day he had broken a portrait of his father that was hanging there. There was nowhere to go, he couldn't get away from those moans and he would never get away from them as long as he lived. He was so angry and so desperate to get as far away from the house as possible. Goosebumps rose on his skin as he heard Dale scream loudly and say something about how he was going to explode inside her. Hank ran through the hall to the foyer and grasped the doorknob firmly. His hands were dripping with sweat and turning it was almost impossible.
"Damn it, open! Open!" Hank wiped his damp hand on his pants and grabbed the knob once more. This time he pushed with all his might and it swung open with a whoosh, catching him off guard. He tumbled through the door and on the way took down a small body that had been standing on the front stoop. Immediately, his thoughts went to his son. He could not let Bobby in the house to witness what he had just heard and seen. The boy was already a little strange and he definitely didn't need this to scar him further. Hank skidded across the cement walkway once more and he heard a loud gasp and scream.