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like this is expensive.   When am I going to get another chance like this?   Bad news?   Martin’s a good guy.”   Joel rubbed his temples as if the budding argument was further aggravating his headache.
     
    “Joel, I just think we should stay away from him, okay?”   Jessica began rubbing her husband’s shoulder.
     
    “I don’t know what’s going on with you Jess.   It’s just a one day fishing trip.   I promise to take care of you when I get back.   The rest of our trip will be just us.   We’ve got plenty of time left.”   Joel closed his eyes and turned away from her.
     
    “Joel, listen to me.   Martin hit on me the other night.”   She had a nauseous feeling deep in her stomach.
     
    Joel remained quiet for a long time.   “I’m sure you’re mistaken.   Martin wouldn’t do that.   You just misinterpreted him.”
     
    “I didn’t misinterpret anything.”
     
    “Martin’s married, Jessica.   He has a gorgeous wife.   Catherine is a fucking ten.   Why would he hit on you?   You’re mistaken.”   Joel’s mood was suddenly sour.   “It’s just one day Jessica.   It’s just a fishing trip.   We’ll be back early.”
     
    Jessica supposed that she knew what her husband was insinuating.   Why would someone want a girl like you, Jessica, when they can have a Catherine Timmons?   Catherine had never looked up from the filth of a public school hallway at the terrible grinning teeth of a teen mob.   Her mother had never pinched the fat on her midsection or grounded her for sneaking sweets.   Catherine had never been overweight or poor or preyed-upon; she would never know rejection or humiliation.   What man in his right mind would choose Jessica over a woman like her?
     
    Jess looked at the outline of her husband’s back as he turned away from her and hunched under the covers.   Tears streamed down her cheeks.   “You can be a real jerk sometimes.”   She climbed off the    bed, slipped on her shoes, and headed towards the ocean.
     
    The beach was cloudy and grey.   Young island boys worked quickly tearing down the umbrellas and picking up chairs to stow for the night.   Out over the water, lightning flashes illuminated the sky.   A thunderstorm was moving toward the resort and an increasing wind had begun to warn of its impending arrival.   Jessica walked along the beach until her calves burned from trudging through the loose sand.   By the time she turned back to the bungalow the wind had begun to whip the sand and she had to cover her eyes with her forearm like a Bedouin trekking through the desert.
     
    Jessica reached the bungalow just before the rain started.   She washed up quietly and slipped into her nightclothes.   Joel was asleep and Jess listened to the steady rhythm of his breathing.   She crawled under the covers and snaked her arm around his chest.   He was warm and she snuggled closer.   “I’m sorry,” she whispered to herself.   Last night’s illicit kiss hung over her like the thunderclouds outside.   “I’ll never do it again.”   She wiped her tear-stained cheeks using the corner of the clean white bed sheet.

    ---
     
    The sun streamed through the gap in the curtains.   Jessica rolled over in bed and felt for her husband.   His side of the bed was cool and empty.   Joel had slipped away while she slept.   Jessica remembered; fishing with Martin Timmons.   She cursed herself for sleeping in.   Why hadn’t she stopped her husband?
     
      She found the note taped to the bathroom mirror:
     
    My Jess,
     
    I hope you can forgive me for leaving you this morning.   I made Martin promise that we would be home just after lunch.   I won’t be gone long –it’s only a few hours- and I know you like your alone time.   Remember that book you had been planning to start?   I promise you my undivided attention for the rest of our honeymoon, and for many years to follow.
     
    Wish me luck!
     
    Love, Joel
     
    She kept