I Lost Summer and Everything With Her

My credit card was stolen.

I called the police.

I was sitting at the police station, halfway through giving a statement.

I saw my husband, who was supposed to be away on a business trip, and his first love, blushing, following close behind him.

“Claire Mitchell, are you wasting police resources like this?”

My husband slammed the letter of apology on the table: “Sign it now! I don’t have time to argue with you.”

I looked at the amount displayed on the letter of apology—three years’ salary for my husband—and smiled.

“You want me to sign it?”

“Sure,” I said, meeting the determined faces of my husband and his first love, and holding up the letter of apology: “Kneel down and admit your mistake.”

“Bow to me.”

——

“One step missing.”

My voice grew colder. “No need to discuss this.”

The lawyer who came with me immediately spoke up: “According to Article 196 of the United States Criminal Code, using someone else’s credit card to steal money for an amount exceeding $1,000 constitutes a crime—”

“Enough!”

Michael Reynolds rudely interrupted the lawyer, turning to glare at me fiercely: “Claire! We’re husband and wife, so don’t make things so awkward. If you really go too far, I won’t be the one to regret it!”

Michael Reynolds’s first love burst into tears.

“Claire, I know you resent Michael and me for being together for three years, and I know my presence makes you uncomfortable, but you have to be reasonable. Michael and I were together first, and we knew each other first. You can’t force Michael to cut off all contact with me just because you married him.”

Samantha Hayes’s voice was choked with sobs, but sharp. “My son’s starting first grade, and I don’t have an apartment in the right school district, so I asked Michael for help! Do you really think I’m willing to use your credit card?”

“Do you think I can just use your credit card without guilt? I feel terrible every time I do!” Samantha Hayes looked at me with red eyes. “I followed Michael to the police station! Do you even know where I am?”

“I’ll have to re-enroll my son! Now the whole school knows I stole credit cards! Are you happy?”

Samantha Hayes shouted the last few words, then threw herself into Michael Reynolds’s arms. Michael gently patted her back and soothed her.

“It’s okay.”

“I’m here.”

“I won’t let anyone get in your way while I’m here,” Michael said, even as he tried to calm her. “Claire, do you see how much you’ve pushed someone as fragile as Samantha into this!”

“I suggest you sign this quickly and go tell Samantha this was all a misunderstanding! Otherwise, how will Samantha and her son live their lives?”

I looked at Michael’s confident face. I remember when I first learned my credit card had been stolen, I wondered if something had happened to Michael.

After all, Michael hadn’t been home in a while, constantly claiming he was away on a project. Even on our anniversary, he had only said a cold, “Happy anniversary, honey.”

No gift.

No greetings.

He’d disappeared the entire day.

Now, as I watched Michael standing before me, defending someone else, I realized my worries were unnecessary. So, why should I bother saving Michael’s face? I walked up to Michael, grabbed Samantha Hayes’s hair, and slapped her hard.

Amidst Samantha’s screams, I raised my hand again, slapped Michael across the face, and said, “Now, I have more to deal with than just the credit card fraud.”

I turned and looked at the lawyer. “I’m suing. My husband might be committing bigamy, keeping another family outside my home, and even having an illegitimate child.”