CHAPTER 3

Susan put the phone down; the silence from the other end of the phone, had told her more than a barrage of screaming words ever could. Susan had hit home! The poor cow, didn’t have a clue, her dear hubby was playing away. She did now though!!!

There was no way; Susan was going to keep that one a secret!! Not after the treatment Colin had dished out to her….Servers him right she though. I hope I have scuppered that one good and proper! I have probably done the poor cow a favour, once a man was unfaithful to his wife he would always be, reasoned Susan. If Susan had, second thoughts about making that phone call, and the devastation she had just caused, she didn’t show it. She walked away from the public phone in the corridor, and as cool as a cucumber, return to her work area.

Susan had known Colin had been avoiding her, she wasn’t daft. Susan knew she had nothing to loose by making that phone call. As far as Colin was concerned he and Susan were finished and that’s why he was ducking and diving. Well Susan had just made it easy on him, as far as she was concerned, she had. Colin had got his way out, of the relationship he had with Susan, and with luck she had jeopardised his relationship with Elaine. Susan, didn’t want to see Colin again, that’s why, she made the phone call. Just as well she didn’t want to see him; he would probably kill her, after what she had just done!

Even after that first night together, Colin had made excuses, rather than seeing her. If Susan was honest with herself, she would have to admit, that it was only the fact that she had no other man in the pipeline, so to speak, that she chased after Colin. Life was boring; when you were entirely on your own, Susan thought she may as well have a bit of fun!

In Susan’s opinion, a man that was unfaithful to his wife was fair game. The majority of married men that claimed too, ‘not be looking’ when they frequented the Hotsy - were so looking, and Susan often told them so! Sometimes she wondered if it was her catch phrase, when she retorted, ‘ Awwwwwww, I got news for you buster, you are so, sooo, looking!’ drawing out the words, while looking coyly up at them, pouting her mouth, and making sure her body moved to emphasis her curves as she walked away. Always leave em gagging honey!

Susan conveniently forgot that it was her, which had instigated the, ‘one nightstand’ with Colin, in the first place. Even if it had crossed her mind, she would have reasoned, ‘well he went there, didn’t he? It takes two to tango!!’

Susan liked the chase, better than actually ‘being in a stable relationship’; she got bored with that sameness, which she would have found in a steady relationship. But at the same time, she sometimes, wanted nothing more than a steady relationship. Susan had tried a number of times to find the proverbial, ‘the one,’ without success. Something would always go wrong!

In all fairness it wasn’t always Susan’s fault that it did. Susan had a knack of picking the wrong man. If she had offers from 5 good men and one bad one, she would always choose the bad one!

It was a shame about Colin, because Susan had grown to like him. Susan over looked the fact that Colin was married for a time, and kidded herself into thinking that married men did have their advantages. After all, you didn’t have to clean up after them, they didn’t commandeer all of your time. If you had a date and they found out about it, well what could they say? - They had a wife at home!

The woman that believed that their married boyfriend didn’t sleep with his wife was deluding herself!! To right they did!!! They were also easy to get rid of, when you were tired of them and their constant moaning about how hard done by they were. All you had to do was threaten to tell the wife!! It was a case of now you see them - now you don’t!!

Then Susan made the mistake of getting more involved with Colin than she had originally intended. . For want of a better word she day dreamed of how it would be, if Colin was really hers. Sometimes, she tried to make the day dream into reality, coming back to stark reality soon enough, when Colin reminded her he was married. Just a pipe dream that is all it was.

After the first few dates, Colin gave up making excuse and Susan had looked forward to their time together and it was easy to forget he had a wife. Colin was a really nice man, not the usual sort that Susan went out with. He was considerate, even if he was married. He made sure that he remembered to tell her when he was coming into the area, arranging a time to meet her, even spending a bit of money on her. Taking her to good restaurants, then going on to a club afterwards and dancing the night away, and he could dance, that was a bonus. He wasn’t the standing at the side of the dance floor, watching type.

It was after his wife had the baby that Colin had started to avoid her and that hurt Susan, after all, what difference should a baby have made, to Colin playing away from home. None, none at all!! And Susan was enjoying their affair. But it did make a difference!! More and more Colin was avoiding coming in to Stoke.

What annoyed Susan, was that he didn’t say, that he didn’t want to see her anymore, not straight out , he just avoided coming to Stoke and didn’t answer his phone. The only way Susan found out that he was in Stoke, was by ringing the hotel on the nights he usually stayed there.

This hurt and annoyed Susan, she would have thought after all of the good times over the last few months he would have been straight with her. If he had of done, Susan might have acted differently, mightn’t have made that phone call to his wife.

Susan knew deep down, there was no substance to her relationship with Colin, his wife had too stronger hold over him, if he ever did leave his wife, Susan knew she would be second best and Susan wasn’t prepared to play second fiddle to anyone. Besides this, Susan wouldn’t trust any married man that played away from home, if they do that to one woman they will do it to them all!! Susan definitely didn’t want someone else rubbish.

So after yet another night without Colin turning up at his hotel and not answering his phone, she though sod it!! She had given Colin more than enough chances to come clean. Whatever will happen next, according to Susan, Colin has asked for!

At her lunch time break the next day, Susan made the call to Elaine, washed her hands of Colin for good and carried on with the rest of her life without a backwards glance!

Susan worked away, without even the smallest feelings of guilt for the part she had played in wrecking havoc on Colin’s family. After all if Colin had thought that much about them, he wouldn’t have entered into an affair with Susan, no matter what!! Colin’s family were his responsibility, not hers, she had enough problems of her own to deal with, let alone Colin’s and it was about time she moved on.

When Colin rang her ranting and raving as he would do, at some point within the next few days, Susan would take a leaf out of Colin’s book, and ignored the call.

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