Cheater (209 words)
“Henry. Henry!” She stumbled forward, her heel catching on the carpet edge and sending her colliding against his frame.
“Ethel, you’re drunk.” Henry’s thin frame stiffened as she hurtled against him. He lightly pressed her back into a standing position, his fingers recoiling from the fabric on her waist as she steadied herself.
“Ethel,” William said sternly. “We need to leave. Now.”
The curled ends of her brown hair whipped across her shoulders as she turned to glare at her husband. “No, we don’t. You may go, but Henry has some questions to answer.”
“No, he does not,” William replied sharply, stepping forward to grab her arm.
Ethel evaluated his meaty fingers around her slender arm, then briefly held his stare before turning back to Henry. “I found the letters. How long has this been going on?”
Henry blinked in surprise. “How long has what been going on? What’re you talking about, Ethel?”
“Come now. The affair, Henry, what else?”
“Ethel, I think you’re mistaken-“
“No, no I’m not. See here,” with her free arm she retrieved one of the folded letters and held it out.
“Ethel, that’s not my writing.”
“I know only two men who write this way.”
Henry looked at William, who just shook his head.
The Mom Who Runs: 