Why? What's happening? Chris is here. He's drunk out of his mind and running his mouth about you. I was there in 10 minutes.
Chris was at the bar, three sheets to the wind, telling anyone who would listen that I was a psychotic control freak who had ruined his life over nothing. "Nothing?" I said, walking up behind him. "You call 6 months of screwing my wife nothing?" He turned around, swaying slightly. Dave, there's the man of the hour. Chris, you're drunk.
Go home. I don't have a home anymore. Thanks to you, I can't afford my apartment. Thanks to you, I don't have a job. Thanks to you, my girlfriend left me.
Thanks to me, Chris. I didn't make you cheat. I didn't make you lie. I didn't make you destroy two families. That was all you.
You set us up. You knew we were coming over that night. I knew because you've been coming over for 6 months. I knew because you're both terrible liars. The bar had gone quiet.
Everyone was watching our confrontation. You want to know the truth? Chris said loudly. Your wife came to me. She said you were boring in bed, boring in life, boring in every way that matters.
That was it. I grabbed Chris by his shirt and slammed him against the bar. You want to talk about boring? Let's talk about how you're a 34 year old man who peaked in high school. Let's talk about how you have to seduce married women because no single woman will put up with your BS for more than a month.
Get your hands off me. Let's talk about how you're unemployed, homeless, and universally despised by everyone who knows what you did. I released him and stepped back. You're pathetic, Chris. You were pathetic when you were sneaking around with my wife, and you're pathetic now.
He took a swing at me. I ducked easily and watched him stumble past me, crashing into a table. Eddie, call him a cab, I said. He's done here. As Chris was dragged out of the bar, still mumbling threats and insults, I realized that my revenge was complete.
Lydia had lost her job, her family, her reputation, and her future. Chris had lost everything, too. Their affair had cost them more than they could have possibly imagined. I walked out of Murphy's Tavern into the cool night air, feeling lighter than I had in months. Tomorrow, I would start rebuilding my life.
Tonight, I was finally free. Maya moved back home the following week. We ordered pizza and watched movies, just the two of us, like we used to when she was little. "Dad," she said during a commercial break.
"Yeah, I'm glad you fought back. I'm glad you didn't just let them get away with it." "Me, too, kiddo. Me, too." 6 months later, the divorce was final. I got the house, majority custody of Maya, and most of our assets.
Lydia got a small settlement and weekend visitation rights. She moved to another state with what was left of her savings. Chris moved back in with his parents. I kept the security cameras.