Gina Breathed Again

Gina Breathed Again

Grabbing her jacket out of the closet, Gina accidently grabbed her husband’s, the same color. She didn’t notice until she started putting it on, then laughed.

As she walked back to the closet, she could feel something in the pocket, stiff paper. Idly curious, she pulled it out to see what he’d left in there She stopped breathing for a moment when she saw it. It was a photo of a woman.

She wasn’t familiar to Gina, seeming to be in her twenties, standing next to a car, smiling like she knew the photographer well. Gina started wracking her brain for anything she might have forgotten that would make this photo normal to be in Brian’s pocket. She couldn’t think of anything.

She’d literally never questioned Brian’s loyalty to their marriage. She was almost ashamed to have it sneak into her mind now. He did spend time away, she thought with his buddies, tinkering in Alan’s garage. Could she be so clueless to not notice a change in his feelings? Was this woman someone she needed to know about?

Suddenly hearing Brian coming downstairs, she tried to quickly stuff it back in the pocket, but ended up dropping the picture on the floor.

“You found that,” Brian said, looking uncomfortable.

“Yes,” was all she was able to say.

“I was going to talk to you about it this weekend, but maybe now would be better.”

“Yes,” she said again, now holding her breathe unconsciously.

“I didn’t buy it yet, honest! And I won’t either, unless you are OK with it...”

“Huh?” she mumbled.

“This car is exactly like the one I had in high school. It’s stupid, I know, but I would so love to fix it up. Alan said I could use his garage!”

Gina breathed again.