A woman writes a fun message on her husband when she sends him on his way to his Christmas party, but when he gets home, intoxicated, she finds a reply. Who wrote it, and what does it mean?I\u2019m Micaela. Remote working means that I don\u2019t get to do the office Christmas parties where all the drunk employees finally reveal what they think of each other. Thank goodness. But my husband, Travis, wasn\u2019t so lucky \u2014 so I sent him on his way with a note written on his chest.\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t judge me \u2014 Travis is a lightweight when it comes to his alcohol.\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve been in marriage for five years, so trusting Travis is second nature. But it started as a joke because I had the marker in my hand while he was getting dressed anyway.\n\n\n\n

This is my husband \u2014 touch him, and you\u2019ll pay- M, I wrote.\n\n\n\n

\u201cMicaela,\u201d he said as he was leaving. \u201cI\u2019m just going for a few drinks. I\u2019ll be back home early.\u201d\n\n\n\n

After Travis left, I began to put up the Christmas tree and decorate our living room because neither of us had the time to do it otherwise. But as I put the stockings onto the mantel, Travis dragged himself into the house.\n\n\n\n

Looking at him, I knew that he was intoxicated. I walked him to our bedroom, ready to get him undressed and put him to bed. But while helping him undress, I found a reply to my smudged message.\n\n\n\n

I laughed at it, not thinking anything about the situation. But as the night went on and I stayed up watching old Christmas movies, the message constantly flashed in my mind.\n\n\n\n

He said that they started at his office, then went to a bar for karaoke, and finally ended up at a club for a few hours. I asked him about the message, and he looked confused.
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\u201cOne of the guys probably wrote it,\u201d he said. \u201cThere was a lot to drink, and you know how the guys get.\u201d\n\n\n\n

However, it bugged me. So, I went to my Mom for advice. I confided in her, asking her how to deal with unease and distrust in my marriage \u2014 something that had never come up in the last five years.\n\n\n\n

Mom suggested that I bug Travis\u2019 car with a GPS tracker. Now, I\u2019m not one to snoop around, and I didn\u2019t really want to do it. But I needed this nagging feeling to be silenced. So, I agreed. But I knew if Trav ever found it, he would feel so betrayed.\n\n\n\n

Anyway, in the last week before his Christmas break, I watched his movements on my laptop, tracking his to-and-from work commutes. But then, one evening, he called me and said he needed to stay late and complete some work before signing off for the holidays.\n\n\n\n

But while he spoke, I opened the app on my laptop again and saw that his car was on the move. The car was moving in the opposite direction of home instead of taking me to the suburbs of mansions and fancy cars.\n\n\n\n

Naturally, I got into my car and followed along \u2014 having also downloaded the tracking app to my phone. My heart pounded as I parked across the road from where his car was parked in the driveway of a stunning house.\n\n\n\n

Sitting in the car, I texted my mother and updating her about my Friday night activity. About two hours later, Travis emerged from the house, beaming from ear to ear. I sat up a little straighter, trying to see everything.\n\n\n\n

I was sho:cked that a woman followed closely behind him. She reached for his arm when he turned around to face her. She embraced him with a kiss on the lips. My heart sank, and the knots in my stomach finally unraveled because the root of unease looked me in the face.\n\n\n\n

The world seemed to shatter as I grappled with the reality unfolding before me. In an impulsive surge of adrenaline, I snapped some photos of them together, capturing the undeniable evidence of the moment my marriage ended.\n\n\n\n

I swiped through them on my phone, realizing that sitting in the car wouldn\u2019t help me.\n\n\n\n

I walked up to the house, and Travis saw me first. He was too shocked to respond. He just stood there, watching me walk toward them.\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, you\u2019re the woman who left a message on my husband?\u201d I asked.\n\n\n\n

But I was astonished that her reply wasn\u2019t what I expected. Instead of cowering or denying any of it, she boldly asserted that I deserved better.\n\n\n\n

\u201cHusbands like this deserve to be treated like spare change,\u201d she said, glancing at Travis.\n\n\n\n

He, red-faced from anger and embarrassment, exclaimed, \u201cHow dare you?\u201d\n\n\n\n

But it wasn\u2019t important. The woman had already closed the door. I left Travis standing there and returned to my car, ignoring him. And when I got back to the car, there was a text from my Mom and the number for a divorce lawyer.\n\n\n\n

It was the heartbreaking Christmas present I gave myself, instead of the Christmas celebration I thought we would have. Instead, I face a new beginning \u2014 a New Year of rebuilding, rediscovery, and pursuing happiness on my terms.\n\n\n\n

Life is clearly unpredictable, that\u2019s for sure \u2014 especially five years into a marriage.\n\n\n\n

If it were you, what would you have done?\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"