I watched as my wife nervously gripped her glass, and I knew this conversation was bound to happen.

welcome to the cheating Secrets Channel this was supposed to be our last year alone in our summer house we had given it to our children who wanted to keep it in the family it was becoming too difficult for us to come here not as easy as it was in our younger days while planning our move to San Diego we sold our house in Connecticut the contents of the Hartford house were already packed and sent to a storage facility in the Gated Community where we were set to move in October we didn't take anything from the

cabin except our clothes our car had already been sold and we left the old Grand Cherokee here by the lake for our children to use during their visits our new home was built in a retirement community just a mile from the gates was a small Medical Clinic a branch of a larger Medical Center everything we needed was close by shopping was convenient and a golf cart was more than enough to get around the area the weather here was beautiful year round and storms like the ones common on the East Coast were rare it seemed like

the perfect place to spend the rest of our lives it had been a good life Marie loved me and I loved her we had our disagreements but we got along wonderfully she was an amazing partner though now we both rarely had the energy for intimacy we still kissed and held each other hugs never go out of style and from time to time the magic still happened our children had grown up happily they all had wonderful spouses and were content each finding meaningful roles in society Marie and I had five children and we were blessed with

11 grandchildren and even four great-grandchildren our children were our pride and joy it was a beautiful night the end of August the sky was painted in soft pink and Sandy Hues by the setting sun and the Crickets had Just Begun their evening Symphony when Marie said I have something to tell you I knew this day would come and I was truly ready for it there was no family as close and loving as mine and I thought I could keep my secrets yes I had secrets and now I wasn't going to shy away from letting Marie

know them all especially since I knew her secrets too at least most of them all right I replied I knew this conversation was coming and I suspected it would happen before we moved to San Diego honestly I thought you'd wait a bit longer until the actual move you knew we'd have this conversation how could you have known I only decided today that you drink enough vodka to finally spill it yes my dear I noticed how nervous you were especially since we both enjoyed quite a bit of good liquor tonight believe me I haven't become come

an old drunk my head is clear and N vodka just D the painful effects of arthritis in my knees no no no darling that's not it at all I need to tell you something oh you mean you found my stash of weed yeah it's been a long time since I gave up the life of a junkie but honey I've always liked to enjoy a puff or two in the evenings at my age I'm not too worried about being labeled a stoner even if I got hooked on that stuff or even remembered cocaine or heroin most

of my life is behind me so I wouldn't lose much just a few short years Charles I don't want you talking like that you won't miss a single precious moment of your wonderful life so as I was saying oh then you must have learned of my predilection for adult films I should have known you'd find out sooner sooner or later you're so clever tell me how long did it take for you to crack the SES I like I thought the password was perfect wasn't it it gets very strong ratings on every site I use it

for how about my alternate one do you like it Charles that's disgusting I had no idea you found my toy no my Viagra no no my pump I said no my plug Charles oh For Heaven's Sake the DNA report she suddenly went very quiet sweetheart you don't have any secrets left that I don't know about I know everything you did a DNA test yes many years ago but it didn't matter to me as soon as she was born I saw his face in hers she didn't look anything like me you see as I mentioned Marie

and I had five children among them we raised the youngest who was born to Marie but wasn't mine when you insisted on naming her Carla with a see I put two and two together and realized that you and Carl Donaldson had made a fool of me you named her after him when the doctors checked the baby right after birth they took her blood that girl couldn't be my daughter as soon as DNA testing became available I managed to get a hair from Carla and ran the tests she's Donaldson's daughter and you lived with this your

whole life Charlie I'm so sorry Carla really isn't your daughter why didn't you say something sooner we had a wonderful family and you didn't seem to change anything about it at least not when it came to me I loved you and your affair didn't affect our everyday life I wanted our children to grow up happy and confident that we would always be there for them that's why I kept my discoveries a secret that's so unlike you I expected that once you found out you'd seek revenge I did but since you two kept your Affair secret

and it didn't affect me jinny and I decided to keep our revenge secret from you as well it took my wife a moment to process what I had just said jinny had been Carl's wife until he passed away a few years ago she herself had passed away a year before this conversation of ours we enjoyed moments of payback together while you were sneaking around with Carl having sex in the back seat of his car were during your walks in the woods Jenny and I were making love in bed at home making the children he thought

were his what yes you see Carl and jinny apparent couldn't have children they spent years trying and spend a fortune on treatments for Carl's infertility his Little Swimmers just couldn't get the job done you it seems hit the jackpot with a one in a million chance from one of his sessions but yes all four of their children are mine do they know yes before she passed she told them the whole story in fact they all came to talk to me about it at length afterward Carl raised them and they'll always treasure him as their father

but they understand why jinny did what she did and have accept it or at least come to terms with it because otherwise they wouldn't have been born you won didn't you won what do you mean dear when we got married you wanted a big family I didn't want more than five kids but you still got your eight actually 11 her eyes widened as she realized I hadn't stopped at jinny Donaldson then they widened even more as it hit her so my nieces are your Aunt Marie earned a gold star she always joked that her nieces

looked as much like my sister as they did me yes dear your sister saw you sneaking away with Roger that night in Cancun when we all went on vacation together she followed you to the beach and hid behind a tree watch ing as he had sex with you on the lounge chair she overheard your conversation about how hot it was seeing each other naked on the sand when we all sunbathed together earlier in the day she also heard you both agree to meet on Thursday evenings after we returned from vacation so you signed up for

dance class and he took up bowling and once a month you skipped your lessons to have your fun in a motel on the highway the curtains in the room weren't fully closed so we ended up with a lot of revealing phot photos I scan them onto my laptop and I can show them to you before we go to bed maybe you'd like to take a stroll down memory lane I've got pictures from your other Affairs too Marie really did look beautiful when she was shocked relax I didn't have to seek revenge on any of the

others they all met with their own tragic Fates that I had no control over it seems like you've got some bad karma remember Danny Daws said the delivery guy from The Postal Service he got arrested for drugs didn't he the cops pulled him over after a tip that he was transporting cocaine in the cargo hold and delivering it to his regular clients right to their doorsteps he's probably still sitting in prison and that time when you made a move on your boss someone called his wife who comes from a well-known family in town and told

her she could follow her husband on Wednesday afternoon he got caught with his pants down and his secretary's mouth around him during the divorce his wife left him without a dime after that he couldn't find a job anywhere no one would hire him as a result if you didn't already know he drank himself to death and was found in a ditch in the city park with his throat slit but you got lucky you were his Tuesday fling and his wife never found out about you no worries your secrets are safe with me and remember the

day that exterminator died in his van that was the day he was fumigating our house and instead of tipping him you decided to sleep with him somehow there was a leak from his chemical tanks filling the van with toxic fumes well at least he went painlessly then there was little Charlie's first grade teacher Jack riy he was found burning in his bed when the fire department finally reached his house remember he supposedly fell asleep with a lit cigarette and almost burned alive you knew about all of them and you didn't stop me why would I

to get a divorce so I could live in a crappy little apartment while you enjoyed the Comforts of my house and my paycheck so I could see my kids only once or twice a month on the weekends so if I ever wanted to remarry I'd have to take on another job just to support two families without having any time for dating and end up never having sex again you've got to be kidding Marie you were always my dream woman you took great care of me and the kids you were an amazing Homemaker working part-time you

earned as much as most people did working overtime you were and still are a treasure and I would never let you go but I betrayed you I cheated on you more than that you were a Serial cheat cheater an insatiable nyphomaniac but because of what you did you changed the rules for me too I slept with so many women I lost count full figured thin curvy flat blondes brunettes redheads soft tall short smart not so smart bimbos ladies girls Geeks athletes celebrities rough smooth hot cool I had them all it was an incredible personal life

so don't think you have to confess everything I didn't confess to anything you already knew everything and it seems I know nothing about you we sat for a little longer sipping fine red wine and watching as the sun finished its work and descended into the darkness of the night the frogs and other nocturnal creatures joined the Crickets in their chorus and I felt incredibly at peace after that Marie got up and went to bed bed I fell asleep right in the chair smirking slightly knowing that now she was aware of it all the next morning

Marie found her husband still sitting on the porch in the rocking chair he was still gripping the stem of his half full wine glass everything around him was peaceful a gentle smile was frozen on his face the night before she had shed a few tears upon hearing his Revelations but when she woke up in the morning she she felt completely fine years ago she had wanted more than Charlie could offer her he was the best lover she had ever known but she needed more more than any one man could provide there were always other men

around eager to take advantage of her weakness in truth she was content that Charlie had children who weren't his it seemed Fair she suspected that the moments in their life when he mysteriously lost money forcing them to tighten their belts for a while were probably times when he was giving a little extra to her sister or to Jenny Donaldson ensuring the well-being of his other children and he always cared for their youngest as if she were his own it dawned on Marie that the accidents her lovers had faced were likely not accidents at all Charlie

had managed to take his revenge and that too felt right in a way Charley was a real man and stealing his woman was not something he could easily accept or forgive it was remarkable how he managed to juggle both his life and hers allowing the house to remain a home what happened outside the home stayed outside until last night he loved her he had loved her his entire life this wonderful incredible man loved her so much that he accepted her flaws and found a way to stay strong despite them he played by the rules she

had Rewritten all the guilt she had felt over the years for her inability to control her insatiable desires left her now as she held his cold stiff hand for the last time she looked at the wine glass and gently took it from his hand she sniffed the wine and understood everything it didn't smell the way it usually did Charlie had left this world on his own terms he never planned to move to San Diego he wanted to stay here by the lake forever Marie called their eldest son and asked him to come to the lake

immediately she told him that his father had passed she did the same with her oldest niece and with Ellen Donaldson Charlie and jinny's eldest daughter then she took her place beside Charlie and kissed him goodbye thank you my love she whispered under his Frozen smile she drank the remaining wine from the glass the bitter taste faded quickly and she was able to appreciate the complexities of the Wine's bouquet just as Charlie had taught her the sweetness the undertones of Plum and the late Aroma of cherry danced on her tongue the perfect flavor the lake before

her was warmed by the Sun the perfect view her eyes closed and everything fell silent thank you for listening Until the End see you in the next episode of cheating Secrets take care of yourself and your loved ones goodbye