Tara Scott was excited to bring her husband and best friend to her new favorite coffee shop. After all, she thought neither of them had been there before. She was excited to spend her Saturday morning with her husband and best friend, but as soon as they stepped through the doors, she noticed one of the baristas staring.
She tried her best to ignore the woman’s stares, but her excitement soon turned to utter devastation when she saw the note.
That morning, Tara was excited about her little coffee date with her best friend and husband. She had been talking nonstop about the new café. She asked her best friend, Clara, to meet them at the café, and just after 8 a.m., she and her husband left their house.
“Where is this place?” her husband, Luke, asked as he got behind the steering wheel of his car. But when she told him, something changed.
“It’s that new little café that opened right next to your gym,” Tara said innocently, but her husband’s behavior changed immediately. As she glanced at him, she noticed the way the color drained from his face. “Wait, what?” he asked, seemingly stunned.
Tara thought this was strange, but she didn’t suspect anything at first. Was he just not keen to go anymore? “Why do you seem so surprised?” she laughed, confused by her husband’s shift in demeanor. But he shook it off.
Luke smiled before glancing at his wife. “Oh, I just haven’t noticed a new café in the area. I was a little confused,” he said. Tara accepted his answer and changed the topic as they made the ten-minute drive to the small café.
Tara decided not to bring too much attention to it and quickly led them toward the entrance. But as soon as they stepped in, she noticed something.
As they pulled up to the café, Tara couldn’t shake the tension that had settled between them since leaving home. The quaint little spot seemed oblivious to the turmoil inside the car. Luke parked the car in silence, and Tara noticed that his hands gripped the steering wheel a little tighter than usual. She searched his expression, but he kept his gaze fixed on the cafe’s entrance.
“Here we are,” Tara said, trying to inject enthusiasm into her voice, though it felt strained. A knot of apprehension tightened in her stomach.
As soon as she stepped out into the parking lot, Tara spotted Clara leaning against her car. She waved and approached them. Luke seemed stiffer than usual as he slid out of the driver’s seat. His greeting to Clara seemed awkward, lacking the usual warmth and ease Tara had come to expect.
There was an uncharacteristic tension in his posture, a subtle unease that Tara couldn’t ignore, setting off a faint alarm in the back of her mind. Something about him just seemed weird.
As soon as she stepped out into the parking lot, Tara spotted Clara leaning against her car. She waved and approached them. Luke seemed stiffer than usual as he slid out of the driver’s seat. His greeting to Clara seemed awkward, lacking the usual warmth and ease Tara had come to expect.
There was an uncharacteristic tension in his posture, a subtle unease that Tara couldn’t ignore, setting off a faint alarm in the back of her mind. Something about him just seemed weird.
As they walked, he kept glancing around, almost as if searching for something—or someone. Tara brushed it off, attributing it to his busy week or perhaps his ongoing gym routine. She hoped the outing would help him unwind, unaware of the storm brewing just beneath the surface of their seemingly ordinary coffee outing.
Tara found it bizarre but chose to brush it off, attributing it to harmless admiration. After all, she knew her husband was an attractive man, and it wasn’t uncommon for others to notice.
Tara, Luke, and Clara quickly ordered their drinks and found a cozy spot to sit. Tara hoped the waitress’s gaze would fade once they settled in, but she couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. As they waited for their coffees, Tara’s curiosity grew. What was the waitress’s fascination with Luke? Was there more to it than mere admiration?
As they settled in, Clara and Tara chatted away. Meanwhile, Luke held a menu up to his face, almost like he was trying to hide behind it. When Tara glanced at him, she noticed the thin layer of sweat above his upper lip. Was he nervous? She glanced around the room, trying to see who he could possibly be hiding from. But then she saw the barista, who was still staring at him. Tara realized that the woman couldn’t take her eyes off Luke.
Then, just a minute later, their coffees were brought out to them by the same barista. “Here you go,” she said, her eyes locked onto Luke’s. Her smile was bright, revealing a set of pearly whites, and her movements were slow and deliberate as she bent down to leave the cup in front of him.
The waitress placed Luke’s cup down in front of him, and as she did, Tara spotted some kind of writing on the side.
“Looks like you have a secret admirer over there, honey,” she told her husband. She tried not to laugh out loud as she motioned toward the barista. The woman was once again standing behind the counter, staring. Luke glanced at her for a second, frowning.
From where Clara was sitting, she could see his cup a little better than Tara. She had a look of concern plastered across her face. Her eyes slowly trailed toward Tara, staring at her like she was trying to tell her something with just her eyes alone.
Tears burned behind her eyes as she stared at the words scrawled on the coffee cup. “Hi, baby. I missed you,” the words read, mocking her. She saw red. “Do you know that woman?” she asked, trying to process what was happening. She blinked back her tears, trying to focus on Luke’s face, searching for any sign of denial or guilt.
“Luke, are you having an affair?” she asked quietly, watching his face twist in despair. He couldn’t hide it any longer. Guilt weighed heavily on his features, betraying the truth before he could muster a reply. The air grew thick with unspoken accusations as Tara’s heart raced with disbelief and hurt. She had suspected something amiss, but confronting it head-on shattered any hope of denial.
Luke’s silence confirmed her worst fears, casting their once idyllic marriage into a whirlwind of betrayal and shattered trust.
