Affair with Wife's Best Friend

“Oh God, how will I get to church?” Deb exclaimed when she raised the blind and looked out from the frosted window of the bed room. It was almost nine. The ground had a thick covering of snow that would make the roads slippery; downright treacherous at intersections, particularly for her small car. But she had to go to church; the husband of Freda was giving the sermon. Norman was a lay preacher and needed as many friends as possible in the congregation. Her presence at the church was especially important because Freda was probably her best friend, probably because Deb had a lot of good friends and it was hard to say who stood where in the hierarchy. In any event Freda was one of a number near the top.

Ravi, Deb’s husband of forty years, trusted neither her driving nor her car on slippery roads; there was no good game on TV anyway. Therefore, he offered to drive her to the church. Deb could not believe her ears. Ravi was a devout atheist who argued against a Superpower till cows came home. Why would he drive her to the place where she would worship One he did not believe existed? Still, she was more than a little nervous of driving her little Prius in bad weather and was happy at the prospect of a safe ride in the SUV with four wheel drive that was her husband’s pride and joy.

Ravi and Deb form an unusual couple. He is convinced that life has no continuation after death; no reincarnation believed by his parents, no Last Judgment believed by his dearest wife. “Once you are dead you are dead’ is the phrase he throws out when some one even vaguely mentions the possibility of the consequences of worldly deeds in the afterlife. Most of their friends considered him a fairly decent man and thought he had nothing to worry about. But not Deb. She believed that unless he was saved by the Son who gave his life on the cross for this purpose, they were destined to have separate abodes in the next world. She often tried to talk him into giving at least a minimal consideration to her faith but, while considerate in every other matter, his ears were plugged against the matter which was becoming increasingly urgent to her as they grew older.

No wonder Deb asked Ravi what he was doing when he did not drive to the front door to let her out of the car but headed for the parking lot. After opening the door and helping her out of the unusually high car seat he did not let go of her hand and walked down with her to the church hall, nodding pleasantly to the members of the welcome committee. Deb wondered whether her entreaties were bearing fruit and her beloved husband was beginning to transfer some of his respect for her views on matters of finance to her concern of his disrespect for the Creator. This was not the time to discuss the issue though, much less gloat. She did give his hand a loving squeeze as they sat down on the front pew.

Ravi had not been to a church since their wedding long long time ago. The ceremony of the service amused him at first. By the time the pastor got up to deliver the sermon his mind had begun to wander. However, the booming voice from the lectern brought him back into the dimly lit holy building with ornate walls and coloured glass windows with gaudy devotional graphics. Pastor was relating the story of an evil man who had an affair with the best friend of his wife. When the affair ended in misery for all concerned, he saw the light of the day, apologized profusely and asked for forgiveness. Lo and behold; he was saved, not only from his wife’s wrath but also from the consequences of his sins by the Saviour in Heaven.

Freda was well aware of Ravi’s views on religion and quite pleased to see him in the congregation. She invited them to accompany her to the pastor’s office for coffee with Norman. She handed him a plastic cup of Kona coffee with a drop of cream and loaded with sugar to suit his taste and said, “Norman and I are so happy to see you in the House of God. I hope you found the service interesting.”
“Yes indeed, particularly the sermon,” Ravi replied.
“I helped Norman with it. God looks after his flock, even the sinners. More particularly the sinners; they need more tender care. What can be more sinful than betraying your wife’s confidence with her best friend? Yet, merciful God saved him because he asked for forgiveness.”
Ravi said with a smirk, “I did find the affair with wife’s best friend most interesting. It is something I could indulge in, only if I could identify who the lucky woman is. Freda you must help me find her. It will be the first stage of my salvation.”
Unbeknown to Ravi Norman was not known for his sense of humour. He did not like this tongue in cheek response and said with due indignation, “You are mistaken in your interpretation of the sermon and even more mistaken if you think Freda will help you in what is sinful to think of leave alone indulge in, as you put it. It will be much easier if you asked for forgiveness for the sins you have already committed rather than contemplate new ones. If you will excuse us, Freda and I have some other matters to attend to.”

Deb did not like being bundled unceremoniously out of the office. Ravi apologized to her for trying to be funny when it was most inappropriate. Deb had suffered through his tactlessness before but not easily. However, she was in a generous mood and decided to let the matter slip. She left it for later to ask Ravi whether he would set up a dinner date for her with his best friend.

Ravi was no longer the age to have an affair, although the thought of being held tight by a warm body on a cold afternoon was pleasant to contemplate. But there were several problems. To begin with, how could he ascertain who the best friend is? There were many claimants but why would they indulge a short, fat, bald, brownie with a quirky sense of humour. Then there was the prospect of asking Deb’s forgiveness when the affair was discovered as it would be sooner rather than later. Deb was a kind person and forgiving too so long as the sin was minor. An affair, particularly with her friend, good, better or best is immaterial, is not a forgivable sin in her book and if she doesn’t forgive why would her Saviour help someone who has contested His existence all his life and now gone out of his way to hurt His devotee’s feelings?

After musing for a while Ravi reached a sensible conclusion, “No, this will not work. Why bother. Deb is the best there is and foolish though I may be, I am not fool enough to risk losing Deb.” No first step of the two-step redemption for this sinner.

Notwithstanding Ravi’s new found wisdom, Deb found a plausible excuse when Freda invited them for dinner.

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