New Novel – Once Upon a Year, A New Romance Thriller

After lunch Quentin headed over to the post office which was two blocks down on Oak St. from the Black Swamp Cafe. He got a tracking text at lunch telling him a package was waiting for him that he had to sign for. This was another vintage camera that he ordered from a dealer in Japan, an old Hasselblad 500CM in near mint condition.
Vanessa tolerated his expensive camera collection and thought it was just another one of his quirky hobbies. He picked up the camera and then headed to his townhouse to drop off the camera before heading back to his office on campus. His Tuesday and Thursday class starts at three o’clock so he had plenty of time and enjoyed the walk.

Quentin got home and ran upstairs to his study and opened the box and checked the camera out. He set the lever to multiple exposure mode, popped off the 120 back, and wound the film advance to cock the shutter. He fired off several shots looking through the back of the camera to see the shutter open at several shutter speeds and f stops. Everything worked great and he carefully placed the Blad on the shelf with his other cameras.
The front door opened suddenly, startling him. He could hear somebody entering the house so he headed to the stairs and was going down when he saw Vanessa stepping inside. Her cheeks were flushed red from her cool brisk walk from the hospital. She froze when she saw him coming down the stairs since she did not expect to see him at home.
“Q,” she said, her voice sharp. Still shocked by his presence.
“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at work?”
“I had lunch with Ivie at the Black Swamp and swung by the post office to pick up a package there.”
“Where have you been? You didn’t come home last night and I tried calling and texting … you never got back to me. I know we had a fight and all that over my tenure problems and moving … I was so worried about you.”
Vanessa realized she was caught in a trap – she had to think fast and lie.
“Well, after I left the house last night and was taking a walk to cool off from our fight, I was called in for a difficult trauma case that took all of my attention for over six hours. After the surgery and checking on the patient a few times I just crashed in the surgery lounge and slept for a few hours. I had a few more surgeries this morning and managed to block out some time afterwards so I could come home and freshen up and get my car. I also left my bag here – I see it is still over there on the sofa.”
Vanessa walked over and picked up her bag and noticed that the journal was not in the bag the way she normally places it. She always has the spine of the journal facing up with her fountain pen lodged in the loop on the opposite side so that her pen is secure inside the bag.
She removed her journal and was going to flip it around when she noticed that the end of the ribbon page marker was hanging out. She had a specific way of using the page maker so she could tell if someone had been in her journal.
She looked at Quentin with the journal in her raised hand that she was waving slowly back and forth. He could tell something was amiss. Her eyes widened into a glare, a mixture of guilt and anger flashing across her face. Her face paled as she spoke in a tense whisper.
“You were in my journal. You had no right! You know that this journal is my private space not to be seen by anyone. What the hell were you thinking!”
He stood, and quickly took the journal from her hand and held it to her face like it was evidence in a courtroom trial.
“I saw this in your bag last night after you left. Considering what happened, I felt that I had the right to read it, to see if there were any clues as to what is going on, why you won’t leave with me,” he said, his voice tight.
“I read every damn word you wrote.”
Vanessa screamed at him.
“You had no right to read that journal! That is my private space and we’ve discussed that many times before.”
“I had every right!” he snapped, his voice rising, and he threw the journal across the room.
“You’re my wife, Vanessa. I thought I knew you. I thought we were in this together. But all this time, you’ve been lying to me. You’ve been sleeping with Sofia for many months now and putting on this facade that we have this happy married life together. And now that my tenure case is over with, and I have to leave, you pretend to say that you have to stay here for professional reasons! How dare you say that when it is clear to me the only reason you want to stay is to be with Sofia!”
Vanessa’s lips pressed into a thin line, her hands trembling at her sides. She felt like she was about to faint.
“I never meant for you to find out like this,” she said quietly.
“I thought I could keep this affair with Sofia under wraps. You’ve always known I have this attraction to women. I’ve been able to control these urges during our marriage, but something snapped when I met Sofia. I just had to be with her.”
“So … you were never going to tell me about Sofia? You should have known that sooner or later word would get out about your affair with her. There are no secrets on this campus. Everybody talks. Is that how you wanted me to find out?”
Quentin was almost in a rage at her stupidity.
“Were you ever going to tell me? Or were you just going to keep stringing me along while you figured out what you wanted? Tell me now … is it me you want or is it Sofia?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted, tears spilling down her cheeks.
“I don’t know, Q. I’ve been so confused—”
“Don’t,” he interrupted, his voice breaking.
“Don’t you dare try to wiggle your way out of this. You obviously made a choice, Vanessa. Maybe not out loud, but you made it. It’s clear where your heart is by what you wrote in your journal. You chose Sofia.”
“It’s not that simple,” she said, her voice trembling.
“I love you, Quentin. I do. But—”
“But not enough to leave all of this and go with me when I have to leave after the next semester,” he finished for her.
The words hung heavy in the air, and for a long moment, neither of them spoke.
Finally, Vanessa took a shaky step toward him.
“I never wanted to hurt you,” she said. “I’m so sorry.”
Quentin stared at her, his heart breaking all over again.
“You already did.”
Quentin had no idea what to do. All he knew was that he couldn’t stay there—not with her, not with the weight of her betrayal suffocating him. For the first time Quentin felt completely and utterly alone. He knew that they were finished. He walked past her, grabbing his coat from the coat rack by the door. As he stepped outside into the September chill, he realized that an alarm was vibrating on his smart watch telling him that he had to get back to his office on campus to get ready for his class. He picked up his pace and headed to his office.
Several hours later after teaching his three o-clock class he walked back home hoping she was gone. When he was a few houses down from his house he was surprised to see Vanessa pulling out of the driveway. She headed down the street in the opposite direction. He didn’t think that she saw him and wondered why she stayed there so long. He figured she probably got one of the residents to cover for her. This made him think of Sofia and he shuddered at the thought of them together.
When Quentin returned home he found a note she left on the kitchen table. The note said,
“Q, you know I still love you but I think a separation is what we need now. I have packed up some of my clothes and other personal things. I will be staying at the Just-Like-Home Inn next to the hospital until I can find something more permanent. Also, remember that I have that surgery device training in Warsaw next week and I will be leaving for that this Sunday morning. Nessa”
After reading this note he headed over to the bookcase and poured himself a four finger glass of single malt scotch. He then collapsed on the couch wondering what happened to his perfect life and if and when this nightmare of the last two days would end.