Spiral Bound Journal

Return of the Mack

"Return of the Mack" by Mark Morrison, originally released 1996


After a somewhat balmy walk, I question the wisdom of turning on the over to bake some large tofu slices. On the other hand, since my stomach is being a bit tetchy, this is the best option if I want to have a lunch. My phone rings as I set the tofu in the pan.

Who could possibly be calling me right now? I'm on lunch.

I make my way to the bedroom and lift the phone of its wireless charger. To my surprise, I see Mitch's name and tongue-in-cheek contact photo of a beer on my screen. It's a little strange that he would call, as Facetiming isn't a daily thing and texts are preferred. Still, I answer.

"Hey, Mitch," I greet him while walking back to the kitchen.

"Hi, Christine," Mitch puffs out. "Do you have time to talk?"

My eyebrows arch at his breathlessness tone. I glance at the microwave clock.

"About a half hour or so," I tell him. "What's up?"

"Well, it's a long story, but I've found some sexts on Samantha's phone that were not sent to me."

I stop while reaching for the olive oil. "What?"

"That was my first reaction. I'm...not sure what to do."

"Well," I start, "how do you feel about this?"

Mitch sighs. "Kind of torn. On the one hand, I'm not real happy about it. I mean, she didn't even have the guts to tell me after I went on a limb telling her about my feelings for you."

I grab the oil and head back to where I have my tofu. "That makes perfect sense."

"On the other hand, I feel like kind of a hypocrite, being mad that she seems involved with someone else when I'm also in an extramarital relationship."

"That's not hypocritical," I tell him. "If she decided to start something with someone else without telling you, that's a problem. You have every right to be upset about her not telling you about it right away (or just telling you period). Granted, I'm saying all this assuming that your main problem with this is her not telling you about it rather than the relationship itself."

"Kinda both. I mean, I have no idea who this Taylor person is. I don't know anyone named Taylor or know anyone named Taylor that she works with."

"Hmmm..." I hum while prepping the tofu. "As much as I advocate open communication, I think you may want to sit on this discovery for a day or two, mostly to try to prevent an explosive confrontation over this. And that's as much advice as I should be giving. I admit the last thing I want to do is be caught in the middle."

Mitch hums in response. "You're probably right, but it still just-it rattles me. You know?"

"I hear ya. How long ago did you find the sexts?"

"Earlier today."

"Oof! No wonder. That's still a raw wound. I'd say give it some time, cancel our usual Facetime if you need, and then talk to her. The last thing you want to do is give her a reason to think you're unreasonable."

"Alright. I should probably let you get back to lunch."

"Well, I gotta stick this tofu in the oven, and I don't have my earbuds in right now."

"Well, enjoy. I'll let you know when I talk to her, okay?"

"Yeah," I say. "Yeah, that sounds good."

"I miss you, Christine."

I smile a little in spite of myself. "I miss you, too."

We both hang up, and I set my phone on the counter. I sure hope I did the right thing by telling Mitch to leave me out of it. While we are romantically involved, I doubt that this is a battle I should be fighting or even coaching Mitch through. With my luck being almost nonexistent in the year of our bellicose bitch 2020, I'll probably end up helping him pick up the pieces.