"Another Killian's Irish Red"

"Another Killian's Irish Red"

I imagine that it was around one o'clock in the afternoon when I decided to head on over to Dinwidy's, a local tavern known for it's watered down drinks and tasty sandwiches. As I walked into the room my eyes had to adjust to the unfathomable lack of light in the room. After a few seconds I found my way to the bar and pulled up a stool. I noticed a small dish of beer nuts sitting close to me so I decided to help myself. Then the bartender waltzed over to me and asked, "What'll be?" Unsure of what I really wanted to soothe my tired head I asked for a tasty beer. He then waddled off, and shortly returned with a Killian's Irish Red. "Here you go," he said firmly. Still trying to rationalize the events of the day I started to nurse the beer down. After a few moments the bartender returned to see if everything was all right and was reluctant to tell him the whole story, since I had no idea whom this person was. Yet afraid that if I didn't get this off my chest I would explode, I told him anyway. And he replied, "YOU DID WHAT!!"

"I just walked away, didn't say a thing, didn't do anything." I said, trying to defend my position on the matter and a little afraid he was going to beat me for being the mature party in the situation.

"Are you some kind of a wimp, or what man?" the bartender said, and then added "Well if I were you, which I hope I never will be, I would have gone POSTAL on that blonde haired nancy boy. That would teach him to mess with another man's wife. Am I right or what, Jimmy" he hollered to his co.-worker.

A little perturbed by the fact that a man that I didn't know, or really didn't want to know, was trying to give me advise on my love life I said, "Listen," "Barry," as I glanced at his name tag, "What would that have solved?"

He replied with, "What would have solved? What would it have solved? Everything!! She wouldn't be having an affair, you wouldn't be here wasting your money on watered down beer, and the guy would have been beaten within an inch of his life. What else could you want?"

Feeling a little ashamed that Barry had a point I replied, "I would want her to be happy, and obviously she wasn't happy with me." I then commenced to finish my beer when Barry said, "Look, I'm sorry I didn't catch your name." Barry replied

"It's Jon," I said.

"Look, Jon, she entered into the sacred bond of marriage with you, didn't she. She promised to love, honor, and cherish you. Not some other guy that came along that picked up were you left off? Am I right?" Barry said insensitively.

Feeling a little better about myself I said, "Well yeah, we have been married for about five years now. But since I love her with all of my being, wouldn't I want to see her happy. No matter who she is with, or what she is doing."

"You didn't hear a word I just said, did you?" Barry proclaimed.

Draining what was left of my beer I said, "Can I get another, please". While he was off getting me my next bottle of Killian's I thought about what would have happened if I ran over to the doorway and pulled her away from him by her hair, and beat that man "within an inch of his life" as Barry said I should. I came to the conclusion that I would have destroyed any shred of wildness that was left in her. I would have basically killed her, and myself, because I couldn't bare to see her like that, after the wildness seen today. Barry returned with my fresh Killian's.

"Look, as a husband, you are to do everything possible to make your wife happy. Am I right?" Barry said convincingly.

"Well, yeah," I said without hesitation.

"Then I can justify you leaving, but I can't justify not totally and utterly destroying the guy she was with. I mean don't get me wrong here, I thought that you made the mature and adult decision, but isn't there some part of you itching to find that guy and tie him to a truck."

I then commenced to drinking my beer and telling Barry my thoughts on the matter. I felt that my stance was pretty well made on the subject by now and started to finish my beer when Barry said, "I'm not trying to tell you how to run your life here, but you need to learn how to stand up for yourself. If you let her get away with it now, she'll keep on doing it and eventually leave you. Now don't get me wrong, I really sympathize with you, but you need to address the situation with your wife."

A little shocked that he would say something of that magnitude I replied, "OK, you think you have all the answers. What should I do know?

"Well, if I were you I would, first pay my tab, then get up from this bar go home, confront my wife, and ask. No, no, tell her I want a divorce." Barry said admirably.

"But there is only one problem" I said.

"What"

"I still love her and want her to be happy" I said without thinking twice.

"Well then you should stay with her, but do everything in your power to make sure this kind of thing happens again. You got me!" Barry said forcefully.

"I understand," I said ashamed that I let it happen in the first place.

So I paid my tab and went home to wait for my wife to return from her date. I made a promise to myself to make her happy no matter what it took. Even if it meant a divorce. I guess that maybe I didn't learn so much from Barry.