When I ordered pizza while my fiancé was out, I didn’t expect a life-altering realization. Instead, I expected an evening of alone. I had no idea that this delivery would save me from a disastrous marriage. It felt like a nice rhythm living with Jake. I felt that our little flat, with its mismatched cushions and soft covers, was our little refuge. For the last three years, Jake and I have developed a routine around small pleasures. My name is Emily. During our lazy evenings, ordering pizza was our most frequent luxury. We had made it into a ritual. I would phone our favorite neighborhood pizzeria while Jake looked through the available movies.
Our normal delivery man, Tom, knew who we were right away. His punctual arrivals, punctuated by a cheery “How’s it going?” filled our tiny foyer. But tonight was different—I was by myself. Jake was experiencing an overwhelming sense of stillness while on a business trip. I placed a single order for my typical pepperoni and extra cheese pizza. As anticipated, Tom answered the doorbell, but there seemed to be something strange about him this evening. As he handed me the pizza box, his hands appeared to tremble a little and his smile did not extend to his eyes.
“Evening, Emily. Jake’s not here tonight?” Tom inquired, his voice wavering slightly.
“Just me tonight,” I replied, attempting to sound upbeat. Tom nodded and hurriedly turned to leave—perhaps too hastily.
I was uneasy about his actions when I shut the door. Was he okay? I ignored my worries and carried the warm package into the kitchen. The smell of tomato sauce and garlic, which was always a pleasant combination, filled the air. However, my heart skipped a beat as I opened the package. There was a note that said, “He is not who you think,” written with a black Sharpie over the inside lid of the box. Examine the camera on your door.
There was a sudden chilly rush of dread over me, and the pizza didn’t seem so good. As I placed the box down, my hands shook, and the happy noise of the apartment was replaced by an approaching quietness. On that camera, what was I going to discover? I fumbled with my fingers to turn on our door camera’s tablet. My nerves were on edge after reading the scary statement on the pizza box, and I felt like there was never enough time until the app opened. With every sweep through the camera’s captured past, the tension built.
Then, it appeared.
Jake, my very own Jake, was there to greet a woman at our door. She was more than just any woman, though, as she gave him a bottle of wine while grinning. My heart broke. I continued to scroll. separate women showed up on separate days; one even brought a stack of movies. It appeared that Jake was always entertained when I was away. Various women, each visit amply recorded by the hilariously placed camera for our protection.
The iPad slipped out of my hand, frozen. How could he turn on me? Since when had our lives together become this lie? Tears filled my vision, every captured moment stabbing me in the heart. Was everything I believed we shared, the faith I had put in him, one-sided?
Every time someone laughed together, they traded bottles of wine, and the apartment felt smaller and smaller with the walls closing in. I had loved this house, our life together, but now there was betrayal everywhere I looked. I was overcome with nausea, a knot rising in my throat as the terrible reality set me. This was a purposeful, continuous betrayal, not just an error or misunderstanding. I felt a wave of anger mixed with my sadness.
I needed to confront him, to demand explanations. But first, I had to gather myself, to collect the fragments of my shattered dignity. I couldn’t let him see me broken.
I steeled myself; the love I once felt had been replaced by a biting cold fury. Jake owed me some serious answers.
Upon his return, the apartment was eerily quiet, the tension palpable. He entered with a casual smile, unaware of the tempest inside me.
“Hey, Em. Missed you,” he greeted, shedding his coat.
“We need to talk,” I said, not mirroring his smile.
Jake’s smile waned. “What’s wrong?”
I presented the tablet, frozen on an image of him with one of the women. “Care to explain this?”
He glanced at the screen, then casually shrugged. “Emily, you’re making a big deal out of nothing. They’re just friends.”
“Friends?” I retorted sharply. “Different women, each time I’m gone? Really, Jake?”
He sighed, ruffling his hair. “Look, Em, you’re being paranoid. These women mean nothing.”
“Nothing?” My voice escalated, fury piercing my feigned calm. “How can you say that?”
Jake’s tone grew stern. “I bring a lot to this relationship. You really want to throw this away over some insecurity?”
That was it. His dismissal, his arrogance—it crystallized everything I felt. “It’s not insecurity when I have evidence, Jake. I can’t do this. I won’t marry someone who thinks so little of me.”
Jake’s face tightened, the arrogance slipping into shock. “You’re serious? Over some nonsense?”
“Yes,” I said, firm and clear. “I’m done. We’re done.”
He stared at me, then without another word, grabbed his coat and left. The door slammed shut behind him, and just like that, it was over.
After a few moments alone, gathering my thoughts, I picked up my phone and dialed the pizza place. Tom answered.
“Tom, it’s Emily. I… I wanted to say thank you. You were right about Jake.”
There was a pause on the line. “I’m really sorry, Emily. I thought you should know.”
“I appreciate it,” I said, sincerity heavy in my voice. “Could I… maybe buy you a coffee sometime? To talk?”
“I’d like that,” Tom replied, a warmth in his voice that comforted my bruised heart.
The following day, as I sat with Tom at the local café, the ordeal with Jake seemed a distant ordeal. Tom’s sincere concern was palpable, and for the first time in a long while, I felt truly seen.
“Thank you for being honest with me, Tom. It must have been hard to decide to tell me,” I acknowledged as we sipped our coffees.
He nodded. “It was, Emily. But it didn’t feel right keeping it from you. Everyone deserves the truth.”
As our conversation shifted from serious to light-hearted topics, laughter eventually filled the air. I hadn’t anticipated feeling so liberated after such a profound ordeal. It reminded me that sometimes, from the ruins, we find the strength to build something better.
With Tom’s laughter mingling with mine, a burden lifted from my shoulders. It was as if I was breathing freely again after being confined for too long.
“I never thought a pizza delivery could change my life,” I joked, catching Tom’s knowing smile.
“Life is strange, Emily. Sometimes help comes from the least expected places,” he replied, his eyes twinkling with kindness.
As we departed from the café, a renewed sense of hope enveloped me. I was poised to embrace whatever lay ahead, uncertain of the future but sure of one thing: I was on my path to rediscovering joy, one slice at a time.