My wife is sleeping with who?

She was right there with me. “Yes, he shouted ‘Al Andalus.’ Now do you believe me?”

I sat back in my seat and tried to take in everything I’d just learned. Another question came to mind, but before I could ask it Esther abruptly turned off on the exit toward Johnson City. “Where are you going?” I asked, but instead of answering she pulled off on the shoulder of the road and shut off the engine. Then her head slumped back against the seat rest. “I don’t think I can make it any farther,” she said, and then to my horror she passed out.

I guess I panicked a little because I yelled at her and shook her but she didn’t wake up. I got out of the car, ran around to the driver’s side and pulled open the door. Then I saw the problem. The left shoulder of the leather jacket she was wearing had a jagged tear in it. I put my fingers inside, and when I pulled them out they were covered in blood.

I pulled her out from behind the wheel and managed to slide her into the back seat. Now what? In the distance I could see a sign for a motel, and, not knowing what else to do, I drove down to it. An old man was working behind what passed for the reception desk, and, remembering what Esther had said, I paid cash for a room for the night.

When I went back to the car, I found Esther sitting up in the back seat. She nodded approvingly at me when she saw the room key, so I felt better. I pulled the car in front of the room and gently helped her inside and onto the double bed. She gasped as she flopped down, but otherwise she was as stoic as a Spartan.

Once I’d turned on the bedside lamp she looked up at me. “You’re going to have to help me get this jacket off,” she said. I nodded and helped her slide her good arm out of the sleeve, then carefully slipped her wounded arm free. She closed her eyes and took a couple of deep breaths. “Okay, now we need to get the sweater off.”

I gulped because the knit was tight and I knew it wouldn’t slip off nearly as easily as her jacket. Carefully I pulled the ripped arm of the sweater off of her, and she gave a little sob as her arm pulled free.

I gasped when I saw the bloody wound in her upper arm. I also tried hard not to stare at her torso, but that wasn’t easy either. She had an athlete’s body with well-defined abdominal muscles and virtually no fat. She was wearing some sort of athletic bra, but it was still obvious that she was well endowed.

I glanced up to see a little smile on her lips. “A girl always appreciates a look from a guy,” she said as I blushed. Then her smile vanished and she was all business. “You need to see if there’s a drugstore around here. If you can find one, try to get ibuprofen, some isopropyl alcohol, a tube of antibiotic cream and some gauze bandages and adhesive tape. Oh, and get one of those pocket sewing kits, if they have it.”

I scurried out to the car, eager not to be caught staring at Esther any more. There was a little strip shopping center about a mile down the road, and I was able to purchase the things Esther needed. I remembered to pay cash for everything.