The Lipstick Stain on His Collar

Yvonne stares mindlessly into the flames in the fireplace as she waits for Dan to come home. Ever since Dan joined his Spanish language group, he’d been coming home late because of their after-work meetups. But not this late. What was taking him so long? Puzzled, Yvonne takes a peek out the windows and smiles when she sees his car in the driveway. Then she remembers he had taken the bus to work, and not his car, and lets out a disappointed sigh. As she retreats to the sofa, she almost slips on something on the floor. It’s Dan’s jacket. Does he always have to leave his clothes all over the place? she thinks, as she picks it up and dusts it with her hands. What’s that? There is a bright red stain on his jacket, but what is it? Yvonne’s eyes hover over what she makes out to be a lipstick stain on the collar of Dan’s jacket. She presses the jacket against her nose and catches a whiff of strawberry fragrance. Her heart drops. Yvonne knows the lipstick stain is not hers; she likes to keep things simple with her array of nude lip glosses, and couldn’t be caught dead wearing bright red lipstick. And the strawberry perfume? Yvonne could bet any amount that the fragrance didn’t come from any of her perfume bottles. She’s always opted for masculine scents, and even uses Dan’s colognes from time to time. So who had worn Dan’s jacket? Whose lipstick was on his collar? And how long has Dan been seeing her? Yvonne has always been afraid that Dan would leave her for a younger woman—after twenty years of marriage, who wouldn’t be?—but with no real reason to be suspicious, she said nothing. She had only started doubting his faithfulness a month earlier when Dan began his rendezvous with the “Spanish group”. Their meetups started becoming sporadic, and soon, Dan stopped telling her about them altogether, because of frequent changes in plans. That was what he led her to believe anyway. But the lipstick stain on his jacket only points to one conclusion: Dan’s been having an affair, and has been using the Spanish group to cover his tracks. Yvonne is positive that he is cheating on her, and it hurts more than she could have ever imagined. Her hurt soon gives way to anger which gives way to a sudden feeling of resentment. With furious jabs, Yvonne dials Dan’s phone number. He doesn’t pick up. She redials repeatedly, but it keeps going into voicemail. She thinks about leaving him a nasty message, like any other woman would, but instead tosses her phone on the couch. Then, without premeditation, she hurries to the shed to retrieve one of Dan’s golf clubs, and then dashes out the front door, golf club wielded. She races to his car, and takes a swing at the side mirror. Glass clatters to the floor, and the car alarm goes off, loud enough to be heard throughout the neighbourhood. But Yvonne is unmoved by the din. Dan has to pay for what he has done. No longer can she sit in silence as he crushes the walls of her heart. She takes more swings at the car bonnet, leaving fist-sized dents behind. The golf club is now contorted, but that doesn’t stop her from smashing a couple of windows. As Yvonne continues her destructive rage, she thinks about the wedding vows Dan had made two decades earlier in the presence of their closest family and friends. “I promise to love you unconditionally, and . . .” Dan had paused, choked with emotion. “And I promise to be faithful to you, all the days of my life. This, I solemnly vow.” Tears well up in Yvonne’s eyes, just as they had done on her wedding day, but this time she does not blink them back; she lets them flow. She presses her back against the car door and slides unto the concrete floor. When she looks up, she is surprised to see Dan standing in front of her, wide-eyed, holding his head in shock. Her face scrunches into a scowl. “Where have you been?” she asks. “You did this?” Yvonne doesn’t flinch. “Answer my question, Dan. I know you’ve been cheating on me.” “Yvonne,” he says in a restrained voice. “People are watching.” She looks up and catches their next-door neighbour peeking from behind curtains, then reluctantly follows Dan into the house. Dan shakes his head slowly and sits on the couch without saying a word. Yvonne wastes no time and throws the jacket at him. “Who’s lipstick stain is that?” she asks. “You don’t go around smashing people’s cars just because you’re angry,” he says, ignoring her question. Yvonne repeats the question, slowly drawing out each word. “What lipstick stain?” Dan asks, brows furrowed. “The one on your jacket!” “You’re going to have to calm down for me to make sense of this issue,” he says, attempting to cool the raging atmosphere. “Fine,” she says, realising she’s embarked on a shouting match with herself. Dan has always been the calmer one, always doing whatever it took to ensure peace in their marriage. And even when he’s livid, he still finds a way to calm down and talk things through with her. He takes his jacket and looks it over until he finds the lipstick stain. He shut his eyes for some moments, then sighs deeply, knowingly. “Yvonne, I think I know what’s happened.” “Go on, I’m listening.” “It must have happened last Friday,” he says, choosing his words carefully. “The lipstick stain, I mean.” Yvonne looks at him, scanning his face for hints of deceit. Did I smash his car for nothing? she thinks. For the first time this evening, Yvonne considers that she might be wrong about her suspicions. “I was outside with the Spanish language group,” Dan continues. “We were on our way to a Spanish restaurant for a change, and then it started raining. So I lent my jacket to one of the women in the group—Jennifer, I think—to protect her from the rain. I guess that’s how the lipstick got on the collar.” “Jennifer, huh?” She folds her arms, not wanting to admit that his explanation sounds reasonable. “It’s the truth, Yvonne,” Dan says, his eyes pleading. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you. Look, I can call Jennifer if you want.” He brings out his phone and starts to dial her number. “No, stop.” Yvonne takes the phone from his hand. “You don’t need to call her.” Yvonne knows in her heart that he is telling the truth, and her palms turn cold with guilt. Dan has always had a gentle spirit despite her random bursts of anger, and the truth is, she doesn’t know how he’s managed to put up with her for this long. “I’m sorry,” she says feebly. Dan sighs. “Come here.” When Yvonne joins him on the sofa, he looks into her eyes and says, “Te amo.” “What?” She scrunches her forehead. “It means ‘I love you.’” She smiles. “Well, at least you’re learning something in that Spanish group. But I have a question,” Yvonne says, in a more serious manner. “How can you say you love me even after I wrecked your car? Aren’t you mad at me?” “Of course I am, Yvonne. But I don’t love you because of your actions. If that were the case, I would have left a long time ago.” He tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “I love you because I choose to.” Tears form in Yvonne’s eyes and roll down her cheeks. She looks up at him, her eyes sad. “I truly am sorry, Dan.” Sorry could not restore Dan’s car, which now looks worse than a bicycle under a freight train; it could not erase the memories of the neighbours who had watched Yvonne smash her husband’s car to bits. Sorry could only do one thing: mend fences. And that is what sorry did. Dan wraps Yvonne in his arms and wipes her tears away.