Hard Reset

“Hello, stranger.”

A line I hadn’t heard since our high school days. Did the month we had been apart make her miss those excitement filled days? I guess I too missed it. I played along.

I responded “What's up mama, you talking to me?”

“Do you see any other tall, sexy, muscular men around here?”

I wasn't any of those things, she knew this. I hadn’t been to a gym in a very long time. I think the last time I had any muscle was back in my earlier college years, but I guess that too was part of what made this entertaining.

“I definitely don’t, it’s just you and me here.”

“Really? Just the two of us?” She responded with cute little emojis.

We didn’t commonly use emojis. Pretending to be who we were not was new and felt exhilarating, I didn’t mind it.

The conversation continued, eventually reaching a point where we were no longer interested in unnecessary and witty dialogue. We started asking each other questions, intrigued by what we were wearing. Intrigued by the undergarments beneath her laced red dress. Even more intrigued by what visuals she may give me past all that she wore.

“Send me something babe” I messaged as my excitement boiled over.

Ding!

A photo message only a minute after I had asked. A picture beginning at the base of her neck, stretching to her torso. The red dress she had mentioned previously hugged her body just right. Time had only done her favors, she was even more perfect than when I had first met her. I was really intrigued now. Was she really wearing underneath what she had said? No. It wasn’t time for that yet, I wanted more. There was something about dresses that I could not ignore. They left something to the imagination, yet when hugging the body that tightly left nothing to imagine.

“How about what you're wearing for your family's dinner party. I’d like to see that.”

Ding!

It took her a couple of minutes. She sent another picture. This time in a tight black dress. It had one strap on her left shoulder, and hung down to her knees.

“Another” I asked, already ignoring the world around me.

Ding!

This time it had taken much longer, and the anticipation was killing me. I didn’t wanna wait just as long for her to try another dress. I wanted more. I wanted it now. Losing the dress would surely be quicker than finding another.

“I meant I wanted something with a little less, If you know what I mean” I replied.

Ding!

Another picture. She was no longer wearing the pretty two piece dress I gave her for valentine’s day. A dress she had been wanting for weeks, that I had finally given her knowing she’d look stunning in it. She had taken no where near as long, but it had felt like one very long minute.

This time unlike the other pictures, it looked as if she had stretched her hands as far as they went. Allowing my eyes to take in a lot more of her satin smooth skin. From her neck down to her thighs, she was perfect.

I was lost to the moment. Still I heard the notification ring from my phone. Of course, I was concerned. Though I didn’t even take a moment to look at it. Completely captivated by my wife, I kept up the back and forwards, things only getting more exciting. The two of us becoming more engrossed with the situation. This was nice.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

So many pictures all at once! My eyes glued to the screen, loving every aspect of her. Suddenly I noticed. Had I just not cared to notice it earlier or was this the first time she slipped up. Neither of her arms were in any position to take a picture. This infuriated me.

“Who are you with!” I typed angrily just as I yelled it at the screen.

I know she couldn’t hear me. I knew I wouldn’t get the truth out of her. I wasn’t completely wrong. Just moments after I was made aware that she was typing. She stopped, she continued, and she stopped again. I typed many more angry messages, only growing more concerned.

Ding!

Finally! She answered.

“What do you mean? I’m alone. Why do you have to ruin the moment?”

Just as I started typing. I got another message notification. I looked at my phone. I needed to look away from the screen, otherwise I might just break it.

It read “an attempt has been made to reset your password.”

I clicked on the notification. My mind was all over the place now, concerned and anger filled. It hadn’t been a notification for me though. It was my wife’s email receiving the sudden notification. Curious as to what was going on I looked at her emails. I noticed my wife had changed the password to her various social media’s. She had attempted to change all our credit card pins. She had attempted to run away all together? Is that what she was doing? Was someone else loving my wife at this very moment?

It wasn’t long that I contemplated it. I hadn’t even started typing yet.

Ding!

“Sorry I tried, I think I was close too. Had you fooled didn’t I?”

Ding!

“Changing her clothes was hard. Pretending to be her and flirt was disgusting. I guess you just weren’t the perfect target.”

Ding!

“I’m sure you’ll find her soon. She’ll probably be on the news even. Have a good evening.”

What? What had those messages meant? Had you fooled? Who the hell was messaging me on my wife’s account? Why did I only now realize it. My wife hadn’t called today to tell me about her morning. She hadn’t said she loved me once. She hadn’t shown me her face. This wasn’t a common way for us to communicate. It had all been strange to begin with.

“What have you done to my wife. Where is she.” I frantically typed.

I wanted to believe it was a joke. I sent a million more messages to which I never got a response. Each time getting more and more concerned. Each clicking of the key, a ticking of the clock. Time was passing and I had no answers. I called the cops, they said they’d do what they could. It’d be too late then…..

It was already too late now.