Mark and Anna were walking to the only restaurant in their small village. Despite its small-town location, the restaurant was famous for its food. They made every sauce and dressing fresh; nothing from a can.
Mark, in his fifties, wore shorts and a plain T-shirt, beneath which a beer belly was discernible. Anna, fifteen years younger, wore a white blouse with a low neckline and a short skirt that showed her tanned legs.
The restaurant came into sight, and Mark could see three couples sitting at the regular’s table.
“Anna, I don’t want you binge drinking again like last time and then offending people at the table,” Mark said without looking at Anna.
“Darling, I don’t get a word when you don’t look in my direction,” Anna replied with a cynical smile. “Please look at me when talking to me.”
“I said I don’t want you binge drinking again like last time and then you offending people,” Mark repeated, this time looking at Anna and his voice getting louder.
“Who are you to define my drinking? You drink beer every evening yourself. I never binge drink; I just have some glasses of wine.”
“Last time you had two bottles. At the end, you were super aggressive and accused Marla of hitting on me. Everyone laughs about me putting up with your behavior.”
“Shut up, Mark. Look at you. You are 50, bald, unfit, and you drink yourself too much. And you don’t have anything in your life but your work. Do you think you are a better drinker because you have a good job? You can be happy with an honest, beautiful woman like me. If I’m one thing, I’m honest. I know that I don’t look exactly fit right now, but that’s a phase. Soon I will restart my exercises, and then you will see how other men will be lining up for me. Other men who are not control freaks and know how to have fun.”
“You have been talking about restarting exercises for the last two years of our life. The reason that you are overweight is that you are eating and drinking too much. At least two bottles of wine every day; that’s a lot of calories. You already had one bottle today, and your voice is already slurring. That’s why you are so aggressive again.”
“You want to start a fight again, don’t you?” Anna screamed. “You are criticizing me all the time; I just have a difficult time in my life.”
“Kiss my ass,” Mark shouted. “You don’t have a difficult time in your life; you have been a full-blown alcoholic for at least 2 years. Here are 100 bucks; do your binge drinking at the regular table and embarrass yourself without me. Then you will see how many men will be lining up for you. You are ten years younger than me, but you look like 50. And you’re as thick as two short planks.”
Mark turned around and started walking briskly in the other direction, towards their house.
“Don’t underestimate me; I’m not stupid. If you don’t come with me, don’t think I will come back tonight. I will find another place to sleep,” Anna screamed, but Mark didn’t look back.
Twenty minutes later, Mark arrived at their house. Mark had inherited the two-story house 20 years ago. He entered the house and turned left toward the kitchen. He looked at the chaos and felt the anger turning inside him. More than ten empty wine bottles lay scattered on the floor, and dirty dishes piled up in the sink.
Marrying this woman has really been the worst mistake of my life, Mark thought before starting to clean the kitchen. He ignored his phone ringing when he saw Anna trying to call him.
After two hours of cleaning, Mark was happy with the kitchen again; not a single speck of dust remained. He opened a beer and watched a thriller on Netflix. One beer became three more, and another thriller; in between, he checked his phone, but Anna showed no sign of life. By 11 pm, she still wasn’t there, and Mark was too drunk to worry. He went to bed and fell asleep immediately.
The next morning, Mark woke up, his hand instinctively touching the left side of the bed. No Anna.
He grabbed his phone from the right side of the bed and dialed the number of the only person he liked at the regular’s table: Marla, the woman Anna had offended so badly the last time.
“Hi Mark, how are you? Why are you calling me so early on a Sunday morning?”
“Hi Marla, sorry for waking you up. Anna didn’t get back home last night.”
“That’s the best thing that could happen to you, I would say, if I’m honest.”
“Yes, I know. I don’t know why I can't get away from this woman. But still, I’m a bit worried. When did she leave the restaurant last night?”
“She got super drunk and slurred something about how much she deserves better than being with a boring, stingy engineer who cannot show any feelings. She rambled something about you treating her like furniture and finally got picked up by some good-looking guy. During the evening, she left her phone open at the table several times, so I could see that she was chatting with someone on Tinder.”
“Okay, thank you, Marla, and you are right, my life without her is probably much better. Though it’s a strange feeling sleeping alone.”
“You’re very welcome, Mark. By the way, I had a strange dream last night. I dreamed that you had a huge fight with your alcoholic wife and killed her with a hammer. Then you walled her in your house and told everyone that she had left you. A strange coincidence that I had this dream and now she has disappeared.”
Mark hands started to tremble. “But you don’t seriously believe that I would be able to kill my wife, do you?” Mark asked. His voice was shaking.
“Of course not, Mark. You are a nice person and would never do that. You just made the mistake of dumping me when you met Anna.”
This Sunday, Mark didn’t get anything done but drink beer after beer. He checked his phone every ten minutes, but Anna didn't call or message him. On WhatsApp, her profile photo was gone.
Maybe she blocked me, he thought. When he thought of Anna kissing another man, he felt restless and couldn’t sit still, though he couldn’t tell whether he felt panic or jealousy.
He tried calling her phone multiple times. Strangely, the phone kept ringing a few times before going to voicemail. Later that evening, the phone seemed completely dead, and his calls went straight to voicemail.
He only fell asleep that night after drinking two more bottles of wine.
During the week, he had stressful days at the office, being too busy thinking about Anna, and in the evenings, the after-work beers helped ease him.
On Tuesday, he dropped by at the regular’s table in the restaurant. Marla wasn’t there, and the restaurant was pretty empty, only one couple sitting at the regular’s table. Mark didn’t know the couple, so he introduced himself and learned their names were Hans and Ina, both in their fifties and dressed casually.
Mark made small talk with them, which bored him; he didn’t like small talk. It only got interesting when Mark mentioned that Anna had been missing since Friday after a good-looking guy with a Porsche picked her up.
“Strange,” Hans said. “I had some beers, too much, so my memory might not be that reliable, but I cannot remember anyone picking her up. If I remember correctly, she left together with Marla. Also, yesterday, a woman at our table I'd never seen before mentioned she saw Anna at the supermarket early in the morning. When she spotted Anna, Anna hurried away, leaving her trolley in the supermarket as she didn’t want to be spotted.”
“Impossible”, Mark replied. “Marla told me that she was picked up by this guy, and why should Marla lie? I have known her for ages.”
“There are rumors that you had an affair with Marla and you ended the affair in a very unnice way, if I may say this openly,” Hans said. “Maybe she is still pissed off and made something up so that you don’t continue looking for her?”
For the rest of the evening, Mark didn’t say much, thinking about what Hans had told him.
The next Friday he went to the restaurant again. Five couples were sitting at the table, and Marla was there without her husband, which was unusual. Her clothing, a belly-free top and super short shorts, revealed an unusual amount of skin, at least for Marla. Mark couldn’t take his eyes off her.
Maybe I shouldn’t have ended the affair with her, he thought. Now Anna is gone, and Marla is not interested anymore.
The seat to Marla's right was free, and Mark sat down and greeted her with a hug.
“And have you heard anything from Anna?” Marla asked. Everyone around the table fell silent and looked at Mark expectantly.
“I haven’t heard from her since last Saturday,” Mark said. “Being without her was a strange feeling for the first days, but I’m feeling better now. No chaos and alcohol anymore in my life. I’m just wondering how this guy is who picked her up and how she can manage to stay with him without picking up any clothes.”
“Well, the guy who picked her up was driving a Porsche, so I assume he has the money left to buy her some clothes,” Marla said. “Why are you with this woman anyway? You have nothing in common and are both killing each other. As we killed each other when we were together. What keeps you with her? The great sex?”
“Probably it’s the great sex”, Mark replied. “Otherwise, I only had chaos with her. Let’s change the topic. I’m happy to have a relaxing evening with some beers and no fights.”
Mark enjoyed sitting beside Marla. She smiled at him a lot and touched his arm from time to time.
“What about we go hiking together tomorrow, Mark? I've always wanted to take the Devil’s Route. It’s a long hike, but if we start early at 6, we can manage it.”
“Are you sure, Marla? You know how dangerous this route is. In parts, you walk close to a ravine hundreds of feet deep. One wrong step and you are dead.”
“I know, Mark, but we are both experienced hikers. I'd really love to spend a day with you after so long. Or are you afraid that I push you to your death?” She smiled at him.
For a brief, dark second, a stray thought flashed through Mark’s mind that she might actually try to shove him into the abyss. He immediately scoffed at the absurd notion, dismissing it as the paranoid hangover of a restless brain and too much alcohol.
Mark looked Marla in the eyes, a few seconds too long for a friendship look, and said with a smile: “Okay, let’s do it. Why should you push me? I know I ended our affair for Anna, but that’s a long time ago. I’ll pick you up at 6 with my car.”
“Yes, it’s a long time ago, Mark. Well, now Anna is gone, so let’s see where this goes.”
Three hours and eight beers later, Mark left the restaurant and walked home. Eight beers were a lot, even for Mark, who was used to drinking, and he was more stumbling than walking.
He just managed to set his alarm clock before passing out.
The next morning, Mark picked Marla up in his Volkswagen for the hike. Mark smiled when he saw Marla; she always did.
“Hi Mark, how are you? Have you heard anything from Anna?”
“Strangely, last night, she was online on WhatsApp when I checked her profile. But when I tried to call her, I couldn’t get through, and then she was invisible again, no profile photo. I don’t know anymore what to believe.”
“I’m sure everything will resolve soon,” Marla replied with a smile.
They started their hike; the terrain was steep. Mark felt his heart pounding.
“I need a break, Marla, before we enter the dangerous part of our hike. I’m a bit out of shape.”
“Yes, the evening Anna disappeared, she told everyone at the regular’s table that you are drinking a lot yourself. I was surprised to hear it, to be honest, as you always called Anna an alcoholic.”
“What else did she say this evening?”
“Not much else, just that she loves you and that she wished you would have more time for her. And that you are an absolute control freak. To be honest, I experienced you also as a control freak when we had our affair.”
Marla didn’t smile anymore, but looked at Mark with an inquiring look.
Mark didn’t know what to answer, so he asked: “Shall we continue our hike?”
“Okay, it’s probably not worth talking with you about it,” Marla said. “I’m just telling you that your self-image and the image others have of you might differ quite a lot.”
They continued with their hike. The path was narrow now, with a chasm hundreds of feet deep on both sides. The wind blew increasingly strongly from the right, making it hard to walk straight. Mark was focused solely on his steps, avoiding looking down into the deep.
“Are you sure that Anna ran off with this rich guy?” Marla asked. I’m asking because Anna doesn’t care about expensive clothes or a fancy Porsche. She is a brutally honest woman and drinks way too much, but she is not into money. And she is not stupid, by the way.”
“How would you know how Anna is?”
“Because the evening she disappeared, I talked to her a lot. Actually, we got on pretty well. She didn’t want to return to your place because of your selfish, cold behavior, so I offered her a place to stay with me. The rich guy was just my invention. My husband moved out a long time ago anyway; we are just pretending to be a couple. I talked a lot with Anna and realized that we both suffered: Me when being with you during our affair and Anna during her marriage.”
Mark staggered, his boots slipping on the scree as the drop-off yawned inches from his toes.
“What are you talking about?” Mark screamed. “Anna is a stupid alcoholic and would never leave me; she doesn’t know where else to go.”
“Well, we can ask her ourselves; look who’s behind you.”
Mark turned his head and flinched. There she was, Anna, looking at him with eyes that revealed nothing but hatred.
“I told you not to underestimate me; I’m not as stupid as you think. Marla and I will share your inheritance. We both suffered; now it’s time to pay back. So, it’s time for you to go. Unfortunately for you. Fortunately for any future woman who will not have the bad fortune of having you in her life.
Mark looked back and forth. Anna blocked his way; Marla did the same behind him.
Without a word, Mark lunged at Marla, fists raised to shove her over the edge. She braced herself, catching him by the shoulders as he slammed into her. Mark hauled back, but Marla locked her fingers into his jacket sleeves as her footing gave way. She didn’t let go. Dragging him, she pitched backward into the void. Then they were gone.
Anna turned her back on the chasm and began the long walk down alone.
What luck that Marla and I share a shoe size, she thought. My husband and his mistress took the Devil’s Path, turned on each other, and tumbled into the abyss. No trace of me left behind, and I ran off with another man anyway, as Mark mentioned at the regular’s table.
She would get rid of the hiking boots, play the grieving widow, and inherit the house. After selling the house, she wouldn’t have to work anymore for the rest of her life.
Never underestimate a functioning alcoholic.
