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Mary knew it was partly her fault. She knew Joseph hadn't been telling her the whole truth. But to think that she had trusted him; both of them. The very thought made her sick to her stomach. They had both betrayed her and now she had nowhere to turn. She had no one left. A shiver travelled down her spine as she realised just how cold she was. Having no idea what to do, she had run away to the docks. The evening winds whipped sea water up towards her but that was the least of her worries. She stood alone and gazed out to the open water with a single thought in her mind- her husband had been having an affair and there was nothing she could do about it. She couldn't just leave him. She couldn't have his betrayal affecting their children. But she knew things would never go back to the way they used to be; she would never love him like she did before. Had she ever really loved him at all?
"Mary?" a voice she recognised called out from behind her, and her body immediately tensed. Of all the people to find her out here, he was the last person she wanted to see. Save for maybe Joseph himself. She didn't turn around as she answered.
"Robert," her voice was harsher than she had intended it to be, but she could not bring herself to apologise. Without saying anything further, Robert stood next to her and leant against the railing in front of them. They stayed silent for a long while, both of them appreciating the quietness as they listened to the water below them. Mary shivered again and internally scolded herself for it. She heard Robert shuffling around beside her but didn't look up until a brown jumper was being pushed towards her. She stared down at it for a moment before looking up at Robert.
"You look cold," Robert said quietly, looking down at his feet. Tentatively, Mary took the jumper from his hands and pulled it over her.
"It suits you," Robert commented, smiling slightly. Mary glanced down at herself before looking back to him. They stared at each other in silence for a moment that seemed to last forever. Then suddenly, Mary's body sagged forwards as she collapsed against Robert's chest.
"What am I going to do?" she sobbed quietly, clinging onto the back of Robert's shirt.
"I don't know," Robert replied as he wrapped his arms tightly around her, his eyes welling with tears. He hugged her close, resting his cheek on the top of her head. The two of them stayed there for a moment, neither wanting to let go but both knowing that they should. Eventually, Mary stepped back and Robert reluctantly let go of her. She turned back towards the sea and Robert joined her; but they stood a little closer to each other than they had been before.
"Did you ever love him?" Mary asked cautiously, not daring to look over at Robert's face.
"I think I loved the idea of him- the idea of it all, I guess. But not him, not really. And I don't think he truly loved me either," Robert replied, keeping his voice as steady as he could manage.
"I suppose that makes two of us, then," Mary sighed, tears coming to her eyes once more.
"You can make it through this, both of us can," Robert placed his hand on Mary's and she looked down towards them, watching Robert's fingers curl around hers.
"I can't do it alone," Mary pleaded, looking up into Robert's eyes.
"Neither can I," Robert looked back at her, feeling her pain just as strongly as he felt his own. Slowly, he reached up with his free hand and brushed away a single tear on Mary's cheek. Suddenly, Mary let out a quiet laugh.
"What is it?" Robert asked, confused as he slowly drew his hand away from her face.
"If anyone sees us right now, they're going to think I'm the one having the affair," Mary smiled through her tears and Robert couldn't help but let out his own quiet, if slightly disbelieving, laugh.
"We can get through this together," Robert gave Mary's hand a final squeeze before letting go.
"We can. It'll be hard, God knows it. But we can do this," Mary stood up a little straighter, gently shaking her hair out of her face.
"I should probably get going, it's starting to get dark," Robert sighed, looking towards the twilight sky as the first stars began to emerge.
"Me too…" Mary whispered, before beginning to pull Robert's jumper back over her head.
"No, it's okay. You can keep it. Like I said, it suits you," Robert held out his hands to stop her. Mary paused for a moment before pulling the jumper back down her body and dusting herself off.
"Thank you, Robert. For all of this," Mary smiled. Both of them stayed there for a moment, neither really wanting to leave. But, eventually, Mary began to turn away. Robert did the same, and slowly they walked their separate ways. Both heartbroken; but, for now at least, they knew they could lean on each other. The beginning of a most unlikely friendship.