Tina’s husband, Adam, suggested that she vacation somewhere in South Dakota. She had no idea why until he snuck up there one night. She followed him for 20 minutes until they entered a spooky cave, and what she saw there was completely unexpected.
“Honestly, I don’t understand why you chose South Dakota. We could go to New York. See a Broadway show, or even Disney World would be better. But South Dakota? What’s there?” Tina whined while her husband Adam drove, insisting they were going somewhere great.
“South Dakota is great, babe. My parents used to take me there when I was a kid. There are hotels near a forest, guided cave tours and a lot of other things,” Adam said, smiling but keeping his focus on the road.
“So? What’s so great about caves? Wait, we’re not staying in one, are we?” she asked in panic.
“No, no. I know you wouldn’t like that. But we’re going to see Mount Rushmore and other great things. It’s going to be amazing. You’ll see,” he continued, as cheerful as she’s ever seen him had. She sighed and decided to enjoy this vacation as much as possible.
Your tour of Mount Rushmore wasn’t bad. She had more fun than expected and went to a gift shop to buy some great souvenirs for her parents.
Not caring about anything, she rushed out and got in the car.
“See? You liked it. I knew it,” Adam said as they rested at their hotel.
“You’re right. It was amazing. Also, the view from this hotel is amazing. Did you live here with your parents when you were little?” Tina asked herself and looked out the window.
“No. This hotel is newer. I think it used to be an RV site, but my parents and I didn’t stay there. We just drove through and explored the woods. That was fun. I love caves,” said Adam and absentmindedly unpacked a nice shirt.
“Okay, honey, I’m going to wash up,” Tina said and went to the bathroom.
A few hours later she was lying in bed exhausted and almost fell asleep. She must have fallen asleep properly for a few minutes, but a shaking woke her up. She opened one eye and saw her husband at the foot of the bed, all dressed up.
He was remarkably quiet and a cold shiver ran down Tina’s spine. But she pretended to be asleep when he turned to face her. She heard the door of her hotel room open and close and rushed out of bed.
Where is he going? What’s going on here?”, she wondered – hysterical thoughts shot through her head. She had to follow him. So Tina looked around and grabbed a t-shirt, sweater and sweatpants to stay warm outside.
Luckily they were on the ground floor so she could clearly see him exiting the hotel’s front door and heading back toward the woods. is he insane
Tina walked many steps behind him and tried not to draw his attention to her presence. But he went on. He was out to get somewhere, and Tina needed to know where to go, even though her heart told her it was better not to know.
No, it’s better to know the truth. It just keeps getting better,” she shook off her thoughts and continued walking down the path.
After walking for almost 20 minutes, they approached a cave. Tina would never have known she was there if Adam hadn’t gone straight inside. She stopped and braced herself outside. That was the scariest moment of her life. Who just enters a cave like that? What is he doing there?
She walked in slowly to be unobtrusive and kept walking until voices echoed in the walls.
“I can’t believe you’re here!” said a female voice. Who the hell is that?
“I can’t believe it either. I just took a chance,” Adam replied. “Emily, I… it’s been 15 years, but it feels like yesterday.”
“Oh, Adam,” the voice breathed and their conversation ended. Tina’s heart broke as the unmistakable kissing sounds and passion echoed through the area. But somehow she still couldn’t believe it. She had to see it with her own eyes, even in this dark, ugly cave.
There was a spot of light. One of them had dropped his phone and lit the area, or maybe it was on purpose.
But the scene that presented itself to her was clear. They kissed and it got even more intense than that.
Tina couldn’t watch anymore. She walked and almost ran back to the hotel. Luckily she didn’t get lost as the hotel lights were easy to find despite walking so long to the caves. Back in her room, she grabbed her bag and everything she could find, including the car keys.
Not caring about anything, she rushed out and got in the car. It was Adam’s car, but she didn’t care. He cheated on me with a woman in a cave in South Dakota! To hell with him!
So she drove off, but quickly realized that she didn’t know the area well, so she stopped at another hotel, checked into a room, and tried to rest. Luckily the day had been exhausting so Tina was tired enough to turn off her aching heart and racing brain.
She checked out the next day and went to a local diner for breakfast. She sat down at the counter.
“What would you like to drink?” asked the waitress.
“What are you taking?” Tina asked herself.
“I don’t know if it’s worse or better… but it’s practically the same,” Tina said, pursing her lips.
“The usual. Coffee, orange juice, lemonade. I don’t know,” the woman replied, confused.
“Is there anything stronger?”
“It’s 9 o’clock in the morning,” the woman said, frowning.
“Okay, then a coffee. But please make it really dark,” Tina asked and rubbed her forehead.
“Bad night?” said a male voice beside her, and Tina turned to a friendly, round face that grinned slightly at her.
Normally she wouldn’t speak to a stranger, even if he seemed friendly. But he was right. Last night had been the worst of her life.
“You could say that,” she replied in a firm voice.
“I bet she wasn’t worse than mine,” he continued.
Her eyebrows went up. “Oh, really? How much do you bet?”
“Wow, are you so sure? Let me think,” the man paused. “Whoever has the worst story buys the breakfast.”
“Deal,” Tina said as the waitress brought her the coffee and sipped at the scalding, bitter nectar.
“Then I’ll start,” said the man. “By the way, my name is Jerry. Last night was my fifth anniversary with my girlfriend. We had the best time ever. It was everything as it can be. But this morning she woke me up at 4 a.m. and told me that she going to ‘the boy in the cave’.”
Tina almost spat out her coffee. “What?”
“I said that too. But she said that she waited in the cave for the boy for 15 years and then started packing,” Jerry continued, his eyes reflecting his feelings at the memory. “She said it was now or never and that she couldn’t lose him again. They were going out together now. I thought she was having a nervous breakdown.”
“Oh my god,” Tina whispered. “What happened then?”
“I followed her and another man was waiting for her in the lobby. He was…his nice shirt was almost wrinkled so I knew something had happened. I just stood there and watched them walk away.” , finished Jerry, his mouth still hanging open as if reliving the scene.
“Wow,” Tina murmured.
Jerry shook his head to clear his memory and smiled at Tina. “So, is your story worse? Did I win the bet?”
“I don’t know if it’s worse or better… but it’s practically the same,” Tina said, pursing her lips at which Jerry frowned. A few minutes later they were both laughing at the absurdity.
They both paid for their breakfast and broke up, but not before exchanging phone numbers. Tina went home, filed for divorce and waited for the proceedings to be completed. She didn’t hear much from the passionate cavers, and to be honest she didn’t really care.
Jerry became a texting friend because he lived five hours away. However, Tina applied for a job in his town and moved close to him. A few months later they started dating and promised each other that they would never, ever, ever… vacation near caves.
What can we learn from this story?
The things that make you cry today won’t hurt as much tomorrow. Lovesickness and the pain of bad memories fade away because everything gets better with time.
Something better will come when you least expect it. It could be almost immediately. Tina discovered her husband’s affair and almost immediately met her next one who was going through something similar.
Share this story with your friends. Maybe it will brighten your day and inspire you.
