Competing with a Cell Phone for My Affair Partner’s Attention

And how it set off my redheaded temper

Pic by DALLE by Author

I could feel the anger bubbling up from my toes, rising until I couldn’t hold it in anymore. I stood up and said, “That’s it!”

I was staying over at my Affair Partner’s place, knowing that this was precious “bonus time” before I wouldn’t see him for a while. We were both going on separate trips, and it would be weeks before we’d be together again. Every moment counted. I wanted to savor the time we had, just him and me, watching TV together, enjoying each other’s company.

I wish he felt the same!

But there he was, engrossed in his cell phone, smiling and chatting away without a word to me about who he was talking to. Sometimes he’d say, “Oh, I’m talking to so-and-so,” but not this time. I kept looking over, feeling more and more sidelined. The more he stayed glued to that phone, the more invisible I felt.

He seemed engrossed in his conversation, smiling at whatever he was reading and clearly enjoying the chat.

Normally, I can keep my emotions in check, but I’d had a couple of glasses of wine. I started out mellow and happy, but seeing him so absorbed in his phone…