A Waffle a day keeps Adultery Away (Short story, Drama)

My entry into the latest NYC 500-word short story, prompts I had to use:

Drama

Action: Folding

Item: a waffle 

Synopsis

Lizzie dishes up waffles and secrets with the same innocent smile, certain her double life is safe. But when John bites into suspicion, the marriage might be cooked.

Lizzie embraced Martin warmly, a far cry from the rather more adult acts they had been embroiled in only moments earlier. As he wrapped his arms around her, she felt him place the envelope in the back pocket of her cut-away jeans. “Plus a little something extra for you. I hope maybe next time we can do what we… discussed.” Martin gave her a peck on the cheek and was gone.

Lizzie enjoyed her job; she felt there was nothing wrong with being a sex worker. She bust a gut to maintain her figure, and if people wanted to pay her to enjoy that, well, she’d earned it. Besides, it was 2025, and she put a lot more effort into her work than so-called ‘OnlyFans girls.’ The only issue was her partner, John. He was a good guy, but somewhat old-fashioned. She felt bad keeping how she made her money secret, but she made more than him, so he never questioned it when she said she was the CEO of her own company.

She was folding the laundry as John came in. “Hey, hun, tough day?” she called out. John grunted. It was 7 PM, and he’d had a hell of a day. The rollicking he’d received from his boss was nothing compared to the anonymous tip he’d received via text. He’d almost deleted it, assuming it was spam—who even texts anymore? But just as he was about to hit delete, he saw his name. Interest piqued, he opened it up. ‘She’s cheating on you. A friend.’

The traffic was murder on the way home—ironic, given he would want to murder anyone who had dared to approach his beautiful wife. He thought about confronting her, but didn’t. He wanted to watch her closely, to see if he could note anything suspicious.

A week passed, and John hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary. He promised himself to just keep a close eye. After checking he was asleep, Lizzie quickly sent a snap to Martin: “Tomorrow 10 AM.” Before kissing John on the forehead and turning off the light, she paused for a moment. Did his eyes flutter?

Once John had headed out to work, she set about preparing herself. She didn’t mind role-play, although she wasn’t a big fan of the degrading style she was about to do; the eye-watering remuneration made her forget that, however.

Fully dressed as a ‘service wench,’ she set about making the breakfast requested: a waffle with two eggs and a scotch. At 9:45, looking at her phone in shock, she fired off two texts. At 10:10, the door flung open.

“Where is he?” John screamed, barely taking in the sight before him.

“Hi, sir, you got my texts. I wanted to add a little spice to our relationship. Your breakfast is ready,” she purred, pulling out a chair, showing her ample bosom.

John dropped his fist in confusion as Martin’s car drove by without stopping.