Gerbec 1

Ashley Gerbec
English 101H MW 9:30-10:55 am
Professor McKeever
September 23, 2014
Word Count: 720
The Cheating Contractor
Chris cell phone flew into the wall shattering the entire screen. It was a sunny, warm,
day when Chris and his wife Erika were on vacation in Florida. She had just discovered he has a
second cell phone which he uses to talk to his mistress Naomi.
How long have you had this phone? Who is Naomi? How long have you been seeing
her?, yelled Erika.
Its a misunderstanding. It is not what it looks like. We are only in contact because she
is caring for my father on hospice, said Chris.
Chris had a habit of cheating on previous girlfriends he had. This also is not the first time
his current wife caught him cheating. Selfishness and lying are his weaknesses.
I dont believe sending these pictures of herself are necessary to let you know how your
father is doing. How could you tear apart our family like this? Didnt you think about how this
would all affect your son? shrieked Erika.
That one day, that one discovery, was all it took to flip Chris entire world upside down.
Chris is my uncle. He is in his forties. He had short brown hair with bright blue eyes. He owned
his own home remodeling company. He has one employee Dan who works with him.
Chris, how far away are you? I thought you were arriving at the job at 9am, Dan texted
Chris.

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It was 9:35 and Chris was still not at the job.
On my way, Ill be there in about twenty minutes, replied Chris.
Friends and family who are the closest to Chris always know to expect him an hour later then he
promises. He is habitually late for birthday parties, cookouts, and work. He was even late for his
fathers funeral.
It was 10:00am when Chris showed up. He hopped out of his pickup truck, wearing blue
jeans and a white t shirt. He drew out his green box of Camel Menthol cigarettes, grasped a
single cigarette and dug in his pocket for his silver Zippo lighter. He placed his cigarette to his
mouth. Then he asked Dan for a lighter. Often unprepared, he was always borrowing a lighter
or cigarette from those around him.
Good morning Dan. How much work have you gotten done? smirked Chris.
I finished painting the shutters and cleaned out the gutters, replied Dan.
Good, now get back to work, chuckled Chris.
Chris always had a smirk on his face with a sarcastic sense of humor. He always smokes
when he arrives at a destination, even though he is always late. This is because he doesnt smoke
in his prized blue pickup truck. He started unloading tools from the trunk.
Are you still helping me move in with Naomi on Saturday? asked Chris.
Yeah, I will be there at 1:00pm, replied Dan.
Saturday was a busy day, packing and unloading the pickup truck. The divorce was
filed, but not final. He was already on his way in with his new girlfriend Naomi. Erika got
another huge surprise a month after she found out Chris was cheating; she discovered he had not
been paying the mortgage. Therefore, they were getting evicted. As a result, they had one
month to move out. However, Chris didnt have a problem with this because he was excited to

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move in with his mistress. On the other hand, Erika struggled to find a new home for her family,
unemployed, because Chris had been the only source of income. Moving day was finished and it
was time for Chris to settle in to his new home. The next day he called Dan.
Hey Dan, I decided to downgrade my company and work less. Now that I am living in a
home with two incomes I dont need to work as often. Im going to reduce my customers and
wont need your help anymore, explained Chris.
Chris lacks loyalty and honesty. His selfish ways hurt him and those around him the
most. His sarcastic sense of humor often rubs people the wrong way. Due to the ugly divorce,
and Chris selfish choices, all of his friends and family disowned him. Dan was the only one
who supported Chris and stuck by his side. That simple phone call was all it took for Chris to
lose the only friend he had left.