Meeting The Other Woman

WILLIAM PETERSON (41), owner of a very profitable IT company, and his wife JOAN (35), a Veterinarian, enjoy an idyllic life with their daughter, MELANIE (8) in a well-to-do Austin, Texas suburb. A perfect life for perfect people. One night, William hosts a party for his employees at a local bar – SULLIVAN’S. It’s there that he first meets an attractive bartender, KIMBERLY MANSFIELD (28). She’s a broke, aspiring artist slinging drinks to make ends meet while she waits for word on her application for a grant to a prominent Art School. William’s immediately smitten. Of course, Kimberly’s seen the older, married man on the prowl a thousand times. There’s nothing she’s going to fall for. The night ends – uneventful. It should be where the story ends….It isn’t. There’s just something about Kimberly. William can’t get her out of his mind. He returns to the bar several times over the next few weeks - engages Kimberly in chit-chat, sometimes idle, sometimes meaningful - always entertaining. William is loaded with wit, charm and is easy on the eyes to boot. But Kimberly remains steadfast – it ain’t happening. Until it does… A full-blown affair ensues. William wines and dines Kimberly. The sex is invigorating. Touch is intoxicating and, for the first time in her life, Kimberly feels the addiction of being desired. The affair blossoms into a four-year relationship, complete with a promise that William will leave Joan as soon as Melanie turns fourteen. As that date nears, Kimberly becomes pregnant and receives a promise from William that they will marry. However, as fate would have it, at that same time Joan is diagnosed with breast cancer. The break-up of William’s marriage has to wait – at least until Joan recovers. Joan’s cancer treatment end as Kimberly’s due date approaches. Unbeknownst to Kimberly, William’s devotion to Joan has grown during her illness and he now knows he cannot leave her. He informs Kimberly of this decision as she lays in a hospital bed cradling their newborn baby son. This, along with a bout of post-partum depression sends Kimberly in a dark spiral. In a moment of dark desperation, Kimberly steals a gun from Sullivan’s bar and stakes out William’s house. When the sun rises, she shoots William dead as he and Joan stand in their driveway. Five years pass and Kimberly is wasting away on death row. Just thirty minutes away from her scheduled execution, Joan makes the last of dozens of visits to Kimberly. Kimberly has always refused to see Joan – until this time. Joan has come with a promise. She’ll make sure that Kimberly’ son is taken care of. All she wants in return is to find out how much of her life was a lie. It’s an offer Kimberly can’t refuse. An angry and bitter Kimberly makes sure Joan feels the pain as she describes the intimate details of her life with William. Her anger at Joan for not catching William – her anger at Joan for surviving cancer. But at the end, Kimberly decides to give Joan a final gift. She reveals that the bullet fired that morning was really meant for Joan. That William had sacrificed his life to spare hers. It’s time. A Guard comes for Kimberly. Her fate is sealed. She’s sent to the execution chamber. Joan’s sent to start over a life that she now realizes was a lie.