Q: How can you tell if an elephant is having an affair with your wife? A: You have to wait 22 months.

The saloon was thick with cigarette smoke and the smell of stale beer. The piano player pounded out a mournful tune, weaving a melancholic melody through the raucous laughter and hushed whispers. But at a table tucked away in the corner, the air was thick with tension, thick enough to choke on. John sat hunched over his half-empty glass, his face pale and weathered, eyes dark with a storm of emotions. Across from him sat Marvin, his thick mustache twitching with an air of disgusted amusement. They'd been friends since childhood, but tonight the air crackled with animosity, like tinderbox waiting for a spark.

It had all started with a joke, a clumsy, cruel joke that echoed through the bar and landed squarely on John's already bruised heart. John, a man whose life had been built on devotion and loyalty, had been blindsided by a whisper, a rumor that could shatter the foundation of his world. His wife, Mary, a woman he loved with every fiber of his being, was allegedly...involved with someone.

"Two months,” Marvin had said, a glint in his eye, a wry smile playing on his lips. “That’s all it takes for a rumor like that to blossom into the truth. They say Mary’s been spending a lot of time at the Caldwell ranch lately."

John had scoffed, dismissing it as careless gossip. Mary, his Mary, couldn’t be untrue. She who cherished their vows, who cherished him, wouldn't betray him. But the doubt had taken root, a seed of uncertainty that sprouted with alarming speed. He found himself scrutinizing her gestures, her words, searching for evidence to confirm or deny the unsettling whispers.

"Marvin," John had finally choked out, his voice hoarse with barely contained fury, "Stop it. It’s not funny."

Marvin, sensing the turmoil within his friend, chose to push harder, "You know, speaking of the Caldwell ranch, they keep a few exotic animals there. Heard they just got a pair of elephants."

The words hung in the air, heavy and ominous. John felt a chill run down his spine, a prickle of dread. The mood in the saloon intensified, the laughter and music fading into a distant hum. Marvin's eyes, glimmering with a cruel satisfaction, delivered the punchline.

"They say," he drawled, "it takes twenty-two months for an elephant to show its pregnancy."

John felt the world spin. The knowledge was like a blow to his gut, a truth both undeniable and unbearable.

Perhaps, Marvin's words weren't meant to be taken literally, perhaps he was just teasing, but the seed of doubt had taken root, growing into a towering oak of suspicion. He looked at Mary's reflection in his beer, her innocent smile mocking him in the dimly lit saloon. The world had tilted on its axis, and John was left grasping at the wreckage of his shattered trust, forced to wait twenty-two agonizing months for the truth to reveal itself.