(Does it Matter?)

Prologue

Have you ever stood still for a moment in a busy retail New York Store and watched the masses walk around you? I suggest you all try it. It will show you just how unimportant you are in the scheme of things. You’re like an ant on a busy sidewalk. Masses of people from all levels of society pass you by, like your nonexistent.

Did you know that little ant, you may have stepped on the way into the store was most likely a worker sent out to do the bidding of its queen? Assigned to do a task that fills a need. When it doesn’t return the Queen will send out another worker and will keep doing so until the assignment is completed. The Queen will use as many workers as possible that are required to get what she wants to be accomplished done, no matter how many are lost. Outside of your own reality that is how important you really are. You’re just a bug waiting to be squat.

Back in the day, God help you if you’re in a busy store that has a five minute special on that was announced via a sound system on a busy night. I hope you're prepared and suited up for battle because instantly a bunch of boobs will ascend on you trying to get the right one, the right size, the right color, all for the right price. Not one of these boobs will be in heat. All will have come for a battle that is to be won. Many comedy movies’ have had scenes like this.

They will push, shove, kick, and even bite the unknown bitch that gets in their way. It’s an amazing sight. It really is. To see so many different shapes, sizes, and curves of asses sticking up towards your face as the boobs dig through the special discount bin is a sight that one may never be able to get rid of. Having bent over to shove their faces directly into the bin looking for the right one wearing God know what can be quite a fright.

If you’re an ass man, it may be a delightful sight. At moments like this, a bunch of female hogs in a pig pen is more desirable than these bitches. Believe me these bitches at their stage in life are not what you call prime meat.

You laugh, but it’s not so funny when you do it for a living and you’re the one having to get rid of the dead stock during the retail story busiest hour which was back then Friday nights until ten and all day Saturday. Where did you think the term Black Sunday came from? It was named to honor the widows of the men that got trampled to death in one of these battles.

Nowadays we just sell it on eBay, after all, there is a sucker born every minute. Be thankful because these are never ‘honey-do’ moments. If it was, it could be your ass that some bitch is climbing over.

So, let make it clear that what I have written so far is a warning to all those husbands to be in training. When your Queen Bee decides on something don’t stand still, get out of way. It does matter what’s right or wrong because the truth does not matter. What they want, when they want it, to them is what is important. Anything else on their totem pole at the time does not matter because their ability to focus can be deadly.

I know because I may be the last survivor of overcoming what a woman believed, even when I was the last to know. All caused because my Queen Bee got caught in a lie she could not get out of while talking to our neighbor who believed she would not become a queen bee until she was married.

In her eyes, a queen bee had to have six or seven little ones running around with her calling her mom. It started a series of events that once opened could not be stopped. The difference between these two was like night and day. Both, I realized later wanted little ole me for varied reasons.

No man alive deserves to be put into a situation that he cannot win. It’s best in these situations to stand on the sidelines and let the Queen bee’s fight it out. Especially when it involves those Queen Bees that believe their husbands are nothing but a possession because they wear the wedding band. When a Queen bee believes that complete obedience by you is necessary.

Believe me, gentlemen, there are no bigger Queen bees, than boobs whose hormones are roaring because of burning desire to recreate. Boob’s in that condition become primitive in nature and are wild beasts. The problem is that we as a society have evolved from the time when a man could whack them on the head and drag them by their hair to our caves.

Most Queen bees avoid each other. They tend to keep out of each other territory. When confronted with one the other Queen Bee will watch and wait because one must know their enemy's strengths and weaknesses in order to win. It’s always a battle of intelligence between two Queen bees. One last thought there is nothing more dangerous in the world than a Queen bee who has feels she has been defeated.

********

My problem started when my Queen and a Queen wanna be on a warm spring, early March Sunday afternoon were sitting outside on the raised second level deck enjoying the warmth of the day. My wife and our neighbor a very desirable looking woman who had never married were catching up with the things going on in their busy lives.

I have to be honest, I myself have found myself looking at our neighbor in a non-proper manner more than once and have had to hide my growing erection at times. For my tastes, she was that appealing. If I had of met her first, I would never have married my wife. But like all honorable dufus’s, I had made my bed and I would lie in it.

I was directly underneath them quietly working on something that now seems unimportant. I believe I was putting together a piece of newly purchased equipment for aerating the lawn. Neither of the ladies knew that I was there because I had been going in and out of the garage quite regularly that both were now ignoring me. It was the serious bit of conversation they were having above me that caught my total attention.

Dinah and Bridget both having turned twenty- eight in the last few months were in a heated discussion about what they were looking forward to in life. Bridget was frustrated because none of the men she had dated were really marriage material in her eyes.

She was husband hunting because her biological clock in her mind was ticking down, and she wanted a couple of children towing behind her as soon as possible. It didn’t help that her mother felt she should have been married to a good man years ago and was beginning to think that she was too meticulous. As her mother said she should just find a man train him and get it done.

My wife Dinah, on the other hand, had always been a strong independent woman who listened to no one said, “After we got married, I told my husband Trey that the doctors said I couldn’t conceive so when I was in the hospital a few years back getting my appendix removed, I had the Doctors tie my tubes at the same time. Trey still does not know that I had that done. I wanted to make sure that I would never have kids because I was afraid it would alter my looks. My image is particularly important to the social media that I’m attracting to follow me. It took a while, but Trey is finally beginning to accept it.”

Bridget said, “Dinah that’s the dirtiest thing I have ever heard of Trey would make a great dad. He loves kids. You both talked about having kids when I first met the two of you. What gives you the right to deny him in that way? Why would you do that?”

“I did it because I needed to change the perception of his reality,” Dinah said. “By making him believe that it was an act of God that brought my medical problem upon me.”

“So, you used his belief in your honesty to deliberately deceive him,” Bridget said. “Just to take away for good, what he hoped and planned for.”

“If we had children, it would take away from me what belongs to me, his undivided attention,” Dinah said. “End the trips we take twice a year to award ourselves. Children would have robbed me of the lifestyle we had created for ourselves, so I wasn’t going to allow that to ever happen. I’ll be right back I’m going to refill our glasses.”

As my wife walked back into the house, I stood there in silence as if I were saying to myself did, I just hear that? I walked out from beneath the deck and headed towards my car. I had to get out of there. At that moment I wanted to be as far away from my wife as possible. If I didn’t the anger, I was feeling would build into a rage that I might not be able to control. With the mood I found myself in I knew it would not take much for me to kill her in a moment of rage.

I had been raised from childhood to believe that there was no way under any circumstances that would justify a man hitting a woman. I was afraid that with what I had just heard that I could be capable of that, so I needed to get away until I calmed down.

What I had just heard had made me sick to my stomach. Not only because of what she said but what it implied. I was oblivious anyone who saw me driving my car that I was in total shock. Bridget saw me and knew that I had just overheard their conversation.

I would learn much later that Bridget was attracted to me just as much as I was to her. Out of our mutual respect for Dinah, neither one of us had acted upon it. She decided at that moment that I was the perfect man for her to procreate with because she saw me as being great father material.

She decided that if I started thinking about divorcing my wife Dinah because of her lies she would find a way to move in to be my partner in the walk of life. I did not know it, but the battle lines of the two different types of Queen Bees had been drawn because of the conduct of one.

********

Dinah and Bridget had grown up in different environments. Dinah’s father was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and spoilt his daughter with everything. He had been raised by a strict father who was ruthless in his business dealings and was known to run his businesses with a hard cold hand.

One of the stories he loved telling was about when his father was having union trouble with two of his companies. After a six month strike, he closed down the factories, sold the building to a different company that he owned, re opened them as nonunion operations. His cost in the long run dropped by thousands. As a result, Dinah’s father had a well earned reputation of being dirty, cruel, and determined when he had to be. He was known to be a hawk in the business community.

Dinah was raised to expect the best and demanded it. Her first full-time job was in upper management in one of his businesses, so money to her was just a convenience to make things easier. She expected the best that money could buy regardless of price and was not satisfied with anything less.

Dinah a stunning woman with black curly shoulder length hair with a thirty-four, twenty-six, thirty-four body shape and was five foot six. She was extremely critical if everything was not over the top all the time. Even our vacations were to the extreme. For her, it was two weeks of being pampered too as if she was the Queen of England. For me, they were a waste of money and nothing but a bore. They were something I neither wanted nor enjoyed.

Every piece of clothing or jewelry was picked by Dinah to enhance her image as a trendsetter and a leader in the social media community. She had successfully turned her twitter account into a money-making adventure. In the years she had been doing she had brought her income from nothing to the point that she was hauling in more than me. Since she had started on that course, her focus into it was with a determination that was extreme. Everything was planned to get her further attention via the social pages and the mass media.

Everything she did these days was to enhance its revenue potential. Every month she had a new hairstyle and a new image. In fashion, she was more popular locally than the President’s wife. She was being followed so much that if she decided she liked something and bought it within weeks for many it was a must-have item.

Over the last three years, her following had grown to just over a million. She was working with two to three sponsors and was making good money by being nothing but a social butterfly. It was her ultimate goal was to land a big sponsor in which there was the possibility to make millions.

She loved being the center of attention and milked it to her advantage. Every image of her was designed to influence her marketability and to draw more followers into the illusion she was creating about herself thus adding to its revenue-generating stream. On occasion, she would type something on twitter just to be able to create a situation or an idea that would give her additional wanted attention.

Being out and about in the city during social events was important to her. The more people in her entourage the better the visibility in the gossip pages which in turn was twittered about. If it was happening in the city of New York she had to be part of it. That meant she was out most nights until the wee hours of the morning.

As a result, I quite often was left behind and that suited me fine. I did not need the limelight or brainless idiots following me to define who and what I am. Besides the daytime job I had required that I had to be sharp and on my game. If I didn’t, I would last long in the cutthroat business I was in.

Bridget’s father was a working stiff who slowly worked his way up the ladder the hard way. He had to work hard and long for everything he got. He had passed his values on to all of his children and took nothing for granted.

Starting with nothing he designed a product, developed it, then created a marketing line that allowed him over the years to grow his company into a worldwide organization. He grew fast by buying out businesses that would fit into what he was building. He ran a tight ship, kept his costs under control and his organization was one of the blue-chip stocks that paid increasing dividends every year. His team had a slow and steady approach that worked for him very well.

In his personal life, his wife and children always came first. He raised his daughter to be grateful for what she got or what she earned. It was hard to earn but easy to lose so one had to be careful and modest in everything they did.

Bridget was selective and more reserved in her nature towards things like getting more value for half the price out of things than my wife ever did. Those values had brought her a long way since she had graduated from university. Both were quite secure in their positions in life. Yet the two were the complete opposite in every way. It still puzzled me how they could become friends.

Bridget had a wholesomeness to her that bloomed fully. She would be just as happy holding a fishing pole in a river dressed in blue jeans having a blast with friends and family, then being the center of attention at a high society dance. For any man who took the time to know Bridget, they could spend the rest of their lives being content by just being with her. Another advantage would be the benefits gained by being lost in those sensual curves.

Even at her age, she was a natural beauty whose loving nature would be a great asset when she became a mother. Anyone who ran into her knew she was the real package, not someone recreating herself to become the image everyone wanted her to be. In my eyes, both of the ladies were polar opposites.

********

I was digesting the words I had heard out of my wife of six years mouth over a cold beer at a strange watering hole. The way I saw it, the more I felt like I was nothing but a glorified servant. I was expected to perform a role Dinah had designed for me and as long as I did, she would occasionally thank me by being in my presence.

Everything she did for me was to benefit what she was trying to do with her social media presence online. Seeing what our relationship had evolved into forced me to ask myself what the selfish bitch had seen in me in the first place.

The longer I thought about it the more I understood how little love there was left in our marriage. I was now just one of the many pieces of equipment she had use to make her online image and lifestyle better. She had been the judge, juror, and executer in how our marriage would work. My thoughts about us and our relationship as a married couple had reached the point that they no longer mattered.

To protect a lie, she had made sure that her body would not reproduce. In this reality, I was seeing that she really had an inability to appreciate anything. She used all to further her goals. I was just another tool she had to manipulate and turn into an advantage. My wishes and wants had been totally marginalized in our marriage. Now that I had learned from her own mouth her real truths and the lies, she used to promote them I had to decide if I could continue to live with them.

Unless you have been put in that situation its hard to comprehend that you end up taking a close look at yourself all over again. Everything from likes, dislikes, morals, and belief’s are looked at and questioned.

My cellphone rang. I looked at it and killed the call. I wasn’t really ready to talk to the Queen Bee I had married; I was too busy trying to figure out if I should stay or run. By the time I left the bar, I pretty much had decided what had to be done.

I would no longer be at her beck and call; she would have to start doing a lot of things for herself. No longer would she have my full support. Our lives were about to change in a drastic manner. I knew that in her self-centeredness she would never comprehend the reality of what was going to happen.

I could now see clearly that Dinah for the last three years had been slowly separating herself from building a future with me. I wasn’t sure if she realized it. Neither had I, but I did now. I prepared to go home knowing full well she would be gone to be seen at another social event with her entourage.

I had taken stock of our life together and knew where it was now headed. I knew for sure with the direction she was going there was no way for her to come back to some point of normalcy in our relationship. Time had allowed to much damage to be done. I was right by the time I returned home Dinah had gone out. It gave me the time to start to formulate my plans going forward.

********

I walked into my office the next day bright and early before anyone else had gotten there. I pretty much had decided my marriage to Dinah was over. I was looking at the end of the last market day stock values and the futures market for our clients.

Algorithms would click in automatically if they were triggered but I was looking for stocks that I could sell short and buy back later for less, both for my clients and me personally. Five or six times a year I would play the day trader’s game to make some extra revenue for my clients who allowed that.

I knew that I best make as much as possible as fast as possible because when I walked out on my marriage this job would likely be over. My wife’s father was one of the firm's biggest clients and he would most likely demand it. Knowing that I was really motivated. I knew had to be extra careful because with the mood I was in I did not my emotional thoughts leading my decisions. I found two stocks that looked promising and tagged them to pop up on the screen when the markets opened.

It paid off, I sold them short three times that morning before the first hour of trading was done with large volumes which got people believing it was time to sell. The latest rumors about the ongoing hassles between the USA and China added to the turmoil in the market that day. After the comment from the officials in China was heard by the market it plunged downward.

I was thankful that the smallness of political leaders allowed their childish behavior to come out publicly. One idiot said something stupid so the other had to respond in kind. The stock market dropped five hundred points by noon by the end of the day it was down nine hundred points. The two stocks I had picked were two of the day’s biggest losers.

I put in buy-in at 2 pm for two dollars a share less than the current value and by closing I had bought all I had sold earlier back. For my clients, I had made one point seven million dollars net, for myself I netted out at two hundred and fifty thousand. I was enormously proud of the day's accomplishments, but I had no one to tell.

After the stock market closed, I started to draft the emails I would send out in the morning to inform the clients what I had done and how much they had made. The second paragraph would contain my suggestions on what to do with it to avoid a huge tax bill at year-end. It was almost five when I got done.

I called Bridget at her father’s office and asked her to join me for supper if she was still going to be in the downtown part of the city at the end of the workday. She was and we arranged a time and a place. Then I texted my wife Dinah to inform her I was having dinner with a new client knowing dam well that she wouldn’t care because she was out and about either creating or getting more social media attention.

Dinah responded in kind letting me know what she was doing and that she wouldn’t be home until the wee hours in the morning at the earliest. She and her entourage were hitting one of the popular night clubs to create some twitter moments to promote her social presence. The key to her success was keeping her physical presence out there. I was realizing that in her reality Dinah had to be the center of attention because everything was about her and her wants.

Bridget was waiting for me in the lobby of the restaurant when I walked in. In her office clothing, she still looked stunning to me. I guess she caught me looking too closely at her in a way she hadn’t seen before because a huge warm smile came across her face.

Approaching her I informed her I had made our reservation, so she stood up placed her arm around mine as we walked to the hostess. Once I told the hostess my name we were escorted to our table. I pulled out her chair so she could sit down before I did the same for mine. Once we were sited, across from each other we started to relax. I thought she had prettiest emerald eyes.

“I’m not surprised you called me Trey,” Bridget said. “I assume you heard your wife and I talking yesterday because when you walked to your car, I could see the look of shock on your face.”

“Unfortunately, I did. It was an eye-opening event for me that has forever changed everything,” I said. “There is no way that genie can be put back in the bottle because if I had known the truth in the first place, we would not have gotten married.”

“You don’t really mean that do you,” Bridget asked.

“Yes, I do,” I replied in a serious voice.

“Have you decided what you’re going to do?” Bridget asked as she deliberately looked into my eyes to discern for herself if I was being truthful and straight forward.

“Considering what I have learned, Dinah has really left me no choice,” I said. “I’m not a man who can live someone else’s lies or accept them. Maybe others will but I won’t. Her conduct has made it clear that I was never worth being told the truth.”

“It sounds like you’re going to want me to verify what she said,” Bridget observed. “And how do you want me to do it?”

“A notarized statement should do it,” I said. “With that, I can go to court and get the court to order the hospital to prove or disprove that the medical procedure was done. Since Dinah has already stated that it was, it is now legally can be researched with a court order because in the court's eyes it’s now considered public knowledge. If it was done the divorce will be on.”

“But how will that help you in the divorce?” Bridget asked. “I can’t see it giving you an advantage.”

“You’re right in a divorce it wouldn’t be, in an annulment it’s a gold mine,” I said. “It lays the foundation of proof that fraud was used by her to get me to marry her. The court would be forced to rule that she leaves with only what she brought into the marriage.”

Bridget’s face went white. Trey’s thinking was brilliant. Dinah would be more upset by being dinged in the pocketbook then having her marriage ended. She believed by what she had been witnessing that their marriage had devolved to the point that it was nothing more than a friend with benefits thing. She now believed that Trey was beginning to see it in the same way.

An annulment would make it in the court's eyes as if the marriage never existed. Her deliberate deception was the key part, and she realized it. Dinah had told him what she needed him to believe so that she could satisfy her wants and wishes.

“What you don’t know Bridget, that I was with Dinah when she broke the news that she couldn’t have children to her parents,” I said. “That was before she had her tubes tied. They were devastated because they were looking forward to being grandparents. It’s her own conduct that is creating the problem. If we can prove that she could have conceived and carried the child full term it will be dynamite in the courts eyes.”

“It will kill them to find out the truth,” Bridget said. “I guess you need to know if there was a medical reason for her having it done. I have known them for years, their good people and don’t deserve this, but neither do you. I’ll have the statement you need set up to be couriered to you tomorrow. I will use an in house staff notary to do it.”

“Thank you,” I said. “Now let’s sit back enjoy our wine and each other’s company while we eat.”

It was an enjoyable meal; Bridget and I discussed our likes and dislikes in general. It surprised us both just how much we had in common. Until now we had been nothing but acquaintances, but circumstances were forcing us to open up to each other and take our relationship to a new level.

That night we started to become friends. It had let to a pleasant discovery of how much we had in common. We ended up going home together because she lived next door. Just before we said good night, Bridget added one more suggestion.

“Trey I’m going to be trying to get my father to turn over the management of his personal investments and mine over to you,” Bridget said. “I’ll tell Dinah that it was my father’s idea. That way I can keep you informed what’s in the back of her mind without getting the second degree from her about the friendship were developing.”

“Sounds good, text me your email address so I can forward some information that you can share with your father,” I said. “That way you will have some valid reasons why you’re making the suggestion to him. I know our fee structure is less than most of our competition.”

The first thing the next morning I sent her the confidential information of what we charged for regular clients and what our spread was for corporate when in negotiations for four o one's accounts of their employees. By giving Bridget the tools, she needed I was protecting both her and me from being accused of doing something unethical for our own benefit.

********

True to her word Bridget got me the letter the very next day. I forwarded it the same day to my lawyer who informed me that he would get me one of the best female divorce lawyers in his firm to manage the case for him. For the rest of the week, Bridget and I would chat on the cellphones briefly. It became something I looked forward to each day.

On Wednesday afternoon I met the female lawyer who agreed to oversee the investigation and the divorce if what I believed was right. She believed that if we could prove what I now believed had been done it wouldn’t take long to get through the courts. After accepting a deposit from me towards my final bill I handed her Bridget’s notarized statement.

Friday was a day that completely blew me away. The stock market had gone up drastically all week and had gained back what it had lost on Monday. So, I sold some of the shares I had bought from Monday’s profit for myself and my clients for a nice profit while leaving the original dollar value of the investments intact. My clients were super happy with the results.

All weekend the relationship between my wife kept getting colder and colder. Dinah could not figure out what was going on between the two of us but did not appear to be concerned about it because she believed that with time things would smooth themselves out.

It was interesting when Dinah commented that she was pleased to see that her best friend and her husband were starting to develop a friendship. Bridget and I wondered if Dinah was picking something up from our body language because we had kept our actual communication between the two of us to a minimum when in my wife’s presence.

It was at eleven am on the following Friday when I got called to report to the President’s Office. Since he was a busy man to be called to his office unexpectedly meant that either you were being promoted or escorted out the door.

His executive assistant looked at me and smiled saying, “Don’t worry. Go right in he’s expecting you, Mr. Richards.”

That made me more worried because his receptionist had never called me Mr. since the first day I had started. I knew instantly that something was about to change.

The President stood up as soon as I entered and offered me his hand saying. “Well done Trey Richards. Getting the President of Datastore Control Corporation to consider coming to our firm with his employee retirement funds for us to manage is a great achievement. The size of that account alone just about doubled our overall volume of what we manage.”

“The Vice President in charge of that division is working out the final details right now. He’s a tough negotiator according to David but is fair,” he added. “Showing him how we could save the employee’s thousands in service fees was tactfully done by you. Again, I say well done young man. We could use a few more like you.”

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

“When are they coming over,” I asked?

“We take over the management the first of April,” he said. “I understand you will be managing Clarence Smith’s personal account as well as his daughter Bridget’s.”

“Well, I can’t take all the credit, sir,” I said. “If it wasn’t for the team, I would not have been able to swing it.”

He smiled and said, “I think there is more to this story than you’re going to tell me. Very few get invited into Clarence Smith’s circle. He is known to be a very private man. I will respect your need for privacy on this matter and leave it at that. With what you have achieved you have gotten the whole board's attention and mine.”

I laughed and smiled not knowing just what to say. Just then a text message came through that saved the day. It was from Bridget lunch at _____ on me, will explain. A smile came across my face.

“Bridget Smith wants to meet me for lunch,” I said as I texted back to confirm. “I guess she wants to confirm what’s going on and to talk about our direction going forward.”

“Take as long as you want if you got nothing pending,” The President said. “You’ve more than earned it. You’re now the man I expect to keep me directly informed if there are any problems with them going forward.”

That one statement made it clear just how important I had become in his eyes.

I went back to my office and shut down my computer. Out of a force of habit I wanted to protect my client list as much as possible. With no locks on inner office doors, it was easy for someone to slip in unnoticed. That way no other in the pool could easily steal them. I was looking forward to hearing Bridget explain why she didn’t tell me.

Bridget was waiting for me when I arrived. She had let her red hair down instead of having it done up in a bun. She had used a curling iron on it, it made her look years younger and brought her natural beauty to the front in a complimentary way. She was wearing a white dress that was definitely not office wear. It hugged her frame tightly which only served to heighten the natural curves of her body. I like every other male fool in the restaurant could not stop looking.

Today she had deliberately dressed to get someone’s attention. She had definitely got mine because looking at her had the fluids in my mouth running. It was working for I could see that she was getting a lot of eye attention from the men waiting to be seated for lunch.

I was happy for Bridget, she deserved it, at five foot eight she was a stunning beauty. Her body features would draw most men in. The problem was that in this area of the city to many are looking for an advantage and would be presenting themselves as something they weren’t. That was partly why she stood out to me. By looking at her on a daily basis you just knew she wasn’t trying to impress someone. She was content in being just herself. With the people in this part of the city, she was rare. The street name for this area was the ‘hustle’ city because most of those in it were playing an angle, developing an edge, or looking for an advantage.

As I walked in, she stood up and walked towards me. Everyone could see the excitement in her eyes was for one man. Once we met, she kissed me softly on the cheek then wrapped her arm around mine. She did that to let all the men know she wasn’t on the market.

At the time I wondered why because she had always been Dinah’s friend would she be showing an interest in me. I should have been able to figure it out, but I didn’t because getting involved with another woman was the last thing on my mind.

“Trey,” Bridget said, “Thank you for what you did. My Dad’s Vice President in charge of finance looked at the figures you provided me and told my dad we would be crazy not to be going with the firm you work with. I got praised over and over again by the Vice President for bringing the idea forward to him first when I could have gone directly to my dad. He bragged to my father that I had put the needs of the employee retirement funds first by finding them a way to earn a percentage or more each year.”

“You're quite welcome. I was glad to do it,” I said. “But I didn’t expect this to happen so fast. I thought it would take a lot longer.”

“My father decided that since our portion of the fee we pay is three percent lower than what we were paying before that half of the saving will be given back to each employee as a yearend bonus that will be added to their four o ones,” Bridget said. “The Vice President sees me now as a valuable company asset and not just a daddy’s girl. I want to thank you for that.”

“That’s an added plus,” I said. “But you could have warned me. I had to bluff through a surprising meeting with the President this morning. I got called in without notice, so I figured I might be facing my termination.”

She laughed, “I did not know my dad called your firm last night and talked to one of the Vice Presidents to talk price and terms until this morning myself. He told me that he made sure to give you the credit for getting us interested in coming over.”

Sliding her hand into mine as it was the most natural thing in the world we walked up to the hostess and Bridget gave her name. We were escorted back to our table. As she slid into the booth I went to go to the other side of the table.

“Trey come sit beside me, there’s plenty of room,” Bridget said. “I promise not to take advantage of you or lie to you ever. As for me trying to seduce you although it might be an appealing idea to me in this place, it’s impossible.”

I hesitated for a moment before sitting down beside her. Her comment brought a smile to my face. So far Bridget had been straightforward in her relationship with me. To me, that was like a breath of fresh air. It wasn’t till after we had left that I realized she had made sure I was sitting on the outside.

Little did I realize that Bridget was already using the social signals to let everyone know in a subtle way that we were involved. When I did figure it all out it was already too late for me to change the direction of our relationship.

“My father asked me how I got the inside information,” Bridget whispered. “I told him that it was a thank you from you for my help in clarifying a statement that is forcing you to start your divorce. He asked why a simple statement would cause a marriage to collapse. I told him that before I revealed that I should talk to you to get your approval because what we shared was confidential. That really perked his interest for some reason. It was he who suggested this luncheon.”

“So that is why I got invited to lunch today,” I said with a smile. “If you trust him to keep it to himself, go ahead and explain.”

“Partly,” Bridget said. “Dinah informed me when she called this morning all excited because she has to go to Paris France in a week’s time. She has an international luxury company wanting her to become their spokesperson in North America with her twitter presence. This is the big sponsor she has been looking for and they have come to her. She is going to be demanding that you change your schedule and go with her.”

“Ah, I see,” I said. “It’s going to be a shock to her when I say no. Her going may be a blessing because it will give me time to start finding an apartment to rent. My lawyer has already served the hospital demanding the proof that the operation took place and is in contact with the health insurance company for their records. The surgeon who did the work is being sued in order to get it confirmed that there was no medical reason to have it done. I think he will quickly comply because otherwise, it’s going to end up costing him a lot of time, and money in court fighting the impossible. He can’t claim it’s privileged because of her being his patient because of her very public statement. ”

“You’re that sure, that your marriage is over?” Bridget asked seriously.

“Bridget, this may sound liking I’m preaching but in today's society with all the mistruths being spread around it’s become acceptable to lie, not take responsibility, blame someone else, and a whole lot of things that are not moral or right, but now are considered socially acceptable,” I said. “You as an average joe can’t sue for slander anymore because of the legal costs which make it easier for these ones to promote their untruths in every way.”

“If you can’t be honest about yourself, and what you’re doing how can you be honest to anyone else,” I said. “I won’t lie about myself or to anyone else for any reason. It may be outdated and old fashioned, but it makes me, me.”

“Yet Dinah, when confronted, will expect me to accept her lies, live them, pay for them and just go along with them. She won’t admit to doing anything. She would explain that what she said was taken the wrong way or out of context. It’s her belief that It’s no big deal as everybody in New York is doing it to some degree. I guess it’s my problem because I have to look at myself in the mirror in the morning,” I said. “As a result, my marriage was dead the moment I found out that our marriage was nothing but a bunch of lies created and dished out by her for her benefit. Hearing from her own mouth what she did to herself, for herself killed any of the love I had left.”

It puzzled me to see that what I had said had put a huge smile on Bridget’s face.

“To a lot of people in this room your words make you a bigot or a hater,” Bridget said. “I agree with you fully, but most won’t.”

“Should I lower my principles, morals, and standards just to help them justify their hate towards me,” I asked? “The moment I do they have won and proved to themselves that everyone who believes differently can be converted to their point of view.”

Bridget leaned in towards me and whispered, “I’m looking forward to getting to know you a lot better. You’re definitely showing me that you’re not what Dinah had led me to believe.”

Just then a retired professor and his partner walked in and were seated at the table the next row over. I recognized them right away and wondered what they were doing in New York. Looking over at me the gay old gentleman let out a big smile. I wondered if it was spring break time.

“Trey Richards is that you? What's it been ten years since you were my student?” He asked as his partner turned towards me and smiled.

“Hi Robbie and Bobby, May I introduce you to Ms. Bridget Smith,” I said. “Yes, Professor it’s been ten at least. You're both looking good. You still teaching?”

“Just one or two classes to keep my fingers in it,” he said with a smile and a laugh. “After you, I figured I had, had enough.”

“Was he that bad of student?” Bridget asked with genuine interest.

“No, challenging, respectful, and determined as all hell, yes,” he said. “All in all, he pushed the whole class to excel by challenging my teachings. He made that school year remarkably interesting for me because he pushed me to question what I believed. I retired because we were being forced to give passing grades to those who should have failed because they didn’t put in the effort and felt they shouldn’t have to. So, if their final mark was five points or less from passing, we were to boost it, so they got credit for it when they didn’t earn it.”

Trish asked, “Are you serious?”

“The new policy was to start with the new students in the fall because according to board our own born American citizens couldn’t keep up with the foreign students,” he said. “I took early retirement with full pay and do two classes a week with those doing their education on a course by course basis. Every student in those is there because they want to learn and work. Not because of their ‘entitled’ class.”

“We have heard stories about things like that but it’s not really that bad, is it?” Bridget asked.

“The last year I taught full time I got offered big money by five parents wanting me to allow their failing children to pass,” Robbie responded. “Because of my well known political views at that time, they thought I would be willing to accept their bribes. That’s when I learned that most thought because of my political membership that I would easily do what they wished. I dropped my membership for good and became an independent. When I refused, they went to the department head who backed me up.”

“That was when the reality hit me that President Ronald Regan who I never liked but respected had to add in ‘Tear down that Wall’ four times in a speech the deep state was writing for him. The deep state expected him to bow down and kiss their asses because they ran the country. In the final draft, he once again found they had removed it from his speech because it went against their plans,” The Professor stated. “If it wasn’t for Regan going against the deep state when giving his speech, we would still have the Berlin Wall today. That showed me how little the political has to do with anything. Since then, I have become what I am now an independent. I vote for the one that will do the best for our country, by standing up and fighting the system. I no longer will be led into accepting a political party’s unspoken agenda because I am a member of a certain political party.”

To break up the direction of the conversation I asked, “Your anniversary is next month, how many years will it be?”

“As partners, thirty-five years as a married couple fifteen,” Robbie said. “I’m surprised that you remembered, Trey.”

I laughed and responded, “It’s because I was the last person, I’d would have asked how to make an anniversary rememberable.”

“Was it your idea for us to go on that air balloon ride, over the city with a balloon shaped like a heart?” Bobbie asked. “Because it turned out of being one of the most romantic days in our lives.”

“Guilty as charged, “I said, “I was also the one that had the champagne and roses delivered to you both just as you two took off.”

“Why would you do that?” Bridget asked.

“They were a couple I respected who were faithful to each other in keeping their vows to each other. In our society that rare. I did it out of respect for who and what they are not for the lifestyle choices they made,” I said.

“What people do behind their closed doors is nobody’s business and shouldn’t be anyone else’s either. Making oneself a public display because of your sexual orientation is a direct insult to everyone else. It just shows that they have no respect for themselves or anyone else,” I explained. “For my friends, I knew that drinking champagne in an air balloon just had to be a very romantic thing for them to do on their special day.”

It surprised me to see Bridget start to tear up. I knew she had learned something about me that to her was important.

“Trey has always been that way, nonjudgmental on personal things like lifestyles and relationships, He has problems with those who believe it’s their God-given right to shove their views down your throat just to make themselves feel important. He has always believed that if you’re not open to discussing the other's point of view, you're showing your hate for what and who they are,” Bobbie said.

“During his school years, we enjoyed having him dropping in on us in our home. For the three of us, there were a lot of deep discussions on every subject. He never knew it, but he has always been one of Robbie’s favorite students. We see each other once in a while and have remained friends.” Bobbie added. “That’s why we’re inviting the two of you to our anniversary bash next month if you both would like to come.”

“We would be honored to,” Bridget said while looking at me with a new understanding. “Won’t we dear?”

“Send me the details in an email,” I said. “It will be good to see some of the old crowd again.”

The waitress had brought us our meal. We both had large t bone steaks, a Greek salad, and garlic mashed potatoes. I joked that the mash potatoes were not real because they didn’t have little lumps in them.

“Trey, that is just what my dad would say,” Bridget said with a smile. “He will get a kick out of it when I tell him that.”

Before leaving we said goodbye to my old professor and his partner. Bridget had slid her hand back into mine. The professor congratulated me for catching such a good one. Bridget thanked him for the compliment before I could say anything.

In no rush to get back both Bridget and I took a stroll down the street. Bridget made sure that as we took a stroll that I was on the outside. We stopped at a street florist, and I bought her six yellow roses. To celebrate our blooming friendship.

It was well after three when we finally separated to finish off the workday. For some reason, I just could not get back into the groove of things when I returned to my desk. My mind was on a certain redhead who had just set up a future date with me very slyly. Our budding relationship whatever it was, was starting to get interesting.

********

I was prepared for what I knew was coming when I got home. As I got out of my suit my better half was getting dressed as she was expected out at another social event that evening. Dinah pulled out her request shortly after I got finished changing and wanted me to get right on it on Monday.

I frankly told her there was no way I could get the time off because we were nearing the tax season and I had to be here to answer any questions that my clients might have. If I went away at this time of year, I would lose a lot of my client base and I could not afford to allow that. Dinah was definitely not expecting my refusal and visibly showed her complete dissatisfaction with me.

“Besides with the up and down swings on the stock market lately because a lot of idiots with little or no knowledge panic its best that I stay near until some sort of stability returns to the market,” I explained. “When you get idiots acting on feelings instead of using accurate knowledge all sorts of problems can arise.”

“Who am I going to get to go with me,” Dinah asked? “On this short of notice.”

“I’m sure that one of the boy toys in your entourage that follow you around will gladly go with you,” I said. “After all, according to the New York Times gossip columns, there have been rumors that you have slept with a few of them.”

“Let me tell you that there is no truth to those rumors,” Dinah said. “I have been faithful since the day we got engaged.”

“If that is true, then why haven’t these ones denied it,” I asked. “On second thought why haven’t you?”

“I just did,” Dinah said starting to show her anger.

We just looked at each other not saying a word so I picked up the New York Times that was sitting on the kitchen counter and started flipping the pages until I came to the gossip ladies daily column which I started to read aloud.

“Dinah Richards and six of her growing entourage were seen leaving the latest showing of Hamilton Wednesday night. It was brought out that they were there to cheer Ms. Richards up who is apparently having marital problems with her husband who has been fashionable missing from Ms. Richards's arms for quite a few months. Those in the know are beginning to wonder if he still exists. Has Ms. Richards open, and a very public lifestyle began taking its toll on another one of her personal relationships. It's looking like one of her boy toys who are always with her might have stepped up to becoming more than that. None who are always with her that I have talked to are denying that thought. Inquiring minds wonder if her husband knows what the truth is?”

“I think I have read enough to get the picture,” I said. “Don’t you?

“But it’s not true,” Dinah said trying to defend herself unsuccessfully.

“There has to be some truth to it,” I said. “After all it's printed in the New York Times. That’s why it’s the bestselling paper in the city. Perhaps you planted it yourself that’s why the writer makes it sound so creditable. I wonder what your dad thinks, I should call and ask him. I got an idea you can tweet all your followers and ask if the New York Times is telling the truth. After all, over a million of your followers can’t be wrong.”

I started to walk away heading towards my home office. I heard Dinah slam the bedroom door behind me. She would act out her anger on somebody tonight because I knew she wasn’t happy. I had just thrown the publicity she craved for right in her face. Dinah had a lot of thinking to do. What I knew as the truth didn’t matter because the public perception was showing what her lifestyle was implying. If they were saying that her ongoing conduct was showing that she was nothing but a whore, who was I to say that the New York Times was lying.

I was using it to make Dinah believe that I was buying the media hype lock, stock, and barrow just like most of the newspaper's readers did. The newspaper’s editorial board knew that most would not question what they read in print.

If you created a perception that was regularly reported on most would accept it as the truth no matter what. After all, if the New York Times the most liberal paper in the country was implying that she was nothing more than a married slut they had to have the proof to back it up. Wouldn’t they?

I stayed in my home office until some of her entourage had picked her up. Unknown to me at the time as soon as Dinah had left the house, she called Bridget to inform her that we had just gone through a profoundly serious argument that she didn’t know how to resolve. Dinah explained to Bridget that I was not looking at our situation the way that I should because of the media hype she had promoted.

Bridget said that perhaps she was getting a taste of what she deserved for not treating her husband better. How many nights have you left Trey alone she asked while you’re off building your dream? What else is Trey supposed to think because not once have you vehemently denied it?

When you’re active in party mode who knows whats going on. Has your sexual relationship with Trey cooled off drastically in the last few months? Is it because your eyes are elsewhere? Dinah didn’t dare say a word because it had. She had been totally neglecting me. For the last few months by the time, she got home it was time for me to get up and start my day.

Bridget hit her hard before telling Dinah about the very romantic luncheon she had with her newest romantic interest. Pointing out it was nice to have a romantic afternoon with a man who wasn’t after something. She was totally surprised by him because he was not at all like she had been led to believe. In fact, the two of us have agreed to go to an out of state party next month.

Dinah realized that Bridget had somehow found someone that seriously perked her interest because she had never been that aggressive in her relationship with a man before. Dinah was dying to find out all about him and spent the next half hour trying to get as much information about him out of Bridget she could. Buy the end of their discussion was wondering when she could meet Bridget’s boyfriend because it sounded like she had found her dream man.

Dinah was learning that she was no longer Bridget’s center of attention and wanted to know the juicy details. All Bridget would tell her was that she had received six exquisite yellow roses from him that she was carrying with her from room to room.

It must have bugged Dinah all night knowing that her best friend who had been in going nowhere relationships for years was developing one that apparently had a future.

********

I called the tip line for the gossip lady and left the thought that when Dinah went to Paris France next week she would not be going alone. By the time I was done talking she would know that the man she was going with would be sharing the same suite. I added that it might be an innovative idea if a contact in Paris could keep her informed as to what was going on.

After making myself some supper and throwing the dishes in the dishwasher I began the task of moving all my personal items from our bedroom into the spare bedroom. I had decided it was time that I started to separate my life from hers while I waited on the lawyers. I knew her deliberate actions had forever destroyed her credibility with me.

When Dinah got home in the early hours of the next morning, she discovered I wasn’t in our bed. Before she got up that Saturday morning I had dressed in blue jeans and gone to the office.

To keep thing civil, I left a note on the kitchen counter saying that I needed to work because it was so busy that I needed to catch up on last week’s activity so I could be ready for what happened on Monday. It also helped to validate my reasons for not doing what she wanted in a way she could not argue. It was around eleven that I got inspired by a spot of ingeniousness.

I went out to an instant teller to withdraw some cash because I wanted to make sure that what I was about to do could not be traced with a debit card or credit card record. Then I went to the nearest florist. I ordered a dozen red roses for Bridget Smith after picking out the vase I wanted them in. I had it delivered to our home address paying for it with cash. The card said from a secret admirer.

If I knew Dinah, Bridget would be holding her hand by the time they arrived. That way it would appear that the delivery driver had delivered them to the wrong house by accident. I had just made it back to my office when the office phone rang. It was Dinah.

“What do you want Dinah,” I said with a cold voice.”

“Why did you move out of our bedroom last night,” She asked meekly?

“Because of the article about us published in the Times,” I said.”

“It’s nothing but rumors you can’t be taking it seriously,” Dinah said.

“Dinah, I think you should be asking yourself; how can I prove to my husband that I am not having an affair?” I said with a cold stern tone. “Right now, I can’t say with your current lifestyle that you’re not because you're always away until the wee hours of the morning with some flavor of eye candy on your arm doing god knows what. Add to the fact that you always shower before coming to bed makes wonder if it’s to cover up any traces left on your body. Since you don’t normally explain things to me about your conduct with these men last few months. What am I to believe? Maybe you have decided that variety is the spice of life. What’s written in the New York Times forces me to believe that you have. Besides, why would the New York times write about it if you weren’t true?”

I hung up the phone without saying another word knowing that Dinah who had to be in complete control would be starting to panic. Her own plan to use gossip, publicity, and rumors to advance her social presence and following were blowing up in her face. I had made it clear to her that I had accepted the public’s perception and believed something was going on that shouldn’t be. I had tactfully said it all without calling her a whore.

Here she was on the verge of landing a huge sponsor and having her marriage starting to blow up in her face. She could not afford it at this time to have the public perception of her affected in any way. It could end up costing her millions if it did. She was now treading in a minefield created by herself and she knew it.

If my gut were telling me right Dinah would be calling Bridget to come over and help her work, her situation out. I had never questioned Dinah’s conduct before. Now I was and she had no way of disproving what I was implying because of what her very public conduct was showing. Her problem was she had no clue as to why I was really acting like I was.

I had gone through the closing figures on the stock market for Friday and had been researching out a few stocks that I thought might be having a really good day on Monday. Each person working the stock market floor doing the actual trading would leave behind an unfished list for the start of the market the next day.

Using that knowledge, I had gleamed through their online lists until I found a trader who had what I wanted so I put a buy offer at the price they were asking. If my thoughts were right both the stocks I wanted would jump just after opening. If the deal were accepted, it would be entered into the computer and completed at the opening. The amount I had spent was well within the parameters my clients had set. I also bought enough shares to spend what I had made for myself over the last week.

Bridget later texted me; Flowers are beautiful! Thank you. At your house. Dinah is in a dizzy. Because she doesn’t know how to fix her situation. Can’t cancel or postpone the trip. She asked me how she could prove she isn’t having an affair when the social media she depends on says that she is. (Brilliant move on your part.)

Pressuring me for info about my new romantic interest. It's interesting that what I have told her about you she doesn’t recognize at all. She has an event she has to go to so she will be gone by five and won’t be home until the wee hours of the morning.

I was just about to head out at four o’clock when my cell phone went off. It was Emerson Stevens Dinah’s father.

“Hi dad,” I said. “What's going on.”

“As you know my wife reads the gossip column regularly,” he said, “she says it the easiest way to keep up on things that are not considered newsworthy. The comment about our daughter’s Wednesday night was particularly troubling to her. Is there any truth to the story?”

“Until a couple of weeks ago I would have automatically said no,” I said. “But I learned something that has forced me to hire a team to verify or disprove what was said. Until I get to the truth about that situation, I have to say I honestly don’t know.”

“It’s that serious,” Dad said.

“Dad it came from Dinah’s own mouth. I overheard a conversation she was having with our next-door neighbor,” I said. “The neighbor upon request gave me a notarized statement verifying what I heard. I promise I will let you know what I find out as long as you don’t shoot the messenger.”

“Has what she said affected the marriage,” he asked?

“To answer your question, it’s so serious that I felt that I had no choice but to move into the spare bedroom,” I said. “Dinah doesn’t know that I know what she said, and I am checking things out to verify or disprove what she claimed she did was actually done.”

“You can’t tell me anymore,” My father in law asked?

“I can email you a copy of the statement, but you can’t tell your wife,” I said. “When you read the statement, you will understand why.”

I quickly emailed him, Bridget Smith’s statement. It wasn’t five minutes until he called me back. His anger was easily discerned by the foul language coming out of his mouth.

“Dad you got to understand, Dinah had the operation to tie her tube’s after she told us the Doctors had informed her, she couldn’t get pregnant,” I said. “It has raised a lot of questions in my mind that I feel has to be answered. My lawyers and I are waiting for a few court orders so that we can find out what the actual truth is.”

“So, if she couldn’t get pregnant anyway why did she get her tubes tied,’ he asked?

“To protect herself by making sure the lies she had told us became true,” I said.

The line went dead. So, I turned the speaker on and waited for a few in case it had not been a dropped call.

“Trey I lost it! If what you believe is proven to be true, divorce the bitch, I would,” he said. “I know you wanted a family with children just as much as her mother and I were looking forward to having grandchildren to spoil.”

“Well, she’s leaving for Paris next week and I won’t be going,” I said. “She’s found a luxury company that wants to use her as a spokesperson for their products. If she signs it, she won’t need me for anything anymore. I’m beginning to believe that she is trying to destroy our marriage because my usefulness to her is done.”

For Emerson Stevens, the information he had just received had to be tearing him apart. Dinah’s words and conduct were forming a path that most would follow because it came across as logical once the facts as I knew them was presented to them. She was leading them down a path with her pattern of behavior that forced one to draw certain types of conclusions.

Once again, I started to pack up and head for home. I was pleased with how the day went. I had just reset the alarm and locked the front door when my cell phone went off. It was Bridget.

“How long is it going to take you to get home,” She asked?

“I’ll be there by seven why?” I asked, “What’s going on?”

“I’m at your house ready to put a large roast chicken in the oven so I need to time it, so the meal is ready when you come into the house,” Bridget said. “If you have the time pick up a nice white wine.”

I think the uber driver must have broken a few speed laws on the way home because I could not remember the last time, I had a home-cooked meal. Home cooking didn’t exist in Dinah's eyes.

There is nothing like the smell of food cooking in the oven to welcome you home. I had picked a nice couple of bottles of white wine to compliment the meal. Bridget had gone over top the roast chicken was cooked to perfection. Its skin was brown and crisp. Yes, the mashed potatoes had lumps I noticed them and said so, but they were still rich, thick, fluffy, and perfect.

The salad was served with its own vinaigrette so you could pour on enough to satisfy your own tastes. I gladly overate because the food was so good. For some reason, Bridget seemed to enjoy watching me eating everything until there was nothing left on the bone.

“How were you able to pull all of this off,” I asked.

“I got Dinah to convince me that my talking to you in private might help calm the situation down. She offered to order and pay for the food.” Bridget explained. “I suggested this, and she went for it saying it was the perfect thing to get Trey to unwind and relax. Perhaps it will allow you to change his thinking so that he will be open to listening to my reasoning.”

I shook my head trying to adjust to the fact that Dinah didn’t even question the idea that Bridget and I would be alone over dinner in a very private setting.

“I told dad what was going on with Dinah and you,” Bridge said. “He now understands why the statement I provided you is so important. My dad wants to meet you as soon as possible. I think he wants to see for himself if you’re the type of man he thinks you are.”

“We can do that as soon as Dinah finds out that your father and you are my clients,” I said. “Dinah’s father called me just before you did. His wife had seen the remarks in the gossip article, and he needed clarification so he could reassure his wife that they were not true. I ended up sending him a copy of your statement.”

“How did he take it,” Bridget asked.

“About as good as I did,” I said. “I had to tell him that he would be the first to know what the proof showed when I got it. He now knows I have moved into the second bedroom. His final thought is if what she said can be proved that I’d better get the divorce as soon as possible.”

Bridget took my hand, smiled and whispered, “I will be standing right beside you to help you through it. Dinah spent more time today trying to find out who my admirer is than dealing with you and her situation. It shows us what is really important to her.”

“That says a lot in itself,” I said. “I’m just upset with the fact that I didn’t see it before now.”

After dinner, we cleaned up and then went into the living room to watch pay for view movies. We were interested in three and ended up watching them all while working on finishing off the wine.

All in all, it had been a long time since I had enjoyed such a relaxing evening. It felt strange to me to have a woman sitting remarkably close beside me eager in sharing something so simple. It was after one am when we called it a night. I walked her home and waited until she had gone in before leaving. Once again, she left me with a tender kiss on my cheek. I was puzzled because I still was not connecting the dots.

********

I laid on the bed in the spare bedroom looking back at what had transpired since I had heard Bridget and Dinah’s conversation. Things were changing. Bridget was checking up on me daily while Dinah and I were not talking. Since I was seeing both of the ladies with new eyes there was a lot of things I needed to consider.

I knew that Dinah was trying to figure out how to manage the situation without really dealing with it until she got back from her Paris trip. Bridget was deliberately trying to draw herself into my life in a personal way and I did not know why.

Bridget was a redhead whose natural beauty I could look at for hours. So far, she had proven that I could trust her, but I was looking at her with skepticism because of her close relationship with Dinah. I knew for now with both, I had to tread carefully. Until I had more information, I really did not know what to believe.

Dinah got home about three and had to be back out by nine. Her day would be spent buying the image she wanted for Paris. It had to be very upper class and expensive. All her entourage would be following her, taking pictures, twittering about it, magnifying the situation making it seem bigger than it was. It surprised that so many of her follower seemed to milk and drink up all the bull shit she inspired. It was the hype she wanted for the trip. The more who followed her overseas the bigger the potential gain. There would be a lot of sexual flirtation going on which her followers would feed on. She wanted them to be sure to gobble it us like it was their favorite ice cream.

I managed to avoid her until she left the house by pretending to be still asleep. Four men who were part of her entourage had picked her up. Most of them were part of the upper society’s children who as a group had no depth or direction in life. I had just started a pot of coffee when my cellphone rang. It was Bridget.

“How does bacon, eggs, toast, homemade pan-fried potatoes, and Orange Juice sound,” She asked?”

“It sounds great, let’s go out and get some,” I said. “I can be ready in ten.”

“Make it fifteen,” she replied. “The potatoes I just boiled need to cool down before I can cut and fry them in butter with the cast iron frying pan.”

That gave me time to have a quick shower and shave. So, I did it and got dressed in my casual best. As I walked over, I found myself feeling like a kid in a candy store for the first time. Two home-cooked meals in less than three days had me asking myself what I have done right to be blessed like this.

I knocked on the door. Trish answered by yelling doors unlocked come on in. My first impression of Trish’s home that it was a home built and designed to be filled with comfort and love. While Dinah’s and mine were designed to impress the unexpected who dropped in.

For some reason, after breakfast, I was in no hurry to go anywhere because I had not felt this comfortable in a long time. It left me with a feeling I had not experienced since I had left my parents’ home and I wondered what it was trying to tell me. Little did I realize that seeds were being planted that would affect a lot of people’s lives.

End of part one