When Murray arrived home from work, Gemma was waiting at the door in a sexy negligee she’d bought at that huge shopping centre a couple of days ago. The sheer black fabric was almost completely see-through, but even if he couldn’t see the outline of her nipples he surely couldn’t miss how hard they were. They were like pebbles and every nerve in her body was tingling.
His face lit up with a smile, and straight away she was confident he knew. He climbed the front stairs two at a time, and as soon as he reached the top she jumped up and straddled him. He dropped the bag he’d been holding and squeezed her tight. She forced her tongue into his mouth and he groaned and groped as he carried her inside and kicked the door shut.
When she finally came up for a breath, he spoke. “What’s this all about?”
She pulled back and looked into his eyes. “You know.”
He cocked his head and his eyes narrowed. “No… What did I miss?”
Gemma jumped down, reached for his hand and dragged him up the stairs. She crawled onto the bed and unzipped one of the duffle bags. “We did it!” She grabbed a bundle of money and waved it at him.
“Did what?” His jaw dropped. “Oh God, Gemma, what did you do?”
She picked up the bag and tipped the money over the bedspread. “I robbed the robbers.” Gemma grabbed a bundle of cash and threw it up in the air, just like she’d seen in the movies. The notes lingered in the air momentarily before fluttering down and scattering around her. “Get the champagne, honey. It’s time to celebrate!”
But Murray didn’t move. He just stood in the doorway, wide-eyed and mouth ajar.
Gemma turned back to the money. She unzipped the other two bags and tipped their contents onto the bed as well. Money of all denominations tumbled out. A bundle of one hundred dollar notes fell at her knee. She gathered it up and flicked her fingers through it. “We never have to worry about money ever again, babe. Help me count it.”
She began sorting the money into denominations but still Murray hadn’t moved. “What’s wrong?”
“I can’t believe you did this.”
“What do you mean? Now we can have whatever we want. The boys too.”
Ignoring his dour look, she began to count. But soon she couldn’t stand his stillness anymore. “Honey, what’s wrong.”
“You robbed a bank?”
“No. Not the bank, silly. The robbers. You should have seen me, Murray. I was brilliant.”
He drove his hands through his hair. “Shit, Gemma. This is really bad.”
“No it’s not. It’s wonderful.” She tossed more money in the air. “Now we can go on all the holidays we want.”
“Gemma, do you realise what you’ve done?”
“We did it together, honey.” She giggled. “I just did the end bit.”
He flung his arms wide. “What are you talking about?”
“You helped me with the photos and the tape recording. Remember? I gave them to the police, just like you asked. But don’t worry, my plan was foolproof. Just imagine, right now those guys are probably sitting in a cell accusing each other of stealing the money. No-one will believe them.”
“We didn’t plan this. I had no idea.”
She slipped off the bed, walked across to him and draped her arms over his shoulders. “Yes you did, honey. But it doesn’t matter who did what. I was happy to do the hard bit for you. For us.” She grinned up at him.
“We’re going to jail for this.”
She cupped his cheeks and pulled him down so she could kiss him. “No we won’t. I was very careful. Now please be a honey and bring up that bottle of champagne.”
Gemma eased back onto the bed, careful not to disturb the piles of money, and resumed counting. At one point, as she moved from the one hundred dollar notes to the fifties, she glanced up, but Murray had gone. She hadn’t heard him leave. She just hoped he’d bring her champagne soon. All this counting was making her thirsty.
When she had finished, she sat back on her haunches and stared at the stacks of notes. It was much less than she’d expected, but still so much money. Murray still hadn’t returned, but she was beyond caring. She shoved the money back into the bags, deciding to spread the denominations amongst the three bags. That way, no one bag had more value than another. It seemed like the smart thing to do.
She went into the bathroom, ran the bath and poured an entire miniature bottle of bubble bath in. She left the tap running and went downstairs. Murray was sitting in the lounge, hands resting on his knees, and staring at the photo above the television. Gemma wondered if he’d been staring at Hazel the whole time. When he finally looked over at her, the loathing on his face made her realise she’d made a terrible mistake. And then she knew: Murray was still in love with his wife. He could never fall for her the way he had for Hazel.
She turned on her heel, walked to the kitchen and grabbed the bottle of champagne and a glass. When she returned upstairs, the water was nearing the top of the tub.
Standing naked now, she filled her glass, placed it and the bottle on the shelf at the back of the bath and laid a bath mat on the floor. She slipped into the water, leant back and reached for her champagne.
And then she began to cry. Not just a little bit either—she truly sobbed. Tears streamed down her cheeks and as she sucked in shaky breaths she realised that she’d been a complete fool. Did Murray love her at all? She had pictured them spending the rest of their lives together, and with this money, what a wonderful life it would be! She punched her fist onto her knee until a red lump formed.
But she still loved him. She bit down on her teeth until her chin stopped trembling. Maybe they could buy a new house. Leave Hazel behind. Yes, that made sense. Find somewhere with their own garden for the boys to run around in. She wiped away her tears and took a huge breath. Then she sculled her champagne.
Suddenly she was exhausted. She closed her eyes and tried to relax.
A short time later she heard breathing. She opened her eyes to see Murray standing in the doorway, just staring at her. As she waited for him to speak, she convinced herself to snap out of the gloom and doom. Today had been amazing. She’d proven that with planning and determination she could do anything. And she didn’t need a man to help her. Maybe, now that she had money, she would be better on her own anyway. She lifted her leg and poked her big toe into the faucet. But he just stood there, silently staring.
Finally he spoke. “What are you going to do now?”
She smiled up at him. “Whatever we want. With that much money, the world’s our oyster.”
“How much?”
So he does want to know. “Friggin’ $716,000.” She screamed it like she’d seen the winners do on Wheel of Fortune. “I told you it was worth it.”
“Keep it down, Gemma. Someone may hear you.”
“Don’t be silly. No-one can hear us.”
“I’m just saying that you need to be careful.”
“Jesus, Murray, how long are you going to carry on like this? I’ve been careful. We’re perfectly safe.” She glared at him, and when she raised her leg again she saw a line where her pale skin had turned pink from the hot water.
“I can’t help it. I keep expecting the police to storm in and arrest us.”
“Oh, for God’s sake, you’re ruining my moment of glory. Go watch television or something, will you?” Gemma reached for the champagne bottle and topped up her glass again.
When she glanced at the doorway, Murray had gone.