It was almost six-thirty when Cass came scurrying back up the sidewalk, a pizza box precariously balanced in one hand and two bottles of beer in the other. Sam smiled. Her friend knew there would be no such “devil spirits” in her teetotaler house.
“Sorry I’m so late,” Cass apologized as Sam swung the door open for her. “I couldn’t get away from the office.”
“You should have brought Katy.”
“No way. This conversation’s far too adult for her. If she were here you’d have to leave out all the juicy parts; and we can’t have that.”
“Sam laughed. No worries, girlfriend. I probably smell like an old workhorse. I’ve been sweating my guts out trying to get this house cleaned up. You’d think with all the money Daddy had, he would have bought Momma an air conditioner.”
“Order one up, girl. No excuse not to. While you’re at it, order me one for my office. That courthouse is like an oven. I’ve been thinking about instituting a new summer dress code.”
“Which would be?”
“Clothing optional.”
“Ha, ha. That would set tongues a wagging around here, not to mention making for some interesting campaign posters.” She pointed at the beer. “That what you’re drinking with your pizza?”
Cass nodded. “I know you don’t approve. But with this heat, it’s just what the doctor ordered. I know I don’t need to ask, but do you want one?”
“Nope. It’s milk for me.”
“You’re bound for heaven, girl. You and a few million Mormons to boot. I guess you’ll just have to sneak me in the back door up there.”
Sam retrieved glasses from the cupboard while Cass deposited the pizza box in the middle of the table. Midway through her first slice, Cass steered the conversation back to where they’d left it in the morning. “So you were saying that Ricky got greedy.”
Sam nodded. “It was like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The instant the money appeared, the man I married disappeared. Coming out of Uncle Willie’s office Ricky was literally jumping up and down. He said over and over, ‘My God, Sam, My God.’ He pulled our rental car onto Main Street then suddenly slammed on the brakes right beside that billboard down by the bank. It was advertising the Cadillac dealership over in Charleston. He pointed at the sign and said that he was sick and tired of our old Camry. He wanted to go over to Charleston and get an Escalade today, right then. I thought he was kidding and laughed, but he was serious. Then he decided we should get two—one for him and one for me. He said we could get a great deal if we paid cash.”
“I’ll bet your answer sounded an awful lot like ‘No’.”
“That’s exactly what I said. I told him that what we needed was sound investment advice, not two new cars.
“He screamed at me. He asked, if the richest G.D. women in Summersville was still going to squeeze nickels till the Buffalo—you know—poops?” Sam blushed.
Cass shook her head. “Didn’t he realize it was your money, not his?”
“I don’t think he did. Against my better judgment, I let Ricky get his Escalade, but I kept the Camry. That was just the opening salvo in a never ending battle over what to do with Daddy’s money. A month after I got the inheritance, Ricky quit his job. He said he quit to become my investment manager.”
“Say what?” Cass said, “I thought he was an architect.”
“He was and should have stayed one. I told him I was perfectly satisfied with the investment advisor we had, but Ricky said he’d double our money it in no time. ‘No risk, no reward,’ he always said. I told him over and over that I didn’t like risk.
“I spent the next few months turning down one harebrained, get-rich-quick scheme after another. One night he came home all excited, trying to convince me to buy a restaurant and bar called the Tuscan Hills over by where he used to work. Apparently he used to stop there quite often. ‘Only four-point-nine-million—a real steal,’ he said.
“I told him that was a lot of money and asked if he’d seen their books? He said he hadn’t, but that Maria told him she was clearing better than three-hundred-grand a month.”
“Who’s Maria?” Cass asked.
“That’s what I asked him. She was supposedly the owner. It was the first time Ricky ever mentioned her name. He assured me they were just friends. ‘No big deal, okay?’ he said.”
“I think I see where this is going,” Cass said disdainfully as she took the empty pizza box off the table and put it on the counter.
“That’s why you’re a good cop,” Sam said. “You’re always ahead of the story. I asked him why she was selling and he said, ‘I don’t know, just wants to get out of the restaurant business or something.’ The more I pressed him for a reason the more he avoided giving me a straight answer. He started to get irritated so I backed off. I did tell him that I suspected this business wasn’t doing as well as she said and that she might be trying to cut her losses.”
“What did he say?”
“He said the place was full every time he went in. He was convinced the business was making a ton of money. I told him I had to have a lot more information before I’d put five-million-dollars at risk. I told him he had to get hold of the woman’s books. I said that if our accountant said was a good deal, I’d consider it.”
“Sounds fair enough,” Cass said.
“He said he’d go right over and ask her for her books. It was like he was bi-polar; one minute he was angry and the next he was jumping up and down with excitement. On the way out the door he said that if we didn’t snap the place up, somebody else would. I said that at least we’d still have our money.”
Sam stood and stretched. “I’m probably boring you to tears.”
“Are you kidding me?” Cass replied. “This is better than reality TV. I’m just sorry you’re the one it’s happening to.” She pushed back her chair and stood to stretch her legs as well. “Time for a potty break girl, save my place for me.
When they resettled, Cass said, “I always thought Ricky was smarter than this. Sounds to me like you were becoming as much the man’s baby sitter as his wife.”
“That’s true. And all during this time we were trying to get pregnant but it just wasn’t happening. The doctors ran all kinds of tests on me but couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t conceiving. They wanted to test Ricky, but he refused to go in.”
“Why?”
“At first I thought it was embarrassment. But after we separated, I found out that he couldn’t have children, and had known that since he was a teenager.” A tear slipped down Sam’s cheek. “In all the years we were together he never told me that.”
Cass was shocked. “That bastard!” she said.
Sam dabbed at more tears. “The worst part of all was that by this time I was questioning whether I even wanted to have a baby with him anymore.”