When Ed arrived home, Cathy was not there. The house was dark; the only light in the house was the one above the dining room table, the usual night light. There was no light in the bedroom or the Florida room where the large screen TV was. She wasn’t home-Ed fought his growing suspicions. She probably just had a few drinks with the girls, he thought.
Very tired and ready to relax and unwind, he opened the refrigerator door and found the other half of a foot long sub sandwich lying on the middle shelf. He snatched up the sandwich, grabbed a cold beer from the shelf above and headed for his favorite recliner in their large Florida room that bordered the kitchen.
After finishing his snack, Ed watched a rerun of CSI and then clicked off the TV and headed for their bedroom upstairs. Still very worried about his wife’s whereabouts, he planned to read in bed until she arrived home. He disrobed down to his briefs and T-shirt and slipped on his pajama bottoms. He picked his latest book off the nightstand next to his bed and fell into bed. He opened the book, found his place and started to read. A few minutes later, he was fast asleep.
* * * * * *
Cathy waved her pass key in front of the electric eye at the entrance to Bridgeport. She accelerated through the rising gate and sped toward home. Nearing their house, she could see that most of the lights, except for the nightlight above the dining-room table and a dim light in the master bedroom, were off. Cathy grinned, certain that her husband would be asleep. Normally, he read for a while and then fell asleep. She often commented to anyone who would listen that, ‘I could shoot a cannon off when that man goes to sleep and not wake him up.’
She pulled into the garage and turned the engine off. As the garaged door closed behind her, she fell back against the seat and thought of Eric and the exciting experience she had just had. She felt no guilt; she never did feel guilty after her extramarital trysts with other men. She felt her life was dull and unfulfilling with her boring banker husband and that she had every right to explore a more exciting life. An only child, spoiled by doting parents, she was taught early that the world revolved around her and her needs and wants. She accepted the fact that Ed was a good man and had been a very good father to their children. Unfortunately, he had not given her the kind of life she deserved-a titillating life, filled with adventure and new experiences. She had convinced herself that he was to blame and that she had been almost forced to seek her own kind of happiness without the shackles and constraints of their loveless marriage.
Although she had managed to exonerate herself from any sense of guilt concerning her extracurricular activities with Eric Lowe, there was something much more sinister working on the tortured psyche of Cathy Roberts. She saw herself as a hopeless victim of a distracted, insensitive man. Images began to flash through her mind-images that were almost too dastardly for even her to comprehend. She suddenly felt anxious and upset; her heart was pounding out of her chest. Then, as suddenly as these emotions had started, they vanished. She felt very calm inside. The side of her mouth turned up in a slight smile, and then with a raspy, groan, she said, “I must do it. It’s my only chance for happiness.”
She now realized that in Eric Lowe she had everything she had ever wanted in a man. He was sensitive and caring, yet youthful and exciting, willing to try and do new things in the bedroom. Her other affairs had just been one night stands out of boredom with local men she knew back in Syracuse, Indiana. She had never thought of them as the ultimate companion for her, certainly not someone for whom she would consider leaving Ed, but in Eric she felt she had found the perfect man.
A satisfied smile spread across her face when she thought back to her initial impressions of him. At first, he seemed very much like many of the nice gentlemen she had met in The Villages. He was polite, sincere and not the least bit interested in fooling around. He had not forced himself on her. Their relationship had grown gradually. In her sense of reality, this made the relationship much more meaningful. He wasn’t just some voyeur looking for a quick lay. He was a solid, decent man who had been, little by little, drawn into a relationship with an attractive, sincere woman. His three divorces concerned her, but she rationalized that like so many other men she had known, he probably just wasn’t a good judge of women. That was, until he met her.
Cathy had decided that her future lay with Eric Lowe. Her dilemma was how to get her husband Ed out of the picture. A divorce would be humiliating for a woman in her social circles. She and Ed had been married over forty years and held great status in their local community in Indiana as well as in The Villages. Divorce at this stage in her life was just something people like her didn’t do-it was out of the question. Besides, the great bulk of their wealth and income was the direct result of Ed’s tremendous earning power while in the banking business. She would lose everything if she divorced him, including the cushy lifestyle that she now enjoyed. It was clear to her that she had to devise a plan to get Ed out of her life without divorcing him and still end up with all or most of his money. She had determined that Ed would have to leave this world. She knew that it would take all of the cunning she could muster to pull this one off without being found out. She also realized it would take a little time. To hurry would make for mistakes, and she couldn’t afford any mistakes with something this profound. She had to be extremely careful and measured-there was no room for error.
Cathy quietly got out of the car and pushed the door open from the garage to the kitchen easing it shut. She shook her head when she heard the loud snoring coming from the bedroom. She set her purse on the kitchen counter and glanced at the phone. The message light was blinking showing that she had three messages. She tapped the button and leaned on the counter to listen. The first two were about upcoming tennis matches, reminders of the time and place. But the third message was a shocker! Eyes wide, she listened in rapt attention to the deep, raspy voice.
“Mrs. Roberts, or may I call you Cathy? This is Dirk, the biker guy. Remember me?” Cathy was totally shocked that his man would call her at home. She had talked to him for just a few minutes at the restaurant earlier, that’s all. And, how did he get her phone number? She didn’t remember telling him her name, but she must have. He got her number somehow. The message continued, “I know you may think this sounds funny, but I thought that maybe you and I could talk again sometime. Maybe even take a ride on my bike or something. Sound good to you? If so, my name is Dirk, and you can call my cell at 352-644-9923. I’ll be waiting for your call, sexy lady!”
Cathy froze; her eyes nervously scanned the kitchen. What was this man doing calling her home? A Harley guy? She couldn’t have a Harley guy calling her house. She was relieved that apparently Ed had not checked the phone messages earlier, but she knew she had to do something and do it fast. One steamy affair at a time was enough. She didn’t need to be bothered by this guy. She listened again for Ed’s snoring-it was still loud and clear. She grabbed the phone off the stand and quickly dialed Dirk’s number. She didn’t care what time it was. She had to nip this thing in the bud.
“Yo, Dirk here.”
“Mr. Harrison, this is Cathy Roberts and I’m sorry for calling you so late but I feel we need to talk.”
“No problem, Mrs. Roberts, just got home myself. Fire away.”
Cathy could hear rap music in the background. “I don’t know how you got my number, but you must never call me again. I am a married woman and I can’t have men that I barely know calling my home. Do you understand?”
Dirk laughed nervously, “Hell, the way you was hangin’ on that fellow at Cody’s, I just figured you were divorced or getting a divorce or something. You didn’t act very much like a married woman to me.” He grunted out a laugh. “I got your number from the book. You told me your husband’s name, remember?”
“No, I don’t remember and that gentleman at Cody’s was my doubles tennis partner and we’re just good friends, nothing more, nothing less.” The gall of this man!
“Yeah, and I’m Abraham Lincoln,” the gruff biker roared with laughter.
Cathy’s face flushed with anger. “You heard me! Don’t call me again, Mr. Harrison, or I’ll call the police!”
The phone got quiet on the other end for a few seconds and then a calm voice came back on the phone. “Oh, I wouldn’t do that, Mrs. Roberts. You see, I kinda took a shine to you tonight. I’ve always liked older women and you’re a real fox. I followed you and your “tennis partner” when you left Cody’s. I stayed pretty far back and I never racked my pipes or anything, so you never knew I was behind you. Anyway, I’m sure you wouldn’t want your husband to find out that you and your friend spent over an hour alone at a house in Duval tonight. Would you?”
Beads of perspiration broke out on Cathy’s forehead. “Are you threatening me, Mr. Harrison?”
“Hell yes, I’m threatening you.”
“What is it you want from me? What is it?” Cathy hissed. Furious, she began pacing back and forth in the kitchen.
“I think it would be fun as hell to bed down with a rich woman twenty years my senior. That’s what I want.”
Her mind was racing. What was she going to do with this guy? He was good looking enough. In fact, he kind of turned her on a little when she was talking to him. Maybe just a harmless little tryst would get this guy off her back so she could continue to plan her future with Eric. She was almost in a panic thinking about this creep coming into her life. Hands and voice shaking, she replied, “That’s out of the question, I’m married.”
“Oh, come off the married crap, lady, we both know you’re screwing around outside of your marriage. Cut the bullshit.”
He was right and Cathy knew it. He had her over the barrel. The usually calm and collected Cathy Roberts was back on her heels. “I…uh, need to think about things. My life’s kind of complicated right now.”
Dirk laughed out loud, “I’ll bet it is.”
Cathy was speechless, upset that this rogue of a man had invaded her life.
“Listen, lady, I’m not interested in no long term girlfriend, boyfriend stuff. Just a few roles in the hay, that’s all I need, lady. That’s it.” He snickered wickedly.
It was obvious that he had the upper hand and Cathy knew it. “Maybe we could meet somewhere and just talk about this.”
“Talk’s cheap, ma’am, I want action.”
“Let’s just talk first. Okay, please?”
He breathed in and exhaled slowly. There was a long pause and then he replied with little conviction, “Okay.”
“I have some shopping to do on the north side tomorrow. Why don’t we meet up there? There’s a Burger King in the La Plaza Grand shopping center in Lady Lake. I’ll meet you there tomorrow at 11:00.”
“You’re in luck, lady, that BK is right by my shop. I’ll be there at eleven sharp. And don’t be late; I only take a half an hour for lunch.”
“I’m always on time, Mr. Harrison.”
“That’s good, sexy lady, see ya tomorrow.” He clicked off his phone.
Cathy was numb. She dropped the phone back on the stand and just stood and stared out her large kitchen window. “That arrogant SOB!” she whispered as she turned and walked over to the hallway that led to their bedroom.
She snuck quietly into the bedroom and glanced over at her husband, lying on his back with his mouth wide-open and snoring loudly. A still open book moved up and down on his chest with each breath. He looks like he’s a hundred years old; she shook her head in disgust. She lifted the book off his chest and quietly laid it on the nightstand by his side of the bed. Ugly thoughts occupied her mind as she walked quietly to the bathroom to get ready for bed.