Cathy stuffed the paper filter in the coffee maker and emptied the heavy carafe into the waiting reservoir. She pried the plastic lid off the can of coffee and dumped three heaping scoops of the coffee in the awaiting filter. She snapped the lid down and punched the brew button. Then she lifted the silk belt on her robe, tied it firmly around her waist and walked toward the kitchen window.
It was 5:45 a.m. and Cathy felt tired. All of the rigorous tennis matches and lengthy sexual liaisons with Eric were taking a toll on her sixty plus body. It had been a restless night and she was up and around much earlier than normal. Dirk had been coy about his plans for husband Ed, but he had told her it would be sooner rather than later. She had thought it interesting how he focused in on her when she told him of Ed’s weekly trip to the mail station every Friday morning. She glanced over at the grandkid’s letters stacked neatly on the top of the computer desk in the small nook just off the kitchen. She felt strongly that Dirk would use Ed’s early morning trip to the mailbox to get him alone and take him out. She wished it wasn’t so close to home, but Dirk had insisted on doing it his way so she had no choice in the matter.
Cathy grimaced; she could hear Ed in the shower singing “You Are My Sunshine.” I’m glad that I won’t have to endure that much longer she thought. She walked over to the kitchen window and pried the blinds open with her first two fingers. She leaned over and looked between the cracked blind at the empty street outside. “I hope my biker guy is out there somewhere,” she whispered. She let the blind fall shut and walked back toward the nook area in the kitchen. She could hear the shower stop in the bathroom. Ed’s singing continued for a while and then also stopped. A quick dresser, he would be out looking for a cup of coffee shortly. She hurried over and pulled the stool out from under the computer in the nook area and eased her bottom onto the seat. Her hand surrounded the mouse and she was soon following the cursor around the bright screen. She clicked on the Google search engine and typed in “Vacation packages-Maui.” The screen lit up with the scene of a beautiful ocean with white foamy waves rolling one after another onto a white, sandy beach. What a paradise! She and Eric had selected Maui as one of the first trips they would take when the Ed’s estate was settled and she had received the millions of dollars that awaited her. She felt intoxicated and aroused.
The bedroom door swung open. Ed walked into the kitchen wearing a pair of gray sweats and a white pullover. Damp, gray strands of hair protruded from under his golf cap. “Good morning, sunshine! You’re up bright and early today.”
Cathy quickly changed screens. The sunshine greeting nauseated Cathy. It was Ed’s way to extend his pathetic shower singing effort into a show of affection for her and she hated it. “Oh…uh, yes, I woke up to go to the bathroom around five and couldn’t get back to sleep. So I decided just to get up. The coffee is on.”
“Thank you, dear. What a nice surprise.” Ed opened the cabinet door above the coffee maker and pulled out an insulated cup with the inscription, “I love Grandpa,” on the side. He splashed it full with the steaming, hot coffee, screwed on the lid and walked toward Cathy. “I better get going,” he said.
Cathy glanced down at the letters and then she looked at the inscription on Ed’s cup as he approached her. It bothered her that she didn’t feel more for Ed and the grandkids, but she just didn’t. Oh, the grandkids were cuties and she enjoyed spending time with them, but she just didn’t feel any remorse or sense of guilt about what she was about to do. She wished she did, but it had been that way all of her life. She really had never felt much love or devotion toward anyone. Hers had been a life of calculations and manipulations with the intended result of gaining something for herself or getting an advantage over someone else. Thank goodness, she had been blessed with a pretty face and a nice smile. Her charming demeanor enabled her to hide her true intentions and fulfill her selfish desires without garnering the suspicions of those around her. She was appealing, intelligent, socially gifted, and the most devious person she had ever known.
Ed bent over and planted a wet kiss on her forehead. She winced. “See you in a little while,” he said. He picked up the letters and headed for the front door and his trip to the mailbox.
“Bye,” Cathy said coldly. She clicked on the return arrow and was once again looking longingly at the dramatic pictures of Maui.
Ed strolled briskly down the front sidewalk toward the street. The cool morning breeze rustled through his damp hair. It felt cool and refreshing. He clutched the letters tightly in his left hand as the faces of his grandchildren flashed through his mind. A smile spread across his face at the thought of the kids, but it soon faded. Ed still felt uneasy inside about the bank merger deal. The meetings earlier in the week in Indiana had not gone well. After much deliberation and endless negotiations, First Source Bank had decided against the merger with First Bank of Syracuse. They cited the possible negative impact on earnings if the marginal Alco loan eventually went bad. The slow economy had caused several large losses in First Source’s commercial portfolio recently and they could ill afford another one. Ed’s worst fears had come true and he was certain that when the news leaked out about the failed merger talks, that First Bank’s stock would plummet. It didn’t take long. News of the failed talks had been picked up by the local media on Thursday morning and by mid afternoon on the same day, the First Bank common stock had dropped in price from a high of twenty-nine at the start of the day to a three year low of nineteen dollars a share by day’s end. More than a thirty percent drop. Ed could see the stock dropping even further in the coming weeks and months ahead as the Alco situation became more thoroughly vetted. Very savvy in such matters, he felt the stock would eventually bottom out somewhere between three to six dollars a share.
On the personal side, the collapse of the First Bank merger talks would be devastating to his and Cathy’s retirement. Almost his entire retirement portfolio of just over three million dollars, was tied up in First Bank stock. Also, the six to seven percent dividend he had been receiving was a huge part of their retirement income. Without the income from the First Bank stock, their retirement would be in shambles. Heavily mortgaged, they would be forced to sell their house in The Villages and move to more meager arrangements outside the popular enclave. Cathy would be shattered. She loved her life in The Villages. “We live in Paradise!” she would so often say. “I can’t imagine living anywhere else!” For Ed’s part, he was embarrassed and deeply humiliated by the unexpected turn of events. He had spent his entire career in banking advising people to diversify, and now his whole world was about to crumble around him because he had not done what he had so adamantly advised the others to do-diversify.
When he had arrived home Wednesday afternoon, he had attempted to tell Cathy of the problems with Fist Bank, but the words just wouldn’t come out. Always a man of honesty and integrity, he just couldn’t bring himself to tell her. He knew that Cathy had become enamored with their cushy lifestyle and would be very disappointed if she felt she might lose it, His recent suspicions about her relationship with her doubles tennis partner made Ed even more reticent about telling her. He felt that deep down Cathy loved him, but she was also enamored by his wealth. In short, she needed his money. There were other times in their past when he thought Cathy had strayed from him, but he knew she would always come back because he gave her the money and status she enjoyed. It hurt to think that Cathy loved what Ed could do for her more than she loved him. For his part, he loved Cathy with all of his heart and always would.
Ed turned onto Sample Street for the last leg of his journey to the mailbox. Streaks of light from the rising sun fell on the road ahead like giant daggers. This morning had an eerie feeling about it. Ed fought hard to change his mood. He attempted to fill his mind with more positive thoughts. He thought back once again to the first time he met Cathy at a dance when they were teenagers. She looked beautiful that night, with her long blond hair, beautiful brown eyes and pouty lips. And that smile of hers. She had a gorgeous smile that seemed to light up the entire room. He fell head over heels for her that night, and all these years later, he still had a crush on her. He smiled at the thought of those special memories and his mood lightened, if only temporarily.
Ed knew that it would take a while for the failed merger talks to take First Bank’s stock to single digits. In the meantime, Ed hoped that Cathy’s infatuation with her tennis partner would cool off, putting their marriage on more solid footing and giving him a better opportunity to tell her about their disastrous financial situation.
Loose gravel crunched beneath Ed’s walking shoes as he strolled along the side of the empty street. He lifted the letters to the grandkids up to eye level and peeled them back one at a time and read the names on the envelopes. Payton, Olivia, Gabby, Caroline, and Gracie-all girls and all loved equally. His heart sank; he knew that his granddaughters would be devastated if anything ever happened between Grandma and Grandpa. He must find a way to work through this crisis; he must find a way to save their marriage. He had to do it for the grandkids, if not for himself.