Revelation Blues Pt. 04

It didn't take Mary long to figure out that Don's demise made him an undesirable person to have around. He was drunk most of the time, his breath reeking of whatever brews he found comfort in, he showered infrequently and shaved rarely, he cursed a lot, and was carrying a bitterness that made Mary very uncomfortable.

Being rejected by Mary added to his misery. Even Aldo denied him the slightest support or comfort. Knowing that Aldo, his 'good friend' Aldo, was demonstrating more than a friendly interest in Mary drove him to the edge of insanity.

He was alone, very alone.

* * *

Scott hadn't forgotten Fiona Volpiano. He decided to make her share in Don's misery. He asked Phil a favor, to find a way to let Don know that Fiona was the real cause of all this mess. She had a crush on Mary and disliked the fact that she was having an affair with Don. She started the ball rolling by making an anonymous phone call to Carla. It wasn't true of course, but like most rumors, they have a life of their own.

Somehow Phil managed to deliver the message. Don's warped mind, heavily affected by alcohol, and wanting something to release his frustrations upon, led him to engage in a vicious harassment campaign and Fiona was his target. He would call and abuse her, throw garbage cans through her windows, damage her car, mostly the tires. Even the restraining order didn't help much. He was jailed twice for a couple of days, mostly because of his drunken condition and for disturbing the peace, but law enforcement had more serious business to attend to.

Scott didn't know all the details, he just smiled when Dean told him one day that Fiona had visited Mary and was crying and complaining that her life had been turned into a nightmare due to Don's constant harassment. Even her own neighbors stopped talking to her and considered her the source of the disturbances in the neighborhood. She was considering moving somewhere else. Even Dean didn't seem unhappy.

* * *

Scott's retribution was almost complete. To his regret, but also satisfaction, he didn't have to do much. He just found the weakness in Don's armor and exploited it. All he needed to do was to help Carla, the rest simply followed. He had other possibilities but didn't have to use them. Don was such a perfect asshole he was taking care of his own downfall.

Scott hasn't seen Don or spoken to him since before Carla shared her suspicions that memorable Thursday. Yet, with little effort, he had managed to ruin his life totally. His experience told him that people like Don, once engaged in a downward spiral, had their own way of finding the bottom, then their very nature will make them stay there.

It was also easy to influence his weakened mind and set him on a war path with Fiona.

Mary was last on his retribution plan. That also was well underway.

He walked slowly into the busy bar. It had been a while since he last set foot in a bar. He headed to the counter and found a free stool. The man to his left was about his age, very handsome.

Scott ordered a drink then slowly retrieved an envelope from his back pocket and slid it discreetly towards the man to his left.

"Thank you!" he said quietly, without looking at the man.

"Anytime," the man replied with an equally low voice. He took the envelope and slid it in the inside pocket of his jacket.

Scott was still sitting sipping his drink when 'Mike' stood up and left the bar, twenty thousands dollars richer, plus expenses.

* * *

Mary was still deeply affected by the loss of Mike. She had seen in him another Scott and had built high hopes for the future. The way Mike 'dropped' her hurt her a great deal. Wasn't she good enough for him? What should she have done to be the one he chose as his future life partner? The break affected her self esteem and her financial security.

Aldo's attention and care touched Mary. He was always there to comfort her. He let her shed the tears of despair and listened to her doubts, her hurt, and her disappointment. He was truly a good friend.

Aldo did his best to comfort Mary but needless to say that he was not at all unhappy by the way things turned out. He nearly 'lost' her to Mike and he was determined not to let another Mike take her away from him.

Aldo's mind was set. He shouldn't lose Mary even if that meant he had to marry her.

* * *

The man who walked into the gallery had the looks of a businessman. Definitely not an art dealer. Nor did he look like an individual wanting to buy a painting. He was just scanning the shop with his eyes, slowly but methodically.

Mary greeted him and asked if she could be of assistance. He asked if Mister Aldo Spiteri was around. Aldo was watching from a distance, he walked towards the man extending his hand.

"Aldo Spiteri, how can I help you?"

"My name is Perry Wallace," replied the man, shaking Aldo's hand then handing him a business card, "My company is buying several properties in this block. We already agreed to the purchase of the two premises to the right of your gallery. We want to convert them into a set of interconnected luxury boutiques sharing a common theme and brand. They will be spacious, fresh, and fabulous looking. We expect them also to display various artful objects. I heard about you Mister Spiteri and I have a couple of propositions I would like to explore with you."

"Please call me Aldo, and I'm all ears."

"Thank you Aldo, my first proposition is related to your gallery. We are interested in buying it. We have a choice between your gallery and the premise to the right of the two we already acquired. You are the first to be approached." He paused for effect.

Aldo cleared his throat, "Well... this is somewhat of a surprise... I never considered selling the gallery..."

Perry Wallace raised his hand as if blocking any premature protest, "I fully understand that this comes as a surprise. Allow me to explain... We are really hoping to buy one of the two shops adjoining the ones we already bought. If we can't then we will consider other options. Once construction work starts, you can imagine that this will inconvenience your business. We will try to minimize the impact but we can't reduce noise levels, dust projections, trucks loading and unloading... anything that will impact or reduce traffic to your gallery. I want to apologize for that in advance. However, if you decided to sell, we will offer you ten percent above market price."

Aldo was thinking fast. Perry was talking faster. Mary was listening attentively.

Percy continued, "Should you decided to sell, and as an additional incentive, we would like to retain your services... and the lady's of course... to decorate the new boutiques and create new art pieces to adorn the walls."

A discussion ensued, questions were asked, and answers were given. An hour later, Perry Wallace left the gallery.

Aldo and Mary were deep in thought. The offer was tempting. Aldo thought that he can buy or lease another place for his gallery. However, if he... sorry, they were contracted to decorate the boutiques and provide several paintings, they could make a small fortune. This was a one time opportunity. Neither Aldo nor Mary could figure out who told Perry that they had decoration skills but they weren't going to argue with this one.

That evening they went out to dinner. They wanted to discuss the offer further. Finding a babysitter for Dean was not easy at such a short notice. It almost spoiled Aldo's good mood.

Aldo was gracious enough to involve Mary in the thought process and even the final decision. He knew that involving Mary would both keep her close and relieve him of some of the tedious tasks that would have to be carried out should he accept the deal. They were both euphoric discussing the opportunity offered to them.

Aldo thought this was the right time to make his move. He took Mary's hand and asked her to marry him. He didn't have a ring but that sort of detail wasn't going to deter him. He had to seize the opportunity.

Mary was still trying to overcome the loss of Mike. The day's events made her feel alive again, she had things to do, she had a purpose. Her dreams were finally coming true, she was going to be involved in artistic activity. She liked Aldo, she liked him a lot, but what she felt towards him now wasn't love. It was a combination of gratitude for including her in his plans, of appreciation for giving her the opportunity to have someone in her life, and of recognition of the opportunity she was being offered to get her finances back in shape.

Mary smiled sweetly and accepted his proposal. They held hands for a while, smiling at each other, but their thoughts could not have been further apart.

* * *

Two days later, after consulting with his lawyer, Aldo called Perry Wallace and informed him that he accepted his offer. Two contracts were to be drafted.

The first was an agreement to sell the gallery for the estimated market value plus ten percent.

The second was an agreement to provide services, namely decoration services and art work, for an estimated value of 300,000 dollars, five percent of which was to be paid upon signature of the agreement. Additional expenses or costs, such as the purchase of decoration material and art objects, were to be born by Perry's company.

When both agreements were being signed, Aldo noticed that Perry's company, RET Delivery Corp., was located in the Bahamas. Perry explained that the Miami address on his card was that of the representative office, facilities they rented along with secretarial services when conducting business in Miami. Aldo didn't care much, money was money, wherever it came from.

* * *

Two weeks later, Aldo and Mary were married.

A week after the marriage the sale of the gallery was completed,

Two weeks after the sale of the gallery Aldo learned that RET Delivery Corp was unable to proceed with the second agreement. A very apologetic Perry Wallace informed Aldo that the owner of the company was facing serious financial difficulties and the company had to be wound down. All it's assets were being sold to another company, also in the Bahamas.

A very worried Aldo asked about the second agreement. Perry again apologized and pointed to the default clause of the agreement. He hoped the five percent deposit would be adequate compensation for any inconvenience.

* * *

It didn't take Mary long to discover that being married to Aldo was nothing like being married to Scott or Martin.

The first dark cloud was the discovery that the deal they had hoped would secure their finances, at least for the short term, had collapsed.

The second dark cloud was that Aldo became depressed. Despite selling his gallery for 10% above its market value, not much remained. He had to repay his mortgage to the bank. As per his divorce settlement, he had to give Wanda 50% of the proceeds of the sale. He inquired about a new loan and discovered that the conditions for granting new mortgages were much tougher now. He could lease new premises but considering the nature of his work, no one would rent him decent facilities in a respectable area without him committing to at least to six months rental in advance. The loss of his second agreement with RET Delivery Corp and the lack of any other interest in his work meant that the lease money would simply be wasted.

Aldo became short tempered, anything would upset him. His pride could not overcome what he considered a failure, a disaster.

The marriage followed that trend. Aldo clashed with Mary and with Dean. In his worst moments, he blamed Mary for his misfortune and vented his anger on Dean. They argued and fought a lot. Their fights became notorious in the neighborhood. Aldo was quite vocal so it was hard for the neighbors not to notice them.

Mary's mood switched from euphoric to depressed.

As time went by, and Aldo being Aldo, he couldn't resist dipping his stick in someone else's combustion engine. Mary knew about his indiscretions, he didn't even bother hiding them. Mary became even more depressed. Although she didn't really love him, not the way she loved Martin and Scott, Mary nevertheless felt the sting and humiliation of Aldo's betrayals.

She had no one to talk with. She couldn't confide in her parents. Most of the friends she had from when she was married to Scott deserted her. Even Fiona had moved to another state.

In her most depressed moments, Mary considered divorcing Aldo, but feared the consequences. Aldo was definitely opposed. The 'loss' of his gallery, the loss of the only business opportunity on his horizon, and his now meager finances made his 'financial buoy' that much more vital. If Mary forced a divorce, not only would that lead to long and costly legal battle, but her parents would also raise some very serious questions. Aldo may even be vengeful enough to let them know of Mary's past. She had to avoid that at any cost. Her parents were her last hope.

Another thing was not right. The presence of Dean was crowding Aldo's life. He never wanted or liked kids. He couldn't resist picking on Dean and releasing his frustrations on him in forms that worried Mary.

* * *

The moment that Scott was waiting for finally arrived.

Scott could always sense how happy Dean was when he was with him. The last two weeks he noticed his son's gradual withdrawal and restlessness as he drove him back to his mother's apartment. He asked Dean several times if he was OK. Dean, not wanting to worry his father, always nodded and uttered a weak 'yes'.

The following week, while they were out at sea, anchored and having a meal, Dean became suddenly serious and asked his father why he was living with his mother and not with him.

Scott explained the reason as simply as he could. He explained how the legal system always granted custody to the mother, unless she was a convicted criminal purging a sentence. At the time of the divorce Scott was still working and Mary wasn't, the court would have granted her custody anyway. He told Dean that he could have fought it out with Mary and her lawyer, he was very tempted to do so, but he would have just prolonged the pain and still would not have won in court. That's how things worked with the legal system and hopefully when Dean gets older he would understand better.

Dean just nodded. He looked up at his father and told him that he would rather be with him, now.

Scott's eyes misted. How could he tell his son that he was working on it, that he was planning on wearing his mother out and getting her to accept transferring the custody to Scott. That this may take some time but he was confident of the final outcome, very soon he hoped.

He told Dean how much he loved him and how pained he was not to have him with him. Dean started crying. Something was definitely wrong. He looked at Dean and saw the sadness on his face, in his eyes. He had to know what caused Dean to bring up that matter.

'Dean, son, what's wrong? And don't you tell me 'nothing', I know something is very wrong."

Dean nodded but remained silent for a while.

"Dean, I never asked you this before, but now I need to know. Is something wrong with your mother or with Aldo?"

"With both," Dean replied

"I am listening Dean, go on, tell me everything."

Dean told his father about the constant disputes between Mary and Aldo, even his friends at school, who lived in the neighborhood, knew about them. He described Mary's depressed attitude and Aldo's aggressive behavior, especially towards him. He stated how his mother intervenes at times and how Aldo becomes even more aggressive, towards both of them. He wasn't allowed to bring friends home, let alone sleep overs. No one helped him with his homework during the week. Dean went on and on covering every aspect of his troubled life.

"What's Mary doing? Did you tell your mother how you feel?" Anger was evident in Scott's voice.

"I did, many times. She keep telling me that I have to be patient and things will get better. But Aldo scares me dad, he could even hurt me. Mom mentions sometimes going back to California. I told her I didn't want to go and that I wanted to stay here, with you."

Hearing his son's last words, Scott knew that the time was ripe to move on with the last phase of his plan. He had to have a serious chat with Mary.

* * *

Scott met Mary in a small bar in Coconut Grove.

He went straight to the point. He told her of his chat with Dean and the emotional state their son was in. He told her that Dean feared Aldo and wanted to come live with him.

Mary tried to minimize some facts and evade others, but Scott was relentless.

"Mary, when we divorced, I agreed to having Dean live with you for the simple reason that the courts would have ruled that way anyway. But now things have changed. There is clearly a case of abuse and maybe even a threat of violence. I want Dean to come live with me."

"It is not as serious as you think, Scott. Aldo is just angry because he lost a deal, we are all stressed, but things will calm down soon." Mary's voice didn't convey any confidence in what she was saying.

"Mary, I don't give a fuck about Aldo or his deals. I am worried about my son. There are two ways we can go about this. We either agree amicably that I get full custody of Dean, I'll take care of all the costs, or you refuse and I take the matter to court. This is no trivial matter. They will investigate, they will talk to Dean, they will talk to your neighbors, and last but not least they will involve child protection services. Just imagine the consequences if I took the latter path. It will be very public, it may take very long, it may be very costly, I will fight to the end to get custody."

"But it will also cost you money Scott. You are jobless, no one will give you custody, especially not living on a boat."

"I will get all the financial help I need from my parents, be sure of that. As for the boat, I am planning on moving into a house soon. I am feeling much better and will soon start my own company, doing consulting work, so I can work from home and can look after Dean. Jobless or not, I will have the time and the means to take good care of Dean, in a proper, safe environment. No bad temper, no foul language, and certainly no violence."

Mary tried to utter something, but the words failed her. Too many thoughts were rushing in her mind. How wrong she was marrying Aldo. Now that Scott was going to work again she would have received her alimony had she not married. Losing Dean meant also losing child support. If they went to court, she would need a good, well connected lawyer. That will cost her a lot of money, regardless of the result. Scott seemed determined to head down that path. To top all that she had a shitty life with a cheating husband. She loved her son, she didn't want to lose him, but somewhere deep down she knew that Scott was right. Aldo was becoming unpredictable. Even she feared for her son.

Scott was uncompromising. There will be no compensation, no short term arrangement, no delay. He kept asking her for a decision, now, because tomorrow he was going to see his lawyer.

Mary was drained mentally and emotionally. There was no fight left in her.

She agreed to the transfer of custody.

Jo Willingham drafted the transfer of custody agreement, Mary's lawyer reviewed it, then it was filed with the court. The agreement stipulated that Scott's child support obligation was formally terminated.

Scott's retribution was now complete.

A few days later, Dean moved in with Scott. The Christmas break was a few weeks away. They had plans anyway over that period. Scott will look for a nice place to live after the new year. In the meantime he and Dean will enjoy the last few weeks of the boat adventure.

Chapter 22 -- Epilogue