Andy, Marilyn and Me

She gripped the steering wheel tighter. But as soon as his old man kicks off and Daniel gets his inheritance, I'll divorce him in a heartbeat. And once I get my half of the proceeds from the Warhol and the house, I'll have as much money as those rich bitches, not to mention a high-profile husband.

As she pulled into their driveway, her face twisted into a sneer. University housing. Well, I can stand this dump a little while longer -- and my husband as well.

* * * * * * * * * * *

The next time Daniel saw Paloma, she wasn't smiling. He'd just finished grading an exam when he heard a knock at his office door. Looking up, he was startled to see the young woman standing there, and the expression on her face filled him with alarm.

"What's wrong, Paloma? Has something happened to my Dad? Is Marco OK?"

She hurried in, closing the door behind her, and sat down in one of his side chairs. "Your Dad is fine, Daniel. My mother is staying with him and Marco while I'm here. But..."

He shook his head impatiently. "So what's wrong? What's going on?"

"You know that I have a large family in this area, yes?"

"I didn't, but go on."

"One of my sisters, Christina, works at Birch Grove. She is the secretary to Senor Nicholson, the executive director."

"Okay..."

"Anyway, Christina sees Mrs. Morgan at the mansion every day."

"Yes, but..."

"Daniel, I'm so sorry, but your wife and Senor Nicholson are having an affair."

Her words hit him hard. His first instinct was to deny the possibility because he didn't want to believe it. But given the current state of relations with his wife, he immediately saw how an affair would explain what had been going on. Gaining control of himself, he leaned forward in his chair. "How does your sister know this?" he asked intently.

Paloma looked miserable. "We have a cousin who works as a maid in the Pocono View Motel. It's north of here, about 20 miles on Route..." He waved his hand impatiently and she hurried on. "Your wife and Senor Nicholson, they meet out there almost every week. The last time was two days ago, the night you had dinner with Senor Morgan, Marco and me."

He ground his teeth, remembering that night and how late Susan had come to bed. But he kept his voice low and controlled. "Paloma, this is very serious. I can't simply take the word of someone I've never met, even if she is your cousin."

"I know, I know, but you don't have to take her word. Is it possible... could you drive out there with me now?"

Half an hour later at the motel, Paloma was introducing Daniel to her cousin Lourdes, whose command of English was rudimentary. But with Paloma assisting with translation, the maid led the pair to a maintenance closet off the main hallway of the motel. She opened a door into the ventilation system and pulled out a recording system that had been hidden there.

Daniel looked at Lourdes, then at Paloma. "How did this get here?" he growled.

"Our family was together, and Christina was telling us her suspicions about Senor Nicholson and his frequent "meetings" with Senora Morgan. When she showed us a picture, Lourdes recognized them as the couple visiting the motel regularly." She looked at Daniel imploringly. "I'm sorry, Daniel, but I knew I had to find out the truth. I gave Lourdes the recorder. I hope you will not hate me for this."

Daniel ignored her implied question; instead he pointed to the device. "Have you listened to this?" he demanded.

She hung her head. "Si, to part of it. Lourdes played it for me when she called me. That's when I knew I had to tell you."

"Alright," Daniel said grimly, "tell her to play the tape."

When Lourdes hit the button with the arrow, all the volume startled three of them.

"Oh my god, Grant, there, there, there! Yes, yes. Don't stop, don't stop, aahhh!" burst out of the small speaker. Lourdes quickly halted the playback, and then spoke to Paloma.

"Do you want her to go back to the beginning?" Paloma asked Daniel.

A pale-faced Daniel shook his head. "I don't... no, I recognized Susan's voice." He rubbed his temples. "I really don't want to have to hear the whole damn thing -- let's just go on from here."

The cousin fiddled with the volume control and then pressed Play. At first they heard only some rustling of sheets and groan from the bed's springs. A moment later, the lovers' conversation resumed.

"God, Susan, you're amazing! I just can't get enough of you," came Grant Nicholson's voice admiringly. Then his tone grew almost urgent. "Honestly, Baby, I don't want to wait any longer. Just say the word and I'll divorce my wife tomorrow. All I want is to be with you."

"No!" Susan's voice rang out sharply. "Don't you understand, Grant -- we can't do anything until Daniel's old man passes! Once he's gone and Daniel inherits the Warhol, then I can divorce him. He'll have to auction it off as part of the settlement and I'll get my half of the proceeds. After that, you can say goodbye to Greta and we'll finally be together. "

"Are you sure you can get half the Warhol? I thought inheritances were protected."

The smirk on her face was evident in the sound of Susan's voice. "Don't worry about that. I've got a shyster who knows how to get around that. And since he gets paid based on the size of the settlement, I can guarantee you he's highly motivated."

"Yeah, but how much longer do we have to wait?" Nicholson whined.

"Be patient, baby," Susan reassured him. "The old man is going downhill fast. We'll get what we want soon enough."

Daniel reached over and angrily stabbed the Off button with his finger. "What a conniving bitch! She's got this whole thing figured out." He slammed his fist down on the counter, frightening the two women. Then he turned and walked out of the motel.

Paloma hugged Lourdes quickly, then grabbed the recorder and hurried out to the parking lot. She found Daniel standing beside his car, staring off into space. He turned to her when she approached, and his eyes reflected both the anger and despair of a man betrayed.

"I tried so hard, Paloma. I knew she wasn't happy with our marriage, but I kept trying to make things better." His expression darkened. "Now I know why nothing helped."

Now his voice was filled with resolve. "Get in the car -- we need to get back to town."

She got into the passenger side and, once they were on the road, timidly said, "I hope you're not angry with me, Daniel. I felt you would want to know what she was doing."

He shook his head from side to side. "I'm not mad at you, Paloma, but I'm very angry at Susan."

"What are you going to do? You're not going to hurt her, are you?"

He glanced over at her. "Yes, I'm going to hurt her, and Nicholson as well." Seeing her expression, he added, "But not like you're imagining. I'm not a violent man, but I guarantee you they won't like what happens any better."

She reached over to take his arm. "I don't want you to get into any trouble, Daniel. I just couldn't..."

He gave her a small smile. "Don't worry, Paloma, everything is going to work out okay." Then his smile disappeared. "While you sort out your mother and Marco, I need to talk to my Dad." He shook his head sadly. "He was so excited when I married Susan. He was very impressed with her, couldn't wait for us to have children. When he hears what I've learned, he'll be as upset as I am."

He glanced over at Paloma with a wry expression. "It's ironic, you know? I would get so frustrated every time Susan said she wasn't ready to start a family. But now I'm really glad we didn't."

They drove the rest of the way in silence, each deep in thought.

The conversation with his father was long and painful, but the two men finally came away with a plan of action. Daniel's first step was to file for divorce to short-circuit Susan's plan. His dad promised to ask his own attorney to recommend a divorce lawyer. He also cautioned his son to avoid saying or doing anything that might clue Susan in on what he'd learned. "I can do that, Dad," Daniel agreed. "I'll just avoid her as much as possible until I'm ready to have her served. Given how little time we spend with each other already, that shouldn't be too hard."

To hide his feelings, Daniel spent much of the weekend on campus, grading papers, updating lesson plans and generally trying to ensure his academic life wouldn't be too disrupted by the divorce to come. When his dad called him on Monday with a referral, Daniel immediately contacted the attorney's office to set up an appointment. But he was disappointed to learn that he couldn't see the woman until Thursday. He thought about searching for another attorney on the web, but then thought better of it. "If Susan is going to try to pull some sort of legal shenanigans, I need someone really good in my corner. I can tough it out a little longer."

When Thursday finally came, Daniel was gratified that he'd been patient. His new attorney seemed competent and confident. "I think I know what your wife is planning, but I really don't think you have to worry about your father's painting," the woman reassured him. "As long as we file promptly, there is no way the Warhol will become part of any property settlement."

She promised she would have his suit ready to file the following week, and could have the writ ready to be served later that same day. Almost there, Daniel thought as he headed back to his office on campus. And with any luck, we'll take care of Mr. Grant Nicholson as well. For the first time since he'd learned of Susan's treachery, he felt himself relax a little.

* * * * * * * * * * *

The call he got on Sunday shattered his complacency. When he answered, he heard nothing at first except the woman's sobbing. "I'm so sorry, Daniel. I tried so hard to help him -- I really did."

Icy dread seized his heart. "Help who, Paloma? What's happened?"

"It's Senor Morgan," she cried, then paused. "I have to go -- the EMTs are here." The line went dead.

Jumping to his feet, Daniel ran to his car and sped to his father's house. He found the street blocked by a fire truck, an ambulance and another truck from the fire department. Parking down the street, he ran toward the house, arriving just in time to see the EMTs wheel a gurney out onto the front porch.

"Is he OK?" he asked frantically.

The tech looked at him. "Are you the son?"

"Yes, yes I am. Is he alive?"

The man slowly shook his head. "I'm sorry, there was nothing we could do. He was gone when we got here. His heart had stopped beating -- it looked like he'd had a massive stroke or an aneurysm."

"But what about defibrillation -- could that help?"

The man looked at him sympathetically. "I'm sorry, sir, but even if we could restart his heart, there'd be nothing else working, you understand? You wouldn't want that, and neither would he."

As they loaded the gurney into the ambulance and drove slowly away, Daniel could only stand there in shock. Finally he forced himself to trudge into the house. When Paloma saw him, she ran to him and threw herself sobbing into his arms. "I'm sorry, Daniel. I tried so hard to bring him back. I did chest compressions until the medics arrived, but it wasn't enough. I'm so sorry."

Through his own tears, he held her away from him so he could look in her face. "It's not your fault, Paloma. You did everything you could. I talked with the EMT outside. He told me Dad must have had a stroke or a cerebral aneurysm. He was probably gone before you even got to him."

She lowered her head to Daniel's chest and continued to sob. "He was sitting at the table chatting with me. All of sudden he grabbed his head and told me it hurt. Then he just toppled over and fell to the floor. Oh, Daniel, it was horrible!"

He gently led the distraught woman over to a chair to sit down, then went to get water for both of them. When he returned, he asked, "Where's Marco?"

"Marco? Madre de Dios, I almost forgot: he's at school. I've got to go get him." She began weeping again. "Marco will be so upset. He really loved your father." She hurried away, leaving Daniel alone in the suddenly empty house.

He sat there for a long time, grief clouding his efforts to comprehend how suddenly his life had changed. He'd known his father was dying, but he wasn't prepared to lose him so soon. His own tears flowed again, and there was no one to comfort him.

Finally, he composed himself enough to start a list of people who needed to be notified and the tasks he needed to complete. Once he'd jotted down everything he could think of, he started the sorrowful task of making phone calls.

After he'd reached or left messages for the most urgent group, Daniel locked up his father's house and drove over to Birch Grove to perform the task he'd left for last. As much as he hated the thought, he had decided to give Susan the news in person. I want to see how she reacts, he thought bitterly.

She was startled to see him walk into her little office, and when she heard the news she said all the right things and displayed the appropriate grief. But as he watched her, he had to bite his tongue to keep from lashing out in anger. Those are crocodile tears, he raged to himself. She must be absolutely delighted because now she can move ahead with her scheme. But he managed to keep himself in check until he left.

The minute he was gone, Susan dashed out of her office, almost skipping as she ran down the hall to tell Grant Nicholson the news.

Grant was startled by Susan's sudden appearance and caught off guard by the news she blurted out. Automatically he started to offer condolences, but she interrupted him. "Don't you see: this is good news. It's what we've been waiting for. With the old man gone, his estate now goes to Daniel. I can file for divorce, resolve the property settlement, and once it's final, you and I can be together."

Grant felt his own excitement matching hers. "I can't believe the waiting is over. So when do you plan to file for divorce?"

She thought for a moment. "I don't want to come across as heartless. I'll wait until after his father is buried and the memorial service is over before I file."

"That makes sense," Grant acknowledged, "but don't wait too long. Remember: it's likely to take a while for me to work things out with Greta."

* * * * * * * * * * *

The next few days for Daniel were filled with all the mournful duties a death entails. His first and most pressing responsibility was his father's funeral. Even though his dad hadn't been observant, he'd left instructions that he wanted to be buried following the Jewish tradition. That meant organizing the interment for the following day.

Once arrangements for his father's interment were made, Daniel began organizing a memorial service for the friends and neighbors who couldn't attend the burial. He'd had no other living relatives, but Ezra had made many friends over his career, and now they came to pay their last respects. Likewise, Daniel's friends and colleagues came to extend their condolences and support. Seeing so many people in attendance gave him some consolation.

Both the interment and the memorial service were hard on Daniel, not only because of the grief he felt but also because he was forced to attend both with Susan. As she had before, she played the grieving wife perfectly. But Daniel knew what her true thoughts were, and his anger morphed into bitter hatred.

During all this, Daniel's new attorney had called to ask for instructions on Daniel's divorce filing. Given the host of responsibilities he faced, Daniel asked her to put his divorce on hold. "I'll have to get back to you," he told her. "My life is pretty crazy right now."

After the memorial service concluded, a new and unexpected complication arose. Back at his father's house, Paloma asked him when he wanted Marco and her to move out. Daniel was aghast. "You can't leave, Paloma. In the first place, you have no place to go, and I have no intention of kicking you out on the street. For that matter, if the house sits vacant, it will become a target for thieves or vandals. Besides, if you go somewhere else it will likely mean moving Marco to a new school. He's doing well where he is; I don't want to risk messing that up. You have to stay, at least for a while."

She gratefully accepted, fully aware that Daniel's kindness and concern were a greater factor than the reasons he gave.

With his father buried and the services complete, Daniel next contacted his father's attorney to learn what had to be done in conjunction with handling his father's estate. The list of steps he would have to take in conjunction with the probate process was a lengthy one. When he'd finished reviewing them with Daniel, the attorney had added an unexpected duty. Ezra, the attorney informed Daniel, had requested the reading of his will be held as soon as possible, before it even went to probate. Moreover, his father had left a list of people to be invited. When he heard the list, Daniel understood.

"I have one request," he told the family attorney. "To make the reading of the will as formal as possible, can we hold it in your law office? If it's held there and your office issues the invitations, I think it's more likely that everyone who's supposed to be there will come." The old man readily agreed.

* * * * * * * * * * *

On the appointed day of the reading, Daniel and Susan arrived at the attorney's office separately. As they took their seats around the small conference table in the law library, they greeted each other with strained cordiality. Except for the services for his father, the two of them had spent very little time together. Now, despite her outward calm, Daniel could tell his wife was almost bubbling over with excitement. He, on the other hand, was calm and composed.

Minutes later, Paloma came in and introduced herself to the attorney. Susan stared at her, then leaned over to Daniel and demanded angrily, "What's she doing here?"

He stared at her without emotion. "She was invited."

Before Susan could respond, she was startled to see Grant Nicholson enter. "You were invited too?" she asked.

He nodded. "I'm not sure why, but the invitation was quite clear."

Just then the attorney arose and pointedly cleared his throat. "May I have your attention, please. It appears that everyone who was invited is present. The late Mr. Morgan expressly wished that each of you be here for the reading of his last will and testament," he said in a sonorous voice.

"I won't try your patience with a full reading of all the legal details of his will; instead, Mr. Morgan wished that I, as he put it, 'cut to the chase.'"

He cleared his throat.

"First, the late Mr. Morgan designated Daniel Morgan, his only child, as the executor of his will. It will be Daniel's responsibility to ensure that any taxes owed are paid and any outstanding debts or other obligations are settled. Once those matters are properly dealt with, he will oversee the disposition of the estate's assets according to the stipulations and wishes of his father. Daniel has agreed to serve in this capacity and, I am informed, has already begun the process of resolving the estate's debts, taxes and other obligations."

Susan shot a quick glance at Grant, giving him a brief smile of anticipation.

"That brings us to the disbursement of the assets," the attorney continued. "The first bequest concerns Mr. Morgan's home in which he lived the last twenty-seven years of his life, along with the lot on which it resides. His will reads, 'I hereby leave my home and grounds to Paloma Contreras, in gratitude for the long service she has done me in my time of illness and need. I also leave whatever funds remain in my checking account to help her pay the bills."

"What?" Susan cried out in surprise. "How can he give his house to that... that maid? It should go to Daniel."