Bad Intel on a Cheating - Alternate Ending

"Enough then." I said.

I bent over him and took his wallet. "A mugging, remember."

"I remember." He rolled onto his side and curled up.

"I'll have Angelo call an ambulance."

My friend and I walked off. He gave O'Sullivan's cash to a homeless woman near a shelter. I thought that that was a bad idea, but it was done and couldn't be undone. He tossed the wallet into a dumpster.

O'Sullivan kept his word, and so did I.

When Maree got out of jail, she no longer had a stay away order from me. We were divorced, and I owned the house, with the bank. I was on the back patio one evening when the doorbell rang. It was Maree.

"May I come in? I just want to talk."

"You can come in for a hot minute. I don't think we have much to say to each other."

"I wanted to apologize for all that I did. It ruined our marriage, and my life. It was so stupid."

"Why didn't you just ask me about what your friends said? It could have been avoided easily."

"In jail I did some one on one counselling. I believe all of it was because of my insecurity, my parents had massive infidelity problems."

"Well, I'm not them."

She was silently crying, looking around the house where she used to live.

"Nothing will ever be the same," she said in a shaky voice.

"Maybe a lesson learned."

"I heard that Mike O'Sullivan was mugged and spent ten days in the hospital," she said.

"Yes, I heard, too. On the other hand, he still has his family. You and I have to start all over."

She nodded. "I love you, Gary. I'm so sorry I fucked that up." She turned and walked out.

It was eight years before I saw her again. My Mom invited her to our second son's first birthday. The son of Dr. Betty Gee and me. Maree brought her new friend, Johnny. He seemed like a nice guy. She was emotional at the party. But it wasn't too much. We didn't say much. After that, she and my Mom communicated. She married Johnny and they had twin girls. I just hoped that there were no misunderstandings.

The end. (No deaths in this one.)