Heide and Merl and Maria

"$21.53 at open today."

"Worth?"

"$5.383 million."

"I won't be living on a street corner, will I? Can I sell some now? I need to buy a new vehicle."

"How about 10,000 shares, and I'll buy them from you out of my slush account and write you a check today?"

"That would be great. Now, tell me about Heide. Your voice inflection gave you up when you mentioned her on the phone."

He sat still in his chair, looking at the floor.

"Albert. Tell me about her. I know much more than you think."

"She dances at Rye Balled Strip Club, and um, works in the back um, rooms and um, the executive suite."

"I know. My problem with this is, am I the last man in town to find out? Does Greta know you go there and watch strippers?"

"Let's forget I said anything."

"Can I get that check now?"

"Marjory, get in here." She came in, and after Albert explained what we were doing, she did all the paperwork and cut me a check for $215,300 from a checkbook in her safe.

I got up and started to walk out. "Do what you can on the job but don't lose any sleep. Oh, and let's keep this talk private. Heide doesn't know that I know, and I haven't talked to her yet."

"Sure, Merl. And if it's worth anything, I'm sorry."

As I touched the doorknob, I let out my final thought. "Albert, Is she really that good?"

"The word to describe her performance is 'WOW' times three. She's so hot she could give a blind man an erection."

As I said goodbye to Marjory, I had a thought. "Marjory, you seemed very nervous when I walked in. Have you been talking to Heide?"

"Merl, um, why would you um, think that um, I would um, do that?"

"Thank's, you answered my question. Tell Heide I said hello."

Maria and I spent the afternoon making Heide's old cell phone a clone of her new one. She backed up all data on the sim card to the cloud, and when she had finished her IT "wax on wax off," everything Heide received or sent by text, on the new cell phone would be duplicated on the old one. I whispered what I wanted to do to her after moving out Saturday, and Maria began vibrating; she was so excited. I gave her a big kiss and drove home for dinner.

My wife was cooking dinner, so I washed up, and we had a pleasant dinner, our last. As I cleared off the table, she asked about her phone. I reached in my jacket pocket and handed it to her. I finished rinsing a plate and asked, "Heide, why didn't we have any children?" I turned around and continued speaking. "We were both tested, and..."

She wasn't there. I looked down the hallway, and the bedroom door was closed.

I lay down on the sofa with her old phone and watched texts fly. I read texts from Meredith, Spencer, Devin, and the Mayor. They all hurt my pride, but no sense crying. When the bedroom door opened, I covered up the phone and sat up. She stopped and looked shocked that I was awake. She had changed into a dress and had her purse and car keys in her hand.

"Where are you going? It's pretty late."

"I always go dancing on Thursdays."

"I don't suppose you'd like to spend some time with your husband, remember me, Merl?"

"Darling, Meredith's expecting me. I can't disappoint her."

"Right, you can only disappoint your husband. Whatever! Where's my fucking phone?"

"MERL! Language." She pulled my phone out of her purse and handed it to me.

I snatched it away from her and turned away. When I didn't hear her leaving, I turned around and snapped, "Well, what the fuck are you waiting for, Christmas? You can't disappoint poor slutty Meredith. LEAVE!"

She ran out the door and drove away.

I awoke a little late Friday morning, and Heide was not in bed. Her side was undisturbed, so I guess she slept elsewhere. It seems she has slept in elsewhere a lot. After breakfast, I drove my car to my new bank and deposited my stock sale check. They had to talk to Albert before cutting me a cashier's check for my Suburban purchase. I picked Maria up, and we went to get my new, used SUV. We drove back to her house, and I parked the Suburban and trailer behind the barn.

We went back to her house, kissing and snuggling, and ended up in bed. At six, we kissed, and I went home. Tomorrow is moving day. I made dinner alone again and went to bed. I was almost asleep when Heide called me.

"Merl. Meredith and I are in Charlotte. Debbie Messer's husband was killed by a drunk driver today, and we drove down to console her. I probably won't be home until Sunday morning, if that's all right?"

I mumbled whatever, but she didn't seem to hear and hung up. I don't know a Debbie Messer. Do I look as if I care?

I was wide awake now, so I got dressed and began erasing my presence from the house. I bagged up all my clothes. I left my suits on their hangers and boxed up my twelve pairs of shoes and boots. Another box held my hygiene products, and I had nothing else to remove from the master bedroom or bathroom.

I carried everything out to the garage; we never parked there anymore, so there was lots of room. I went to the kitchen and took the manila folder out of 'Grandma's Recipes' folder. Then I went through every folder, book, and binder, looking for anything else. I left all the drawers open and papers on the floor because I wanted her to know things had changed for the worse.

I opened my briefcase, put the manila folder in, took my yellow pad out, and wrote two notes and a short letter;

Flaming Red

I am leaving you the money here in the safe. You worked hard to earn

it and I don't want to leave you destitute.

The fool you cuckolded

Heide

I took your gold coin and left you the diamonds. I like the coin.

I don't like you.

PS: Look in your top drawer

Then I composed my letter to her.

You Lying Cunt

How many of our sixteen years married did you fuck around on me? How many

sloppy seconds did I get? How much cum did I lick out of your putrid pussy?

If I wasn't giving you enough, why didn't you talk to me? Flaming Red and the

Merry Widow selling sex. If I weren't married to you, I would probably get excited

watching you and Meredith, but all I want to do is puke. When you get the divorce
papers, go over them with a lawyer, not the guy who bails you out, sign them and
mail them back. At least I now know why you never got pregnant. You couldn't

spoil that perfect body belonging to a whore for a screaming brat to make your

idiot husband happy. I'm only thirty-six now; maybe I can find a woman with morals

who will love me and want to have babies with me?

Sixteen years that are gone forever, and I'll never have again.

Pretend I'm dead, please.

The fool who said "I do" to you.

I put the notes in the safe and jewelry box and the letter in her drawer and walked around in a daze looking for anything else I wanted. Then I undressed and went to sleep.

My phone was going off, so I opened one eye and looked for it. It was on the floor. "Hello."

"Sweetie, are you just waking up?" It was Maria.

"Uh-huh. Why are you calling so early?"

"Early? It's 10:30. Where is your wife? I was afraid you got in a fight, and she harmed you."

"Oh, she and Meredith made up some story about a friend's husband dying, blah blah blah. Let me get dressed and come over and get the Suburban and trailer. Do I have some news for you! Bye, I love you, my Maria."

It was 12:30 when we arrived back at my house in the Suburban. We loaded all my clothes in the back seat and storage area and then laid my suits on top.

Maria started quizzing me about other items I might want, "Pictures, mementos, Christmas ornaments, family bible, birth certificate, property records, tax returns..."

"Tax returns. You're a genius." We went to my office, and I had a 10" X 12" metal box with every tax return we had filed, at least that's what I thought. "What else, Beautiful?"

"The laptop in the attic?"

"Oh, shit."

"Let me get it. You go through your closet." She used the hook and pulled the ladder down. "Got a flashlight?"

"Kitchen drawer next to the refrigerator."

I went into my closet and started removing boxes. Holy Cow, how could I forget this? One had mementos my mother and grandmother left me after they died. Another had my grandmother's sterling silverware set and her silver tea service. A third box contained four silver raised bowls that belonged to my great grandmother and a padded case with eight silver goblets. These were old, and I believe they were my great-great grandmother's.

I looked around, and Maria was still in the attic. I loaded all the silver and the box with personal stuff in the trailer and locked it. When I went back in, Maria was raising the steps back up. I walked up and kissed her. "Wait until you see what I found? What took so long?"

"Sorry. I wanted to make sure I could bypass any password." She had the laptop in her left hand and pulled a USD thumb drive out of her pocket. She saw the mess in my office and shook her head.

"Hey, I don't have to clean it up." I kissed her, and she said, "You'll keep kissing me when I'm fat with child, won't you?"

"You bet, kisses on lips, ear lobes, fingertips, nipples, belly, belly button..."

"That's enough. Let's go practice rather than talk."

We got in and drove around to leave the driveway when I saw a police car coming down the street. I parked, jumped out, and waved them down. They pulled over and rolled down the passenger window.

"Good afternoon, officers." The driver was a blonde female, a Sergeant, and the partner was a big man.

"I am separating from my wife, and I made a mess while taking my things. She won't be home until tomorrow morning, and I know she will react badly and probably call the police. A brainstorm made me flag you down. Is there anything I can do so she won't waste your time, as in the department's time?"

The man pulled a PDA out and asked for my license. I gave it to him, and he scanned it. The Sergeant looked at the laptop, her eyes bulged out, and her mouth made a sad "oh" sound.

"Oh, god. I am the only person in town who didn't know." I started to tear up, and I felt so worthless.

"Mr. White, we're so sorry we can't make an official report, but we'll let our watch commander know. It's okay, sir, you're getting out. Take care."

We watched them head down the road as we climbed back in, and I shifted the truck into drive and headed to my new home.

We didn't talk much during the drive; Maria just held my right hand. After I pulled onto her lot, I asked, "Is there room here for me to stay?"

"But of course, Darling. That barn straight ahead, you can park inside, we can put a mattress in the back of the Suburban, and we can hook up a garden hose for showers...STOP I'M TICKLISH. PLEASE STOP."

I was tickling her under her arms. "If I sleep there, so do you." I stopped stroking her.

She kissed me, "I'd sleep in a stinky dumpster with you," and kissed me again.

We got out and carried my clothes up to her room. When we carried the boxes in, I put them on the dining room floor. As I carried the last box in, Mom came downstairs. She started talking, rapid-fire words, angry fiery eyes, and arm gestures until I pulled the case with the goblets out of the box it was in. When I opened it, she said something with awe that I didn't understand.

She started talking again. Maria translated, "She says to put on the table, everything on the table."

When all four silver sets were on the table, she was silent, walking around the table with tiny steps, lightly stroking the silver. Maria and I stood silently, watching her.

After a couple of minutes, she started talking again and waving her arms.

"She says go clean up your room, put that box in Maria's office, and get those two boxes out of my house."

So I took the empty boxes out and broke them down for the trash. Upstairs in Maria's room, I saw all of my hanging clothes were in the walk-in closet, and she was going through my clothes as she put them in the dresser. "Go, help Mom. We need to go shopping for you. You have no style, no panache."

Mom says, get rid of boxes; Maria says, my clothes suck. So, after getting kicked out of my room, I went to watch Mom. She had one of those jeweler eye loupes and was inspecting the silverware. When she saw me watching her, she waved me over. "Come."

She took a breath and said, "Where get?"

Where did I get it from? I said, drawing from my French lessons at school, "Mon arrière-arrière grand-mère jusqu'à ma mère."

I hope that means from my great-great-grandmother down to my mother.

Maria called for me again, "Merl, I need you." I hesitated, and Mom waved me away.

"Merl, we need to go shopping for you. Your underwear and socks are gross. Most of your casual clothes are wearable, and your suits are well made."

"Okay, whatever you say."

She grabbed her keys, and we drove to Macy's. Three hours later, I had all new boxers, briefs, t-shirts, and socks. I also had six pairs of casual slacks and a few shirts.

I carried everything up to her/our bedroom, and she shoved me out. So I went looking for Mom.

Mom hollered. I recognized the word eat in her yell. All of the silver was still on the dining room table, so we ate at the kitchen table. Maria served me a chicken and vegetable dish with rice. Mom and Maria were talking in loud voices, in Vietnamese, which I couldn't understand.

I finished my second helping and put my dishes in the dishwasher. I went into Maria's office and hooked up the laptop. Turning it on, I noticed it booted up fast and did not need a password. I decided to see what was in the directories, just a lot of video files, sorted by date. Before I started watching, I created some folders in that directory and labeled the first 'No Sex,' the second 'Sex with Me,' the third 'Sex with Unknown,' the fourth 'Sex with known,' and the fifth 'Sex with Spencer.' Spencer was involved in this clusterfuck, and I was going to find out how.

Starting with the newest file, there was no sex on video going back twenty-one days. Then one with Spencer and more with no sex. I wasn't watching entire videos, just thirty seconds or less so I could sort them into folders.

Back at the PC, I continued sorting for half an hour before Mom came in and said, "Come."

She went into the living room and sat in her chair, pointing at the sofa.

Maria and I sat down and waited. Mom started talking, and after about twenty seconds, Maria responded angrily to her mother's words. They went back and forth and were getting louder, so I stopped this confrontation.

I jumped up and yelled, "STOP!"

Mom's eyes were filled with tears, and Maria was crying. "Maria, in as few words as possible, what is this about?" I took my hankie out and gently dabbed her eyes.

"Dowry. Silver."

"Please translate for me, Maria." I turned to Mom and soaked up her tears with my hankie, and then kissed her forehead. I took both of her hands in mine and began speaking, "Mom, I refuse to allow a mother and daughter to talk to each other in these angry tones. I am the outsider, not Maria, and I understand about family traditions. Mom, in your culture, a dowry for a bride is significant. I have not asked your permission for her hand, nor have I asked her to marry me. I am still married, although I will be seeing a lawyer tomorrow. Mom, I gladly give you my family's silver as a gift for allowing me to stay here. When the time comes for a dowry to be paid, I pledge all that I have now, and all that I will ever have, to you and my bride-to-be. You are now my mother, and I am humbled to be considered as your son-in-law."

Mom motioned for me to sit in her chair. She looked at Maria, said a few words, then turned back to me and began speaking. It wasn't a long speech, and when done, she kissed my forehead, both cheeks, and then smiled and twisted my ears. She nodded back to Maria, who was sobbing. Maria stood up, and we had a group hug.

"Mother says she accepts your gift, but there will be no dowry. You will marry me and give her many grandchildren. Then she said they would probably have your big ears."

"Is it time for bed?" I walked quickly toward the stairs.

I woke up and opened my eyes, and there was an angel with a C-cup boob impaled on my spear.

"What happened to you last night? You fell asleep after 2:00 AM. You need more endurance, but you were definitely terrific, my love."

That's different, a future wife complaining that I can't keep up, but I was terrific, versus my current wife who forgets about me and goes and gets her own sex partners.

Maria fed me breakfast in bed while I read the Sunday paper and began my love training with bathroom breaks and a lunch break. At dinner, I wore one of Maria's silk robes belted at the waist. Mom checked me out after dinner; looked at my bulge under the robe, and in broken Vietnamese and French, I understood that I was the right size for Maria.

Maria woke me up with a kiss. "I'm going to work. I'll be home at about 6:00. Don't get in any trouble while I'm gone." I walked down to the kitchen, and Mom made me breakfast, Vietnamese scrambled eggs.

After cleaning up, I called the law firm that worked for my father and three generations more of the White family. After I was placed on hold for a few minutes, my dad's last attorney picked up the phone.

"Merl White, how the heck are you, son?"

"Good, good, well, maybe not so good, Mr. Greenfield."

"Lee, Merl. Call me Lee, son. Now, what seems to be the problem."

So I told my sad tale of woe condensing sixteen years into ten minutes.

"I'm in court this afternoon and all day tomorrow. Wednesday, 9:00 AM, we can meet at my office in Charlotte. Will that work for you, Merl?"

"Can I bring moral support with me?"

"Bring the 82^nd Airborne; all are welcome. I'm going to switch you to my PA, Tyler, who can tell you what to bring. Hold one minute."

I was on hold for about ten seconds when Tyler picked up, and we went over what they needed.

After hanging up, I noticed I had missed calls, texts, and voicemail. I forgot I had turned off the ringer on my phone. Looking at the missed calls, I saw many from Heide, a couple from Spencer, several from Meredith and Greg. Looking at texts, I read all Heide's, starting with her angry and threatening texts and finishing with the crying and begging ones. Spencer's one text was threatening, and Meredith's was pleading for me to talk to Heide. My voicemails were mirrors of my texts, except for one from Albert, where he asked about a hornet's nest I kicked over.

I went to work sorting video files, even though most had no sex scenes in them. Mom interrupted me for lunch at 1:00, so I followed her to the kitchen. After I ate a tasty fish sandwich, I spoke to her in my rusty French, and I think I asked why the silver brought out so much emotion from her?

In broken French, she answered, and I think she told me about an NVA officer killing both sets of her grandparents because they owned silver that he wanted. I hugged her and asked if it was okay to hug her without asking?

She laughed and said, of course, but she would rather I came into her bedroom and tucked her in.

She was kidding, I think.

Back on the laptop, I watched in surprise as a person I knew, Greg Daley, lay on his back as Heide mounted him. I created a new folder with his name on it and dropped the video file in it.

Shortly after that, I had another surprise guest, Arturo, PA for Jema, who replaced me at FinCo. He was single, but I could get him fired.

Continuing my journey for truth, a file dated three days earlier than Arturo's, showed my replacement, Jema, in bed with Heide. It didn't surprise me. She could join Arturo in the unemployed line unless Albert showed up on one of these videos.

I worked until Maria came in and dragged me out. Over dinner, she told me that she talked to her boss and told him to find her replacement as she wanted to try new challenges.