Merl and Heide

"Merl, what's going on?" he asked. "Heide's really upset. She says you're going to divorce her. Is that true?"

"Yes, it is, Greg," I said.

"But I thought you were okay with her being with other men," he said.

"To a point, I was," I said. "But the more I dug, the more I learned, the less I liked. I won't stay with someone who's lied to me and publicly humiliated me the way she has for as long as she has. Tell me something, Greg, did you know about her little cruise?"

"Yeah," he said. "In fact, I got hired to be part of the camera crew. Meredith and I are both going. We're heading out early in the morning."

"How many of her flings did you record?" I asked.

"Uh, a bunch," he said. "I don't know the exact number. Meredith thought it might help me deal with it if I became part of what they were doing."

"I see," I told him. "Well, that's more than I got. Anyway, enjoy your little cruise. Bye." I ended the call and pulled the file from the kitchen. I looked back through the photos and pulled out some featuring Heide and Spencer. I figured it was about time to let Spence's wife know about his affair with my soon-to-be ex-wife. I knew where he lived, and figured he'd be out trolling for pussy tonight, so I headed to his house.

I saw him leave his house and waited a bit to make sure he wasn't just going to the store. Then I pulled into his driveway, grabbed the photos I had and knock on the door. A somewhat older woman answered the door. It was Spence's wife, Christine.

"Merl, what a surprise," she said with a smile. "I'm sorry, you just missed Spence, he's heading out for a beer and a game of pool with some friends. If you hurry, you might catch him over at George's Tavern."

"That's alright, Christine," I said. "I really didn't want to talk with him anyway. Do you have a few minutes?"

"Of course," she said. "Come on in. Would you like a cup of coffee?"

"That would be nice, thanks," I said. She poured us each a cup of coffee and we sat in their living room.

"What's this about?" she asked. "Is everything alright?"

"No, it's not," I said. I handed her the photos. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I've recently learned that Spencer and my wife have been having an affair, and it's probably been going on for quite a while." Her face revealed various degrees of shock and embarrassment as she looked thorough the photos I gave her.

"Oh my God," she cried. "How did you get these?" she asked. I told her the whole story -- everything. I even told her about the text messages between Spencer and Heide. I wrapped my arms around her as she broke down crying. Eventually, she collected herself and sat up straight.

"You know, Merl, I've suspected something for a while, but I didn't have any proof," she said. "Have you confronted Heide yet?"

"I have," I said. "And I'll be filing for divorce when she gets back from her cruise. I would file against Spencer, but unfortunately, this state doesn't allow for alienation of affection lawsuits. Believe me, he's only one of probably thousands she's been with over the last 14 years."

"I'm so sorry to hear about this, Merl," she said. "And to think he was your friend."

"Some friend, huh?" I asked sarcastically.

"Yeah," she said. "Well, you better believe I'm going to take him to the cleaners over this. Thanks for letting me know, Merl. Are you gonna be okay?"

"I'll be fine," I told her, more to convince myself than her. "I'd better get going. Thanks for the coffee. Call if there's anything you need."

"You're welcome," she said. "Rest assured, I'll be seeing a lawyer first thing in the morning." I gave her a hug and left.

The next day was mostly uneventful. I wasn't surprised to find that Heide never contacted me. I got no calls, texts or emails. Apparently she didn't care enough to even bother reaching out. Oh well... Things did get a bit interesting when I left the office at the end of the workday. Spencer was leaning against my car waiting for me to exit the building.

"You fucking bastard," he growled as I approached the car. "Thanks to you, Christine kicked me out of the house last night."

"I guess that's what you get for fucking a friend's wife," I said.

"I'm going to kick your fucking ass," he hissed as he took a swing at me. I was able to dodge his first swing, but he connected on the second. Naturally, we got into it right there in the parking lot, and I was doing pretty well. Fortunately for me, the building security guard saw him take a swing at me and called the police.

The next thing I knew, there were two police cars in the parking lot and four officers had split us apart. After taking statements and reviewing the security video, they put Spence in handcuffs and carted him off to jail.

"I'm not finished with you, asshole," he yelled as they forced him into one of the cars. I went home, stopping on the way for a burger and fries. I got to bed at my normal time -- 9:00 pm -- and slept soundly all night.

The next day, I grabbed some trash bags and gathered up all of Heide's clothes, shoes and whatever toiletries and cosmetics she left behind. After filling up three very large bags, I carried them into the garage so she could get them when she next bothered to show up.

I thought about going out that night for a beer or three, but decided to stay home and enjoy the peace and quiet. I figured I would have to get used to living alone, anyway. The next day, I pulled out the old trusty lawn mower and cut the grass. That took up a good part of my Sunday.

After I got home from work on Monday, I caught an item on the news that grabbed my attention. I immediately sat down and turned up the volume on the television.

"This just in," the news reader said. "Flaming Red, a well-known local exotic dancer and adult movie actress, is believed to have been lost at sea, along with the other 100 passengers and 35 crew-members of the cruise vessel Mirabella, which the Coast Guard says appeared to have capsized in a freak storm in the Caribbean either late Sunday night or early Monday morning.

"Officials with the Coast Guard say rescue efforts are still underway, but no bodies have been recovered. Flaming Red has been identified as the woman who was seen many times with Mayor Rudolph Burns. The Mayor has repeatedly denied having an affair with the woman.

"The vessel was under contract by Rye Balled, a well-known strip club north of town. The club had sponsored the five-day adult cruise promising 'sun, sea and sex with Flaming Red.' The vessel was scheduled to return to Miami on Wednesday," the anchor said.

"Damn," I said to myself. I changed channels and caught the same report on another local network. I jumped on my computer and found a few stories that pretty much said the same thing. It took a while for the news to sink in. Of course, there was no proof that Heide was dead. Still... As pissed as I was at her, I didn't want her dead. I picked up the phone and called Leanne.

"Did you see the news?" I asked when she answered.

"Yes," she said. "I saw that. They still haven't found any bodies. Are you okay?"

"I'm in a bit of shock right now," I told her. "I never wanted this."

"I know," she told me. "Let's give them some time to finish their search and see what the investigation reveals. Maybe you should come over and spend a couple days with Ron and I."

"No, I'll be alright," I told her. "But thanks anyway."

"Okay," she said. "You still want to go through with the divorce if they find her still alive?"

"Yes," I said. "That's a no-brainer."

"Alright," she said. "Just get some rest and try not to dwell on it too much, okay?"

"Whatever you say," I told her, ending the call.

I was miserable over the next few days. I kept an eye on the news, hoping for some word on Heide, but there was nothing -- at all. I tried to locate her using the 360 app, but got nothing. I even called Rye Balled and spoke to Devan, the general manager. He remembered me from the Sunday I stopped by to see him.

"I'm so sorry, Merl," he said. "I haven't heard anything. I promise if I do hear something, you'll be the first one I call."

"Thanks," I said, ending the call. A few days after the initial report, Leanne took me to Meredith and Greg's house so I could pick up Heide's car. I couldn't help but notice the pile of papers on the front porch, and it was obvious no one had been there in a while.

I heard nothing from anyone for nearly five months. I didn't just sit around moping, however. I had a lot of time to think and take inventory of myself when I wasn't busy working on the house. I was still a fairly good-looking guy, not quite 40 years old. I still had a thick head of hair and a well-functioning penis and I was still in relatively good shape. I figured I was still young enough to have a child, provided I could find a woman who would actually want to have a kid with me.

I realized, with some consternation, that my initial thoughts about infidelity were probably a result of the fact that Heide and I married so young. If I were to get married again, there's no doubt I would have to insist on exclusivity. I certainly didn't want to go through what I had experienced with Heide all over again.

I came home one day to find a letter in my mailbox from one Alan Hastings, Esquire, Attorney-at-Law. The letter asked me to contact his office as soon as possible regarding the estate of Heide White, a.k.a., Flaming Red. I called and got an appointment for the next morning.

Alan stood and greeted me with a thin smile when I was ushered into his office. After his receptionist left, he asked me to take a seat.

"Please accept my condolences for your loss," he said. "We got word about four months ago that authorities had determined that everyone on the Mirabella was lost at sea. Your wife's estate has been in probate ever since." He handed me a check and asked me to sign for it. I looked and saw it was for $1.5 million.

"Excuse me, Alan," I said. "I saw a statement not that long ago that said she had over four million in that account. What happened to the rest of it? Taxes?" He shrugged his shoulders.

"No, her account was well below the threshold for estate or inheritance taxes. I don't know what to tell you," he said. "Your wife's federal taxes are current. That's what was in the account when the authorities made their determination, minus her final expenses, which weren't that much. She also indicated that she has a valuable coin and some necklaces, which I believe are currently worth a combined total of about a million dollars."

"Yes, I know where those are," I said.

"Good, because she's given those to you as well as everything else in her estate," he said. "She also left this for you shortly before the cruise," he added, giving me an envelope with my name in her handwriting. "I haven't read it, so I have no idea what it says." I didn't want to read it in front of him, so I put it in my pocket.

"I'll read it later," I said. We finished going through her will, and I signed everywhere he indicated. When he finished, he closed his folder, handed me a copy and looked at me.

"Again, I want to express my deepest condolences," he said. "Are you planning a memorial service for her?"

"No," I said. He seemed a bit shocked to hear that. "You don't understand. We didn't exactly part on the best of terms."

"I understand," he said.

"Plus, I have a hard time believing she's actually dead," I said.

"I can understand that," he told me. "You were married what, 16 years?"

"Yeah," I said.

"Maybe you should speak to a counselor to help you deal with your grief," he said. "If you like, I can recommend someone."

"I'll check around," I said. "Thanks for offering anyway." We said our goodbyes and I left to go back to work. I pulled out the envelope Alan gave me and read the letter Heide wrote.

"My dearest Merl," the letter began. Yeah, right, I thought. I continued reading.

"If you're reading this, then chances are I'm dead. I want to start by telling you that I love you with all my heart and I'm truly sorry things have turned out the way they have. I know you probably don't believe me, and I can understand that. After all, I have been lying to you for a very long time now.

"As you surmised, I've been having sex with other men the whole time we were married. I figured I'd take advantage of the fact that we agreed to an open marriage, and I figured it was only sex and didn't affect our relationship. I should've known better, but I got to liking what I was doing. Then I got pregnant. That happened after a gang-bang with several men.

"I couldn't take the chance that the baby wasn't yours. I knew you would never raise another man's child, so I exercised my legal right and had an abortion. I made sure to do it while you were on one of your trips and I paid cash so you would never know. I also had my tubes tied so I wouldn't get pregnant again. You know I've always hated condoms and I tend to react to birth control pills.

"After that, someone suggested I could make a lot of money having sex. I thought, 'what the hell,' so I started charging. Yeah, I knew it was illegal and I had to be very careful. I came close to getting busted more than once. Anyway, you know how good I am at raising lots of money, and that's exactly what I did.

"At first I hid the money in the attic, but eventually, it got to be too much to hide, and I couldn't exactly take the cash directly to the bank. It wouldn't take very long for them to figure out something wasn't right. And I knew they would have to file all kinds of reports if I deposited too much cash at one time.

"So I bought the necklaces and the coin. I figured that over time, they would be worth a lot more than what I paid for them. I kept doing what I had always done, being careful to only go out when you were away, and hiding the cash in the attic.

"When you quit traveling for work, I had to come up with another plan. I couldn't very well explain going out three or four nights a week without you getting suspicious. Of course, I kept on looking for cheap things I could sell to make extra cash, and that's when I got the idea of working at Rye Balled part time.

"You remember when I started volunteering for the homeless shelter? At first, I really did go there, but after a while, that became my cover. Along with the evening 'shopping trips' with Meredith. By then, I was gone three nights a week. You can imagine what I was really doing.

"When I signed on at Rye Balled, the general manager, Devan, suggested I work as a private contractor. He helped draw up the paperwork and even got someone to help me set up an offshore account in the Cayman Islands. I still had a lot of cash sitting in the attic, so I used most of that to open the account.

"Things just progressed from there. I danced, did lap dances, and had lots of sex with a lot of guys. And no, I didn't have sex with two state senators. It was actually three state senators. Also the governor and a member of Congress (LOL)." I hated seeing that in her letter, since I didn't find any of this funny, but continued reading.

"Then Devan approached me about doing movies and posing for pictures. He said it would help increase my revenue and give me more exposure in the industry, no pun intended. So I signed on. I was supposed to do ten movies over four years and I was promised a royalty check every three months. I've done five so far, and the money has been terrific.

"I got more daring and more open with my activity, and even started having sex in public, in places where you could very easily have caught me. You can blame Spence for part of that. He thought it would be a lot of fun to cuckold you in public. And to be honest, by that time, I thought it would be a lot of fun as well.

"I admit, I lost respect for you during those last several months. And for that, I'm truly sorry. You worked hard to take care of us, while all I did was fuck around on you for my own selfish pleasure and enrichment.

"Do I have regrets? Yes. Oddly enough, I don't regret the sex, but I do regret what I ended up doing to you. I especially regret that I could never give you a child. You would make a terrific father.

"So why am I writing this? I don't know, really. I just have a strange feeling that something might happen, and I wanted you to know the reason I did what I did. All I can do at this point is hope that one day you'll find it in your heart to forgive me. I'm not sure I could if I were in your shoes, but I know you're a much better person than I.

"Please believe me when I say I love you," she wrote, ending the letter with, "Your loving wife, Heide."

I folded the letter back up, put it back in the envelope and tossed it in my desk drawer. I had a very difficult time believing she actually loved me. But could I forgive her? What would be the use of that, I asked myself. She's dead and gone. Right?

I went about my work and a couple days later, I got a visitor at the office, one Alice Hastings. My secretary tapped on the door to get my attention and told me she was there.

"Send her on in, please," I said. Alice, a fairly tall, svelte blonde in a business suit, came into my office. I shook her hand and invited her to sit.

"What can I do for you today, Mrs. Hastings," I said, noticing her rings.

"I'm with First Fidelity Life Insurance Services," she said. "And I'm here to deliver your benefit payment."

"What benefit payment?" I asked. "I don't have a policy with you."

"No, but your wife, Heide White, did," she said. "It was a policy taken out through her place of work."

"I see," I said. "I didn't know she had a policy through her work."

"She did, and she named you as her beneficiary," Alice said, opening her briefcase. She pulled out an envelope and handed it to me. I opened it and found a check for two million dollars.

"Is this for real?" I asked.

"Yes, it is," she said. "The policy was for one million and had a double indemnity clause. Because her death was ruled the result of an accident, or to be more precise, an act of God, you get two million." She handed me some paperwork to sign, which I did.

"Is there anything else?" I asked.

"No," she said. "I just wanted to deliver your payment, Mr. White. Please accept our condolences for your loss."

"Thank you," I said. "For the condolences and the check." She smiled as she stood and we shook hands again. I sat back down after she left. I looked at the check and shook my head. If that don't beat all, I thought to myself. Three-and-a-half million, plus a coin and some necklaces worth a total of about a million dollars. I couldn't help but wonder what might happen next.

Life went on for me. It wasn't exactly what I would call fun, but at least the drama had ended now that Heide and Spence were both out of my life. Leanne, however, decided to play matchmaker, and spent the next couple years fixing me up with dates.

Most of the women she introduced me to were fun and interesting, and I had a good time dating them. I even had sex with quite a few of them. But there was no spark with any of them. That is, until she introduced me to Robyn Carson.

Robyn was a 36-year-old divorcee, having caught her husband in bed with another woman. Strange, I thought. A few years ago, that wouldn't have mattered all that much to me. Now, though, I had a different perspective on things and felt bad for her. I told her my story and we discussed the issue of fidelity.

"So, I take it you're not into the idea of an open marriage?" I asked.

"Oh hell no," she said. "If that's what you want, you might as well stay single." I thought about what she said carefully and realized she had a point.

"You know, I tend to agree," I said. We seemed to hit it off well and dated for another six months before I popped the question. She squealed with delight as she wrapped her arms around me. A little more than a year later, she gave birth to a bouncing baby boy, Robert.