Not Quite So Clueless

"You really loved him, didn't you?" Bryan said quietly.

Traci's mouth opened but no sound came out. Seconds later, she burst into tears.

"How long have you known?" she finally asked after gaining some control over herself.

"A few months now, since before I sold Nick the first life insurance policy."

"You knew then? Why didn't you say something? Why did you go through that silly charade and sell him the policy. Are you that desperate to win salesman of the year? Jesus, Bryan!"

"You apparently were getting off on me playing the dumb cuck role, so I figured I'd give you an Academy Award-winning performance. I saw him smirk, so I know he liked it, too. And then you both thought you were untouchable ..."

Traci looked confused.

"So the second policy? What was that about?" she asked warily.

"That truly was about me looking out for the family," Bryan answered confidently. "That extra million dollars means they will never have a financial worry again if they play their cards right."

"But you ... couldn't ... have ... known ... about the accident," she commented as Bryan could see her brain going into overdrive.

"No, that part was just pure luck," he said with his best deadpan look. "Fortuitous for the family, don't you think? The remaining Alwines get their financial future sewed up, and never have to endure the hardship and pain of a messy divorce."

Traci had sort of been looking like a deer in the headlights until Bryan mentioned divorce. Then she snapped to and locked her eyes on his.

"Do we have to endure the pain of a messy divorce?" she asked.

"Oh, yeah," Bryan answered back flippantly. "These last few weeks have shown me that it was way more than sex, at least for you. You were genuinely in love with the guy, and I was halfway out the door. How could you think otherwise?

"But I will show Nick's memory one shred of decency. I won't tell the widow about your affair. She thinks the sun, the moon, and the stars all revolved around her husband, and I won't sully that memory for her."

Traci kind of fell back on the sofa with a blank look on her face.

"Don't worry, this is a no-fault state. You'll get half of everything. I'll have you served in a few days.

"But answer me one question. What did I do wrong?"

For the first time, Bryan's face took on an anguished look. He tried to search Traci's face for an answer, but she kept her eyes on the floor.

It took about 10 seconds before Traci looked back up, her face a mask of pain equal to Bryan's.

"You didn't do anything wrong. Ever. That was the problem," she started. "You are such a nice guy, and you've been a wonderful husband and father. And Nick ... well, he was the anti-Bryan. He was bold. He was brash. He had a pretty wife and three beautiful children and he wanted more. He wanted me ... and against my better judgment I gave in.

"You were so considerate and so loving. If I wasn't in the mood, you understood. He just took me, even when I wasn't in the mood. And the love and consideration ... now that I look back on it, it was mostly one-sided. But he was a bad boy, and he showed me that I was still a sexy woman to a younger guy. He wasn't any better; he wasn't any bigger. He was just different, and I guess I got caught up with that and his dynamic personality.

"You are ... an insurance agent, Bryan, and I mean that in so many ways."

Bryan packed an overnight bag with a few things and all of his toiletries. He told Traci that he would have the rest of his things moved out in a few days, and that she could stay in the house until it was sold as part of the divorce.

The local police were at a loss to explain the most bizarre coincidence anyone had seen in the town in probably 100 years. Traci Tippmann's car ran off the road and crashed in almost the exact same spot as her boss did a few months ago, with the same result - death. As the only living person who knew about the affair between Traci and her boss, Bryan wasn't about to volunteer that information. Apparently, however, Bryan wasn't the only one to know that Traci took Nick's death hard, and several of her co-workers expressed that to the cops when asked.

So the cops - and then the insurance company - honed in on suicide. It took the police three months to close the book on their investigation, but the insurance company took six months to close theirs. After all, there was a $2 million difference on the line, as Bryan had increased Traci's policy to the same amount that Nick had soon after he sold Nick on the increase. It only took a little paperwork, Traci's signature and some blood work to get the increase done, although he used some insurance mumbo-jumbo and never did tell Traci the real reason for the new forms and the blood work.

Ever the good, grieving husband, Bryan waited out the investigation. He publicly and privately told everyone that he seriously doubted his loving wife would ever do anything as rash as commit suicide over the death of her boss, a man she barely knew out of the office. The police, and the insurance investigator, could find no evidence to the contrary. The pair had a good work relationship, but apparently went their separate ways personally, the investigators concluded.

There was no evidence to link the two together. Brian just smiled when the insurance investigator told him that as he handed him the check.

And Bryan did win salesman of the year for the company. He announced his retirement when the company president handed him his award.