The Paradigm Lecture

THE PARADIGM LECTURE

THE AWARD BANQUET

Professor Justin Wolfe stood before a distinguished audience at a dinner in honor of his wife Deborah. She was being honored for her work in raising funds for the university hospital, where she worked as head of nursing. Justin was a full professor of economics at the school. He had lately published a book on the topic of the economics of family structure. To everyone's surprise, the book had sneaked into the NYT top ten non-fiction best sellers. Justin was only forty-two, and Deb forty.

Justin ate next to Deb, then rose to speak as the desert was being cleared. He passed Dean Roger Duncan, and his wife Eileen as he went to the podium. Roger was dean of the medical school, and Eileen wrote well-reviewed short stories. They were both in their late thirties - very fit, sleek and beautiful.

Justin cleared his throat and began speaking. He complimented Deb for her award. She stood and accepted the applause. Deb was a lovely woman, tall, blond, vivacious and businesslike. This night she looked magnificent in a little black dress, with a pearl necklace. Jason was aware that many people wondered how he had managed to woo and marry her. He was just her height, slim, not particularly striking in appearance, even when dressed up for functions such as this one. In truth, the secret was that the two simply hit it off. She tended toward being stern, even stuffy, and somewhat self-conscious. He was the opposite, lively, witty, very outgoing. They complimented one another, fit like a hand into a glove.

Justin then noted that he had been asked to speak at this event about the topic of his new book. The main thesis of the book was that the traditional family - husband, wife, children - the paradigm - was far easier to achieve and keep if the parents were economically secure. The book chronicled several historical instances where declining economic fortunes in a community also brought with it a decline in family stability. Thus, a major solution to the problem of family instability would be to raise income levels in certain communities. The book's main thesis was thought by some to be self-evident, and by others to be simplistic. It had provoked quite a bit of debate, both within and outside academia. And, of course, that helped sales.

Justin had intentionally written it to provoke and to sell. It was no dry academic tome. It was full of wit and humor. But also supporting statistics - in footnotes.

In his talk to the assembled group from the university, he outlined the thesis of the book, and discussed the pros and cons of the debate about it so far. Of course, he tossed in a number of jokes, most self-deprecating. He wound up the talk after about twenty minutes.

This is how he did it.

"Folks, I have lately come to question the thesis of the book. My own personal experience of marriage was a main reason that I adopted the thesis. Now, I've come to question that thesis. I have lately become aware that my own wife, Deb, whom we honor here today, has conducted a months long extra-marital affair. (Gasps from the audience.) And her partner in that infidelity was not some poor, young student or intern, who could provide more energy in the sex. No, rather it was - it is - our own Dean Roger Duncan." (Chaotic response. Duncan starts to rise from his seat. Deborah Wolfe has a vacant, shocked look.)

Justin continued. "So, this evening we are witnessing the termination of not one, but two marriages. Mine and the Dean's. Marriages of the well-off, not the poor."

A young woman walked up to the head table with two envelopes. She gave one to Dean Duncan and one to Deborah Wolfe. She told both that they had been served and took a snap of each.

Justin turned to his left. Roger Duncan was right in his face. Roger was the bigger man, and was also very, very angry, his face red. He made the mistake of shoving Justin. Then Roger doubled over. From below the raised table, one could not see why. The why was that Justin, knowing his man, had come prepared. He shot a quick, short uppercut to Roger's balls. A perfect shot. One that Justin had been practicing for days.

He had also been practicing the follow-up forearm to the chin. It landed just as Justin had hoped. Roger was toast. It was all so quick that few in the crowd knew what had happened. Everyone saw Roger push Justin. Far fewer saw Justin's response.

Justin stepped over Roger's prone form, took Eileen's arm and escorted her past Deborah, off the dais and out the back door. An Uber was waiting there for them. Off they went.

AFTER THE LECTURE

The Uber dropped Eileen off at her home, quite near to that of Justin and Deb. Her two children were there waiting for her. They were Dave, sixteen, and Lisa, fourteen. Both were aware that their mother would likely be coming home alone that night.

Eileen sat at the console of the house security system and changed the code. She sent Roger a text telling him to stay somewhere else for the near future. He got it at the hospital the next morning.

Justin and Eileen had planned meticulously for this night. Both were incredibly angry at their respective spouses. They used the same divorce lawyer. And the same marriage counselor - May Butler. Over two weeks she helped both, but had been against their plan to blow up the lives of their spouses. May was a marital pacifist. Justin and Eileen were not. Of course, they went to her separately. Except for one session. The one after they had admitted their lust for each other. May had convinced them that it would be unwise for them to have sex before the divorces. In the end, they agreed.

Justin had made arrangements for his two teens to spend the weekend with his mother. Those two were Linda, seventeen, and Lyle, fifteen. They were also aware of the general reasons for their absence from the home that weekend.

Justin had no word from Deb for some time after he got home. That was because she had accompanied Roger to the hospital. He went by ambulance, since he had been unconscious for about five minutes after the altercation.

Deb was operating in a state of numbness. She had been unable to move as Justin and Eileen walked past her. She was mortified, as no doubt they had planned. When she saw Roger laid out behind his chair, the nurse in her took over. She tended to him, made sure that he was breathing, and that an ambulance had been summoned. It was automatic with her. She had started her career as a nurse in the ER, and at times actually went on the ambulance runs.

When she knelt beside her lover, she noticed that his jaw was severely broken. Teeth were missing. She collected some from the floor. There was blood, and her magnificent little black dress, new for the event, was ruined. She did think to secure her pearl necklace in her purse. Roger had given it to her, to celebrate her award, and their lust. She wore it. She did not believe Justin would notice or understand how she got it. She was wrong.

Once Roger was delivered to the emergency room, Deb sat on one of the plastic chairs and considered her plight. She didn't open the envelope. She thought for a while about how to approach her husband. She was both enraged at him, and so very disappointed in herself. As she was thinking about it all a detective sat down next to her.

He said, "I'm APD Detective Millard Hart. You're Deborah Wolfe?"

"Yes."

"You came in with Dean Duncan. You helped him out after the fight."

"Yes. I wouldn't call it a fight."

"What happened?"

"Well, Justin, my husband Justin, called out Roger and me in front of the entire crowd. My award dinner. It was shocking."

"Okay, but in fact you and the Dean were lovers, right?"

"Yes. Yes, I'm sad to say that's true." A lie - the sad part.

"How did the dean react?"

"He got into Justin's face as Justin turned away from the podium. Roger shoved Justin. Then Justin hit him and walked over him."

"So, the dean shoved your husband first. Was it a hard shove?"

"Yes. Roger was angry."

"Maybe your husband was angry as well. He seems to have done quite a bit of damage. Is he a...has he had some training?"

"Not lately. In school he boxed some. Club boxing. He goes to a gym. He has a bag in our basement. But he's not....he's not some pro fighter."

"Is he a big man, your husband?"

"No. Roger is much bigger." A pause. "I mean Roger is a bigger man than Justin. Justin is my height and slim. I didn't mean....." She blushed. In fact, Roger had a large penis. One big reason for her interest.

"Well, Mrs. Wolfe, I've seen two cell phone videos of what happened. It's possible that your husband overreacted some to the shove. Under the circumstances, I don't believe we could ever get over in a trial. If anything, the dean could get charged for the shove. But I don't believe any charges will be laid. If you're in touch with your husband, you can let him know that."

"A big if, I'd say. But I'll text him. Thanks." She started to cry. Suddenly it hit her - her situation.

The detective didn't know what to do. So he waved at her and walked off.

Deb texted Justin. She only said that the police weren't interested, and that she was sorry. She didn't say what she was sorry for.

Justin texted her back. "I don't believe that you'd have been sorry if we hadn't embarrassed you. Fuck off."

Sunday morning Justin went to church. People ostentatiously left him alone. Some smiled. After the service, he rolled by his parents' house where he was set to have Sunday dinner with them and the kids. He had heard no more from Deb since the exchange of texts. He really had no expectations about what was to come. The divorce was started. He felt that it was a necessary step. It added drama to the scene at the banquet. And Eileen had insisted. This was not the first time in her marriage that Roger had strayed. But she was determined that it would be the last. Her kids were old enough to survive.

But Justin was quite certain that Deb had gone astray only this once. That had lasted about four months, maybe eight or nine assignations. Maybe a few more. He had concluded this from a review of their calendars, his notes and memos to himself about his week, and various things he had noticed along the way about Deb's moods. All that was why he had taken steps to see what she was doing. It had taken his hired help about two days to give him a picture of what she'd been doing. There were some photos of them going in and out of a hotel on two afternoons.

Justin had contacted Eileen, and she and he had come up with a plan for the banquet.

He had worked out the plan because he felt that Deb needed to suffer, and suffer quite a lot. She was not a person who could easily abide adverse notoriety. He thought that the punishment of the banquet fiasco might be sufficient, and perhaps allow resumption of the marriage, eventually. He was not an easygoing man, despite his outgoing demeanor. Where he came up, if someone messed with you, you had to strike back, hard and fast. He knew that he would be unable to stay with Deb if she got off lightly.

That was how he explained the matter to his kids, when he was telling them not to alert Deb. Now, at the Sunday supper, they all wanted to know if it had gone as planned. He assured them that it had. A huge success.

Linda and Lyle were not so sure. When they spoke about the matter between themselves, both wanted a return to normalcy as soon as it made sense. They weren't sure when that would be.

Justin's parents were appalled by what he had done. Almost as much as they were appalled by what Deb had done. Justin knew they'd react that way - well, his mom. He didn't tell them what was up until he got to the house that Sunday.

In truth, Justin was himself unsure whether it was wise to retaliate as he had. But, he was sure that he had to retaliate. So, why not? Other methods might have involved jail time.

All five of them watched a baseball game after supper. Justin and his kids left in the fifth inning and went home. The house was dark.

No Deb. No messages.

DEBORAH

After Justin's acerbic text, Deb decided to check into a hotel. She avoided the Hilton, where she and Roger had met for sex a few times. A Holiday Inn was fine. She stopped on the way at a Walmart and got some sweats and sneakers. Her dress was stiff with blood, which didn't show so much. But she was embarrassed still to go into the store. Yet it had to be done. So she did it. She'd taken a cab from the hospital to the spot where her car was parked. Walmart was next.

When she got to the hotel room, she showered, and got under the covers of the bed. She had anticipated a restless night. Instead, she went right to sleep and didn't awaken until past seven am. She showered again. She used the toothbrush and toothpaste that she'd bought at Walmart. She was hungry. She went down for the free 'continental' breakfast. The pastries were not so great, but the coffee was okay. She was not yet able to cope with what had happened the night before. She was only floating along in her efficiency lane - the one that allowed the Walmart trip.

After she ate, she went back to her room and called her mother on the cell. Sylvia Braxton had not heard from her daughter Deb since they'd had a tiff three months ago. The disagreement was about Deb's affair with the dean. Sylvia had visited Justin and Deb about a month after Deb and Roger had started. She was almost immediately suspicious of Deb. Something about her demeanor.

So she asked Deb straight out when they were on a walk together. Deb hemmed and hawed. But when they walked past Roger and Eileen's house, Roger was outside on the lawn, weeding. He waved to Deb and Sylvia. He and Sylvia had met a few times over the years. Not since the sex had started, though. Sylvia took about forty seconds to see that Deb and Roger were fucking. That was how she put it to herself.

When the two women walked on, Sylvia put it plainly to Deb.

"You're fucking that guy. Everything you have would be gone if Justin finds out. You're an idiot."

Deb was used to her mom being able to see through any ordinary defenses that she could array. She considered lying for only a millisecond. She decided to remain silent.

Sylvia said, "That won't work, Deb."

Deb said, "Mom, stay out of it, please. I'm careful."

Sylvia smiled at this. She said, "Maybe Justin isn't a female, and maybe he trusts you so much that he can't see. But, Deb, he's smart and intuitive, and he WILL find you out if you keep it up."

Deb felt a shiver when she heard this. She'd been too overtaken with lust and joy at the affair to consider closely all the possibilities.

She finally said, "I'll think about it calmly, Mom. Maybe I haven't done that so far. It's only been a month. Three times."

Sylvia said, "It's not like you to behave like a flighty teenager. I taught you better. I tell you, you're lucky so far, but it won't last. Justin can be very.....mean."

"He loves me. He wouldn't kick me to the curb like trash in the street."

"No? Something worse, maybe. You need to stop!"

That was the end of their discussion. Deb didn't stop. She only took more care with the arrangements. Not enough care, as it turned out.

Now, Deb checked out of the hotel and drove to her office. On the way upstairs, she checked on Roger. No one else had done that. Roger was in surgery for his jaw.

Deb sat behind her desk. It was Sunday, and no one else was around the office part of the hospital complex. Once she was alone, in a place where she was used to being calm and systematic, she began to try to see her way forward.

First, what did she want now, for herself? Did she want to try for a reconciliation?

Answer: Probably. Maybe. Right now, when she thought about the entire situation, she got so angry at Justin that she had to pace back and forth in an attempt to calm herself. But when she was calmer, she admitted that Justin's humiliation of her and Roger was - justified. Although cruel. She loved her kids, and she loved Justin - warts and all. Even his cruel streak, come to that. She found that she had a sneaky admiration for what he had done. Apart from the cruelty of it, it had required intelligence and guile. Damn!

Second: Was it possible to reconcile?

Answer: A difficult question. She knew that Justin was - must have been - so very angry at her. Also, so disappointed and hurt. She could assuage the anger. But the aspect of betrayal, loss of trust, emotional devastation....that might never disappear. It might be tamped down. But it also might emerge later. Perhaps years later.

She could imagine a reconciliation that gradually devolved into a total mess, with each losing love and gradually starting to dislike - even hate - the other.

As she was contemplating this, she realized that the entire reconciliation project would require mutual forgiveness. The Don Henley song started up in her head.

She then saw Justin's cruel ploy as a step toward forgiveness. It was an insight that gave her some hope. The forgiveness would have to be mutual. But he had embarrassed her more than ever she'd been embarrassed in her life. And maybe her job was at risk.

She got up and went down to check on Roger. His father was there - Harry. For a moment she thought Harry might attack her immediately. There was real anger in his eyes. Deb stopped short. An attempt at a hug might have been painful.

Harry said, "What the fuck? You of all people. Fucking around."

Deb said, "Harry, I'm sorry. Where's Lois?"

"Parking the car. Maybe you don't want to see her, though."

"I'm sorry. Not all of it was my fault. How did you even find out?"

"About the affair? It's in the news. On TV. Professor and Dean in love triangle. Video."

"Oh, shit. Oh, shit!" Her anger at Justin flared.

Harry said, "Yeah. Here she comes."

Deb turned just in time to prevent Lois from scratching her eyes out. Harry grabbed Lois and pulled her away. There was shouting, and security arrived. Lois calmed down some. Harry let her go, and security went away.

Deb addressed Lois, "It was as much his fault as mine. More. He was after me ever since I got the promotion."

Lois said, "So? He's not a nice person. I know that. You knew that. Your husband actually is a nice person."

"Not all that nice."

"Well, he's nice until you cross him. You crossed him big time."

"Yeah. Yeah, don't I know. Roger's jaw is broken, and he lost some teeth. I gave some of them to the doctors. He's out of the operating room by now, I believe."

Lois said, "I hear you tended to him after Justin hit him. Thanks for that, at least."

Deb nodded, waved and left the building.

She drove to her house.

ROGER

Roger woke up from his nightmare evening. His jaw was wired shut. His parents were in the hospital room.

Harry saw that his son had awakened. He stood over the bed looking down at Roger.

Harry said, "I told you not to mess with married women. But did you listen? Oh, nooo. Now look at you."

Roger said, "Ughh momets."

Harry smiled. But Lois was crying. She patted Roger's head and said, "Don't try to speak."

Roger nodded.

Soon Harry and Lois left for their hotel - the Marriott, close to the hospital. Not the one across town that Deb and Roger had used.

Roger's head gradually cleared. He really didn't recall much after the forearm to his jaw. Almost nothing. But he sure recalled Justin's speech. He wondered if he still had a job. He was sure he had no marriage. He'd had a dalliance with a young nurse about five years ago, soon after he became dean of the medical school. When he was found out, it got covered up by the university. And Eileen eventually forgave him - mostly. But both she and the school emphasized that it was his one pass.