What She Had Done...

"Thanks. Take it all?"

"Take it all." Take it all... twenty-two years of memories... take it all.

It took five hours but the house was completely bare, down to the rugs. It reminded him of the day they had moved in, the future so bright, so full of promise, but this time, the moving truck was driving away with everything.

He walked through one last time, closed the door on their life together, his house now as empty as his heart.

*****

Stacy left Jim's apartment and went to her car; it had sat there all week and was almost out of gas; her personal time from work was used up and she had to return the next day. She drove down the boulevard to the station and tried to get the credit card to work but it refused to register at the pump. She walked into the convenience store and asked for twenty dollars on pump six. The old man behind the counter told her that the card was no good.

"What do you mean, 'it's no good'?" Stacy looked at the man in disbelief.

"Your card is no good. It doesn't work. Look, lady, I've other people waiting."

Stacy snatched it back and sat in her car, crying. How had he cancelled the cards so quickly? And then, she realized she had been gone for over a week; the cards had been cancelled long before she had decided to return to her husband. She should have called but she just kept forgetting after the first few days.

The bank! Oh, Jesus, the bank! She drove to Bank of America and waited forever in line, hoping that her fears were unfounded.

"I'm sorry," the girl said, "but those accounts have all been closed."

"When?" was all Stacy could say, holding the counter to keep from falling.

"Early last week, on the seventh. Is there a problem? Would you like to speak to the manager?"

"No... thank you." Stacy walked out of the bank, defeated by her husband's actions. She thought he would love her, no matter what. Why didn't he understand? Maybe it wasn't all his fault but he should be understanding. She had needs and desires that he could no longer help her with. Jim was younger and better looking and made her feel special.

She pulled out her cell phone to call Jim and while it came on, there was no service. He had cancelled her phone, as well. She was alone, with little gas and no cash and no phone. What to do? What to do?

A car pulled in next to hers and a young woman got out. Stacy could see a baby in the car's back seat, playing with his rattle. "Excuse me," Stacy called. "My phone doesn't work and I desperately need to call my sister. Can I borrow your phone? Please?"

She could tell the woman was skeptical but gave her the phone, anyway. "Thank you, thank you." Rapidly punching in her sister's number, she anxiously waited for the phone to ring.

"Hello?"

"LuAnn, it's me. Listen, I'm in a lot of trouble and I'm stuck at the gas station on the corner of Sepulveda and El Segundo... yes, the Chevron station. Please, come as soon as you can."

Stacy gave the young mother back her phone, thanked her again and then pulled her car over to the side away from the pump stations.

It took almost an hour before her sister arrived. "What's the matter, Stacy? You had me worried to death. Is something wrong with Davis? And, why are you here?"

"Davis threw me out. I don't have any cash and my cards don't work and I've got nowhere to stay."

"What do you mean, he threw you out?" Davis loved her, he'd never do that.

"He found out."

"Found out what? Oh, my God, you were having an affair? Jesus Christ, what made you do that? He loves you and gave you everything you've ever wanted." You stupid bitch!

"Can I stay with you for a while? And, I don't have any gas. Can you fill me up? Please."

LuAnn looked at her sister, disgusted at what she heard. What a fool, she thought. "All right, here, take my card and meet me at the house." LuAnn left her sister standing there in the station's lot and drove away, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Davis, this is LuAnn. What's going on? I just talked to Stacy and I can't believe what she's just said. Please, tell me it's some kind of mistake."

"Hello, LuAnn. No... there's no mistake. I'm sorry, LuAnn, I've always liked you and Bill but Stacy and me, we're through. It's been going on for at least since Christmas... this time..." His voice faded away.

"Oh, God, I'm SO sorry, Davis. Did she say why?" This time? Oh, shit!

There was a pause. "No."

"Oh, Davis... I... ah, shit, Davis, I don't know what to say. I always thought my sister was a better person than that. Look, she's going to stay with us for a few days until we can figure this thing out. Can I call you if something comes up?"

"Yes, LuAnn, I don't have any problem with you. I just... I just can't believe she did this to me."

"I can't either. Didn't she say anything? Did she even say she was sorry?"

"I didn't ask and I don't care. Look, LuAnn, I've got to go. I've a plane to catch to Vegas for a couple of days. I'll talk to you when I get back."

*****

Davis checked into the MGM and took the elevator to the fifth floor. He had a nice view of the New York skyline across the street and cringed as the roller coaster came screaming around the faux skyscrapers. He changed his jean shorts into a pair of brown slacks, put on a light yellow shirt and then his tweed sports coat. He looked in the mirror and brushed his hair back with his hand; satisfied with what he saw, he made sure he had the room's key card in his wallet and went downstairs to the buffet. Every time he had come to Vegas with Stacy, the only part he really liked was the buffet. Gambling was a tax on the stupid. Someone was paying for all the lights burning in town but it wasn't going to be him. He enjoyed looking at all the ladies, though, and for the first time ever, without guilt.

This time, he ate slowly, trying to enjoy the food and the ladies in front of him. Every other time, Stacy had been so eager to gamble at the slots that he always had to rush. Stacy was one of those gamblers that kept playing until there was no more money left. She took the same chance with their marriage and lost.

Davis drove his rental car to The Dam. That's how he always thought of it... The Dam... It was incredible and he never tired of seeing it. One trip, he had parked the car and walked over to the side of the hillside collecting rocks and when he returned home, he got a geology book and deciphered the hidden secrets they held.

He stayed there for a good half-hour before the heat started to bother him and he returned towards Vegas. On the way, he surprised himself and headed towards Pahrump, sixty miles to the west. He had heard about the brothels in Nevada and had never had the inclination to visit but, now...

It seemed to take forever to get there but he kept to the speed limit.

Davis found Sherri's Brothel and saw Michelle standing there with the others. She was relatively tall at five foot six and a comfortable 34 28 34. For a moment, the three thousand dollars he had was burning a hole in his pocket. He explained his situation with her and asked if she was willing to work with him. Finding that she was agreeable to his request, he gave her two thousand and followed her to her room.

They called it the 'girlfriend' experience and he hoped it would be worth every penny.

He waited in the restaurant and then Michelle came in, modestly dressed with going to church clothes. He stood and pulled out her chair. "Hi," he said, more shyly than he thought he would be.

"Hi. I missed you," she said. "How was your day?" If anything, she knew how to listen and sensed that he needed listening more than most of her 'dates.'

"There were these stupid Japanese contracts that had to be cancelled because of the tsunami, right? And, they were saying they could still meet the production quotas but they've already missed two deadlines so it became time to cut our losses and move manufacturing back here."

"That's too bad. Have you ever been there?"

"A few times.... it's crazy over there, so many people and all the lights at night... it's like Disneyland on steroids."

During dinner, he talked and she listened and found him to be quite entertaining, almost wishing it was a real date instead of what it inevitably was. Her husband would not have appreciated that, though.

"...and then he says, 'What do you mean, it wasn't Godzilla?' and we got arrested."

She laughed, honestly, this time. "You're very funny. I'm having a good time. Really."

"What would you like for dessert?"

"I've got to watch my figure but I'll share."

"Fine. You pick."

"Chocolate cream pie?"

"Great."

She fed him, a spoonful at a time, sometimes licking the whipped cream and then putting it to his lips. He was glad the STD his wife gave him had been cured months earlier. He would have felt miserable if he had done something wrong to this young woman trying so hard to please him.

"Let's go," she said, standing. For a moment he had no idea what she meant, having fallen into the charade completely. She took his hand and he remembered, becoming hard almost immediately. He was embarrassed by his body's reaction to her touch.

"C'mon. I'll make you forget whatever your troubles are."

*****

"What are you going to do, now?" LuAnn asked her wayward sister.

"I don't know? How long can I stay here?" How could he do this to me? after all these years?

"Only a couple of days... I told Bill that Davis was away on business and you wanted to visit. That's the best I can do. If he finds out, you're out of here. He's unforgiving on something like this. You're going to have to go home."

"OK, I understand. I'll try and think of something. Will you go with me?"

"Look, I spoke with Davis after I left you at the station. He's out of town, now. He said something about going to Vegas."

"He never goes to Vegas... why would he... oh, shit, he took all our money! I've got to go home. Please, come home with me."

It was the longest half-hour of her life, trying to drive home as fast as she could and it seemed like every red light in town was against her. A few minutes later, her sister pulled in behind her car and as they approached the front of the house, they could tell something was wrong. The front door was open and the house was dim until they walked inside. The house was empty. Even the drapes, curtains and blinds were gone, only the setting sun giving any light and warmth to... to nothing.

Stacy collapsed onto the rug, sobbing. "Oh, God, what am I going to do?" Doesn't he know I love him?

LuAnn called her brother-in-law but the phone went into a 'voice mail' chant. Davis was thorough, she thought, wondering just how badly her sister had destroyed her marriage. From the looks of things, totally...

"Look, we can't stay here. Let's go." She almost said, 'let's go home,' but knew that wasn't going to be true for Stacy. As soon as Bill discovered what she had done, she was gone, sister or no sister and she was damned if she was going to ruin her own marriage for her adulteress sister. No, better she stay one more night and then leave. She could always tell Bill she didn't know.

Out of habit, Stacy locked the door as they left and taking one last look at what had been her home, she followed LuAnn home, trying to drive through her tears.

"Bill, Stacy's staying the night but she'll be gone tomorrow." LuAnn wondered how much to tell her husband. "She and Davis had a little fight."

"Davis? You've got to be kidding. That guy loves her." Bill spooned some more mashed potatoes onto his plate. He worked at the refinery and no matter how much he ate it never seemed to affect him.

"Well... something happened. Um... gravy?" Look normal...

"All right... why don't I give him a call?" He reached for the bowl.

"I tried but his phone is off or something," she said, passing the butter and rolls across the table.

"This doesn't sound like him. This is strange." Bill was quiet the rest of the evening, occasionally looking at his sister-in-law, wondering what was happening. Nothing good, he knew, if Stacy was here and not home. He went outside and pulled out his phone, calling his brother-in-law. The call went through.

"Hey, Bill... how are you?" Davis sounded almost normal but then, he never seemed to lose his temper.

He's the most even tempered person I know. "What's going on, Davis? Stacy's here and..."

"That's good and surprising. I didn't think she'd leave him."

"What are you talking about? Leave who?"What the hell?

"I don't know, some guy she's been shacking up with off and on since Christmas, maybe before."

"Holy shit! Are you sure?"

There was a break, the silence profound and Bill wondered if the call had dropped.

"Yeah, I'm sure. She admitted it."

"I'm kicking her ass out, right now." Bill felt the veins in his head throb.

"Do what you want but as a favor, let her stay the night, will you? It's getting late and I know the only other place she could go would be back to him."

"Where are you, anyway?"

"Vegas. I've been gambling... not so good, though."

"What do you mean?" Oh, shit, he thought, what had Davis done?

"I lost it all, Bill. I guess I wasn't as good a poker player as I thought."

"Anything left?"

"Enough to get home but there's no home to come home to."

"How much, Davis? How much did you lose?"

"I don't know, close to a million."

"YOU LOST A FUCKING MILLION DOLLARS?" Bill sat down on the porch step, unbelieving.

"Yeah, I guess I did. So what? I lost my marriage; the rest is only money and stuff."

"Are you going to be OK?" Jesus Christ, Davis lost a MILLION dollars!

"I don't know, Bill, I don't know. Probably not... hey, I went to one of those whorehouses. Cost me two grand but it was worth it. I had forgotten how much fun it could be, sex, I mean. Oh, yeah, Bill?"

"What?"

"Don't kiss her; she's got syphilis from her lover. I wasn't going to say anything to her but I don't want you or LuAnn to get sick."

"SHIT! Look, call me tomorrow, OK?"

"I'll probably be coming back but I'll call."

Bill sat on the porch, still not believing what he had heard... and, syphilis. He jumped up and ran into the house. If Davis didn't tell her, I'm sure as hell not going to.

*****

"Hey, Baby, hi..."

"Jim, I'm back to stay."

"Oh?" The college student didn't like what he was hearing. Stacy was a fun lay, a desperate lay, willing to do anything just to be with him and the gifts she had given him were first rate but to have her around ALL the time? "What do you mean?"

"Davis left. The house is empty. The money is gone." She collapsed onto the tired sofa. Looking around through her tired eyes, his apartment didn't look as glamorous as it had these last months.

"Look, I've got to go to class. I'll be back around three. We'll talk, then." He kissed her on the cheek and walked out.

Stacy walked into the bedroom and lay on the bed, her arm over her eyes, trying to block out the world. The room smelled of sex and sweat and grass. What had she been thinking? Around noon, she fell asleep, exhausted.

"What's the matter, Jim? You look like you've seen a ghost." Peter handed his friend a beer.

"That old broad I've been fuckin'... her husband threw her out and she wants to stay with me."

"She's not that old. Besides, she's in pretty good shape for someone her age. What was she? 50?"

"42..."

"42? Damn, dude, that's still ancient... however..."

*****

"Stacy Hill? You've been served."

Trembling, Stacy reached out and took the envelope. How could he do this to me? How could he be willing to throw away all the years we've had together? It was just... it was just... it was just... I don't know what it is. She sat there, looked at the envelope and then put it into her purse. Whatever it is, it can wait. I need this job, now.

The rest of her day went by unexpectedly quickly and she was back at Jim's apartment at six. She was surprised to see Peter, there.

"Hello, Stacy. Jim's told me about your problem and we've come up with a solution."

"Oh?"

"If you want to stay, you're going to have to share."

"Share?"

God, he thought, how dense WAS this woman? "Yes, share and it's my turn."

*****

"Will there be anything else, Mr. Hill?" The waiter stood there, taking the sun into his eyes rather than the guest's.

"Not right now, thank you. When Miss Crosby arrives, please call me."

"Yes, sir." The man put down Davis' rum and orange. Hill gave him a fifty and the man's smile lit up like the Jamaican sun still shining in his face. "Thank you, sir."

Hill fell asleep in the warm sunshine until a gentle push woke him.

"Davis... wake up, Davis."

"Karen! You made it!" He sat up, the largest smile on his face. "Are you hungry? The food here is excellent."

"No, I ate on the plane."

"Oh, God..."

"No, it was first class. Thanks for that." She sat down on the next chaise over. "Are you going to divorce her?"

"Does it make a difference? Of course, it does. Yes. I should have done it, already. I just..."

"I know... it's all right." She reached over for his hand and held it tightly in hers. Karen put her cell phone into it. "I'll wait," she laughed.

"Did you?" he asked, hoping.

"Yes... I quit. They released me from my vows. I'm here. You're here. We're here." She smiled.

"You're good?" he asked, looking at his future.

"The best..." she answered, thanking God for what She had done.