Danny's Dilemma

Two days later, when my divorce from Marcie was final, we all went to the Red Lobster to celebrate. The kids didn't know the reason for the party, but Angela did. Later, back at the apartment, the kids were watching a PayForView movie when Angela cornered me in the kitchen, and stood on her tiptoes to kiss me. We were hugging and giggling a little, when Carla came into the room.

"Whoops! Sorry, mom." As she turned to leave, she added: "It's about time."

When we returned to the living room, Carla was whispering into Terry's ear and they were both smiling. Angela and I were on our best behavior the rest of the evening, but I was looking forward to whatever was coming next.

The next day, while the kids were in school, Angela and I took a long lunch, and went back to the apartment. Both of us had a lot of pent up energy to burn. We didn't get back to work until just before quitting time. There were a lot of long lunches after that, and Angela started to get serious about finding a house.

Detective Greene would come by to see us on a regular basis, most of the time it was just to chat, but occasionally he would ogle the cars. He fell in love with a Studebaker Hawk that was formerly owned by Roger Ebert, the movie critic. Angela gave him a good price.

"Danny, I need you to take me to see Marcie."

It was an unexpected request. The boys and I were making less trips than we used to, but Marcie never seemed to complain. "Any particular reason?"

"Closure. I need closure."

I never understood what that meant. I knew all the words that described it, but the concept seemed to elude me.

"Do you want me to go with you?"

"Just drive me up there. You don't have to be with me when I talk to her."

It was a warm, sunny, fall day when we arrive at Muncy. The inmate visits were being held outside, so I parked by the fence. Ten minutes later, Marcie and Angela walked out into the exercise yard and sat at one of the tables. They were both chatting and smiling, as if they were long lost friends. Things got interesting after five minutes. The smile was gone from Marcie's face. She was now leaning across the picnic table and scowling at her visitor. Angela on the other hand, still seemed happy. Marcie suddenly lunged across the table and tried to grab her. The disruption was quickly squelched by several of the guards, as they led my ex-wife back into the building, kicking and screaming. Angela turned, looked at me, smiled, and shrugged her shoulders, before leaving the visitors area. She was still grinning when she got back to the car.

"What the hell was that all about?"

"Your ex-wife sure is a touchy bitch." Angela seemed to be giggling to herself.

We drove for several miles and then she turned slightly, straining against the seat belt. "I introduced myself and she seemed happy to see me. Everything was fine as long as she thought I was on her side. I admit that I sort of misled her a little at first."

"What do you mean?"

"I told her that I came from Baltimore to get revenge. That seemed to make her happy, because she thought I meant against you. Of course all I really meant was that I was going to get even with Tony, by taking over his business. I guess you can still get revenge against a dead person, right?"

"Okay, but what got her so upset?"

"She wanted specifics, such as when, where, and how. Of course I knew she was referring to you."

Now, I was getting interested.

"I told her that it was going to take a long, long, time, and asked her if she wanted me to keep her informed of the progress. She eagerly agreed and insisted on knowing exactly how I was planning to do it. When I told her how I was going to do it, she blew her stack. She lost it. She went bonkers. It was great."

"Okay. Okay. How the hell are you going to kill me? Now, I want to know."

Her smile got bigger. "I told her that I was going to fuck you to death."

"That was it?"

"Yep. Funny isn't it. I thought that she might get pissed, but I never expected her to go over the top."

Things were quiet for a few moments. We both sat there smiling. I was so proud of her. "When are you planning on starting this assault?"

"As soon as we get to the next motel, silly."

Two months later, Angela and I were married. It was a small ceremony in the back yard of our new home. Angela sent Marcie a wedding invitation with a small note inside.

"Everything is going as planned. He should be dead in forty or fifty years.