Sailing into Ambuscade

He indicated that his accountant would make the transfer today after calculating the taxes and offered to shake my hand. I refused. Then he smirked and said, the insurance company will reimburse me that forty million for the painting we lost so you won't cost me much. I would have paid you eighty million."

"Perhaps, but I would have accepted four million, a million more than what you would have paid Kirsty. I guess I can live with ten times that amount. You've just given me forty million reasons to stay away from you, especially Kirsty. Child visitation is nearly impossible for her to enforce from prison. As for my deal with you, if the money isn't in my account before the bank closes today, the deal's off." I turned and left the room.

I checked my bank account near closing time. There was a deposit of $63,492,064.00. Apparently, the taxes were calculated to be $23,492,063.68 (37%). Once Uncle Sam takes his share, I should net a full $40 million. I was actually relieved that I would not be going through another similar trial. I would be sure to pay Frank Stratton a nice fee anyway though his services would no longer be required.

As it turned out, the Belvederes must believe that there would be no benefit to appealing their verdict. A retrial might only end even worse for them, especially accompanied by additional unwanted negative publicity. Kirsty was terminated by the hospital due to her drug case plea and felony convictions. For the same reasons, Laurene was banned from future volunteering at the hospital. With their appeal withdrawn, their sentencing hearing was scheduled in two weeks. The D.A. attached the additional charge of perjury, to which they all pled guilty. Since I was the sole victim of all three, I was the only person asked to address the court and appeal for either lenience or mercilessness. I requested maximum sentences for each one. They each could have received over eighty years apiece for their collective convictions. The judge sentenced all three co-conspirators to forty years in prison. With good behavior, they could reduce their sentences by 50%. That would still mean a minimum of twenty years each.

Kirsty begged me for the chance to see the children once more before she was sent to the state prison.

"I'll allow it under three conditions," I bartered.

"What are they?"

"Number one is that you own up to your responsibility for your circumstances to them and not blame me."

"I'll swear to that, Steve, knowing you would have years to poison them against me otherwise."

"Number two is custody. I want you to sign over complete custody to me. You'll be in prison for the remainder of their childhood anyway. But with custody settled, our divorce can proceed unimpeded."

"I'll do it if you promise to let them come visit me if they ask. I don't expect you to force them to visit me, just if they ask. Promise me that, and I'll sign over custody now. But don't ask about adoption. I'll never relinquish my parental status. If or when you remarry, I realize they'll likely call another woman mother. I can live with that as long as they always know they still have a biological mother who loves them every day of their lives."

"Agreed. That leaves only the division of marital assets. I'll buy out your half of the house. You won't be needing it anyway. You can have all of the furnishings. I'll pay for a moving truck to take them to your parents' place back in North Carolina for storage along with your car. Half of all of our financial accounts, as of the day you were served, will be split down the middle and deposited into an account solely in your name. I think that's fair."

"What about the forty million you cleared from the Belvederes?"

"Ever the greedy one, aren't you, Kirsty? My attorney informs me that everything that came to me after you were served isn't considered combined marital assets. Unless you want to try to sue me, that's not on the table and if you do sue me, you'll lose anyway and never see the kids again."

"Don't get all bent out of shape, Steve. I just thought I'd ask about it. I'm not in a position to make any demands. I know that all too well. You said there were three conditions?"

"Oh, right. Yes. If you sign over custody of the children, sign off on the division of marital assets, and don't contest our divorce, it can go through the court system in twenty days. There's no way you and I will remain married anyway and no sense to fight me on this."

"You know, when sitting alone in my cell, sometimes in the silence, I can feel still your presence. Even though I know we will divorce, the memory of what we had, or rather what I threw away, will never leave me, Steve. I know you don't believe me but I still love you and always will. I got swept up in the lure and excitement of lust and the prospect of riches beyond our dreams. Now I must face the consequences of my weakness and stupidity. I'm sorry for betraying you and our marriage, Steve."

"That's a heaping spoonful of truth soup, Kirsty. I've also heard that some people can find one kind of tea especially hard to drink, ree-al-it-tea. I have the kids waiting in the next room. If you'll sign your name to the agreements now, and let this lady notarize them, I'll bring the children in here right afterward." She hurriedly put her signatures on the pages to speed things up. She cried both tears of joy and loss as they ran into her arms. I listened as she addressed them.

"Amelia and Eric, I want you to know that you two are my very favorite people in the whole world. I love you more than you could ever imagine. But Mommy made a lot of mistakes and did some very bad things that hurt Daddy. I apologized to him and said I was sorry for what I did. I wish I could go back in time and undo my mistakes but that isn't possible. It's not Daddy's fault that I won't be coming home until long after you've both grown up to be adults. Promise me that you'll be the great children that I know you can be and do everything that Jenna and Daddy say while I'm gone, okay?"

Once the door closed after we left, I heard her wailing and crying at her strife. I wish that I could say that I found pleasure in her pain but that was not the case. I felt sad for our children to lose the mother who gave them life for the next twenty years.

I made arrangements for Amelia and Eric to regularly visit a child therapist over the next six months to aid them in accepting and dealing with the impact the absence of their birth mother would have on their lives. Over time, it proved to be one of the smartest decisions I ever made. I made sure that they knew that I would take them to visit their mother in prison if they wished to see her. I received wan smiles from both. They never asked and I never reminded them.

As promised, I sat Jenna down and shared my complete story with her, the unadulterated truth. She now knows that I sank the Belvederes' boat with their precious painting aboard. She understands why I did everything that I had done when escaping their ambuscade saying that all three of them deserved their prison sentences and more. It was still hard for her to accept that Kirsty could betray me as she did but realized that, had she not, she and I would not be potentially embarking on a new life together.

Jenna picked out all new furniture for the house. She acted like a kid in a candy store. Her infectious enthusiasm was off the charts. She reported that she felt fairly well healed five weeks after the attack. At her six-week checkup, the doctor pronounced her fit to resume all normal activities. Until that pronouncement, either her mother or one of her other family members had been always around to make sure that all of the family needs were met. My divorce paperwork came through and I was free of the legal matrimonial entanglement. I will always hold a special place in my heart for the mother of my children but solely in that regard. After everything that had transpired, there was no romantic love left in me for Kirsty. That ship had sailed.

True to my word, I arranged for a second date with Jenna which had a far better outcome than our first attempt. I was falling for her head over heels. All of the familial love I'd held for her translated into a beautiful flowering romance. Upon returning home after our date, I gave her a passionate kiss, one which lit a fire between us. We began making out like teenagers on the couch. Our hands began roaming freely over each other. Before our passions reached a zenith, I stopped to say something.

"I'm damaged goods, Jenna. Kirsty broke one off in me. Are you sure that I'm what you want?"

Her eyes were bright and moist as she replied, "There may be other things I want, Steve, but only one thing I really need. You. You helped me heal from my physical wound. Now it's time for me to help you heal from your heart wound. Since the day we met, I've wanted nothing more than to be with you. I want you more than anything else in the world. Please make me yours, Steve, not just for tonight but forever."

I took her to my bed and learned something new about this very special lady.

"You're a virgin?"

"I wouldn't give any of those juveniles that I dated so much as a cold. There's no way I could give any of them my body. I was saving myself either for you or someone just like you. You'll do just fine."

And we did. I took my time with her and gently loved her with everything in me. That first night, she was as nervous as a cat's tail around a bunch of rocking chairs. But every night after that, the sex kitten in her was unleashed on me with no inhibitions. Over the next few weeks, she wanted to try everything at least three times to make up her mind about what she enjoyed the most and the least. When I say everything, I mean everything.

The kids laughed at us non-stop the first time they saw us kiss in front of them. They found it both hilarious and comforting at the same time. Yes, they knew where their mother was, why she was there, and how long she would likely be there but Jenna had been an integral homemaker and childcare provider for half of Amelia's life and over sixty percent of Eric's. Having that continuity prevalent in their lives helped to keep their emotions on an even keel. Of course, they knew that Daddy would always be there for them as well. It was the best of a bad situation. We never lacked a babysitter. Gloria would either volunteer herself or allow one of Jenna's siblings to fill the bill as needed. That first summer, I helped Jenna get through her scuba diving lessons and certification so that we could dive together.

I could honestly say that life was as perfect for us as it could be. I did remain at my job, not because we needed the money but because I loved my job. It gave me stability for my day-to-day existence. After another month of sensual bliss, I knew that there was no way that I could imagine my life without her. At her birthday party with all of our friends and family present, I dropped to one knee and popped the question. Jenna screamed, "I thought you would never ask!" There was laughter and celebration among them all, including Amelia and Eric. In fact, they were the most enthusiastic of the bunch.

Jenna and I decided to build a new home where she and I could choose every feature, color, and texture. No, it was not as ostentatious as the Belvedere's mansion. It was a six-bedroom model with an en-suite bathroom attached to every bedroom. It possessed every imaginable luxury feature. Jenna and the kids were beside themselves with excitement. We timed our wedding to coincide with the occupancy availability of our new home. Before our big day, she produced a signed notarized copy of a prenup assigning me 95% of all marital assets and leaving her only 5% in the event of her infidelity which she swore would never happen. Somehow I believed her. She refused to marry me unless I accepted it. She wanted me to know that she was with me for love and not for money. Mr. and Mrs. Steve Walters spent three glorious weeks in Hawaii on a glorious honeymoon. When we returned, everything was ready for the move-in. Jenna was in her element directing where everything went in our new abode.

I found myself often going home for lunch where Jenna would treat me to a quickie. We began taking expensive elaborate family vacations which included scuba diving as well. My new bride often played the tune from the Greatest Showman movie, Never Enough. God, how I love that girl. We purchased a boat, not a sailboat, not a yacht, but an inboard powerboat that could be utilized for family outings, fishing, and scuba diving. Jenna and I succumbed to the erotic pleasures of underwater sex on numerous occasions. She continued running the Walters household but, true to form, never received another paycheck. She was compensated in other, more intimate ways which resulted in two more children. Our two boys were loved by their older half-siblings who never felt for a moment that Jenna loved them any less than her own flesh and blood.

Then my mother's saying came to mind once again, 'Everything happens for a reason'. Now it suddenly made sense.

End