Condo Wives

Marcie woke us up the next morning and demanded to know where Cecil was. He had not come home. After convincing her we didn't know, Raymond and I went out for breakfast.

When I got back to the house, Cathy's mother was there. Cathy wanted to stay with them awhile, and she came to pick up some of her stuff. We gathered together enough for her to get by on. At this point, I didn't think Cathy would be coming back, so I told my mother-in-law that I would bring the rest of her things over next week. She said she understood and apologized for the problem. She sounded sincere. I assumed that Cathy told her parents what happened.

Amy's parents took her home with them. The doctor got her eye back in the socket, but could not get it to function properly. The emergency room doctors felt certain that some attention by specialists could correct it.

I had Gary out on bail the next morning. He gave me a complete rundown of what happened. It was pretty cut and dry. He confronted Amy. She denied everything. He hit her with an open hand, and she confessed to the affair and told him who it was. She tried to stop him as he was going out the door, and he shoved her. She hit her head, but Gary didn't know it till later. The gym was open late Saturday, and Gary had no trouble finding Thom-Thom. He made the mistake of smirking at Gary and insinuating it was Gary's fault for not taking care of things at home. The muscle-bound hulk was no match for the gentle giant, and Gary beat the crap out of him. He knew why he kicked him in his gonads, but he could not explain why he smashed his hand with a bar-bell. On the way to the police station, Gary called 911 to get help for Thom-Thom.

When we got to the condo, Amy's parents were waiting to pick up her stuff. Gary and I helped load everything. Amy's mother was mad and would not look at, or talk to Gary. He tried to apologize to her in vain. Amy's father, however, took Gary aside and consoled him a little. He seemed to understand what motivated him to do what he did. Amy was not coming back and was going to file for divorce. This didn't seem to help Gary's depression.

I did not see Cecil for a couple of days. When I called his workstation, they said he took a week of sick leave. I also didn't see Marcie and assumed she went to work as usual.

When I finally got to work, I explained that I would be tied up with personal problems over the next few days, and got some of the staff to take over my current workload. The first order of business was to contact the Burbank Health Club headquarters in Omaha and explain the situation, including the pending lawsuit that Gary would be filing. They had twenty-three clubs in ten states. They called back an hour later and arranged for a meeting at our place the next morning. There was a little bluff working here, but I had to try something.

Raymond stopped in later that afternoon. Julie had been using her credit card to buy gas, food, and a motel room along I-95 South. He canceled all the credit cards and her cell phone account. Jerry Merchant had not shown up for his job as the Produce Manager at the local Winn-Dixie. They were not able to reach him at his home. Now I know who Julie called from the hospital payphone. She decided it was easier to just leave than to face Raymond. I guess it was a good move on her part.

Shortly thereafter, Cecil showed up. He had been a busy bee. He found out that Marcie was seeing a guy she worked with named Frank Marcel. He was married, so Cecil called his home phone number. He talked to Frank's wife and arranged a meeting, at noon the next day, in the mall food court. She insisted on seeing him in a public place. Cecil asked me to go with him to make sure he didn't do anything stupid. Cecil had not seen or talked to Marcie since Saturday. The three of us went to Red Lobster for supper and had Gary meet us there.

It was a somber meal. None of the guys wanted to talk about what happened. Maybe if we didn't discuss it, it would go away. Dream on. After eating, Gary and Raymond went home and I don't know where Cecil ended up. I called Cathy's parent's house when I got home. Cathy didn't want to talk to me. I spent the rest of the night packing up her stuff. Tomorrow would be a busy day.

"Good morning, my name is John Terrell. Let's get started."

I was looking at Kevin and Kyle Burbank and their lawyer Phil Mertz.

"Gentlemen, there is no doubt that Gary Wilson physically injured Thom Reichert. What I think is important is the extenuating circumstances."

"What are the circumstances, Mr. Terrell?" Phil Mertz was speaking for the brothers, apparently, which was a good move.

"Mr. Reichert was having an open affair with Amy Wilson for several months and was boasting about it." I had no proof of that but was just taking a shot. "On the night of the attack, Mr. Reichert was bragging to Mr. Wilson that he was giving Amy the sexual satisfaction she was not getting at home. It appears that he was trying to provoke Mister Wilson, which turned out to be a mistake on his part."

"What is this leading to Mr. Terrell?"

"Gary Wilson will be suing Thom Reichert and Burbank Health Clubs for seven figures. It will be a messy lawsuit, and very public. I can assure you a lot of husbands will be looking into their wives ' memberships. We will not mention the hidden video and still cameras in the massage and tanning rooms unless it becomes necessary." I was taking another long shot. I had no idea if there were any cameras, but I figured they didn't know for sure either.

There was silence across the table. It was as if they had heard this story before and none of it was a surprise. It was new to me, but I am not in the health club business. "Can we have a few minutes mister Terrell?" I nodded to mister Mertz and left the room. I would like to say I had the room bugged and heard every word they said, but that is not true.

A few minutes later they waved me back in. "What are you offering as a compromise?"

"Very simply: drop any charges against my client and relocate Mr. Reichert to another facility, out of state, and it will all go away."

There was a sigh of relief on all three faces. Mr. Mertz simply nodded. We all stood, shook hands, and it was over. They flew halfway across the country for a twenty-minute meeting and seemed happy about it.

Gary was very happy when I told him the good news, however, Amy was not dropping any charges. She had filed a civil suit for domestic abuse and didn't seem to mind that her infidelity would be made public. I had to work on that.

By the time I got to the mall, Cecil was sitting at a table in the middle of the room with a woman I assumed, to be Frank Marcel's wife. There were two very large men standing nearby who waved me over. The three of us just stood and watched. Cecil was doing a great job. He didn't need me at all. The two lugs were Frank's brothers-in-law, who were not happy. Mrs. Marcel and Cecil shook hands and smiled after twenty minutes. Cecil and I had lunch while we were there. I was curious as hell, but Cecil didn't volunteer anything, so I didn't ask.

That evening I took Cathy's things to her parent's house. She was there when I arrived, gave me a small smile, and left the room. I left without talking to any of them.

Time passed. Amy refused to drop charges against Gary and we ended up going to trial. It was messy, and Amy did not come out looking too good. In addition to the public humiliation, her appearance did not get better, in spite of the eye surgeries. It looked like it would be a permanent disfiguration. That got her some jury sympathy, which I could not counter. Gary got three years, but he didn't seem to break up about it. Amy also filed for divorce.

Jerry Merchant was charged with stealing grocery store receipts from a market in Pensacola, where he was working. He was caught with a female accomplice in Mississippi and returned to Florida for trial. Raymond, who passed his detectives exam, filed for divorce that week.

Bobby Gerhard was transferred to a Ford sales office in Toledo and three months later was terminated.

Cecil never moved back in with Marcie. He successfully avoided Marcie for several weeks until he got a post-office transfer to the island of Rota, near Guam. He was in charge of the entire postal operation for Rota and the surrounding islands. Marcie still lived in the condo complex. I imagine that Cecil had gone back to the condo while she was at work, and removed all his stuff. Shortly after Cecil moved, Marcie had a small, but a painful problem. Two men grabbed her as she was leaving work and removed the butterfly tattoo from her hip with an electric sander. Of course, they never got the guys, and Marcie would not reveal any motive. As I understand, the wound got infected and caused her great grief. She also lost her job for some reason. I never asked. The last I heard of Marcie, she left on a flight to Guam and never showed up. No one has heard from, or about, her since. Cecil recently got promoted and is now in charge of mail service on all of the outlying islands around Guam.

Raymond has moved to Miami and is now a Miami-Dade detective. The last time I heard from him he seemed happy. Julie is in jail somewhere in Florida.

Gary started teaching welding to the inmates while he was incarcerated. It went over so well, that he was offered a full-time job. He was released after a year. Gary loves his new job. He is no longer married to Amy. Amy still has a lazy eye.

As for Cathy and me, we never got back together. I would go over to see her, and she would always smile and leave the room. Her parents said she never went out and did not seem interested in anything anymore. After six months, I filed for a non-contested divorce.

I think the guys came out of this whole affair OK. I don't think the wives did too well. I don't miss the Saturday get-togethers.