Mercenary

I didn't want to be serious just yet. "Well I hope it's not about our 10 minute romp. I promise to last longer next time."

"Peter, I need to say this."

"OK, I'm listening." I could sense some level of fear in her voice. It seemed out of place with what we had been doing until then.

"There are to be no secrets between us." She took a breath before continuing. "I own this house."

"I'm not surprised. I thought you did."

"No, I mean I own it, free and clear. There's no mortgage, I paid cash."

That got my attention. What was she getting at, what was her point?

"You know that Sam died in a train related chemical spill. Well, that's not the entire story. It turned out that the engineer was intoxicated at the time and his negligence was the direct cause of the accident. "

"I'm sorry; I know you loved Sam very much."

"That's not it Peter, I did love him, but that's not what I'm trying to say. The company had known about his drinking problem and ignored it. My attorney's found out, we sued, and then they offered a settlement. There's no easy way to say it. I'm rich, well not Bill Gates rich, but I'm a millionaire none the less. The settlement was for $ 13 million. After the attorney's were paid for their services I had a little over $ 8 million. I used some of that money to buy this house."

"Oh" was all I could say. I thought about what she had said then looked into her eyes. She was obviously expecting me to say more.

"Well we've all got our problems. Take me for example, I was strongly considering going into therapy right after the New Year. Now, I KNOW I'll be in therapy."

Noelle sat there speechless, her face still serious. Finally after almost a minute had passed I smiled and pulled her to me kissing her senseless. Pulling away, her eyes wide with surprise I added, "There's only one thing better than a smart, beautiful, sexy and loving wife...that's a rich one."

Ten minutes later she was still tickling me with abandon.

*

Epilogue

This all happened in the closing months of the year 2000. My divorce became final in July of the following year. It should have happened months earlier but Paige attempted to extort me to pay for her tuition. I can thank Liz for negotiating me out of that obligation, even though I did end up paying spousal support for six months.

True to her word, Liz did arrange a meeting with Rob, well several meetings actually. He didn't fair as well as me. He ended up being hospitalized for depression. He's back in practice today, but oddly enough, his marriage to Dana didn't survive. Their divorce was a very nasty very public affair. Unfortunately for Dana it was Liz who represented Rob, and she did so with a vengeance. Dana walked away with less than ten grand when the dust cleared. She got the money and Liz took her reputation in exchange.

Richard Lindenhall was thrown out of Wharton for sexually harassing a fellow unnamed student. His wife, the former Miss Allison Goodwin, made out exceptionally well in their subsequent divorce. Last I heard, Mr. Lindenhall had left the area for someplace in the Midwest.

Dad and Muriel got married a year to the day after they met. Their happiness as a couple has brought joy to our entire family. The old man is working again too; in 2002 he was recruited by the Department of Homeland Security to be the liaison to the Philadelphia Police Department. I guess once a cop, always a cop.

Noelle and I were married in August of 2001. The bride was radiant...as well as six months pregnant. Peter Stuart the third was born in November of that year. His brother Aaron showed up in the March of 2003 and their baby sister Rachael made her appearance in July of 2005.

Noelle is my wife, my lover, and my best friend. She is the love of my life. She convinced me that living well was the best revenge. We are living very well.

As for Paige, she moved to Chicago after the divorce. I've warned Moss.