Duplicity - A True Story of Crime and Deceit by Paul Goldman (surface ebook reader txt) 📗

turned to the process ofgetting to know one another. Audrey briefly mentioned that she wasa stay-at-home mom, raising her thirteen year old daughter, Annie,her eleven year old son, Davey, and her youngest, Tommy, who wasall of two years old.

“And where is your mommy?”she asked, turning her attention to the source of my greatest joy.Johnny’s eyes gazed up at me, not knowing how to respond. Ianswered for him.

“His mother is actually inNew York on her medical residency. She has another year to go andthen, well, I’m not sure. We're divorced, and I’m a single dad.”Usually when I disclosed this information, the typical responsefrom a female involved a head tilt, a smile, and an “Oh, howsweet,” all suggesting a genuine respect for my apparentaccountability, as well as their reassured confidence in mycredibility. Audrey was the first woman who never really had areaction.

“How did you meet her?”she asked, softly tracing the outline of her own lips. I caughtmyself watching her and grappled to keep my focus on her question.After a moment, I began to speak, ignoring the universal rule neverto speak about exes on a first date. Audrey gave me her fullattention. She nodded while I explained my desire to find apartner, and I described my trip to Russia. She leaned in, perchingher head on her palm, as I described how it all ended. Though Inormally avoided discussing Talia in front of Johnny, I allowedmyself to open up to Audrey because, for the first time, shegenuinely seemed interested in what I had to say. When I finished,she reached over and condescendingly patted my hand.

“I’ve heard stories likeyours before, Paul, and it’s so troubling to find how common theyare. You have to be careful.”

“I know. Now, I know.” Ilooked down at her hand, resting in mine. Her skin was soft, andher fingers were long and slender. She could be a hand model Ithought, if she lost the glittery nail polish.

I continued my story in between sips of icedtea and on into lunch. I explained how Talia and I still spokealmost every night, mostly about Johnny, and despite everythingwe'd gone through, we still remained friends who supported oneanother, even though we found ourselves on different paths. While Ispoke, Johnny began to draw his third illustration thanks to thecrayons provided by our distracted waitress. And Audrey's phonerang again. In my mid-sentence, she turned her total attention tothe phone, pushed a few buttons, and the ringing stopped. Then sheforced her attention back to me.

“It didn’t matter thatTalia and I hadn’t worked out,” I said, picking up the thread ofthe story. “We managed to do one thing perfectly right,” glancingat Johnny. When I finished, I turned the conversation to Audrey’sex-husband.

“So, now it’s your turn.If you don’t mind my asking, what’s your story?” I wondered if Ihad shared too much, or talked too much. She looked back at me, andtook a deep breath.

Audrey calmly began to tell about herex-husband, Joe Munson, to whom she had been married for over tenyears. She described how they initially met and fell in love, likeall love stories begin, but also how, with the passage of time, thepassion vanished with nothing left to show of their love, save fortheir children. According to Audrey, Joe was a terrific father, buta lousy husband. He was immature, disconnected, and uninterested inher. I thought for a moment how well our exes would get along.

I nodded with empathy while Audrey talked,and noticed she looked down at her food a lot, seeming to beuncomfortable with the conversation.

“We don’t have to talkabout this, if you’d rather not,” I offered, not wanting any aspectof our date to be less than wonderful.

“Oh, no. It’s fine,really,” she insisted, but she repeatedly spun the pasta on herplate, never once taking a bite. “It’s just that, well, I wasactually married once more after Joe.” Audrey's eyes slowly metmine, revealing a vulnerability that made her seem both girlish andfragile. I felt a warmth come over me. Now it was my time to tiltmy head, signaling my understanding. Her eyes returned to herplate. “His name was Bob Thompson and he was, actually, he is avery successful man who said he loved me. Then, when our son wasborn, he decided he didn’t want a family and took off. He's totallyout of the picture now, living somewhere in NewEngland.”

“Really?” I asked,disbelieving anyone could do that, especially to Audrey.

“Yes. What’s worse, Bob isworth close to eight million. It’s not like we would have been abig burden,” she remarked, glancing up to register my reaction. Mymouth was open. How could that happen? If I had the sameopportunity as these men, you could bet I’d never leave her. Shewas beautiful, intelligent, and interesting. She was also just whatI was looking for.

When our afternoontogether ended, I was feeling more than optimistic. I wanted to seeher again, and she seemed interested in me too. We agreed to meetthat very same week for another lunch, and another opportunity toget to know one another. While we were discussing where to meet,her cell phone went off again. Audrey glanced at the number, deftlypushed a few buttons, and the ringing stopped. She turned back tome, and we settled on Lucky ChineseRestaurant, andsaid our good-byes.

Over the next few days,Audrey Munson consumed my thoughts. I kept telling myself to becautious, reasonable, and rational. I had been on so many horriblefirst dates. I knew what I wanted, what I needed, and even thoughwe’d spent only a few hours together, I knew she was it. Two dayslater, we met at Lucky's, but this time I let Johnnyspend his lunch at a friend’s house.

Unlike our previous meeting, I arrived beforeAudrey. My early arrival was actually intentional since I wanted toarrange a well-positioned table away from any obtrusive noise ormovement. I choose a booth in the far corner of the restaurant, andwaited. I was nervous and glanced at the door every time the jingleof the bells announced an arrival. I arranged the sugar collectionon the table while making a mental list of questions to ensure theconversation never suffered a moment’s lull.

A few minutes after our