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

wasforced to release Audrey’s hand while I struggled to get everythingthrough. “There,” I announced, certain everything was completedperfectly.

“Uh, you’re missing aform,” Mary sighed. “You must have gotten it. This one is veryimportant, too. It’s the one that changes Mrs. Munson’s last nameto Goldman.”

“Form?” I repeated,disbelieving I had overlooked something.

“You know what, it’s not aproblem. I can just check this box here for you and, Mrs. Munson,you can just sign here at the bottom,” Mary offered, and she pushedanother form back through the slot. Audrey made no attempt to moveas I attempted to retrieve the strangled form.

“No, I will not bechanging my name,” Audrey announced, causing me to forget all aboutthe form and turn toward her.

“What do you mean, honey?Why not?” I asked, as Mary rolled her eyes and sat back in herchair a bit. The flimsy form remained floating between the glass. Icould faintly hear Johnny humming next to me.

“It would be too confusingfor the kids,” she explained flatly.

“Confusing? They alreadyhave two different last names since two are from one father and oneis from another father.” I realized that announcing this to a roomfull of people may not have been the best move for winning over myalmost bride, but by the looks of it, hers was not such an unusualhistory. “Besides, Tommy is only two and so he won’t understand itanyway. And Annie and Davey are older. They’ll understand all thereasons why it’s a good idea for our family. Noconfusion.”

“I’m sorry, that’s justhow I feel,” she replied coldly. I was speechless. If this was herforever family, then why wouldn’t she want her family to share thesame name forever? For a brief instant, I felt like walking out.After all the headaches over finances that began with her drivingoff and leaving me alone in the parking lot, I found myself onceagain confronted with doubt. Just as I was about to tell her myfeelings, Mary, who probably could qualify as a marriage counselorwith all that she’s seen over the years, quickly ended ourstandoff.

“Okay, then don’t checkthe box. Sign here. All done. Now let’s go back and get you twopeople married,” she declared. Mary rose from her seat, motioningus to a doorway leading to a room behind the partitions. Still alittle hardened by our interchange, I followed obligingly andgreeted Daniel and his wife and we all entered the roomtogether.

This room was smaller than the last, stillstuffy, and, with the exception of a wooden podium and a garishlyflowered archway, just as barren.

“Paul and Audrey, standunder the archway where you'll take your vows,” Mary instructed, asDaniel and Lana moved over to the left with a camera.

“Do you have the ring?” Iwhispered to Johnny with a smile, hoping that the littleconfrontation between Audrey and me had not upset him. He noddedand smiled back, my best man. “Good boy. Okay, now stand here nextto Daddy… no, here… ” I actually wasn’t sure where he should stand.Mary stepped in.

“Let me help positionyou,” she offered, as she moved Johnny just next to me to theright.

“Will you be positioningus tonight, too?” Audrey smirked. That brought howls of laughterfrom everyone but me. Still annoyed from her refusal to change hername, I was even more put off by her bawdy comment. I felt a coldsensation creep over me. Here I was, seeking to find the best wayto include my son in our wedding and she was making off colorcomments. I narrowed my eyes at her and watched her continue tolaugh at her own inappropriate remark. I prepared to say somethingto put her in her place, but I was once again thwarted byMary.

“Paul, repeat after me,”she said, snapping me to attention with her directive. Repeatingthe words Mary read from a small, tattered booklet, Audrey and Iabruptly exchanged our vows, and our rings.

Five minutes later, Audrey and I were husbandand wife.

Leaving the courthouse, my frustration overthe unexpected glitches dissipated and I was swept up with thethought that it had actually happened. I was really married to thelove of my life. Daniel and Lana had hugged us both, Mary hadoffered a rehearsed wish for happiness, and upon exiting thebuilding, the sun still shone brightly overhead. I finally had afamily.

To celebrate the occasion,I had made reservations at the RiversideRestaurant, which sat on the bank ofFlorida’s intracoastal waterway. The restaurant’s cuisine wassurpassed only by its views, as diners could enjoy the waterfrontvistas while boaters passed by. It was picturesque and provided theperfect setting for what I had hoped would be a perfect day. Nowseated with my new family and recent friends, I finally began torelax and take in the moment. From there, the conversation and thewine flowed easily.

“Honey, you know, Danielis amazing,” I remarked happily, as the wine further enhanced mymood. Daniel’s self-deprecating smile stayed true to his humility.“I don’t know how he does it, supervising all our guys. Even whenwe get together for lunch, his cell phone rings every five minutes.Just like yours, sweetie.”

“If only I had time totalk,” she replied, with a smile. “Having the kids all day andhelping my grandmother gives me little time to breathe, let alonechat away on the phone.”

“I really enjoy my job,”Daniel replied to Audrey. “Before Paul, my business had become toomuch for me to handle. I spent all day supervising the outsidework, only to come home to mountains of paperwork. I wasmiserable.” Daniel was serious now. He shook his head andcontinued, “I learned that it really does take two people to run aservice-oriented business like this, one supervising the outsideworkers and one behind the scenes, organizingeverything.”

“I see what you mean,”Audrey said, with a faraway look in her eye, as if she was thinkingof something else. It occurred to me that we had never discussedwhat she might want to do for work in a few years when all the kidswere in school. A new conversation to discover, I supposed. A newchapter in her life.

After dinner, a threetiered cake, which I’d special-ordered from a local bakery, wasbrought to the table. Each layer was a different flavor, and theentire cake was draped with flowers, both real and frosting. Atleast we'd have this little