Chapter 2

I made a call to John Bordon on Wednesday. When he came on the line I talked fast. "Mr. Bordon, this is Tony O'Rourk. You and I have a common interest in Pam O'Rourk. Recently she has had some problems and I would like to meet with you to see if we can come up with a way to get back at those that have caused her such trouble."

"This is a joke, right? You're telling me I know a Pam O'Rourk?"

"No this is no joke. Let me ask you? Are you happy with what happened to her on the cruise Pam just got back from? I'm not and I want to get some satisfaction for what she has been subjected to. I have always wanted what is best for Pam and to see her happy. I have known that she has had a lover for a long time and I have been okay with that as long as she never hit me in the face with it. So I know you know Pam and I think it is time we met."

There was a pause and I didn't think he was going to answer me. "Okay, I'll meet you. Where and when?"

"I will be in town Saturday morning. You tell me where your office is and I will meet you there."

I walked into the downtown offices of the Acme Construction Company at nine Saturday morning. John Bordon was waiting for me. "Mr. O'Rourk, we finally meet. Come into my office."

I looked at my wife's lover. He was about my size and good looking, but appeared to be a few years older than me. John looked nervous and well he should. He was being confronted by the husband of a woman he was romantically involved with--and had been for years.

"This is pretty awkward. For the moment, I don't see why I agreed to meet with you. I take it that you aren't here to start a fight or anything like that. Tell me what's on your mind."

"I've known that you were my wife's lover almost from your first meeting. For some reason I've let her continue to meet. I guess it was the way she looked when she mentioned you. I felt I could live with sharing her. That has all changed. You two weren't as discreet as you should have been and Pam started getting blackmailed. I'm blaming you for that." I was staring John right in the face when I said this.

"Anyway this Tim Rowell saw you and evidently hired someone to find out more about her affair with you. He put pressure on her and with two of his friends have been trying to make a slut out of her. I'm afraid they have pretty much succeeded. That is until she came to me and told me all about it."

"Pam told me about some of it too, when she got back. What is it you want from me?"

"I want to get even with them and I think you are in a better position to do it than I am. There are only three of us that are concerned in this. Pam and you were indiscreet enough for others to become aware and this has shown me up as being a wimp. If you have any feelings for Pam at all, then I feel it is up to you to correct the situation."

"I assume you have a plan of some sort?"

"Yes, and I'm giving it to you to implement. You have a dozen crews working construction for you. Among that many there must be some that would be willing to do some dirty work. I want those three men roughed up--and when I say roughed up, I mean you can go as far as broken bones and multiple bruises. I also want them humiliated. There are a few gay bars here in town. It would be nice to have some pictures of those three in compromising situations, preferably before they get roughed up."

I opened up the small satchel I was carrying and took out several bundles of bills and stacked them on John's desk. "There is $7500 there. Give this to the crew that will do the job. When they hand you the pictures for me, I'll give you another $7500 for a bonus."

John was looking at me. His eyes were examining me. I could see his mind wondering what kind of a person would come in and practically order him to commit a felony--several of them in fact. "One thing I want--Pam is never to know about this. I think you can do this. It was you that screwed up and have made me look bad. I can imagine those guys snickering about how they took my wife and made a slut out of her, and I never got back at them."

"You don't screw around, do you? I'm beginning to think that if you got pissed at me, I would have to watch my own back."

"You're lucky Pam told me that she had a lover and that she loved you. This is about equal to the affection she has for me. That is the only reason I'm cutting you the slack I am. So-o-o, you are safe from me. If you continue to see her, for God's sake be more discreet than you have been in the past."

I was giving John tacit license to still see my wife. Whether he would or not, I couldn't tell. I would leave it up to the two of them to decide for themselves. "So can you do those things I require?"

"I think so. Is there any time-line? It is going to take awhile to set up."

"No time-line, just make sure it gets done and no one gets caught." Suddenly neither one of us knew what to say. "Have you ever met Seely?"

"Seely--oh yes, your daughter. Pam did say you have a child together. She mentioned her once or twice. How old is she?"

"Eight. Pam isn't much into motherhood. I guess it goes back to how her folks raised her. Not much affection demonstrated among family members. I'm not surprised she hasn't talked about her. She has left Seely to me and our housekeeper to provide the love."

"That's too bad. I always wanted kids. I had a loving family growing up. I married late and it wasn't long after that my wife developed a mental condition and has been institutionalized for the last seven years. She is gone now, thank God. She died five weeks ago. I haven't told Pam yet that she is dead. The funeral took place when she was on the last cruise."

"I'm sorry. It sounds like it has been rough for you."

"It was really rough with my wife in the mental hospital until I met Pam. Pam's different. She never has been demanding and yet she has been a good companion to me the little time we have spent together. She is what I imagined a wife would be like if she was mine. You probably are aware she spent most of her time here when you were off on some projects with your work."

"I suspected and I'm not surprised. Rita, our housekeeper, must have covered for Pam more than I realized. Have you seen a change in Pam since she went on that first cruise?"

"Yes, and I tried to figure it out. I thought you were giving her grief about me. Even the few times I was with her after that, she was tense and wouldn't discuss it. When she came back from the last cruise, she told me all about what happened to her. That is why I'm going to help you get even. No woman should be treated like this. How and when did you find out about me?"

"Almost from the second time you two met. After Pam told me she had been unfaithful, I followed her to see with whom. I then hired someone to have you thoroughly checked out and I figured you were good for her while I was out of the country with my job. When I found you didn't travel in the same circles as Pam and her rich friends, I thought your affair would remain undisclosed. That is what I was aiming for. To her detriment, the affair was brought out into the open, which put us where we are now."

John was not avoiding my eyes. I thought to myself, as I had before, that if she was going to be unfaithful to me, she had chosen well. I could like John Bordon. "If you can get me the pictures showing Tim Rowell and his friends in a compromising situation, you can UPS a package to my work place and to me personally. I get documents all the time and I am the only one that opens them. It probably wouldn't be a good idea to ever phone me. When you need the rest of the money, just send a letter stating the job is done and I'll come back and give it to you."

"Okay, that sounds good. As I said before, I hope you never get pissed at me."

"I won't as long as you treat Pam like I want her treated. I'm leaving you two to work out any problems you might have. At present Pam and I aren't living together. What our long term situation is hasn't been decided. I'm sure she will tell you all about it. John, I am glad we finally met. We may see more of each other in the future and I'm sure this little business deal won't be mentioned to anyone."

"That is the way I would want it, Tony. You'll be hearing from me."

Mom was very impressed with the house that Pam and I had lived in. She couldn't understand how I would want to leave it to live in her little cottage with her. "Mom, if you want a house just like this, I'll build you one. I can afford it. Just remember, the bigger the house the more cleaning and upkeep there is. Pam pays Rita almost as much as Dad would be making right now if he was still alive. That's just for the inside. Outside there are the lawns and flowers and shrubs and all the other things to keep in repair. Your house is so warm and cozy. Tell me, do you feel that way here?"

"No, and I see your point, but it sure is a beautiful place."

Later that afternoon, Pam was out and Rita and Seely were playing a board game across the room. Rita was half listening to Mom and me talking. "Mom, I met Pam's male friend this morning. I like him. I don't feel bad at all that Pam has him for a friend. It is too bad that he hasn't met Seely yet. I think Seely would like him too, and I know he would love her. He said he was very fond of kids."

Mom whispered, "You shouldn't be talking in front of Rita this way. What if she tells Pam?"

"Mom, Rita sometimes keeps secrets from me, but I never keep anything from her." Rita wasn't looking at me, but I could see that her face suddenly flushed. I knew that Rita was faithful to Pam and what I had just said would soon be related to the one that paid her each week. I wanted this to happen and Rita knew that it was okay to pass on this conversation.

Late Sunday morning Pam had Rita prepare a brunch so that her parents and Mom could meet. There was the same obvious delineation in cultures. Rich versus middle class. Seely was all over Mom. Although respectful to her other grandparents, she seldom addressed or came close to them. It came up that Seely was expected to go back with me when I suggested she go pack her bag.

Seely asked if Rita could come with us, and I said no, because Pam needed her to keep house. "Rita is going to be awful lonely without me. Can't she come with us please?" I still said no.

Seely knew it was useless to argue and ended the conversation on her way to pack by saying, "Okay, but Rita is just so much fun and Grandma is fun. When I have both together it is ten times as much fun." She disappeared up to her room leaving us staring after her. The implication was that Pam and her mother and father were no fun at all.

I cornered Pam before I left. "Pam, I'll bring Seely back next weekend. I'm not trying to take her away from you. I just want her to be happy."

"I know. I'm afraid because of ignoring my motherhood duties I have lost her. When my housekeeper garners more love from my child than I do, it tells me just how poorly I've acted as a parent."

"You know you aren't too old to change. It is just that from now on you are going to have to earn her love. The longer you wait, the harder it is going to be. A baby is willing to give their love to anyone that smiles at them. As a kid gets older they begin to wonder what's in it for them if somebody smiles. If they want affection and it isn't there, they go on to someone that will give it to them. That is basically what has happened to you and Seely. You have to be honest in it too, because believe me, a kid can spot dishonesty quicker than you or I can."

"Where and when did you get so smart about kids?"

"My family. I was loved and cherished by my Mom and Dad until I was eighteen and then my Mom turned dishonest with me. I left, finally finding and turning to you. Even you and I haven't turned out as well as I hoped, but I am an adult and can cope with it. I don't know as Seely, being only eight, could continue to love someone that took her love and then didn't return it. Anyway what I'm trying to say is you can do it if you want to and are willing to expend the effort."

"Oh I want to, but how?"

"Talk to Rita. I suspect she came from a large family. Ask her if she loved her folks and her brothers and sisters. Then ask her why she loved this one or that one and why she loved this one more than another. What did she do to try to get one to love her if they didn't already?

"You're intelligent--look into her feelings as she is explaining. Look at her. I know she likes you, for you pay her extremely well. Rita loves me. Oh I don't mean for myself, but for the love I have for Seely and the way I respect her. I know you tell her your troubles, but have you ever asked her what you should do if she was in your place? Confidences don't work very well if it is a one-way street. That is just talk and is not listened to with any degree of expecting a comment."

"God Tony, I'm beginning to think I didn't just marry a pretty face." This made us laugh and we continued to chuckle as it was a standing joke how homely I was. We parted like that.

Seely called Rita every night about six-thirty. Thursday night Seely was startled to have her mother answer the phone. I was watching the news when Seely came in and plopped down beside me. "Dad, I just talked to Mom. She was asking me all kinds of questions about what I did here with you and Grandma. She sounded like she missed me. She never did that before. I didn't think she even liked me. She never pays any attention to me at all."

"Well kid, your mom has been having some problems lately. I think things are getting better for her and she is finally realizing that she has someone she should be taking care of better than she has been. If you can give her a chance to make up for forgetting you sometimes, I'll bet you both will be happier. What do you think?"

"Okay, I guess I can, but she is never going to be as nice as Grandma or Rita."

Seely and I made the two-hour trip Friday evening and found Pam and Rita waiting for us with dinner all prepared and on the table. I had phoned ahead to tell Pam what time to expect us. Halfway through the meal it came out that Pam had actually worked in the kitchen with Rita getting our meal ready. Pam excused herself with the comment that since she had given up most of her charity work, she needed to find something to occupy her evenings. Pam was now treating Rita more as an equal. This was unheard of just a few short weeks ago.

Pam even helped clear the table and then we sat in the living room. Rita was there with us, but not with us if you can understand that. Pam announced that she had a new outfit for Seely to wear tomorrow. She wanted to visit an old friend who had just lost his wife. She was looking directly at me when she said this. I heard Rita on the other side of the room draw in her breath.