Karma (34 page)

Three
months later….

Marcy
dreamed of her mom again. This time, while Marcy still couldn’t hear her speak,
she heard and understood her somehow. Was it through her mother's feelings,
perhaps?

"I'm
so happy for you, darling,"
her mother projected
the thought with a contented smile.
"I don’t need to worry anymore.
Goodbye, sweetheart."

When
Marcy woke, an odd sensation ran through her.

It
was an absence.

Marcy
had cried then, sobbed really, with happy tears. It was just as well that Mike
had left early for work. That man could be brought to his knees by a woman's
tears.

Sure
as she knew her own name, Marcy knew that her mother was at peace. Now that
Marcy was happy, her mom had finally been able to let her go.

It
was Saturday morning. Katie and Ziggy had spent the night at her friend Samantha's
grandmother's big house. That dog and her daughter were inseparable. If Ziggy
didn't go with Katie he would mope and pine. They were good for each other.

Marcy
made an asparagus frittata for her and Mike for lunch. He had received a phone
call in the middle of the night. In the morning she found a note that he had
been called in to deal with something, but would be home before noon.

Marcy
sat on the family room couch with her legs up, flicking through a baby magazine.
A satisfied grin was spread across her face. She had suffered so many financial
worries with her first child, and had worked throughout her pregnancy.

This
time around she planned to enjoy the whole experience.

Milk
it for all its worth, in fact.

It
had taken awhile, but Marcy figured that she finally knew what love was. Love
was when
you
were down - the man that you loved brought you up again.
Love was when
he
was down - you did the same for him. Your love was the
focus and the reason. Everything was better with the one you love.

Mike
was Marcy's best friend and her most trusted confidant.

Mike
was also a tyrant with the TV remote, it rarely left his hand – over controlling,
bullying nut case that he was. Not only that, but he still dropped his socks
wherever he took them off, the rat. Perhaps Marcy would train him in time, yet
it wasn't important. Seeing the remote in his hand, and those socks on the
floor in the family room always made her smile.

Perfection
was overrated.

Marcy
loved everything about Mike, even his flaws.

Mike
came in from his morning job, bringing in yesterday's mail. "Hey,
gorgeous." He leaned down and gave her a kiss, and then bent over and kissed
her stomach, too. "Hi little one. There's a personal letter for you,
Marcy."

"Oh?"

He
handed her a pink envelope, the writing on it in a clearly feminine hand. Marcy
ripped it open. Mike sat down next to her, his body against hers with one arm
resting on the couch behind her. He placed his hand on her stomach in a tender,
yet proprietary gesture. She was becoming used to his constant touching.

He
acts like he owns me,
she thought with an
internal snort.
But that's okay because I own him, too.

My
dearest Marcy,

I
don’t know how to thank you. You helped give me the courage to run away. It
sounds like cowardice, but I know now that it wasn't. I have learned so many
things. I'll never forget what you told me, how if you had been braver that you
would have confronted him. You also said how you always regretted that he left
you. You wished that you had left him first.

Well
I left him, and have never been happier. I married Martin, the perfect man for
me. He never belittles me, or tries to obsessively control my life. We love and
trust each other. We are partners. See? I was listening to you that day you and
I talked.

I
am writing to thank you and tell you that I appreciate all you did for me.

You
and your family are welcome to stay with us any time if you ever come to Texas,

Your
friend,

Debbie
Quinn XOXO

PS
Here is a picture of me, Martin, and my grandfather. We live near him in Texas
now. I told you that he would understand!

A
surge of joy thrilled through Marcy. She called herself Debbie now. Debbie
Quinn.

Debbie
had married the kind, hardworking Martin! The bright young man that clearly
adored her. A vision flashed through her mind, a passing thought of those two
lovers in bed with each other. Martin was the kind of man that would make love
to Debbie every time. There had been an innocence and purity in their affection
toward each other.

The
thought that she had been instrumental in advising them to run and in bringing
them together was satisfying. Two nice young people – they deserved each other.

The
photo was in her hand and Marcy stared at it. Three smiling faces looked back
at her. Debra looked so happy. Next to her was Martin Quinn, their pool guy. But
the biggest surprise was the Texan, Debra's grandfather.

Marcy
dropped the picture in her stunned shock.

"What?
What is it?" Mike asked, grabbing her hand.

Marcy's
mind reeled. Debra's grandfather was that Texan that she met in the casino all
those months ago. The broad tall cowboy who had started this all. The man who had
accidentally
dropped the $100 bill.

"Hey,
are you okay?" Mike asked.

Marcy
felt strangely light-headed and kind of faint. Goosebumps ran up and down her
arm. Her mother had said goodbye in her dreams last night, and now she received
this letter and photo. What in the hell was going on here?

"What
is it?" he asked, looking a little alarmed.

"Jesus,
Mike, it's all connected I swear!"

She
bent down, picked up the picture and showed it to him, telling him about the
Texan who had dropped the $100 bill. She explained how because of the Texan she
had met André, and then because of André she had met him. That Debra had run
off with their pool boy was coincidence enough – but the fact that they had run
to her grandfather, that cowboy in Texas!

Talk
about six degrees of separation.

Keyed
up and blown away by the incredible coincidences, Marcy surged to her feet and
began to pace. She knew that Vegas was a small sort of place compared to L.A.,
Chicago or New York, but not that small!

How
had all these lives crossed?

"What
goes around comes around," she finished, after her rant, sitting back down
on the couch next to him. Instinctively she reached for him and took his hand. Touching
him had become natural for her now, too.

Marcy
shook her head and met his concerned gaze. "I never believed in fate, and
that expression 'everything happens for a reason' has always left me cold,"
she said. "But really! Maybe everything really does happen for a reason. There
truly is karma. There's no escape. You might as well try to live right. But who
would have thought?"

Mike
listened and smiled at her, nodding and agreeing with everything. Marcy saw affection
and thoughtful consideration in his eyes. Was he humoring the pregnant woman?
It was true, she did sound a bit crazy. But really, she and Katie had been
blessed.

I
have everything that I ever wanted, a man that I love, a beautiful daughter,
and Mike's child on the way.

How
had she been so lucky? That idea didn’t make her so nervous anymore.

Obviously
she deserved her happiness.

"You
know," Mike began, absently waving his free hand in the air. "You say
that it is all about you, the Texan and the $100 bill and so on – but really, I
think that it's all about me."

Marcy
burst out laughing. "Is that so?" she snorted.

"Well
sure," he said. "You didn't steal the $100 bill, and André hired you
because he was thinking of me. I was the one he wanted to fix up with a woman. André
knew that I was lonely. It really was all because I constantly refused casual
sex. That really bugged André, the fact that I wasn't getting any, did I ever
tell you that?"

"No!
But it sounds like André!" she giggled.

"Oh
yes. He disapproved. Not having sex was, 'most unhealthy for the body,
oui,
but also for the soul.'" They both laughed loudly because Mike, who was
good at impersonations, imitated André's accent and mannerisms perfectly.

"André,
for all his talk, doesn't have casual sex with women," Mike said. "He
genuinely connects with them every single time. There isn’t a woman in the
world that man doesn't adore. André makes love – because he honestly loves them
all."

"Did
André ever tell you that he was in love with one particular woman?" Marcy
asked.

Mike
frowned. "What like, want to marry her love?"

Marcy
nodded. "Yep. He told me that he was in love with a married woman. He and
the woman's husband are very close. Apparently the woman and her husband both know
André's secret. The husband loves André, too – which I can readily believe. Who
wouldn’t love that man?"

"Shit.
That's rough."

"André
said to me, "In such matters there can be no resolution. Yet the heart
yearns for what it knows it cannot… it
must not
strive for."

"Wow,"
Mike said. "I never knew. André deserves someone special. I hope he finds
his own True Love someday soon."

A
quick happy laugh bubbled out of Marcy. "How could you doubt it?
Particularly after the letter I got this morning. Karma is out there – good or
bad for everyone. André will get exactly what he deserves – lucky guy. He has a
truck load of good karma coming his way for sure."

"I
have to do some work on the pool," Mike said. "I know Martin sold his
business, but I just want to check. I'm not sure that the new guy knows what
he's doing. I'll be back in a few minutes. Are you okay?"

"You
know I am. I'm more than okay." She looked up at him, her heart full of
joy, aware that everything in her world was perfect. "I'm living my
happily ever after with you, Mike."

"Me
too," he said, and the kiss he gave her curled her toes.

~~~

Mike
went out the pool shed, and picked up a tube in order to sample the water. That
letter from Debra had freaked him out. He needed a bit of time on his own to
get it together. The thing was, while Mike did believe in karma, he felt it
just didn’t always work fast enough.

Someday
soon he would have to tell Marcy what he had done. It was a secret, and he
hated to keep anything from her. Would confessing upset her?

Mike
went to one knee at the side of the pool, took a sample of water, and went back
into the pool shed. It may be better to tell her after the baby was born.

Not
long after he first knew her, Mike asked an old school friend, David Abbot, the
private detective, to look into Trent Berger. Investigating her ex was his
first secret. The results of the investigation had disgusted him. In Mike's
estimation, that unfaithful bastard needed to be taken down a peg or two.

Why
had no one ever cheated on Berger? Just how would Berger like it if his new
wife went off with another man?

A
powerful urge to murder Trent Berger had come over Mike. How could the asshole
have done what he did to Marcy? Not to mention what he had been doing to his sweet
daughter, Katie.

Self-absorbed
fucking bastard.

As
much as Mike wanted to, it wasn't reasonable for him to corner the douche in a
dark alley and beat the shit out of him. Mike had decided, right there and then,
that he would still like create a little payback, but how?

Mike noticed that Debra and Trent Berger lived near his
neighborhood. It made him wonder, did Martin Quinn look after their pool? Martin,
his pool caretaker, it turned out, did manage the Berger's pool.

Martin
was a nice kid, a young man that had grown up watching all the super heroes. He
was a natural - a knight in shining armor, hoping for some fair maiden to
rescue. Martin was waiting for a damsel in distress.

And
so Mike told Martin everything he learned about Trent Berger. How was Mike to
know that Martin knew Debra already? But Martin hadn't been aware of what a cheating
bastard Trent was.

Mike
explained that he had fallen in love with Marcy, Trent's ex-wife. In Mike's
opinion, Debra needed rescuing from the selfish asshole. Debra needed a friend.
The poor woman shouldn't waste the best years of her life on a man like him –
not like Marcy innocently had.

Mike
smiled as the test strip came up the right color. Good. His pool pH and
chlorine levels were perfectly balanced. The new guy knew what he was doing
after all.

Did
he know Debra and Trent Berger? he had asked Martin. Did he have the ability to
talk to her?