The Seducer (31 page)

Rob's eyes widened with dismay. “How can you trust a single word this guy's telling you?”

“Because he's changed. He acted that way before only because he hadn't found the right woman yet.”

Rob marveled that his wife would even listen to such drivel, much less believe it. Something's not right with her head, he concluded, seeing no other logical explanation for Ana's uncharacteristic gullibility. “And you assume you're the one? For the rest of his life? If you believe that, I have some ocean front property in Ohio to sell you.”

“Yes, I believe him.”

Rob couldn't repress a skeptical snort. “Are you out of your mind? You're leaving an honest and faithful husband for a cheating sex addict?”

“He was that way for awhile because the woman he loved left him. Then he ended up with a frigid fiancée. He feels extremely frustrated with their relationship,” she mechanically encapsulated Michael's version of events.

“Nobody's chaining him to her.”

“You don't understand their situation. Karen's so needy and desperate that he didn't have the heart to leave her yet. He's been giving her a chance to get back on her feet in Phoenix,” Ana continued elaborating her lover's perspective.

“How considerate of him! I'm sure you'll appreciate his kindness when you find yourself in his fiancée's position,” Rob retorted, his anger being slowly displaced by indifference. Let her do what she wants. Why should I care? Soon, her fate won't even matter to me anymore, he predicted, longing for an early liberation from the disaster his wife's actions had created.

“He's promised that he'll never be dishonest with me. He says I'm everything he's been looking for in a woman,” she insisted. She didn't know anymore if she was trying to persuade herself or him.

Upon hearing the kind of cheesy baloney sleazy men feed credulous women to get them hooked, Rob looked at his wife like one does at a stranger. He felt like he had never really known Ana. Everything he had assumed to be true about her and their marriage turned out to be false. All these years he had believed that they had settled into a comfortable relationship, built on mutual love and commitment, even if the heat of their passion cooled off once the children were born. But, as it turns out, he now reflected, I've been worth so little to her that she's ready to leave me for a jerk. “A leopard doesn't change his spots,” he cautioned. “Who knows what he told his fiancée. She was probably the love of his life too. Until you came along.”

“No, she wasn't,” Ana stubbornly maintained.

Rob looked at his wife once again with a sense of disbelief. Part of him was still hoping that this episode would turn out to be surreal: a nightmare that would disappear as soon as he opened his eyes. The new Ana he had just discovered was not only dishonest, but also completely delusional. What he found most depressing, however, was how strongly his wife seemed to feel about her decision to leave him. Her reasons for wanting to leave me, Rob reasoned, are premised on the belief that the intensity of her affair, in which she's spent so little time with her lover, will continue unabated forever, after living together and marrying him. How could such a seemingly intelligent woman be so blind? he asked himself, scrutinizing Ana's features in search for an answer. Her eyes glowed feverishly, confirming his intuition that she was must be overtaken by some kind of delirium. “Don't you think it's at least possible that this guy originally told his fiancée, and probably other women too, similar things to what he's been telling you?” he asked her. “I mean, it's all too convenient. He makes up some lame excuse to dump his current partner once he's tired of her so he can hook up with the next woman he's interested in for a while. This guy's completely untrustworthy.”

“I believe in giving people a second chance. Especially since Michael hasn't given me, personally, any reason to doubt him,” Ana stuck to her perspective.

“You've been completely brainwashed. Otherwise you wouldn't be half as blind.”

Yeah, right, Ana answered only in her own mind.

Whether or not our marriage can survive this storm, I think she's in desperate need of therapy, Rob observed. Then his thoughts traveled from his wife back to himself. Feeling deeply wounded by his wife's attitude and betrayed by her actions, it occurred to him that, ultimately, he'd be happier if Ana carried through with her plans and went to her likely doom with her lover. But the next moment, when he thought of having to tell the children that their mother was leaving him for another man, Rob's mood switched again. I don't want to see our family broken, he told himself. If anyone had asked him before what he'd do in such a situation, he'd have answered that he'd never be faced with it because his wife wouldn't be unfaithful. If that person had insisted on such a hypothetical, he'd have said that he'd be so upset that he'd immediately ask Ana for a divorce. But reality often turns out different from what you'd expect, in the abstract, before it catches you off-balance and hits you like a tidal wave with its brute force. Rob looked into Ana's eyes and took her gently by the hand. “You're taking a very serious step that will affect all of our lives. Please think about it carefully before we reach the point of no return. I love you and am willing to work with you on our marriage. But you must decide what you want: our family or that man.”

“No matter what happens, I'll still be a good mother to my kids,” she replied, unwilling to acknowledge how much her children as they were now—happy, safe and innocent—belonged to the intact family she was about to sacrifice to her lover.

On her way to Michael's house, Ana prayed silently to discover some major flaw in him: anything that would give her the strength to back down, resist his magnetic pull and do what was right for the sake of her family. As soon as he heard her car pull into his driveway, Michael ran to greet her.

“I told Rob about our affair,” Ana announced right away.

“You what?” Michael's eyes opened wide. A rush of emotion rose to his head and his ears turned crimson with heat. He had finally defeated his rival and won over his girlfriend, as he always knew he would. He just didn't think it would happen so soon....

“I had to,” she said almost apologetically. Michael led her into the house, one hand placed upon the small of her back, the other opening the door for her. “It's been weighing on me for months. I couldn't hold it in anymore. Are you mad at me?” she asked him, unsettled by his silence.

Michael stopped in the middle of the living room. “Are you kidding? You're finally mine!” He picked Ana up and began twirling her, spinning around faster and faster, holding her high above his head, like a trophy.

The walls mixed in with the brown of the furniture and the white of the ceiling as the whole room became a dizzying whirl. “Michael, stop it!” she exclaimed, feeling like she was no longer in control of her senses.

After a couple of more revolutions, Michael put her down, in front of him. As he admired her bright eyes and flushed cheeks, he couldn't help but smile. Ana looked at her lover indulgently, as she did whenever he acted so young. Michael beamed with delight, like a child receiving a much-awaited Christmas gift. His pleasure made her smile too, only with traces of sadness. “It was pretty tough on Rob. And we haven't even told the kids yet.”

“We'll deal with all that later. Now it's time to celebrate!” Michael rushed into the kitchen to uncork the bottle of champagne he had saved for a special occasion.

Ana followed him there. She accepted the drink, sipping it gingerly while examining his expression. “I'm happy that you're happy.”

“Aren't you happy for yourself?” Michael asked her, his own bubble of elation punctured by her somber mood.

She hesitated a moment before replying, “Yes, I am.”

Michael grabbed her free hand and pulled her to him. “What's wrong, Baby? You don't seem that happy,” he commented, becoming attuned to her guarded reaction.

Ana looked to the side, focusing on the diamond pattern of the linoleum floor, to distract herself from her own mixed emotions. “I dread telling the kids about this,” she said quietly.

Michael placed his wine glass on the kitchen counter and took a seat, pulling Ana unto his lap. “Look at me,” he gently commanded. “You need to get a hold of yourself. What's done is done. We finally took the plunge. Now we need to stay united. Let's keep our eyes on the prize at all times, alright?”

“I'm worried that it's going to be hard on them.”

“So where's the news here? We already knew it wouldn't be easy. But are you going to fall apart at the finish line? Or are you going to carry the day for us, like a champ?” he slipped into life coach mode.

“I'll do my best,” she said without much conviction.

“Did you discuss with Rob any of the practical details yet?” Michael asked, a sense of pragmatism displacing his initial elation.

“Like what?”

“Like the custody issue.”

Ana nodded. “It's one of the first things we agreed upon this morning. We're going to draft a divorce settlement that stipulates joint custody. Fifty­fifty, with alternating weekends and split vacations. That way Michelle and Allen can feel at home in both places. But they're staying at their current schools, since that's where all their friends are. We don't want to uproot them.”

“Good,” Michael approved, in a business-like manner. “What about the money?”

“Since we just bought the house, we don't have that much left in savings. But we co-own it, so I'll probably get half its value. I'm not really sure yet.”

“How much will you get?”

“About 150,000 dollars,” she estimated.

“Not bad ... We can use part of that for our vacation,” Michael proposed. His eyes lit up at the prospect of traveling again. “I was thinking this summer we could spend a few days in Paris. And maybe also visit Provence for a few weeks, since it's cheaper and less crowded.”

“Actually, I was planning to put those funds in a money market account. I wasn't going to touch them until we buy a bigger house. You know, so that the kids can each have their own room,” Ana shared with him her own plans.

“Nab, they'll be fine,” Michael brushed off her suggestion. “At any rate, they're not mutually exclusive, the new house and a nice vacation.” He approached Ana until she could feel the warmth of his breath tickle her cheek. “Our little honeymoon,” he enticed her. It suddenly occurred to him that he might even be able to get Ana to fall in love with Arizona. “We don't even have to travel abroad. I know this wonderful little place in Arizona, which I'm sure you'd love. Have you ever heard of Sedona? It's an artists' town filled with galleries and surrounded by mountains and canyons. It's really spectacular. The landscape changes color with the sun.” Maybe once Ana saw the beauty of Sedona and got her paintings into a gallery or two down there, she'd be instantly seduced by it. Rob would be just fine taking care of the kids on his own. After all, hadn't she told him ad nauseam that he was a responsible father?

“We can't count on the settlement money,” Ana proceeded with caution, oblivious to the reference to Sedona. “First of all, because the divorce might not go through by this summer. Plus, even though Rob and I co-own our house, I don't really know how much of it is actually mine.”

“Why not?” Michael frowned.

“Because I bring in less income than he does. At any rate, we never discussed these matters before. We weren't planning to divorce,” she directed him a meaningful glance.

“That kind of crap, not having a clue about who gets what, won't happen if we ever get divorced!” Michael assumed an air of authority. “We'll draft a nice prenup, so that it's clear that my house stays in my name, no matter what happens with us.”

Ana's gaze clouded. “Why do we need a prenup?”

“To protect our assets. Even when madly in love, one has to keep one's feet firmly on the ground.”

It occurred to Ana that before, during all those months of courtship, her lover had made the opposite argument. He had tried to persuade her, through both words and actions, that when one's passionately in love, reality itself is lifted unto a higher plane of existence. “I just can't believe that you're already thinking about divorce when we haven't even gotten married yet.”

“Hey, if you don't like the deal, then the marriage's off!” Michael retorted. “We can always live together, if you prefer,” he added, adopting a cavalier tone that he had never used with her before. But it sounded very familiar to Ana because she had heard him talk that way to Karen on the phone. She jumped off his lap and stood facing him, with arms akimbo. “All these months you've been pressuring me to divorce Rob so that we could marry. Honorably, with lifelong commitment. You never once mentioned anything to me about a prenup or cohabitation. I'd have never agreed to any of that! I certainly didn't want to leave my husband, whom I still love despite our problems, and traumatize my kids, just so that the two of us could live together, with no commitment, no nothing, like a couple of hippies.”

Ana's voice had a high-pitched edge that grated on Michael's nerves. He had never noticed it before, during their previous disagreements. “Calm down, alright? We're not Romanian peasants and this isn't the nineteenth century! Cohabitation isn't a dishonor in this country. I assure you that they won't stone us for it here.”

“You never mentioned any of this to me before. I'd have never agreed to it!” Ana insisted. She couldn't help but think that her lover had dangled the marriage proposal, along with the promise of lifelong commitment, as bait, to lure her to divorce her husband.

“That's because we never discussed any of these practical details before. The best relationships are those where both parties choose to be together on a daily basis.”