He had a moment to wish that life could have been different for him. If his mother hadn’t given in to her demons, what kind of a man would he be today?
Fred Thomas felt everything within him go perfectly still. He had lived his life according to the hand he’d been dealt and his own choices. He hadn’t lived a very commendable life. But maybe he could make other choices now. He wouldn’t be able to live the future he suddenly craved: a future with the only woman he’d ever fallen in love with. It was beyond hope that he could confess his sins and still be a man in her eyes.
But he could be a better man and make better choices, and he could, by damn, do that in honor of her.
The waiter took the orders for dessert and then left them alone.
“So, when are you going to show us this great investment opportunity?” Janice asked. Her smile wide, her eyes shining…this was the picture of her he’d hold in his heart forever.
“We’re not,” Gary said. He looked at Fred. “Please tell them. You’re better with words than I am.”
“What is it?” Millie asked.
“What’s wrong?” Janice asked. Both women looked worried.
We don’t deserve their concern.
“We had intended to show you this amazing opportunity and sweet-talk your money into our hands. But we can’t…because there really is no amazing opportunity. It was all just a scam.”
“What do you mean?” Janice asked. She didn’t look angry, just curious.
“We’re not the men we’ve portrayed ourselves to be, the men you think you’ve come to know. We’re grifters. Con artists. For the last twenty-five years, that’s all we’ve done. All we’ve known how to do.” Fred sighed. Despite the heaviness in his heart, a part of him began to feel lighter.
This is what doing the right thing feels like. He drew in a deep breath. “We’re not going to be that way anymore.” He reached for Janice’s hand and brought it to his lips. “Thank you. Thank you for…well, for just being you. Getting to know you these last several weeks has made me want to be a better man.”
“I feel the same way,” Gary said. He reached for Millie’s hand and held it snugly. “This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done.” He swallowed visibly. “But it’s the one true, right thing, as well.”
Fred knew exactly how he felt.
“But, Millie? You deserve a man who’s worthy of you. One who can provide the kind of life you deserve.” Gary inhaled deeply, and Fred understood his friend was experiencing that same bittersweet awakening within.
“As do you,” he said to Janice. “And that’s not me. It’s not us.” He shook his head. “I’m not sure what kind of work we’ll get, going forward, but it’ll be honest work from here on out. We’re maybe a bit old to be starting real careers, but we’re strong and healthy. We’ll manage.”
“Don’t worry about us. We’ll be okay,” Gary said.
“But…but what about us? Fred, I thought…well, I thought that maybe you…you felt something for me!”
“Oh, sweetheart. Feel something for you? I love you. Way too much to stay after we came to you under false pretenses.”
Fred pulled his wallet out. He laid a hundred-dollar bill on the table, more than enough to cover this meal. He brought Janice’s hand to his lips and kissed it once more. Girding his loins, he told his brain to let go of her and just walk away.
It would have worked, he figured, if she hadn’t suddenly grasped his one hand with both of hers and held on tight.
“I love you, too. And you don’t have to leave. I don’t want you to leave.” Janice looked over at Gary then back at him. He hadn’t noticed, but Millie had hold of his friend’s hand just as fiercely as Janice clutched his own.
“We both really, really need to do the right thing here, sweetheart,” Fred said.
“Fred’s right. For once, that’s what we have to do, no matter how much it hurts.”
“But you see, we knew you were grifters from the first moment we met you,” Millie said.
“You weren’t the only ones with a secret agenda,” Janice said. “You met us, intending to con us. And we met you, intending to entrap you.”
As he watched, a tiny single tear trembled down Janice’s right cheek. “And then we got to know you. We don’t want to entrap you. And we don’t want you to leave, either.”
“But…we have nothing to offer you.” Fred looked over at Gary.
“We don’t even know how to…live in polite society,” Gary said.
“Because you think you’ve done nothing but play a part?” Millie asked.
“That’s exactly what we’ve done,” Gary said.
“He’s right. We study a situation, and then we assume the character that will give us the greatest success. That’s what we’ve done all of our lives.” Even back in the orphanage. Fred threw that thought away. He wasn’t going to blame his choices on his circumstances. When he became an adult, he became responsible for his own decisions.
“I think you have an inflated view of what you call ‘polite society,’” Janice said. “What you described is the way most people behave. How they relate to a boss or to an associate in a social setting. It’s all a little calculated, really. The place when the role-playing goes away is at home and among loved ones.”
“We don’t know how to…” Gary looked at Fred.
“We don’t know how to have a home,” Fred said. “Not the kind you mean.”
Janice and Millie looked at each other. Fred didn’t think he’d ever seen anything as beautiful as Janice’s smile.
“I love you, Fred Thomas.”
“I love you, Gary Morris.”
“If you’re willing to try…we can show you how.”
If they were willing to try? Fred had never had a dream, not for the whole of his life. Not until he met, and then got to know, Janice Michaelson.
“Won’t you get
