Annie's Rainbow - Fern Michaels [86]
“Almost two years.”
“And you’re just telling me now!”
“I’m so ashamed. I don’t even know why I feel like that. I’m not good enough, not pretty enough, not rich enough. It’s me. What’s lacking in me? I was a damn good wife. I’m a good mother. I have a career. We certainly don’t want for any material things. It has to be me.”
“Stop that right now. It’s not you, it’s Bob. Did you try talking to him? Confront him. If it’s true, then boot his ass out the door. Why are you making yourself miserable by pretending you don’t know?”
“I told you, Annie, it’s that shame thing. I thought about going for counseling, but what good is it if I just go? And the other thing that’s bumming me out is”—she paused and took a deep slug of bourbon—“I finally decided that . . . it’s Elmo who took the money.”
“What?”. The single word burst out of Annie’s mouth like a gunshot.
“You heard me. I think he had the money, then got scared and sent it back. When you’re old like Elmo you do crazy things like that and then your guilty conscience takes over. It’s the only thing that makes sense. Just sit there and think about it, Annie. Elmo has all this money. He sure as hell didn’t get it from that rinky-dink little drugstore. So where did he get the money to buy that big house down here? He has a new car every year and an investment portfolio. I think he used the money to earn interest in different banks. He made a windfall, then gave it back.”
“That’s the craziest thing I ever heard come out of your mouth, Jane. Do you see this bottle? You drank half of it. It’s one-hundred-proof bourbon. You are drunk. If you weren’t drunk, you wouldn’t be saying these things. Elmo would never in a million years take something that didn’t belong to him. Furthermore, I used to do his books once a month if you remember. Yes, he had an investment portfolio, but it was small. He’d buy five shares of something, sometimes three shares. At the most it was seventy thousand dollars. He gave away half of what he earned, and you damn well knew it just the way I knew it. He sold his business for one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. He paid one hundred and twenty-five for his house here. He leases his car every year. So what if he likes a new car every year. At his age he deserves everything life has to offer. He worked damn hard all his life, and he was good to us, Jane. How can you believe or say such a thing about him? I also pay him for any work he does for the Daisy Shops. He had a private pension plan he set up, and he collects social security. I’d like an apology right now, Jane.”
“Shut up, Annie. You always wear me down. I can’t help what I believe. I told you nothing else makes sense.”
“You’re the one who doesn’t make any sense, Jane. It’s not Elmo at all. You’re just looking for something to vent on instead of talking things out with your husband. It is possible to save your marriage if you work at it. Two years is just too damn long to carry something like that around with you.”
“What if he leaves me? What if he doesn’t want us anymore?”
“What am I missing here? Are you saying you are willing to stay in a marriage where you know your husband is being unfaithful just for the sake of being married? That’s sick. No wonder Daisy has problems. Kids pick up on stuff like that and don’t know how to handle it. You should talk to Tom. He’s been through all that. I wouldn’t mention that stuff about Elmo to him because he’ll take your head off.”
Jane sniffed. “You always have all the right answers, don’t you? Just because you’re this big tycoon now you think you can still tell me what to do. You got it all, didn’t you, the business, the money, the power, Woman of the Year, and now you snag this rich coffee king. Anna Daisy Clark, the queen of everything.”
Annie felt hot tears prick her eyelids. “I worked my ass off, Jane. Sometimes getting by on two or three hours’ sleep a night. I offered you a full partnership. You turned it down. You wanted to get married and move to California to do your own thing. I gave you one of