25. Andrew - All Good Things…
Chapter twenty-five
Andrew - All Good Things…
E die and Andy’s relationship always seemed to remain steady and loving, having fun together despite the huge responsibilities they took on. He was never afraid to dream big, to take on any challenge, to work himself to the bone to make it all happen then sit back and watch the money roll in. He was competitive and loved pushing deadlines to prove he could make things happen when others would think his goals were too lofty. He always had to take things just a bit farther than needed so he could enjoy the compliments or criticism of his peers who were amazed at his accomplishments. They won numerous awards for their designs and were featured two times in Architectural Digest Magazine. Andy never bragged or flaunted his success. He laughed a lot and always seemed grateful for all the help that was given them in their climb to success.
He grew up in Florida and loved the casual furniture styles of the tropics. He decided they should develop their distinct line of rattan furniture. Edie was doubtful the Midwest was the right place for it which was why he wanted to hire reps to represent them throughout the U.S. There was no doubt, with their combined talent, they could create the best in the marketplace but Edie was skeptical. It takes massive amounts of money to get into the right locations and advertise their goods.
His idea led them to a thirty-day trip to the Far East to find vendors to build their designs. Edie had no idea how complicated this endeavor would be but she had a feeling it was risky business. She tried to dissuade Andy but he couldn’t be deterred. There was so much red tape and hoops to jump through to import the goods. Before they left on their travels, he had a paint booth built so they could design unique custom finishes on the furniture and they already owned an upholstery business so their employees could make the cushions and do the upholstery.
They shipped the beautiful samples to the High Point, NC furniture market and set up the displays. They hired some reps and gave them the samples, professional photos, and catalogs they needed to promote the gorgeous products. They had a proposal from Bloomingdale’s to sell their line but, all things considered, it didn’t make financial sense. They offered less than the cost of producing it. Their first few shipments from the Philippines were exactly what they expected then the quality waned and they had no recourse. As soon as the shipment was on the water, the funds were released and they were stuck. Forty-foot containers of furniture were so badly constructed they couldn’t put their name on them. They gave it the old college try but after two years they wrote the remaining inventory and lingering expenses off as a loss.
Edie deeply and passionately loved Andy. They were so good together, like bread and butter. The longer they were together, the deeper her love grew. She admired his gentle spirit and his ability to accomplish whatever he put his mind to. Sometimes, in her quiet times, she would cry just thinking of how much she loved this man. He treated her like a princess and introduced her as his doll. He never failed to open a door for her or kiss her morning, noon, and night. He was her world, with or without the success and money. She would gladly have walked away from their lifestyle to have him in her life. Andy began talking about selling the businesses and moving to Florida. “Edie, let’s just put all this behind us and go enjoy life on the water in the sunshine.” She was shocked to hear this subject so suddenly, but things change; people change.
“Andy, we’ve got so much at stake here. How can we manage all that?”
“That’s the beauty of it, Edie. We’ll sell it all, walk away with the cash, build a nice house in Florida, and take it from there. What do you think, honey?”
“We’ve made crazier decisions and it would be nice to relax for a while and enjoy some of our life together without the pressure.”
Within forty-five days they sold the restaurant, the riverboat, the design business, the building business, and their big beautiful home. I was shocked that it all happened so fast. Edie’s oldest daughter, her husband, and her family decided to go to Florida, too. Edie and Andy bought a nice three-bedroom condo until they decided where they wanted to build their new home. At least that’s what Edie thought the plan was.
They had just settled into the condo when Andy got an opportunity to build a large office building up north for their attorney. He said it was such a great opportunity and would add considerably to their retirement fund. He took their son-in-law to work with him on the project. Andy and Mark would fly to Florida for the weekend every couple of weeks before returning to the job site.
The job had been in progress for four months when tax time rolled around. Edie flew to Illinois to get their final taxes done. It was complicated because of selling all the businesses. The morning after the taxes were complete, that small voice inside, that fear that taunted her for sixteen years, attacked like a monster and destroyed her happiness in one heart-wrenching moment. She was clueless; she saw no red flags but he had changed.
As he was leaving for work, he handed her a plane ticket for the following day and he simply announced he wanted a divorce. He had a younger woman pregnant and decided he wanted to be a dad to his own child. He had a plane ticket for himself that day so he stole most of the money that they had made selling their businesses by sneaking into her condo and taking the gold bars that she had hidden in the air vents. He left her nearly broke. It was a quick end to a sixteen-year perfect marriage.
She would have done anything to rewind the scene, but like everything else, he had decided what he wanted and she couldn’t change his mind. She had no will to fight as he walked away. Andy was gone and she was left to pick up the crushed, bruised, and broken pieces of her life. What was even worse, their son-in-law was having an affair and their marriage couldn’t survive that so Edie’s daughter was left caring for three daughters. Thank God she’s a fighter like her mom.
It’s not unusual to beg for answers. The first place Edie looked was at herself and began questioning everything. She was willing to take the blame for his leaving. She would have turned herself inside out to become a different person so he would love her again. As Edie’s friend most of our lives, we had been through tragedy and heartbreak together but I had never seen her this completely crushed. I didn’t hardly recognize her. She wouldn’t answer the phone but when she did, all I could hear was the deepest heartbroken sigh and undistinguishable sobs. I was so worried that she may never come out of this depression or she might harm herself.
She had reduced herself to a whimpering weak piece of mush with no self-esteem, no credibility, no worth. She wanted to blame him for what she suddenly became but she allowed it; she accepted it; she wallowed in it. Was she too old? Was it because they didn’t have a baby? Was she too demanding? Too loving, too sexual? Shit, she blamed herself for sunshine, for rain, for the world rotating. She began to realize, however difficult, that it had nothing to do with her. She was the same; he had changed. Through their speedy divorce and negotiations, she never allowed him to see the squalling disgusting piece of shit she had become. She wouldn’t allow him that satisfaction.
The hardest part of this story is the grief and sorrow she felt. She relived their first kiss under the stars, their simple but beautiful wedding, the anticipation of their first night making love, the playing and laughter he created in their home with her girls, and then the tragedy of their loss. She cried, literally until there were no more tears. Her sense of taste and smell was gone; her new condo in Florida held no joy for her. She watched the waves roll in and pull back out to sea wondering if she had the guts to drown herself in those aqua curls of froth. Could she pull the trigger on the gun she held under her chin a hundred times? She wanted to bury her pain as deep as coal but the pain kept bubbling to the surface like lava.
One day, as she lay curled in her bed, wishing she could find the will to start her life over, a thought, a realization came to her almost like divine intervention. Instead of wallowing in her self-pity and indulging in this grief, a light shined on her circumstance. She was still young, not yet fifty, healthy, had lots of stamina and knowledge, and had been gifted with sixteen years of a loving marriage and excitement that many people never have the opportunity to experience so it was time to stop licking her wounds, shake off the sackcloth and ashes and get back to living.
Turns out the love for her family overturned her selfish thoughts of ending her life and she knew it was time to move on. If God answered her nightly prayer and allowed her to die in her sleep, that was his choice, not hers. She was so heartbroken she didn’t fight him and let him walk away with the fortune they had amassed. Later she regretted allowing him to take the money but, at the time, she didn’t want to breathe and money wouldn’t fix it. She advises any woman in a similar situation to wait until you can think clearly before you let him walk away with more than he deserves or nail his hide to a wall. Edie is not a revengeful person but it’s fun to think how miserable she could have made him.
A year later wrapping up some final legal business she had to meet Andy back in Illinois on a hazy late summer day. The account of her actions is probably too graphic to write here. As they drove, she taunted him until he could think of nothing else but invading her body. He didn’t need much coaxing to have him panting like a dog chasing a coon. He pulled into a cornfield with the stalks towering ten feet tall creating a private tent-like oasis covering their sinful passion. He made love to her without hesitation, filled with emotion and lust like it was their first time. He was a new dad but she didn’t care. He was hers before she stole him from Edie and she needed to have him love her one last time; she wanted to know what it felt like to be the ‘other woman’. The real truth is, she wanted him to want her one final time- to touch her, to kiss her, to assure her she was still desirable.
When she told me what she had done, it left me breathless and with a slight smirk on my face. I asked, “Edie, how did that make you feel?”
“Surprisingly, it didn’t make me feel great. I was ashamed of what I did but hey, though I’m not fucking Whitney Houston, I will always love him.” He’ll remember that hour in the cornfield if he remembers nothing else of the sixteen years they spent together. His final words to her were, “Will you get that corncob out of my ass?” And just like that…Andy was gone.
***
As a side note, that last comment was crude and I can’t confirm its validity. From a humor standpoint, it’s laugh-out-loud funny to some of us. It’s also thematic and visual. We may never know if that was the final comment, so draw your own conclusions and have fun.