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“Are you leaving me?” Her eyes dropped as she
bit her lip, her chin quivering. He stared at her, wounded and
humiliated. “So, it’s true,” he said flatly. “The money’s gone, so
you are, too.” He stared at her for a moment, let go of her in
disgust and walked around her to sit on the bench. When she turned
to face him, tears were running down her face, and she tried
unsuccessfully to wrench out an apology. “So,” he said, holding his
hands in the air. “Did you ever really love me? Or was it always
just the money?” She stared at him pitifully, stuttering to explain
herself. “Can’t you even give me an answer?” he yelled. “I deserve
at least that!” She winced, shivering despite her fur. Caleb looked
over at his friends, who stood with their wives a respectable
distance away. Suddenly angry and incredibly embarrassed at her
behavior, he stood and walked toward her slowly.

“You’re not doing this tonight,” he said
firmly and took her arm. It was the first time, ever, that Caleb
had given her a direct order. He called for Jonathan and Aryl to
grab her bags and turned, walking her by the arm toward the
direction of home. “We’re going to Jon’s house, and we’re going to
figure out a plan,” he explained. “We’ll talk about this
later.”

9 P.M.

“Might as well enjoy this now,” he said
quietly as he sat down. Jonathan poured Scotch all around and
tossed cigars from his collection of the finest money could buy.
They sat around the mahogany table in Jonathan’s card room, staring
in odd directions. They sighed heavily in turn, not knowing where
to start.

∞∞∞

Arianna was resting in one of the guest
bedrooms as Ava and Claire listened out for her in the attached
reading room. Claire curled up in a plush chair. “What are we going
to do?” She dropped her head to her knees with a hopeless sigh.

“I don’t know. But I guess that’s what
they’re trying to figure out down there,” Ava said. Claire looked
up with swollen eyes.

“How can they possibly figure out what we’re
going to do when there’s nothing to work with? Aryl said there’s
nothing left except the money we keep at home.” Ava shrugged.

“They’re smart. It might take a bit, but
they’ll get a plan together.”

“How can you be so calm about this?” Claire
asked in irritated awe. “We’re penniless, soon to be homeless, our
entire life has been destroyed, and you sit there shrugging your
shoulders, waiting patiently for them to figure something out.”

“What else can we do?” Ava snapped at her.
“We wait and hope and see where we end up,” she said as she walked
to the window. Pulling back the drapes, she watched snowflakes
swirl around the streetlamp below. “This is nothing new to me,
Claire. Here one day, gone the next.” She paused and then decided
to divulge a piece of her past, albeit, an edited piece.

“My parents died when I was twelve, and I was
sent to live with my aunt. It was all she could do to keep a roof
over our heads. One year she arranged to leave me with my cousins
here in the city. She was growing too old and weak to take care of
me. I hated it and cried for days. I begged to go home to my aunt
the same way I cried for my parents. The cousins weren’t always
nice to me.” She sat in a chair next to Claire and pulled her legs
up, hugging them. “They really resented my being there, and I
wasn’t fond of the city at all, but I got used to it. And in the
end, I met Jonathan.” She skipped over the tumultuous courtship and
dramatic ending of her relationship with Victor Drayton immediately
prior. “Things have a way of working out. We’ll be okay, Claire,
you’ll see.”

Claire looked at her friend with sympathetic
eyes and reached for her hand. “I had no idea you’d been through
all that, Ava.”

In fact, none of them knew much about Ava’s
past. One day she was just there in Jonathan’s life and heart as if
she’d been there always. At first, there were questions about
Jonathan’s apparent obsession with this woman who had no family or
social connections, and who very much seemed to appear out of thin
air. Nevertheless, a life busy with whirlwind parties, extravagant
galas, and overseas vacations easily avoided or redirected the
questions.

“It was never worth mentioning until now.”
Ava shrugged again.

∞∞∞

In the card room, Jonathan, Caleb, and Aryl
were still cold. Jonathan got up and stoked the fire. Leaning one
hand on the wall, he stared at the flames for a long while.

Aryl glanced from Jonathan to Caleb and back.
Jonathan’s expression was a mix of disbelief and defeat. Aryl was
positive his friend had aged five years in the span of a few hours.
Jonathan had been defined by his success and was now completely
lost. Mentally, he was still on his knees in the middle of the
Exchange. Caleb was staring at the grain pattern of the table with
his eyes slightly narrowed. Aryl knew his wheels were already
turning, looking for answers. Aryl wasn’t so much the type to look
for solutions but was able to see what others would pass by. When
opportunity presented itself, Aryl was the one who knew what to do
with it. He focused on Jonathan again.

“We better get started, Jon,” he said
quietly. Jonathan’s head wobbled and he rubbed the stubble shadow
on his face. He returned to the card table and sighed deeply.

“Where in hell do we start?” he asked as he
poured another drink. The conversation began with recanting the
events of the day and the last week with disbelief, anger, and even
fear. A long series of I can’t believe and If only we had
statements quickly grew old for Aryl.

“We all know what happened,” Aryl
interjected. “We better figure out what we’re going to do.” Aryl
was never one to look back. He realized that the chips had fallen,
and he had to cut the losses and move on.

“You’re right. Got any ideas?” Caleb tipped
up his shot glass as Aryl sat back and crossed his arms.

“I guess it comes down to two things. First,
we secure a roof over our heads. The auction house will send
someone out soon to begin the liquidation; the vultures won’t wait
long. Second, we secure jobs of some kind, any kind. The cash we
have won’t hold us for long. We have maybe a day or two to go
through our things and get together our personal belongings. We can
take clothes, some basic household items and sentimental things, as
long as they aren’t of much value. Everything else will be
auctioned to pay our debts.”

Jonathan leaned back, rubbed his tired eyes
and then rested his hands on the top of his head. “Why the hell did
we go all in? We were so stupid. We might have a pot to piss in if
we’d–”

“Where do we work?” Caleb interrupted.

“I know a couple guys down at the shipping
dock,” Aryl offered. “I helped them out a few years back when they
got into some trouble. They owe me a favor. Maybe I could get us on
there,” he suggested with a tentative shrug.

“What guys? What kind of trouble?” Caleb
asked cautiously.

“Roman Grey and Harvey Duggins. You don't
know them. They got into gambling bad a couple of years ago. They
did okay at first but tempted fate and ended up losing a lot. They
dipped into the petty cash fund at the dock office because they
didn’t want their families to find out. They figured they’d win
back what they had lost and replace the money. Didn’t work out that
way, though.

“Long story short, it got so bad they ended
up messing with the numbers in payroll, and some accounts came up
short. The big boss started getting suspicious, and they came to me
in a panic. I pulled an all-nighter and fixed the books to hide the
missing money. They gave me some cash the next day. I didn’t ask
where it came from, but I took it and worked some magic on the
Street,” he said, smiled and raised his eyebrows twice. “A week
later, I gave them back their money ten-fold. They replaced the
money to payroll, petty cash and banked the rest. All important
parties none the wiser.” He leaned forward and poured another
drink, obviously proud of himself.

Jonathan looked at him incredulously. “You do
know that was illegal, don’t you?”

Aryl shrugged. “No harm, no foul. Besides,
saving their asses back then just might save ours now.”

“It’s worth a shot. How soon can you talk to
these guys?” Caleb asked.

“I’ll go in the morning. Dock runs six days a
week, and so do we now. No more bankers’ hours for us,” Aryl said
with a gruff laugh.

“Well, I can start scouting for apartments,”
Caleb added. “I know of some property owners that deal in
affordable housing.”

“I can go with you,” Jonathan volunteered
flatly.

“I really need you to stay here with Arianna.
I can’t take care of business if I’m worried about her running off
again.” Jonathan shifted in his chair uncomfortably.

“It would really help me out, Jonathan,”
Caleb pleaded.

“Fine,” he said, clearly irritated. “Maybe I
can pack the drapes and sort through the china. I’m sure Maura’s
got an extra apron and headscarf around here somewhere.”

Aryl stifled a laugh from the mental
picture.

They continued to talk for the next hour:
possible places to live, what to bring, how much cash each couple
had and what bare necessities they would need.

During a quiet moment, Ava came in the room
with Claire close behind her.

“Caleb, Arianna is asking for you.”

He took a deep breath and finished his drink.
“I’ll be right back,” he said as he lumbered toward the stairs.

∞∞∞

Caleb stood outside the bedroom door. Arianna
lay curled on her side in the large bed. The bedside lamp dimly
illuminated the room. Her crystal blue eyes were puffy from crying
and her short, glossy black hair disheveled. Of course, Caleb
thought she was still the most beautiful creature who had ever
lived. Sometimes he had so much pride in her that he pitied his
friends whose wives were more ordinary. There was nothing ordinary
about Arianna. Her voice was raspy when she spoke.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, sounding
genuinely ashamed. She moved lethargically to the center of the
bed, motioning for him sit by her. “I didn’t think you’d come. I
thought you probably hated me for what I did.”

“I don’t hate you, Arianna, I couldn't. I
know you were just scared.” He reached to touch her face, but she
turned away.

“It’s not just that.” She pulled herself up
and sat cross-legged, leaning her elbows on her knees. “I don’t
think I can do this.” She hung her head in a combination of shame
and exhaustion.

“Do what?” he asked cautiously. She really is
leaving, he thought, and his heart twisted with pain, beat faster
with fearful dread. She mustered the courage to look him in the
eyes. Her voice was broken and uneven when she began.

“It’s not that I don’t love you. I do, Caleb.
With all my heart. It’s not that.” The hysterical sobs started
again and he quickly pulled her to him, cradling her, and stroking
her hair.

“I don’t understand,” he said when she
quieted. “If you love me, why did you try to leave?” She took a
deep breath before trying to explain.

“You love me now–spoiled and pampered without
a care in the world. I don’t want you to see me desperate. It won’t
be pretty. I’m positive you won’t love me that way. I don’t want
you to see me depressed, poor, and wretchedly miserable.” She
grabbed his shirt, desperately trying to convey her point. “You
deserve better than that, Caleb. I don’t want to make you
miserable. But I know I will. I won’t be able to help it. I’m a
horrible, shallow person. You know it and I admit it. But I do love
you too much to put you through that. That’s why I tried to leave.
I wanted to spare you.”

He thought for a moment and kissed her hair.
“Let me decide what I deserve and what I don’t. Where were you
going to go anyway?” he asked.

“My parents,” she said with a shrug, avoiding
his eyes.

“Ahna.” He shook his head, appalled. “We’ve
practically been supporting them for the last few years. Why would
you go there?” She shrugged.

He pulled the covers back, gesturing for her
to slide back down into bed. He lay beside her and pulled her to
rest on his chest. “I love you. You’re not going anywhere and
neither am I. We’ll get through this together. And whether you
believe me or not, you will be just as beautiful to me, and I will
love you just as much, no matter how bad things get.” He looked
down at her with conviction. “I’ll help you, Ahna, every step of
the way. I promise.” She attempted a smile and touched her fingers
to his lips.

“I don’t deserve you,” she whispered.

“Nonsense,” he whispered back. “I wake up
every morning amazed at what I have beside me . . . that you ever
gave a second look to a plain old farm boy like me.”

“You’re short, too,” she said with a slight
grin and tousled his messy, red-brown hair.

“No. You’re tall,” he countered and slipped
an arm over her waist. “But I love you something awful
regardless.”

“Show me,” she implored, pulling the buttons
of his shirt. “Show me how much you love me despite how awful I
am.”

A while later, he held her and whispered a
long list of reasons why he loved her, every beautiful feature and
stunning quality she had, until she fell asleep. Then he quietly
slipped back downstairs.

∞∞∞

“Don’t think badly of Arianna,” Caleb blurted
out. “She isn’t as durable as some, but she’s a good person. This
all hits too close to home for her. She was damned near destitute
once before. When she was almost eighteen, her father began
drinking, gambling, and having affairs. He lost a tremendous amount
of money. Her fiancée at the time broke the engagement because his
family didn’t want their reputation associated with the
incorrigible things her father was doing.” He paused and took a
deep breath.