A Good Friend

"Six months? You can't do that!" Melanie shrieked.

"I can and I have," the judge shot back. Then he banged his gavel on the wooden sound block. "Next case."

Her attorney hurriedly tugged Melanie away from the bench, even as she kept trying to protest the ruling. Only the arrival of a large bailiff persuaded the unhappy young woman to cease.

"I only have to pay alimony for six months? I can live with that," Adam told his attorney as they stood and began to walk out of the courtroom.

"How about that?" Adam's attorney replied happily. "I thought we'd lost when the judge opted for her number, but I guess he wasn't too impressed by the way she was trying to bleed you dry. Still, not many husbands do so well in divorce court. I wonder what made him go so easy on you?"

"You don't think the fact that she didn't contest the charge of adultery was a factor?"

"He's not supposed to consider that in determining the financial settlement."

Adam glanced back once more to see Melanie still arguing with her attorney and grinned. "Well, whatever it was, I'm happy with the way it turned out."

Just then, a hand gripped his arm, and Adam swung around to see an older man he'd never met before but who looked vaguely familiar. "I wanted to introduce myself," the gray-haired man explained. "I'm Professor Mayfair."

Adam grasped his hand and shook it firmly. "Professor! It's an unexpected pleasure to meet you in person, sir. Thank you again for all your help. What brings you to court today?"

The older man smiled. "After our interaction, I developed an interest in your case, so I thought I'd drop by to see how things turned out." Then his smile grew broader. "It also gave me a chance to say a few words to an old friend of mine: Judge Abernathy." He shook Adam's hand one more time. "I'm glad things worked out well for you. If I can ever help again, I'll be glad to do so." He winked. "We divorced husbands have to stick together."

As the professor walked away, Adam stared after him. "I wonder . . ." he muttered, then shook his head. When he did so, out of the corner of his eye he thought he spotted Jeri in the crowd of spectators, but when he turned to look, she wasn't there.

Melanie - Thirty months later

She pressed the familiar number on her cellphone, and when her call was answered, she hesitantly said, "Hello, Jeri, it's me, Melanie."

"Melanie, what a surprise! I haven't heard from you since you moved down to Florida. How are you doing?"

"Honestly, it's been a pretty rough few years. Actually, that's why I called: I really needed to talk to a friendly voice."

"Of course. Tell me what's going on. Are you working now?"

"Actually, that's part of the problem. I thought with my MBA that I'd have no problem landing a good job. But it turns out that employers down here are more interested in experience than academic credentials. Most of the jobs I was offered were trainee positions or internships."

"Oh dear, that doesn't sound very rewarding. So where did you wind up?"

"Once the alimony cut off, I got pretty desperate. I even took a job as an administrative assistant for a while, but that was horrible. So now I've started a new career in financial counseling. Actually, that's one of the reasons I called. I could do a review of your financial situation, if you'd be willing. You'd be surprised at how many people neglect that kind of thing."

There was a momentary pause. "Oh, Melanie, I'd love to help you out, but my finances are in sound shape now, and I'm pretty confident about future. I really don't think I need any help. Sorry."

"That's alright, Jeri. I get that a lot, but I thought I'd try. It's so hard to get a toehold in this business. In fact, I've had to move in with my mother to keep expenses down."

"You're living with your mother? What happened to you and Carl?"

"Don't even mention that bastard's name! We split up only a few months after we got down here."

"Split up? What happened?"

"Oh, Jeri, it was terrible. Carl dropped out of school without getting his MBA. I don't know exactly what happened, but his adviser rejected his Master's thesis and told Carl he'd have to start all over. Carl got very bitter and decided not to go back. He refused to look for a job and just hung around our apartment all day playing video games and drinking. After a while he began to take his resentment out on me. It got so bad that at one point I had to call the police on him."

"Oh, Melanie, how awful for you! It sounds to me like you're lucky to be rid of him. And look on the bright side: now you're free to go out and see new people, to party and go dancing whenever you like. I remember how much you missed all that when you were married."

Melanie sighed. "Night-clubbing and parties take money, Jeri, and I don't have a lot of free funds these days. And truthfully, when I do go out it's not nearly as glamorous or exciting as I used to think. In fact, I remember a certain girlfriend warning me that there are a lot more creeps than good guys out there."

She paused, but when Jeri said nothing, Melanie decided to change the subject. "But what about you, Jeri, how are you doing? Are you seeing anyone special these days?"

"Actually, my situation has changed pretty dramatically, Mel. In fact, I'm going to be married next month!"

"Married? That's fabulous! Who's the lucky guy? Do I know him?"

"Yes, actually, you do. It's Adam, Melanie - Adam and I are engaged.

"My Adam? You're engaged to my Adam? You can't do that!"

"I'm afraid I already have. We're going to have a little civil ceremony in the back yard of our new home, then we're flying to Paris for our honeymoon."

"New home? Honeymoon in Paris? Adam can't possibly afford all that."

"My situation isn't the only one that's changed dramatically - so has Adam's. The same month you moved to Florida, he landed that big order he'd been working on for so long. After that, his business really took off. Apparently, his new product is just what the automobile industry needs. And that's not all. Earlier this year Adam received an offer from a major manufacturer to buy his business for a fortune. He accepted, and the sale is going to close next week. So you see, you don't need to worry about our financial future."

Melanie could only stutter, but Jeri wasn't through, and now her tone changed. "You know, all of that could have been yours, Melanie, but you weren't content with what you had. I warned you right from the start that you were risking everything by having your little fling. I also warned you that there would be women who would love to pick up the pieces if your marriage broke up."

"But you were the one who encouraged me. You were the one who figured out how I could . . ." Suddenly Melanie's voice rose in shock. "Oh my God, Jeri, it was you! You planned the whole thing, right from the beginning. All I did was tell you about a harmless little fantasy. You manipulated me into acting on it. You tricked me into believing I could get away with an affair."

"Really, Melanie, you're exaggerating. I didn't manipulate you to do anything you didn't want to do. All I did was to give you enough rope to hang yourself."

"I can't believe this! I bet you were the one who tipped Adam off about Carl!"

"You're smarter than that, Melanie. Think about it: if I'd told Adam, he would have wondered how I knew. That wouldn't have been very smart of me, would it? On the other hand, I did tell you not to delete your secret Gmail account, and I did encourage Adam to check your email. I use Gmail all the time, so I was pretty sure what he'd see when he did.

"So no, Melanie, I didn't tell Adam about your lover. All I did was set up the dominos so they'd fall where I wanted them."

"I can't believe this. I trusted you, Jeri, I thought you were my friend!"

Jeri laughed. "You know what they say: 'All's fair in love and war.'"

"You won't get away with this, you bitch. I'll make sure Adam finds out what you did, what kind of a schemer you really are. He'll call the wedding off for sure once he learns the truth."

"I'm sorry, Melanie, but I'm afraid I have to cut our little chat short. Adam and I have plans this evening, and I want to look especially good for him. Oh, and don't bother calling back - I'll be blocking your number as soon as I hang up."

"You conniving, back-stabbing bitch!"

Adam - Thirty months and one day later

Jeri greeted her husband-to-be with a loving kiss when he got home from work. Adam kissed her back and then pulled a piece of paper out of his jacket. "You'll never believe who emailed me today - Melanie."

"Oh, really?" Jeri said casually. "I'd almost forgotten about her. What in the world does she want?"

Adam looked at his fiancée expressionlessly. "Actually, she was writing to warn me about you. She says you planned everything that happened just to split up Mel and me. It's pretty wild."

"May I see?" Jeri asked.

He handed her the print-out. She scanned it quickly, then handed it back to him with a smile. "Poor Melanie. She could have made her jealous little fantasy half-way credible if she'd only done one more thing."

He looked at her curiously.

She winked at him. "She should have signed it 'A Good Friend."

It took him several minutes to stop laughing.