Lilies and Roses Pt. 02

You know what happened that night. Oh my God. Of all the scenarios I had ever imagined, seeing Ted escorting Tabitha with our families behind him was not one of them. He was supposed to be in jail, but here he was in a brand new tuxedo. We don't have that kind of money and I was flabbergasted. I must have said his name out loud because he paused to look at me. This was not the Ted that I knew! I learned many things I didn't know that night.

His 'friend' Jorge was actually Congressman Jorge Mendoza, Ted owned the Harvey Construction Company plus businesses in Dallas and LA, and surely not least, Ted was the richest man in the state. Who knew? The evening was a continuous roller coaster ride from beginning to end. I found myself crying happy tears when he was awarded a plaque from the mayor. I cried sad tears when I realized it was for breaking Ron's criminal ring and I was in the middle of it. I cried more happy tears when Timmy proposed to Melissa. They made such a cute couple. I couldn't believe it when Ted explained the Johnson family tradition. It was hard to zone out or cross my eyes when he was talking about a necklace worth over five times what Ron's scheme was worth. Then Ron, Greg, Gretel, and I were served with legal papers, divorce papers, and then arrested, handcuffed and taken to jail. Oh, the humiliation. My downfall was complete and total.

We spent the weekend in jail. Gretel and I shared a cell. I don't know where Greg and Ron ended up, or the two Jims for that matter. I didn't much care, either. We were brought before a judge to hear the charges. Ron had a lot of money that Tabitha supposedly didn't know about and he hired an attorney. For him. The ungrateful bastard didn't care about the rest of us. I accepted the public defender. Ron decided to fight all the way and even managed a change of venue. I pled guilty and threw myself on the mercy of the court. I just wanted it to be over. I've been here in the women's prison since then.

Timmy and Joan have visited once a month since the start. We talk of many things. Timmy brought Melissa to see me on one trip. Joan let me know when she became engaged and brought her husband to see me on a trip after the wedding. I missed so much by being a fool. Ted? Well Ted has been to see me. Once. He won't be back again. It was an interesting meeting. He told me about the things I didn't know, his side of the story, and the rest of the mess. He told me that he hadn't known who was calling that night he went to the sports bar. The maitre d' at the Elite helped him uncover what had been going on and that Jorge Mendoza was Fernando's friend. The rest about being friends was just for show. Well, back then it was. They really are friends now.

Ted also apologized to me for not telling me about the necklace. He knew the tradition was to give the necklace at the wedding, but since he had been distracted by his parents death followed by the rest of his family, he had just forgotten about it. It had been sitting in the safe deposit box the entire time. Wow. How do you forget about a 53 million dollar necklace. He also explained what Ron and friends had done at work and gave me some details about stealing his identity so Ron could disappear in California. Before he left, he let me know that Tabitha was expecting. I found out later it was a boy. From the newspapers I found out about the hospital wing and the new museum. I was on the fund raising committees for both and all I really needed to do was just ask Ted. When he came in to see me, he brought me a bouquet of flowers. Lilies and roses. He said he knew that I liked them. I still love that man and always will.