When I returned to Sydney, I got several messages from Ian Saunders that Tom desperately wanted to see me. I decided to visit him.
On a dreary day darkened by grey clouds, I got into my car and drove to Silverwater Correction Center, my previous abode, and currently Tom’s.
To my delight, his eye was black and he sported some serious bruises on his face.
“Hi, honey,” I said in a voice similar to Soong’s. “You look like shiiiit. Hey, have you been having sex here? Cheating on me?” I grinned.
For some reason, he was not amused.
“Silly me, I forgot, I’m no longer your wife.” I lifted up my hand and flashed him my wedding ring. “I’m married now, to the gorilla. Like my ring? It’s a solitaire.” I leaned forward and dropped my voice, “Sorry, but I really didn’t like the baguette you gave me. It looked too big and…vulgar, like I was trying to impress, so I sold it and donated the money to a women’s shelter.”
He glared at me.
“What?”
“I know that it was you who framed me,” he said in a low, controlled voice.
I was aware that conversations were recorded, so I was careful how I responded.
“Whachu mean, dear?”
“I mean –”
“Hey, you should try green concealer. I have some at home. Damn, I would have brought you some had I known someone was tearing you a new one.” I winked.
“And…I know why you did it,” he continued, ignoring my jibes. “That night, he was in my bed fucking you. It wasn’t a dream, he was there, naked and in my bed.” As he spoke, his eyes bulged and his voice rose in pitch.
“My bed. Now you sound like one of the bears from Goldilocks, Tom…berlina.”
His jaw set.
“Ohmigod, you’re right – you are smart!” I smiled. “And tell me, Tom…berlina, how did this make you feel when you realized that I had disrespected you in such an atrocious way?”
With a murderous look on his face, he continued. “He helped you. You aren’t smart enough to pull off something so huge on your own. He killed Kobus, then planted all that shit in my house. That night, I had a dream you were fucking him right next to me, in my very bed. But it wasn’t a dream– it was real. After helping you, he further disrespected me by fucking you in my bed while I slept. In the same bed while I slept in it.” He shook his head. “What a slut you are.”
“Cheap,” I said.
“What?”
I leaned in. “I am a cheap slut.” I grinned, then winked. “Cheap, cheap!” I was enjoying this. “But…he couldn’t have helped me.”
“Why not?”
“ ’Cause he’s a cop, remember? They’re all really dumb, according to you.”
He slammed back in his seat and stared at me, his lips in a thin white line.
I gasped. “You’re losing your hair, Tom…berlina.”
“Stop calling me that!”
“Going bald. Ohmigod! Does Medicare cover hair implants?”
“Because I took away something you loved, right?” he said, ignoring my jibes.
I deadpanned at the mention of Sasha, even though I felt like I had been hit in the face with a cement brick.
He leaned in and dropped his voice. “Let me tell you something – she woke up and cried for you.” He sat back and smiled as the knife drove deep into my already wounded heart.
You motherfucker! You son of a bitch! You evil bastard of a cunt!
I wanted to vomit at his words. I wanted to jump over the solid glass wall and kill him with my bare hands. I wanted to pull the knife out of my heart and stab him over and over again, till he was no more, till he lay in a bloody, lifeless heap.
But, he was behind bars, paying for a crime he did not commit. I had to be happy with that.
Somehow, I managed to fake a smile then continue. “Oh, by the way, I’ve sold all your properties – the houses, the business, the building, the cars, the furniture – everything.”
“I heard.”
“I got nine point nine million.”
“What? They were worth at least fifteen!”
“Yeah, I could have gotten more, but I let it go cheap cheap – hey I’m using that word a lot today.” I chuckled.
“See, I don’t have to split with you. You get zilch and the money is all gone! I let it go ’cause I wanted to go on a honeymoon with my new lover. Well, sort of – we went on a honeymoon, then got married. The one you dreamt about, the cop.”
Tom’s eyes hooded and his nostrils flared. “You’re using all my hard-earned money on that bastard?”
“Yeah. I’ve bought him a Corvette too. And a jet ski. He loves it, and together, he and Warren, they have so much fun.” I smiled as he struggled to contain himself.
“Using your hard-earned money, we’re going to Disneyland too.” I leaned in and dropped my voice. “We swam naked at the beach in Cape Town, and you know what? We fucked in the water and it was awesome, Tom…berlina. Hey, I wondered –”
“Stop calling me that!”
“– why didn’t I do that sooner? What a rush.” I shivered with delight.
“Oh, talking about me fucking Bear in the water, I paid the private investigator you hired to spy on Bear and his child, so you owe me two thousand dollars. But…I’m happy to accept an IOU.” I smiled. “Yeah, I know, I know – I’m generous to a fault.”
All I got was a glare.
“Hey, is it legal to spy on a cop? On his family?”
He rubbed his chin slowly.
“Didn’t go according to plan in the end, eh, Tom…berlina?” I shook my head. “Poor you – didn’t get to hurt the guy who was porking your wife, huh? The guy who was disrespecting you and zoning in on your family.” My smile grew bigger. “Poor Tom…berlina.”
“You’re such a whore.”
“Oh, talking about whore, how’s my hair?” I brought it forward and stroked it. “It’s long and almost blonde these days. Nice huh?”
He shook his head and let out a mirthless chuckle. “You fucked me over. You! Who’d have thought?”
“Such a harsh thing to say, Tom. But I want you to know that every time we open a bottle of Cristal or Moet, we first drink to you out of respect for you – you know, your money…? Then we toast to other things. Oh, and we may be moving away from Sydney forever, so unfortunately, you will never see Warren again. I’m going to tell him that you passed away while giving oral sex to a man with seventy-six tattoos.”
“Whaaat?” His breathing became labored.
“Oh, and one final thing – remember when you said that you were so smart, you outsmarted the police and shit? Guess what, you weren’t really, ’cause you’re here and the cops put you here.”
“You fucking bitch!”
“See you in fifty or maybe thirty-five if you survive jail and the anal. Such a pretty boy like you will definitely be getting your fair share of admirers here. Don’t forget to think Pamela Anderson when you’re giving blow jobs. Remember that video? That’s how you must look when you’re doing it. Like you want to. Like you enjoooooy it.” I pointed two fingers at my eyes.
“You motherFUCKING WHORE!”
“Hey, I bet your dance card is always full? Oh, and don’t forget now, if you drop your soap, leave it.” I laughed. “That’s why they invented soap-on-a-rope.” I laughed some more as the guards surrounded us, alerted by his shouting.
“Enjoy your solitary, now,” I whispered, “and remember the key words to success…Pamela Anderson.” I sang the last part, then fell about laughing.
“I WILL MURDER YOU ONE DAY, YOU FUCKING CHEAP SLUT!” he screamed as the guards dragged his arse away. “YOU DON’T KNOW WHO YOU ARE FUCKING WITH!”
“Bye Tom…berlina, and thanks a million for the money. Oh, I mean, thanks nine point nine million. Much appreciated!”
“YOU BIIIIIITCH!”
I laughed as I walked down the corridor, away from my ex-husband, whom I had fucked over.
But as I walked away, I thought about victory – how could I claim victory when I lost my baby? When I lost a part of me? Nobody won in this whole sordid mess.
But Tom did have the last word after all – he said that he would hurt me in such a way that I would never be the same again. He was right, after you lose a child, you can never be whole again.
But, as my shrink pointed out, I do have another child, Warren, who desperately needed me. I had to find a way to move on and maybe pretend to be whole.
As for Tom, he was behind bars for a crime he did not commit, and I had put him there. Well, Bear and I. Of course, I couldn’t have done it without my Care Bear. In fact, I shudder to think what may have happened to me had Bear decided that I was too much drama and left.
For successfully putting Tom behind bars, maybe we could claim a kernel of victory after all? I think so.
When I stepped out of the prison, the clouds had vanished, the sun was soft and caressed my bare shoulders, and my spirits lifted.
What a beautiful day, I thought. What a beautiful life it is going to be.
As I walked to my car, the song “Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina and the Waves played in my head and I bopped to it.
I’m walking on sunshine…
END
Dear Reader, do you really think that Tom will let Arena have the last word? Nope, not Tom. Even behind bars, he has ways to terrorize Arena. Read what he does next in One Way or Another, book 2 of Payback, which is now available for purchase.