AS THE MOUSE

OVES©

Friday January 12^th 2001
"Did you tell her?"  Jan asked Skeeter as she watched him put another log into her fireplace of her Upper East Side mansion.
"Yeah.  We talked," he said in his slow southern accent turning to walk back to the sofa.
"How did she take it?"
"She doesn't want a divorce," he lied.
"Tough.  Did you tell her you were filing?"
"Yeah.  I don't know what's going on with her though," he said taking a seat on the sofa beside her.  He had worried all day how he'd make Jan understand that he hadn't made much progress on divorcing his wife, as she had demanded.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, she's got her job back."
"Yeah.  I talked to Clark today.  He said he has a lot of parties coming in and he rehired her."
"I thought you'd be mad about that."
"I think it's a mistake but I understand."
"Really?" he asked shocked at how calm she seemed.
"Father has a lot of parties coming up and he wanted Tiffany to work the parties."
"Your Father?" he asked even more surprised by the news that Jan's Father was somehow involved in his wife's life.
"Yes.  Father said some of the diplomats are single and having a woman like Tiffany at the parties would be helpful to him."
"What the hell does that mean"?  Skeeter asked.
"Just what I said.  Old wealthy men like single women and Clark's in the party planning business."
"You mean your Father plans for Tiffany to go out with these old men?"
"Party planning…."  She said smiling and turning to watch his reaction.
"Tiffany's not that kinda woman," he snapped.
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah".
"Did you see her ring?" she asked.
"You know about the ring?" he asked shocked that Jan would know something about his estranged wife that he learned only a few hours earlier today. 
"What does that mean?  She said it was a Christmas present," he said suddenly finding himself in a position of defending the woman he was ready to kill earlier today.
"Come on.  You mean you believe that a big diamond like that is just a present?"
"That's what she said."
"Who's the ring from? Did she tell you?"
"She wouldn't say.  I think it's from that Amir guy."
"Yes and Amir's also a wealthy married man, am I right?"
"What's your point?"
"I'm telling you, Tiffany's looking for money.  It annoyed me at first but I've been thinking about it.  Why not?  If it helps my Father's business to have a woman like her working around the men, then it's okay with me."
"I don't like what you're implying here Jan."
"I'm not implying anything Skeeter.  I'm just stating the facts.  Your wife is living in a married wealthy man's apartment, wearing a big diamond ring and working for a party planning business.  I might add that the party planning business is being run out of a single man's home too," she said smiling as she watched her well thought out words make her lover angry with his estranged wife.
Skeeter jumped up from the sofa and started towards the front door.
"Where are you going Skeeter, it's late?"  Jan said quickly walking towards the front door as he grabbed his coat and threw the door open. CONTINUED MONDAY. MORE PHOTOS BELOW.