MurderVerse

Gina was surprised when he called two weeks after Lucky's

funeral

Just to see how she was, "Holding up"

The guy from Fun...al.

Martin

He asked her out

Yankees - Dodgers game

Saturday afternoon

He said, "Might be fun."

Like it was no big deal, the choice was hers

She accepted thinking, might be fun

Seems like a nice guy.

Game day,

He picked her up in a green Escalade

He called it the Dadmobile

"I get every other weekend with my son"

Stephen

There was a car seat in the back

They talked about their kids

Her daughter, his son, two years apart

He seemed not to be too interested in talking about himself

Instead, his full attention was given over to her

He wasn't nosy or creepy-stalkerish or scary, didn't ask

inappropriate questions

Martin possessed the perfect amount of genuine curiosity

like a really good guidance counselor, she thought

He was probably a great dad

He made her feel important

Wanted

Secure

Martin listened.

The game was great; the Yanks won

On the way back to the car he put his hand in the middle of

her back guiding her through the crowd

She felt a spark

She was charmed.

Two weeks later:

Making breakfast for him

He came up behind her, kissed her neck

Good morning gorgeous

She smiled and giggled like a high school girl

She loved being in love.

She loved Martin's hands on her thighs and butt

There she is practically naked making my breakfast

Wearing that Victoria's Secret get-up

Martin sat down and waited for his breakfast

She poured him a cup of coffee followed by scrambled eggs,

bacon and toast

Gina sat, opened the paper and lit a cigarette

"You gotta smoke while I'm trying to eat?"

She'd never seen him irritated,

In the two weeks she had known him

"Sorry hon," She crushed the smoke.

Lucky didn't mind her smoking

"Throw them things out you don't need to smoke"

"Sorry, hon, I won't smoke when your around"

I said throw them away, go throw them in the trash, now!

Gina, felt naked and humiliated as she slunk over to the

garbage can in her see-through nighty to throw her last

pack of Newports away

Maybe he was right, cigaretttes are bad

When she called her mother, Maxine said, "it'll only get worse."

Gina didn't want to think so

Martin threw his bacon and eggs down the garbage

disposal slurped the last drops of coffee from his cup

"I'll be late tonight, don't wait up."

Two weeks later:

Gina held ice wrapped in a washcloth up to her eye

Her entire head hurt

She called into work, said she wasn't coming in.

Gina called Maxine,

Maxine said, "I told you he was no good"

gina didn't need another, I-told-you-so lecture

Gina said, "It was my fault ma, he caught me smoking

Max screamed, "It's your house, Gina"

Gina said, "it started out so good. He was so sweet."

"You're chasing that first lover's high. It's never coming back.

The spark is gone."

Case closed.

Gina dreaded following in her mother's footsteps

Max kicked men out of her life for the slightest offence

Martin and Gina is going to work, black eye or no black

eye.

Sure enough Martin came through the door that night with

flowers, chocolates, tears, and apologies.

He cried in her arms

Gina held him, she forgave him

Yes, they had make-up sex.

Two weeks later:

A knock on the door

Gina answered

A short, stout, attractive woman waited

"You must be Gina"

"Yes can I help you?"

I'm Ann, Martin's wife

Gina felt the blood run out of her face

Trembling took over

Fear engulfed her

Martin explained his divorce on their first date

Martin lied but somehow Gina felt it was all her fault.

Ann stood there watching this new revelation sink in

Reading the look on Gina's face

Guilt and sorrow

Tears

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I didn't know"

"I'm Sure you didn't"

"I never would have gotten involved if I'd known he was

married." Gina stammered"

"Did you ever think to ask him?" Asked Ann.

I didn't have to, the first thing he said was that he was

divorced and that he got to see his son every other week."

"I'll keep this simple, Martin is a great father, an

attentive husband, and a good provider too. I'm a lucky girl.

But he's a bad boyfriend and if you continue to see him

you'll have a lot more to worry about than a black eye.

Ann turned and walked back out to where Martin's green

Escalade was parked

The Dadmobile.