Blindsided By Love and Desire

There was a knock at the door. Marsha had just awakened from a bad dream and could not picture who was visiting her so early in the morning.
At first, she thought it was her husband, but he would have his keys and was not due back from his trip for at least another month. She went to the door; it was the mail carrier. He handed her a certified package that required her signature.
When she opened the envelope, a petition for the dissolution of marriage was enclosed.
She knew the marriage was on shaky grounds but never imagined it would end like this, in such a cold and an impersonal manner. She wondered how Ted, her husband of five years, could have ended their marriage in such a sneaky way.
The ideal wife is how Marsha saw herself, the one who always stood by her husband, no matter how bad things got. She supported him financially and emotionally, helped him finance a couple of business ventures, and took care of his sisters who gave an entirely new meaning to the word moochers. She had put her needs on hold to help her husband fulfill his, and for all of her sacrifices, this is how he repaid her.
But if she thought getting those divorce papers was a slap in the face, she was about to be blindsided by events that would place her into financial ruins and leave her parents, friends and neighbors saying, “We saw it coming.”

Marsha met Ted at a singles’ dance. She was 24; he was 28. It was definitely love at first sight on her part, but it was never quite clear if he had those same feelings.
She had just graduated from college with a Degree in Accounting. Her goal was to work in her father’s firm for a couple of years, and then take the New York State Licensing Exam to become a Certified Public Accountant. Those plans never materialized once she got involved with Ted.
Three months later, they eloped to Delaware and tied the knot; it would be several more months before anyone knew they were husband and wife.
Those who knew Ted were wondering how he landed such a classy woman and were starting to question Marsha’s state of mind when she married him. After all, she came from a well-to-do family. Her father had started his own advertising business five years before she was born, and her mother was the publisher and editor of a popular weekly society newspaper.
Marsha went to the finest schools that money could buy. She maintained an A average throughout high school and college, and was valedictorian at her college commencement. She and her parents lived in a picturesque mansion in the Stuyvesant Heights section of Brooklyn, New York. Marsha was a beautiful and refined young woman. She was tall, had the air of a monarch, and wore designer clothes.
Being an only child, she was somewhat spoiled, but was never condescending to those who were less fortunate. She was a down-to-earth person, unlike her parents who were the epitome of snootiness. She and her parents traveled a great deal, which made her a well rounded and an open-minded individual.
Ted was the eldest of three children; his parents died in a car accident when he was twelve years old. He and his sisters, who were ten and eight at the time, were the beneficiaries of their parents’ insurance policy and lived with various family members.
By the time they became teenagers, the insurance money ran out, and so did their relatives, and even though the siblings were virtually raising themselves, they were forever there for each other, through the good and bad times and made a promise to continue to be there for each other, no matter what.
In his junior year, Ted dropped out of high school. He did manage to get his GED, but holding down a steady job was not one of his strongest points.
His sisters were attending college, but they never completed their studies, and as far as the neighbors knew, they never held down a steady job either.
Yet, Ted did manage to obtain an apartment building that consisted of sixteen units. The property was worth $250K. In a short period, the building became a source of income for the three siblings. People who knew of them were trying to figure out how these three, who appeared to be flat broke and busted, were able to pull off such a coup.
When Marsha’s parents learned about the marriage, they were livid, to say the least. After all, they knew nothing about this man. In fact, they never even met him. The two were secretly seeing each other, because Marsha knew her parents would be against it. What was the rush her parents pondered?
At first, they thought their daughter was pregnant, but that was not the case. She would have walked through the flames of hell to be with him eternally. It was as though she became spellbound when she first laid eyes on him. It was ironic, because he did not have much going for him when it came to looks, grace and social status. No one would have written home about him.
Even if their lives depended on it, her girlfriends would have never given him a second look or the time of day. He could be loud and uncouth at times, and many saw him as an individual who lacked good manners and class.
Her parents loathed him and believed their daughter could have done so much better. She always dated upstanding and sophisticated men; they were highly educated, held prominent positions in various fields and were financially sound; they were the crème de la crème.
So why would she have settled for someone like Ted?
The fact that he had property meant nothing, because based on the stories they heard, her parents started to wonder how someone who never held down a steady job or had a pot to make coffee in, was able to get an apartment building worth six figures.
Nevertheless, she made it clear to her parents that she was head-over-heels in love with him, and they would have to accept it, or she would be out of their lives for good.
At the end, her parents did back down, but they never accepted him or his sisters into the family; they just tolerated them for the benefit of their daughter. Yet, deep in their hearts, her parents and everyone else in the community knew the marriage was a disaster right from the start. Unfortunately, it would take Marsha five years to come to this realization.

Three years prior to meeting Marsha, Ted had elaborate ideas for the property he obtained, which was located in an industrial area. His first plan of action was to send out notices to all the tenants, informing them that the building was now under new ownership, and whatever agreement they had with the previous owner was no longer binding.
He then increased the rent by twenty-five percent, which was payable to Ted and Associates; the associates were his sisters. All occupants were on a month-to-month lease, and rent was due on the first of the month, with a ten-day grace period. If a tenant did not pay his or her rent within ten days, he would evict that person.
Since he wanted three of those apartments, one for himself and two for his sisters, those renters received removal notices and had thirty days to leave.
The building was in superb condition and well maintained. The lobby had marble tiled floorings, and stucco walls. The ceiling, with its beautiful handcrafted and intricate patterns, stood 12 feet high. There was a courtyard where residents could entertain or have cookouts. The finished basement was a laundry room, which had six washers and four dryers.
His apartment had three large bedrooms, one full bathroom, and a spacious living room with parquet floors, a large kitchen with modern appliances, and an open dining area.
His sisters had their own one bedroom apartment with similar details. If either of his sisters ever required more space, he would just send kicking out letters. He had assigned his sisters to keep the books for the property, collect rents, deposit checks and pay all the bills and taxes.
After the marriage, Marsha moved out of her parents’ home and into Ted’s apartment; she added her own decorative touches and brought life to their dreary place.
Throughout her travels, she collected paintings, artifacts and mementos, which adorned their living room and bedroom; she even converted one of the bedrooms into an art gallery.
If her husband had any appreciation for her decorating abilities, he never said a word.
Amazed at her work, his sisters requested that she give their apartments a face-lift, and she agreed. For the next few months, she was adding her artistic expertise to their rooms. When he saw his sisters’ quarters, it got him thinking as to how he could make extra money from his wife’s talents.
Since the couple did not have a proper wedding ceremony, Marsha decided to have a belated reception and celebrate their approaching one-year anniversary. She could not decide whether to have the reception in their courtyard or at a popular catering site. One of her father’s associates owned an elaborate banquet hall.
Her sister-in-laws thought having the event at the hall was the grandeur way to go, but Ted made it very clear that the cash flow was limited for such an extravagant affair. The income from rents had to go back into the property for upkeep, taxes, utilities and other expenditures.
Marsha decided to foot the bill for the gathering. To avoid any type of fuss, she did not want to ask her parents for assistance and went to the bank to withdraw enough money, from her trust fund, to put a down payment on the dining room.
Ted showed very little interest during the planning stages of the pending affair. His wife and sisters took care of those details. It took about three months to make all of the final preparations. The function was to take place on a Saturday evening from 6:00 p.m. until midnight.
Over three hundred and fifty invitations went to family, friends and business associates; they had three weeks to respond. Nearly all of the invitees answered yes.
For the gala, Marsha had her gown made by a well-known designer, who lived a couple of blocks from her parents.
Ted’s sisters were supposedly financially strapped and could not afford to have their gowns custom-made, but their sister-in-law took care of that.
Because of time constraints, she took the sisters to a high-end dress shop. Of course, they each chose the most expensive gown in the shop, costing nearly $1,000.00 each. They were going to be the belles of the ball and the center of attention, not their sister-in-law.
A month before the affair, Marsha took her husband to an exclusive men’s shop to have his tuxedo tailor-made, which was a perfect fit. He was now ready to make his introduction to the upper crust of society.

The night of the soirée was finally here. The weather was ideal, with temperatures in the mid 70s. The sky was clear; one could have seen the stars without end. Everything seemed to be going exactly as planned.
Marsha, Ted and his sisters arrived at the location early. It was a well-designed place. There would be a cocktail hour, followed by a four course sit-down dinner.
The six-tier wedding cake was a work of art, which was worthy of the blue ribbon award. The dining room was definitely the best spot for a wedding celebration and the most inviting environment that a couple could ever want.
The first guests to arrive were Marsha’s parents; they greeted their daughter with a big hug and kiss, and gave her an envelope. However, they completely ignored her husband and his sisters, as though they were nonexistent. The waiter escorted the parents to their table.
Shortly after, more guests started to arrive, bringing praises and gifts. Everybody who was somebody attended the celebration. Those present, with the exception of Ted’s sisters, were all relatives and friends of the bride and her parents. Guests talked to the couple and wished them a happy and lasting marriage.
Yet, no sooner after helping themselves to the hors d’oeuvres and cocktails, and then sitting down at their tables, did those well-wishers start to talk about the couple, like a swarm of bees gathering nectar and pollen from flowers. It was as though the invitees had come to gossip rather than commemorate the couple’s nuptial and one-year anniversary.
People were actually placing bets that the marriage would not last too much longer.
Some went so far to say, “Ted married Marsha for her huge trust fund.”
Many inferred that he and his sisters got that apartment building in a fraudulent way.
A few wondered why his other relatives and friends were not present at such an important occasion and suggested that his sisters were not his true siblings but his paramours.
It was no doubt an etched in your mind night, accompanied by some unsubstantiated innuendos and enjoyable anecdotes.
It was now close to midnight, and people were starting to leave. Marsha thanked everyone for their presence and wished them a safe trip home.
She complimented the owner of the hall for a job well done and paid the balance owed on the function.
The total cost for the event was $75,000.00.
When the couple arrived home, they discussed how the night had gone, with Marsha doing most of the talking. The gifts took up half of the apartment. Ted had gone to bed, while she prepared for a night of playful pleasures.
If she really thought there was going to be a night of hot and heavy lovemaking, she was sadly in the wrong. When she walked into the bedroom, Ted was dead to the world, snoring louder than a herd of cattle charging through the prairie.
For the next couple of weeks, Marsha was busy opening gifts and sending out personal thank you notes. Sometimes, there were two of the same gifts, but her sister-in-laws were delighted to take those extra presents off her hands.
While taking a break, she remembered the envelope her parents had given her. She had placed it in her evening bag and had forgotten all about it. When she opened it, there was a deed to a house in The Bahamas.
Twenty years ago, her parents had purchased that house, which was on the island of Nassau. They titled the house in their daughter’s name. Completely stunned, she called her parents and thanked them for the gift.
The house had four bedrooms and four baths. There was central air conditioning, and ceiling fans in every room. The state-of-the-art kitchen had marble-tiled floors, custom cabinetry with granite countertops and all stainless steel appliances. There was a sophisticated electronic control system throughout the house, a theater room, and a single garage. The outdoor living space included a forty-inch pool and spa, a guesthouse and a private beach.
When she shared the good news about the house with Ted, a light bulb went off in his head, as to how he could turn her island home into a gold mine.

The couple was now approaching their second anniversary. Since they never had a honeymoon, Marsha thought spending a week in Nassau would get Ted’s mind off business. He was hard at work managing and maintaining the property that the couple was spending less time together.
When she approached him with the suggestion, he quickly turned it down and told her, with property tax, utilities, and other expenses escalating, not enough revenue was coming in to afford such a trip. Therefore, he could not leave town now. He did propose that she could go and take his sisters with her.
“They have never traveled outside of the United States, and it would be a life changing experience for them. Besides, there will be plenty of time for trips abroad in the near future, when there is more money coming in from a new business venture I am planning to start.”
Marsha was confused and asked, “What new business venture?”
He started to explain his plans to convert four apartments into condominiums, and if all goes well, he would do the same with the remaining units. He told her that he got the idea when he saw what she had done to theirs and his sisters’ apartments. He figured he could sell the decorated condominiums to people who just did not have the time to design or beautify their place.
It would be ideal for people who traveled often or did not live in their residence throughout the year. In fact, owners would have the option to sublet their space.
Ted could see the money rolling in, like water flowing down a stream.
Marsha thought the idea was an excellent one.
He started to put together a business plan, and drafted the following letter:

Dear Tenants:
Plans are in the works to convert your apartment into a condominium; you will have the option to buy into the unit and pay a monthly maintenance fee. Based on the number of rooms you have, the asking price would vary. A three-bedroom unit would sell for $850K, two bedrooms for $650K, and a one bedroom for $450K. You will receive additional information in the coming months.
Ted and Associates