Big Easy Bonanza

paint soon. There were rust spots on the gutters in front with delicate ferns peeking through them. They had not been there when he left, he was damn sure of that.
    She came to the door wearing baggy white shorts and a madras blouse, earrings, and a matching tennis ankle bracelet, so he knew she had dressed up a little for the occasion. Nothing surprising there. She would want him to know how well she was doing, physically and emotionally, to go along with how poorly she was doing financially.
    Mattie was a head shorter than he was and had red hair and a tiny colony of freckles under each of her blue eyes. She had a big mouth, both figuratively and literally, which could break into the kind of smile that would make a state trooper tear up a ticket. The smile was the thing that had drawn him in years ago. That and her gorgeous tits, to be honest about it. But it was her way of always staying a step ahead of him in a conversation that kept him around. She was getting a little plump, but all in all, with three kids, she was looking pretty good.
    The first thing that hit him whenever he saw her was how long they had been happily, he thought, married, and how short had been the period of dissatisfaction before the divorce. Yet the years of their marriage, and the birthing and raising of children, were such a blur in his memory, and it seemed there were only a few fragments he could bring back clearly. But the painful days blasted back into his consciousness whenever they felt like it, and there was no on-off switch for them. After Tubby moved out, Mattie had taken her trips and had her affair, at least one that Tubby knew about, under circumstances he had found embarrassing and hard to forgive. When it was clear that their temporary separation would be permanent, when they both settled into their new and private lifestyles, the trauma finally passed. Now they had healed their own wounds as best they could, but Tubby knew that his were still close to the surface, waiting around.
    “Hi, Mattie.” He pecked her on the cheek as she tilted toward him.
    “Come on back.” She led the way to the kitchen. It was done in white and black tiles, which he had paid for, and a tiled bar where they used to eat their family meals together.
    “Would you like a drink?” she asked.
    “Are you having one?”
    “Just a little glass of wine.”
    “If you’ve got some bourbon, I’ll have some with soda.”
    “You never were a soda drinker.”
    “Hey, I’m getting sophisticated.” Actually he was getting drunk.
    “Where are the girls?” he asked.
    “Christine is in Florida. Collette is going to a party and may sleep over at her friend’s tonight. Debbie is probably at her apartment, but she may drop in later.”
    She organized the drinks efficiently, placed his on the counter, and moved around to the other side to perch on a stool.
    “What’s this about Europe?” he asked.
    “Christine has a chance to go with her Newman class for a month to Paris, and then to Italy. Everybody attends language classes, and they take bicycle trips and, you know, travel around. It’s going to cost about four thousand dollars for her tickets and tuition and some spending money. They’ll be staying in youth hostels, but even so…”
    “Four grand,” he said as he sipped.
    “I spoke to Vinny about it, and he thinks it’s covered in the decree.” Vinny was her lawyer, and here was where Tubby was supposed to get nervous and angry. He was sure Vinny had told her no such thing, but this was the tip-off that the tough negotiating was about to begin.
    “I don’t think four thousand will be a problem, Mattie. Let’s take care of it now.” He pulled a long envelope out of the breast pocket of his jacket and counted out $4,000 in $100s onto the bar. He pushed it over to her. “I want her to have a good time.”
    Mattie did not speak right away, which gratified Tubby a lot. Plus, from her little half smile he could see she was really pleased. She liked to argue, especially about money, but she liked money more.
    “Why, Tubby, that’s so sweet. Where did it all come from?”
    “Lucky day at the track.”
    “I’m so surprised. I thought this was going to be one of those long-drawn-out fights.” She came around the bar and kissed him on the forehead. Tubby inhaled the familiar perfume she wore on her neck and shoulders, and couldn’t keep from beaming.
    “I also brought you a little extra,” he said. “I know I’ve been slow a couple