Kiss the Girls and Make Them Cry(86)

“Watch out for him?” Marian volunteered.

“For lack of a better term, yes,” Gina said.

Marian smiled. “You’re very lucky and so is your dad. He’s a wonderful man. You’re both so fortunate to have someone watching over you.” She took a sip of wine. “Like you, I’m an only child. Both of my parents are gone. I had eight great years with Jack. He was a terrific guy.” She paused. “Jack was older. I knew I’d probably outlive him. But I thought we’d have more time than we did.”

“I’m very sorry about your loss,” Gina said sincerely.

“Thank you,” Marian said. “I’m sure you know what it’s like to lose someone you were very close to.”

Gina wasn’t sure if Marian was alluding to her mother or Ted or both.

“I like you a lot, Gina. Regardless of what happens between your dad and me, I want us to have a good relationship. I know you have questions for me. I’m ready. Fire away.”

“Marian, I really appreciate your making this easy for me. I’m going to lay my cards flat on the table. When I was in Naples, I asked how often you see your stepchildren. You responded, ‘They have their own lives.’ I’ll be honest. That was a huge red flag for me.”

“Do you want to talk to them?”

“I already did.”

“How did you find them? Never mind. Considering what you do for a living, it doesn’t surprise me that you were able to track them down.”

“I not only talked to them, I flew up to Buffalo and had lunch with them.”

“You’re doing better than I am.”

“I’m not sure what you mean,” Gina said.

“They refuse to even see me. I’m sure they told you I’m the Wicked Witch of the West. I turned their father against them. I stole all the money that should have gone to them. Did I leave anything out?”

“They said you convinced their father to stop funding the company they had founded.”

Marian smiled and sighed at the same time. “Where to begin. Those boys broke Jack’s heart. From day one Jack was an achiever, a hustler. He played sports in school but always had a job on the side. His parents didn’t have any money, so he put himself through SUNY Buffalo. He somehow got an interview at Goldman at a time when they were only interested in Ivy Leaguers. Once he got his foot in the door, he outworked everybody. He’d leave for work early, get home late, and was overseas more than half the time.”

“So I gather he didn’t get to see much of his sons when they were growing up.”

“No, he didn’t, and that’s a regret he carried to his grave. His wife was a good person, but a shy, timid type. She’d claim to be on board with Jack’s plan to get tougher on the boys and make them earn their way, but as soon as he left, she’d let them do whatever they pleased. She was always worried about putting too much pressure on them. Her attitude was that their sitting in their rooms playing video games was better than being out on the street doing drugs. She didn’t see any harm in it.”

“That must have been tough.”

“It was. Jack and she got divorced. He was making a good income so a big chunk went to her in alimony and child support. Jack paid for both of them to go to SUNY Buffalo, but neither finished. In fact, they rarely showed up. They were in their rooms playing video games.”

“It sounds like an illness, an addiction almost.”

“I agree with you, except for the ‘almost’ part.”

“Is their mother still in the picture?”

“No. She was prone to depression and it got worse as she got into middle age. She eventually had to go to assisted living. She’s still there.”

“What happened to the boys after that?”

“By this time, they were men, in their mid-twenties. Their mother left her money to them, which was the worst thing she could have done. They fancied themselves competitive players. In less than three years they squandered five million dollars.”

“What a waste,” Gina said.

“Of money and lives,” Marian agreed. “It took their going broke for Jack to finally regain some control over the situation. He begged them to go to therapy. A growing number of experts are saying that video game addiction is every bit as destructive as gambling addiction. Of course, they wouldn’t go. Why would they? They insisted they didn’t have a problem.”

“What did Jack do?”

“They refused to even speak to Jack. When they lost the house in New Jersey, he got a place for them in Buffalo. He wanted them to be close to their grandparents. The house is in a trust he established. The trust pays for everything, including a high-speed Internet line for their games. It provides each of them a car, a monthly living allowance, and health care. If they ever agree to go for therapy, it will pay one hundred percent of the cost.”

“That’s so sad.”

“It is. It’s the only thing Jack and I ever had a fight over.”

“You were against the trust?”

“Just the opposite. I agreed it was the only thing he could do under the circumstances. Neither of us wanted to see them end up on the street.”

“Then what was the fight about?”

“The grandparents were getting on in years. He insisted I be the trustee. I didn’t want the job.”