[Sunday evening, Washington DC]

“Thank you for not being angry with me over all this,” said Jeff as he poured some wine.

“I am angry as hell, but knowing you as I do, going ballistic with you won’t get me anywhere. Then there are our children to think about. Add to that the party with its new focus on ‘family values’, God and the sanctity of marriage with a leader who has cheated on all of his three wives; I decided that the best way to go was as quietly as possible. As you are fond of saying that, in a time of crisis, no publicity is the best publicity, especially if you want to run again in November.”

Melissa smiled. She’d used words from his last speech in the house against him.

“Thanks for hitting me with my own words. I deserve it all.”

“You do deserve to be exposed as the crook that you are, and for a while, I wanted to cut your dick off and make you eat in front of the whole church. Once I’d found all that lovely money, I thought relieving you of most of it would hurt you the most. You, like the rest of your party, love getting hold of money and keeping it. It isn’t for nothing that your district chairman calls the RNC ‘Grift Central’. With ‘the Donald’ in the White House, everything was done to take as much money from any source stupid enough to cough up, and that included many of the poor people in your district. I have heard many, many complaints about Donald’s grift from the people you pretend to represent. The Hanson family from where we lived when we were first married had their accounts emptied by Donald’s fake campaign to ‘stop the steal’, which we all know is a big lie in itself. It took me months of representations to them to get even half of what he’d stolen back. Even today, I don’t know where the money came from. It all stinks to high heaven, and you are part of the stinking swamp.”

“Ouch.”

“Not ouch darling, the truth. Donald’s presidency was just one big grift. Look at Jared. Weeks after leaving office, he gets $2B from the Saudis, and no one bats an eyelid? For what exactly? People in your district see that and shake their heads. Most of them are just ordinary hard-working Joe’s and not MAGA. We all were part of it, and that includes me as your face on the ground. Most of us went along willingly, even myself, which I will have to live with for the rest of my life. The party is going down a blind alley. The total lack of policies that are relevant to the average Jolene and John in the district will only hand a victory to the other side in ’24, and it will only get worse, a lot worse. With all those idiots like Lauren, Margery, Paul, Matt and now you as fully paid-up members of the MAGA cult, I want out. I can’t live with your grift and lies any longer, and yes, I will live off that grift. I can live with that, knowing that I’m out of the swamp. If this hadn’t happened, I was very close to telling you to quit for the sake of our family. Adam took a big step in joining the Jan 6th committee. His decision to quit because of the direction that the party is going, and the same with Liz… Well, that got me thinking. That was something I hadn’t been doing until someone sent me that email. Think of it as payback for not giving me any of that salary that you have apparently been paying me since you were elected… You know the one that I have been paying taxes on but never seeing even a penny?”

Melissa took a sip of the wine. The skinflint had chosen the cheapest bottle in the chiller cabinet. It wasn’t the worst that she’d ever tasted, but one glass would be more than enough.

“Did that make sense?”

“Yes, and I have made several promises to my donors that I’d try to see us through this.”

“I was afraid of that being the case,” she said sadly.

“I could have given you an ultimatum, which you just told me would have fallen on your increasingly deaf ears. I could have walked out with a scene, but I didn’t. Your passion for Interns has given me an exit path that will provide for our children and leave me with enough money to get established somewhere else. I’m done with being your wife, and my shame is that I didn’t understand before this that I was done with it when ‘he’ went into the White House. You know my opinion of him, so I won’t go over that ground again. The country has had a chance to recover under the current POTUS, but it seems that your friends want to lead us into oblivion with Trump V2.0 which will be even worse than before. How many of your voters rely on Social Security and, Medicare and even Food Stamps? If you vote to reduce them in the next congress and somehow Biden does not veto it, I hope that in 2024, you get thrown out on your ass. You stopped caring about your voters other than to relieve them of their cash years ago. I’ve been more of a representative to them than you could ever be, especially to the Vets. You know the one who you keep voting down bills that would give them financial or medical help. You have no idea how hard it has been at the VA after one of those votes. Care about the Military? You care more about the shine on your shoes than those who are serving and have served.”

He didn’t respond.

“If you must know, I voted for Biden in 2020, and I voted for Hillary in ’16. While she was an awful candidate, she would have made a far better POTUS than him!”

My dear husband was still reeling from my broadside, so I followed that up…

“Are you ready to sign?”

He looked her right in the eye.

“Are you sure that you are not going to run against me? I would not want to debate you.”

“Me? Run for office? Think again, sunshine. That is the last thing I would ever do. One thing that the ‘Former Guy’ got right is that this place is a swamp. The only thing is that he didn’t drain it but made it a whole lot worse, and Bill Barr was just the most recent swamp monster in chief.”

She saw a slight but detectable nod of his head.

“I was asked when I was at church last weekend. ‘Have you gone all in with the radical evangelical loonies?’. I didn’t have an answer. Reverend Morrison was clear that it was not what the Lord Jesus would have done. He and the rest of the deacons are hoping that you don’t, but from your last interview on NewsMax, they are too late. I have to say that I am with them on that, but given what you have said, you are running on the ‘Ultra MAGA’, ‘God, Guns and Trump’ ticket. That is a shame. I thought that you were better than that, but no, your lust for the almighty dollar wins over working for those who elected and continue to elect you like the blind idiots they are. You have betrayed their trust in you big time. I am only sad that I never opened my eyes until now to see it. Trump and the rest of you MAGA cult are devoid of any empathy towards your fellow humans. That, in my book goes directly against the teaching of Jesus.”

“I… Kevin told me that I have the backing of the party, but… there have been rumors of a challenge in the primary.”

“That look on your face says that you don’t want out? That might not be for the best if you are actually going to play the devoted father for the first time?”

He managed a small smile.

“You are enjoying putting the knife in me, aren’t you?”

“I am, but don’t you think that you deserve it? I have remained 100% faithful, but you have played away for the past ten years.”

“I am so sorry, but… I never appreciated what I had with you in my life.”

“Cut the crap, Jeff. I was out of sight, out of mind after your first term, here deep in the swamp. I have finally come to my senses, and it is time for me to have a life. Why don’t you get your pen out, and we can get this over with.”

“Ok. Ok.”

Jeff did get his pen out and signed the documents. A copy each plus a third for the court.

Melissa checked them over. They were good. Bethany witnessed them, and they were done as a married couple.

“And the usernames and passwords?”

Jeff took the document that was our second and unofficial financial agreement. He wrote down the password for each of the accounts and passed it back to me. The passwords were all identical.

“Really? You used something as obvious as that?”

He’d written down the names of our children, with each letter of the youngest slotted into the name of the oldest.

“I thought it was rather clever.”

Melissa shook her head.

“Thank you. I’ll send the docs to Dana once I’ve checked and changed the passwords. She’ll file them with the court under seal.”

Then she added,

“If I don’t get them filed, you won’t be free to do your duty and marry your intern.”

“As for marriage…? She… She is having second thoughts.”

Melissa gathered up her copies of the documents and put them into her bag.

Then she stood up and started to walk out of his life just as ‘she’ returned from a brief visit to the bathroom. Melissa stood aside and let her sit down at the table.

“Marry this SOB and keep him honest. I know that somewhere inside him, there is a decent person… If you can get him out of this swamp.”

With another smile, she tossed her key to the apartment onto the table and walked away.

---

As soon as Melissa was back in her hotel room, she logged onto the bank in Panama. She breathed a sigh of relief as the screen showing the balance appeared. The sum was as they had agreed, which pleased her no end. She changed the access password and logged off. Melissa repeated it for the other two bank accounts in the Caribbean. He’d been truthful… so far.

With the sum of money that he'd paid her for the house and the not-inconsiderable sum offshore, Melissa was technically a millionaire several times over. The problem was that she didn't have a clue what to do with it. She'd been so engrossed with getting even with him for his years of infidelity that she had not thought much about 'what's next' for Melissa version 2.

She repeated the operation with the banks in Abu Dhabi and Grand Cayman.

Melissa was almost free of him. There was one last job to do. Telling children that their parents’ marriage was over was not a job that she relished.

---

[two days later, offices of an accountant in Boston, MA]

“Thanks for seeing me at such short notice,” Mr Kerry.

“It is not often we get a call from the wife of a Republican Representative.”

“Actually, it is his ex-wife now. I need to set up a fund to cover my immediate tax liabilities while I go traveling. Until now, my husband has been doing my taxes, so I have no idea about what I owe or am owed. Mostly, he just said, ‘Don’t worry your pretty little head about it’.”

That was a bit of a lie but useful in showing that she needed his services.

Mr Kerry smiled.
“What you have just said is not that uncommon.”

“That is why I am here. I have spent some time looking for a tax accountant who does this sort of thing. You have a good reputation for getting spousal tax liabilities sorted out after a divorce.”

“Thank you for being diligent. Some companies promise the earth and deliver peanuts if you get my meaning.”

“That is good to know, but that aligns with your reputation,” she replied firmly.

“I have copies of all the tax records that I could find at my former home, plus the financial settlement between us. I am prepared to sign whatever authority you need to get him to work with you to settle things before the end of the tax year next April. Ideally, I’d like it all settled by the end of July.”

“Melissa… May I call you that?”

She nodded her head.

“It is nice to see someone who is at least half prepared for the work that I have to do on your behalf. That will save a lot of time and, naturally, your money. Do you have a new place of residence?” he asked after glancing at the settlement document.

“I don’t. To be honest, I have no idea where I will go apart from somewhere outside his district. I’m going traveling very soon and don’t plan on returning here until after Labor Day at the earliest. Then I’ll have a better idea about where I’m going to settle down, at least temporarily.“

He smiled.

“Then I will set up a PO box for you. If you update me as to your whereabouts on a periodical basis, I will forward any postal mail you may receive.”

“Thank you, Mr Kerry. Shall we get down to details?”

Melissa left Mr Kerry a little under two hours later. She had time for a brief lunch stop before heading to the meeting with her children. Three copies of her new will were in her purse. She’d named her children as sole beneficiaries. In the event of her death and they were not legally adults, then her estate would be put into trust for them. Mr Kerry had been very understanding about her wishes. She’d even paid his bill in cash before she left his office.

[2 pm that afternoon, at a private school in MA.]

“I am sorry that it came to this, but your father and I are getting divorced. He signed the papers last night in DC.”

“Mom? How could you?” said Brittany.

Zane was trying not to laugh.

“What’s wrong, Zane?”

“It is his Intern, isn’t it?”

“How do you know that?”

“My tennis partner, Scott, is the son of one of his opponents in the house. He told me that his latest intern was looking a little pregnant when he saw her last week near his office. He was warning me about the consequences of playing the field. I’d just broken up with Terri and…” said Zane.

“That is good advice, but yes, his current Intern, Bethany, is expecting.”

“Are we going to have a stepmom?” asked Brittany.

“I don’t know, darling. That is down to your father and Bethany.”

“What about you, Mom?” asked Zane.

“I’m going to do a bit of traveling until the end of summer, but I’ll be back for part of the holidays. Your father has custody of you until you both come of age. We could have argued about it, but we thought that this was for the best. I need time to decide what I’m going to do. At the moment, I don’t know where or what I’m going to do for the long term. While your father is a politician, there will be some stability in your home life, at least until I get settled. Both of you are almost adults, so you don’t have to put up with him for very long if that is what you want.”

Brittany wasn’t saying much.

“What about you, darling? You are very quiet?”

“What is there to say? We don’t count, do we?”

“Both of you count. Your father and I have just grown apart, and his latest affair… That was the last straw. I need to get away from everything for a while. While you are at school, it is the best time. Your father and I will be sharing custody of you during the holidays.”

“You mean passing us around like someone with the plague,” said Brittany.

Her words shocked Melissa.

“That is not the case. I could have probably said it better. Both of you will be staying with me for part of the summer holidays. Where that is yet, I don’t know. We will let you know well in advance. Besides, once you are eighteen, then you can do what you like… even giving us the finger. That would be your choice.”

“Are still you speaking to Father then?”

Melissa sighed before she could stop herself.

“As far as I know, we are if it concerns the two of you and your futures.“

“What is going to happen to us?” asked Zane.

“Will you still be here next semester?”

“That is our intention. Part of the divorce settlement is that there is money set aside in trust for your education. There is more than enough to pay for the remainder of your time here and going to college and even for a master’s or a doctorate. That includes tuition and living expenses.”

Melissa felt rotten to have not been there for them during their formative years, but 'he' had been sent to a prep school by his parents, and if it was good for him, then it was good for our children, and she didn't have a say in the matter. At least she'd had a say in which schools they were sent to. These were more, shall we say, 'liberal' than the ones he'd been to.
Zane and Bethany were turning out to be very rounded young adults. For what little part Melissa had played in their education, she was proud.

“The last thing I want to discuss,” she said.

“Is my will. I’m giving everything to you. I’ve got copies of my will for you just in case Both of you will be taken care of. Your father gets one dollar, the rest is yours.”

“This is so morbid,” said Brittany.

“Brits, it has to be done. With the divorce, all previous wills are null and void,” said Zeke.

“Thanks, son. You are right. I don’t intend to pass through the pearly gates any time soon. If the worst happens, then you will both be set up for whatever you want to do with your lives. Anyway, that’s enough of the talk about death, I’m alive and kicking and looking forward to a new phase in my life.”

Melissa looked at her children and said,

“I’ve never looked at another man, and at the moment, I’m off men. Don’t worry about me; just pass your exams, and I’ll see you in the summer vacation.”

She gave them both a big hug. Despite their father, they were turning into lovely young adults.

Once she’d said her goodbyes to Brittany and Zane, Melissa was now at something of a loose end. She had just had the one conversation she hoped to never have with her children. At least they were old enough to understand at least most of what was happening without creating a scene.

Melissa headed back to Boston, intending to drop off her car at the airport and spend a little time in the city. After returning to her rental car, she took the shuttle to the terminal. Instead of returning to the city, she found herself in one of the terminal buildings and looking up at the departure board. A flight to Rome kept attracting her eye.

That was it. Melissa headed for the airline ticket desk and bought an open return ticket in coach with her new credit card.

Two hours later, Melissa boarded the flight without a clear plan for where she would go in Europe, but she was off on an adventure that could shape how the rest of her life shaped up.

As the plane taxied towards the runway, she decided on two rules for the trip. The first was that she was not going to flash the cash. The new Melissa was going budget class all the way. As she’d been on a budget at home for years, that would not be a strain. The main reason was that she'd anecdotally heard many tales of single women having big problems while traveling alone and appearing to have money. None of the clothes that she had with her had designer labels. All of those had been left behind at her old home. The second was that romance of any sort, even a one-night stand, was out of the question. She decided that she'd buy what was needed locally as and when it was urgent and that her one medium-sized suitcase would have to be it. If she bought something new and it didn't fit, then something would have to go.

The plane took off, leaving her old life behind her. What lay ahead was, as they say, in the lap of the gods.

[End of Part 1 of 3]