Gold Digger

Operation Denise began with what had become a fairly common arrangement, Justin leaving his truck at the house and the three of them going to the beach together. As always, they chose an alcove and moved in. The blanket was spread out near the cooler. They removed their outer clothes and folded them, placing then on the cart out of the way. They went swimming and played in the water, coming out when they were ready to eat. As usual they had drifted down the shore, pushed by the ocean current, but the trashcan by their chosen alcove, blue this time, guided them back to their spot. Very settled and convenient!

It was a weird situation for Jeff, throwing the frisbee with Justin and then having lunch, being friendly with him and affectionate with Denise. Then, when the time came, he, as expected, went to sleep - and the lovers snuck away.

Everything was normal until they slipped into the thicket. Instantly two men who had been quietly lying in the sun on the beach jumped to their feet and rushed to the alcove. Jeff packed up everything and towed the beach cart to the car while the men removed all signs of his presence. They took sand rakes that had been stored nearby and removed the cart tracks, leaving the sand unblemished. Within twenty minutes they had erased any sign that Jeff had ever been there! Then, finally, they took the blue trash barrel and moved it to another alcove. They shuffled others around as well and calmly left the area, driving away, their job done.

Within the thicket, things proceeded as they always had except that, to her displeasure, Denise discovered that the towel that Jeff had brought was not the big beach towel she usually had but a small bath towel. She had no choice but to use it, of course. They undressed with Denise carefully placing her bra and bikini pants on that smooth rock she always used. They lay down and, shortly, Justin moved on top of her and they were soon lost in fucking.

That is where something new occurred. When they were most deeply engaged, a slim figure slithered under the thicket in a carefully pruned pathway from the parking lot and, reaching out through the barrier, grabbed Denise's suit. Taking it with her - it was Jan - she wiggled back out, leaving no sign that she had been there. Back in the clearing, the pair was wrapped up in what was now non-adulterous intercourse - she was now unmarried - totally unaware that something dramatic had occurred!

They lay there, relaxed and satisfied, quietly talking, Denise saying how relieved and happy she was without the prenup hanging over her head. She got up, saying, "Come on, I'd better get my tail back over there before Jeff wakes up!" Then, giggling, she continued, "I'm a very happy married woman now and...where's my suit? It's not here!" She dropped to her knees and futilely ran her hand under the thicket. "My god, it's not here! Somebody must have taken it!"

Justin hurried over, saying, "It has to be here! There's ten feet of thicket between here and the parking lot. No one could get through that." He reached in and tried to make an opening, but the wall wasn't penetrable.

"Well, my suit isn't here and I damn sure had it on when we came in. What the hell am I going to do?"

"I have no idea about what happened, but I guess that you'll have to wrap the towel around you until we can get back to your clothes. We can worry about what happened later."

"Yeah, let's hurry. How could I explain losing my suit if Jeff woke up! Oh, damn it, what a time to have a small towel. Ok, am I covered?"

"Barely. Just don't bend over."

They slipped out of the thicket and headed for the alcove where Jeff was sleeping, Denise all too aware that as she trudged through the soft sand what her awkward walk might be exposing. Without thinking, they headed for the blue trashcan - and found a young couple wrestling with two children. They quickly backed away and headed back along the row of alcove, but not before Denice heard a shocked "oooh" behind her. Clutching the towel more closely around herself, she and Justin went along the row and found no Jeff, no cooler, no trail of wheel marks that should have led them to their spot. And, most important for Denise's peace of mind, no clothes!

She was almost hysterical, feeling that she was going out of her mind! Her suit missing, her husband and all of their stuff missing and she almost naked in public! She looked desperately at Justin, asking questions he couldn't answer. "What's going on? Everything's wrong. Our spot has to be right here, but it isn't!"

"I don't know! It's like we are in a science fiction story moved to another dimension! Wait, here's the path we came in on. Damn, there are no cart tracks but I'm sure that this is the place. We went this way. Look, I'm sure that this is where we ended up - but nothing is here and the sand hasn't been disturbed so it can't be. I know we were near the blue trashcan, but we checked that."

"And there's no Jeff! Let's go back down that path and see if we can find the car." There was no car and Denise gave way to her panicky emotions and slumped down on the ground and started crying. "Oh my god, what's happening? I'm going crazy!" She was totally unaware that her towel had fallen off and she was sitting there completely naked until she heard a tittering sound from several girls going onto the path.

Justin helped Denise to her feet as she struggled to get the inadequate towel around herself. "Come on, let's go back in where we can be alone and figure this out. Wandering around isn't getting us anywhere."

After an embarrassing walk back, feeling that every eye on the beach was on her, Denise thankfully dropped the towel as they slipped into the thicket. Collapsing down on it, she looked up at Justin with an agonized expression on her face. "I'm lost! I really am. I know we left Jeff there asleep. We weren't in here so long that he would have wakened up and left. He wouldn't do that anyway, but if he did we certainly would see where he had been. It's like magic. My suit disappeared when no one else was here. Now Jeff and all our stuff disappeared without a trace." She started crying again before gasping out, "What are we going to do?"

"I don't know what the hell is going on but we have to get out of here. My phone and wallet were in my pants so they're gone. No one would believe this so the only thing that I can think of is to tell someone I lost my phone and ask if I could borrow theirs to call a friend."

"My mind is so befuddled right now that I can't think. I guess that might work if you know someone who would come. Try my house first just in case Jeff is home. Try to hurry - I'll go crazy by myself!"

Fifteen long minutes later, Justin returned finding Denise huddled down on the towel which would be her only covering until she got home. Happily, Justin had been successful after finding a sympathetic couple who let him use their phone. "I got hold of Chuck, a guy I work with, and he agreed to come get us, but it will be 35 to 40 minutes until he can get here. Jesus, this whole situation is the strangest thing I've ever heard of. In addition, I'm wondering what happened to my phone and wallet - oh, yeah, and my keys."

"I'm worried about Jeff. He was here and everything was normal. What could have happened to cause him to leave? Could he have seen something? And even if he did just leave, why is everything so different? I'm...I'm scared and...and I don't know about what. Something very weird is going on and it scares me. I'm going out of my mind! This is a nightmare! These things can't happen!"

In any case, confused and worried, the two of them stood in the parking lot as Justin's friend pulled up. There was no question that the driver's eyes bugged out when he saw Denise wearing nothing but a towel. By that time, however, she didn't really care anymore - all she cared about was getting home and getting some answers.

However, while all of these traumatic events at the beach were occurring, dramatic things were happening back on the home front.

Operation Denise was in full swing. It was an excellent example of two things, the willingness to go to extreme ends for a practical joke or revenge - or a combination of the two - and the power of money for either. As Jeff, Denise and Justine left for the beach, a very large moving van pulled up to the house they had just left. Twenty expert moving men began packing and emptying the fourteen room house. They immediately began moving the furniture and that was mostly completed by the time Jeff and Jan returned from the beach. Not long after, the furniture was off to storage. Some movers remained with a smaller truck and Jeff directed the packing and removal of things he wanted in his new condo. Finally, Denise's clothes and personal items were put on board for storage, and the house was empty.

However, some of Denise's things were held out for immediate use and they were placed in Justin's truck. Using the keys taken at the beach, Chris drove the truck to Justin's small house, the others following in their car, where they set up the final surprise. The truck was carefully parked in the carport. If Don had been there, he might have raised the issue of illegal entry, but Don wasn't there, so they entered! This time all the partners were there, bringing things in, setting up Justin's DVD player and depositing several suitcases in the only bedroom. Justin's wallet and keys were placed on a bedside table, and some of Denise's clothes were hung in the closet and her shoes were carefully placed on the floor. As Denise would see immediately, they were the clothes and shoes that she brought to the marriage, none of the things she had acquired since! With the final stage set, the interlopers drove away, leaving the worst part of the worst day of Denise's life waiting for her.

At almost the same moment that the group was leaving Justin's house, Chuck's car turned into the circular drive at the mini-mansion. The first sounds came from Justin exclaiming, "Damn it, my truck isn't here. What the hell is going on?" The second sound came from Denise and it was a weird combination of a moan, a groan and what sounded like a sob - a heart-rending sound of despair. Justin followed her eyes and saw what had caused that cry of pain. There, right in front of that pretentious entryway was a real estate sign in the lawn offering the place for sale and across it was the word SOLD!

Denise had a frozen, indescribable expression on her face as she slid out of the car without any regard for her near nudity. The nightmare that she lived on the beach continued, and her mind simply couldn't absorb this new disaster. With Justin following, she stepped to the door and, unavailingly, tried the knob. She then rang the doorbell with equal lack of success. After a moment's hesitation, she, moving stiffly, walked down the steps, lifted a small urn, removed a hidden key and went back and unlocked the door and entered.

She walked into that immense foyer - a totally empty foyer. An archway to the right led to an equally empty "great room." Every room was empty. A house that just a few hours ago was fully furnished and was her happy home was now a cavernous empty shell. That nightmare continued. She slowly made her way up to her bedroom, looked around momentarily and, for the last time, walked down the romantic curved stairway. She didn't say a word, her face a mask of despair as they left the building. Outside, she robotically relocked the doput the key back under the urn and got back into the car. Her mind was locked up, not thinking, lost in this series of insane events that never could happen. She just sat there, her face frozen, as Justin asked Chuck to take them to his place.

As they pulled into his driveway, Justin once again was the first to speak, yelling out, "Look! By god, my truck is parked right here in the carport! I don't know how it got here, but thank god it did! They got out, Justin thanked Chuck and waved goodbye and helped Denise, who was almost too shaken to walk, up the steps to the front door which, thoughtfully, had been left unlocked. "Thank heavens we're here and I can get out of this bathing suit and you can get rid of that towel. Then we have to figure what the hell is going on."

They walked into the small living room and the first thing they saw was a coffee table pulled out into the room and covered with papers. Their eyes were immediately drawn to those papers, of course, and Denise let out a scream of anguish and fainted. One shock after another at the beach, the nightmare emptiness of her house and now seeing a "Certificate of the Dissolution of Marriage" lying before her was just too much.

When she finally revived, tears started flowing down her face as she realized the extent of the disaster. She was totally incoherent as she tried to explain her reaction to Justin. Finally, somewhat in control, she said "Jeff and I are divorced!" Looking at the certificate, she continued, "We were divorced two weeks ago! Oh, god, when I signed what I thought was that form to cancel the prenup, I was agreeing to a no fault divorce. The prenup was never cancelled. I'll get absolutely nothing"

"Jesus, can they get away with that? If you were tricked into signing, would that be an out? If the divorce was gotten by fraud, it wouldn't be valid!"

The specific statement somehow seemed to start her mind to functioning again and she responded, "Gods, I don't know! I certainly was tricked into signing it! The prenup is still there but maybe if this was thrown out I could get a better deal if I insisted on a contested divorce. Jeff might not care, but his family probably would - particularly if it looked like an innocent woman was being taken advantage of with an unfair prenup. I just can't believe Jeff would do this to me. And...and all this weird stuff today. He sold my house - I loved that house! It's the first thing I've ever owned. That was cruel and unlike him. Damn it, we've been happy together and he had no reason for a divorce."

Pausing for a moment to think, she continued, "I'll have to think about that. Now, I'm sitting here, completely naked, my skin still covered with dried salt. I need a shower and some clothes before I can think. Damn, I don't have anything to put on."

"Yeah, go on in and I'll find something for you. I'll get you a robe for now."

Denise walked into the bedroom saying, "I was only here that one time. You'll have to show me where...oh my heavens, there are three suitcases here! They must be some of my clothes! I'll have something to put on tonight and, I hope, tomorrow! Let me get a shower first and then I'll open them."

After a long shower in Justin's small bathroom, Denise came out still confused and shocked by the day's events, but feeling better physically. While she started to open the first suitcase, Justin took his turn in the shower and came out of the bathroom saying, "I still don't understand...what's wrong? He stopped in midsentence when he realized that Denise was sitting on the bed in tears again, wearing only a bra and panties. She pointed to the closet and managed to gasp out, "All the clothes I had before the wedding are hanging there. My old shoes are there on the floor. None of the beautiful newer things I had are here. I've lost my husband, my house, my clothes - everything! I'm back where I was before the wedding, but now I don't even have a job!"

"Jesus, Jeff really did fix you, didn't he? I just can't believe this. All that stuff driving us crazy on the beach, somehow, I assume, getting your suit away so that you were naked. We left your house and by the time we got back it had been sold and all the furniture moved out. Now this setup here - your clothes in my closet, the papers on the coffee table. Damn, the organization and timing! It seems to be impossible, but it all happened! Here, put your robe on and let's see if he left anything else on the table."

"That's not a robe. It's the peignoir and the nightgown I wore on our honeymoon. It was hanging in the closet with my clothes. Telling me that it is part of the past, I guess. That really hurts because that time in Paris really meant something to me. This whole business today is very unlike Jeff. It's been literally driving me out of my mind and, as I said, he just isn't a cruel person and had no reason for all of this! I...I don't love him, but I like him and I've really come to respect him. I can't believe that he would do this to me! Ok, I guess I've recovered from this latest blow. Let's see if there is an explanation for all of this and see if there is any way out."

Sitting back at the table, Denise, with a shudder, put the certificate aside and found, first, a small package with her name on it. Opening it she found a credit card, a box of checks and a typed note. "You will see that your new card and checks bear the name Denise A. Fourey. Your local stores have been informed of the change and will be reissuing their cards. Returning to your maiden name was part the dissolution of marriage agreement. There is also a printout of your bank statement showing your pre-marriage and current balance. You will see that they are identical."

"Oh my god, he found all the money I had sneaked away from his finance man and removed it! Instead of over $100,000.00, I have $3,000.00."

"Can he do that?"

"I don't know, but Jeff always knows what he's doing, and if he doesn't, he checks with Don. I...I've got to see if there isn't some way I can fight this whole divorce."

"I think that your innocent wife being cast aside might be your best bet. Legally he may have you unless you can show fraud, but his family wouldn't like that publicity. A settlement would be cheap for them."

"Yeah, I'm sure that I can threaten them with that publicity and being tricked into signing the form. I didn't sign that divorce form voluntarily. Can I prove that? I'll have to check on the phone and find that Mullen woman's call - oh, that won't work. That was the house mobile phone and Jeff has that! Oh my god, my mind just can't stand this!"

"Anything else there?"

"Another note that says...oh my heavens, he covered everything...it says that 'I' made an announcement on my Facebook page that we had an amicable divorce. No one to blame, but things just didn't work out. However, we are still good friends. Oh yeah, we're good friends, all right! Oh boy, he sent that out the day before yesterday so I'll have a flood of condolences and efforts to pry about what actually happened waiting for me. He really boxed me in!

"I just don't understand all of this. Why on earth did he go through this elaborate scheme to hurt me and drive me crazy? I was a good wife to him. If he wanted a divorce, the prenup would have given me nothing and I would have been forced to take a settlement which wouldn't have hurt his finances at all. He seems to be vindictively punishing me when a reasonable settlement would have me walk away with no bitter feelings. Whatever, that seems to be it - and that's enough! Oh, wait...no, there's another note taped right to the table. It says that there is a DVD in your player and that we should look at it. What, another surprise? Did he somehow record me running around half-naked trying to figure where he had gone? No, he says that there are 15 episodes. Play the damn thing!"

Justin turned his TV and DVD player on and sat back. To their shocked and devastated eyes, when the DVD started playing, the first thing shown was Denise slipping through the thicket followed by Justin. Denise screamed, "Oh god, no!" They sat there, transfixed as the scene played out, ending with a thoroughly fucked Denise going out to wake her sleeping and trusting husband. Not a word was spoken as they sat there stunned by the revelation that their adulterous affair was not the deep secret as they had believed.