THE PARADIGM LECTURE
THE AWARD BANQUET
Professor Justin Wolfe stood before a distinguished audience at a dinner in honor of his wife Deborah. She was being honored for her work in raising funds for the university hospital, where she worked as head of nursing. Justin was a full professor of economics at the school. He had lately published a book on the topic of the economics of family structure. To everyone's surprise, the book had sneaked into the NYT top ten non-fiction best sellers. Justin was only forty-two, and Deb forty.
Justin ate next to Deb, then rose to speak as the desert was being cleared. He passed Dean Roger Duncan, and his wife Eileen as he went to the podium. Roger was dean of the medical school, and Eileen wrote well-reviewed short stories. They were both in their late thirties - very fit, sleek and beautiful.
Justin cleared his throat and began speaking. He complimented Deb for her award. She stood and accepted the applause. Deb was a lovely woman, tall, blond, vivacious and businesslike. This night she looked magnificent in a little black dress, with a pearl necklace. Jason was aware that many people wondered how he had managed to woo and marry her. He was just her height, slim, not particularly striking in appearance, even when dressed up for functions such as this one. In truth, the secret was that the two simply hit it off. She tended toward being stern, even stuffy, and somewhat self-conscious. He was the opposite, lively, witty, very outgoing. They complimented one another, fit like a hand into a glove.
Justin then noted that he had been asked to speak at this event about the topic of his new book. The main thesis of the book was that the traditional family - husband, wife, children - the paradigm - was far easier to achieve and keep if the parents were economically secure. The book chronicled several historical instances where declining economic fortunes in a community also brought with it a decline in family stability. Thus, a major solution to the problem of family instability would be to raise income levels in certain communities. The book's main thesis was thought by some to be self-evident, and by others to be simplistic. It had provoked quite a bit of debate, both within and outside academia. And, of course, that helped sales.
Justin had intentionally written it to provoke and to sell. It was no dry academic tome. It was full of wit and humor. But also supporting statistics - in footnotes.
In his talk to the assembled group from the university, he outlined the thesis of the book, and discussed the pros and cons of the debate about it so far. Of course, he tossed in a number of jokes, most self-deprecating. He wound up the talk after about twenty minutes.
This is how he did it.
"Folks, I have lately come to question the thesis of the book. My own personal experience of marriage was a main reason that I adopted the thesis. Now, I've come to question that thesis. I have lately become aware that my own wife, Deb, whom we honor here today, has conducted a months long extra-marital affair. (Gasps from the audience.) And her partner in that infidelity was not some poor, young student or intern, who could provide more energy in the sex. No, rather it was - it is - our own Dean Roger Duncan." (Chaotic response. Duncan starts to rise from his seat. Deborah Wolfe has a vacant, shocked look.)
Justin continued. "So, this evening we are witnessing the termination of not one, but two marriages. Mine and the Dean's. Marriages of the well-off, not the poor."
A young woman walked up to the head table with two envelopes. She gave one to Dean Duncan and one to Deborah Wolfe. She told both that they had been served and took a snap of each.
Justin turned to his left. Roger Duncan was right in his face. Roger was the bigger man, and was also very, very angry, his face red. He made the mistake of shoving Justin. Then Roger doubled over. From below the raised table, one could not see why. The why was that Justin, knowing his man, had come prepared. He shot a quick, short uppercut to Roger's balls. A perfect shot. One that Justin had been practicing for days.
He had also been practicing the follow-up forearm to the chin. It landed just as Justin had hoped. Roger was toast. It was all so quick that few in the crowd knew what had happened. Everyone saw Roger push Justin. Far fewer saw Justin's response.
Justin stepped over Roger's prone form, took Eileen's arm and escorted her past Deborah, off the dais and out the back door. An Uber was waiting there for them. Off they went.
AFTER THE LECTURE
The Uber dropped Eileen off at her home, quite near to that of Justin and Deb. Her two children were there waiting for her. They were Dave, sixteen, and Lisa, fourteen. Both were aware that their mother would likely be coming home alone that night.
Eileen sat at the console of the house security system and changed the code. She sent Roger a text telling him to stay somewhere else for the near future. He got it at the hospital the next morning.
Justin and Eileen had planned meticulously for this night. Both were incredibly angry at their respective spouses. They used the same divorce lawyer. And the same marriage counselor - May Butler. Over two weeks she helped both, but had been against their plan to blow up the lives of their spouses. May was a marital pacifist. Justin and Eileen were not. Of course, they went to her separately. Except for one session. The one after they had admitted their lust for each other. May had convinced them that it would be unwise for them to have sex before the divorces. In the end, they agreed.
Justin had made arrangements for his two teens to spend the weekend with his mother. Those two were Linda, seventeen, and Lyle, fifteen. They were also aware of the general reasons for their absence from the home that weekend.
Justin had no word from Deb for some time after he got home. That was because she had accompanied Roger to the hospital. He went by ambulance, since he had been unconscious for about five minutes after the altercation.
Deb was operating in a state of numbness. She had been unable to move as Justin and Eileen walked past her. She was mortified, as no doubt they had planned. When she saw Roger laid out behind his chair, the nurse in her took over. She tended to him, made sure that he was breathing, and that an ambulance had been summoned. It was automatic with her. She had started her career as a nurse in the ER, and at times actually went on the ambulance runs.
When she knelt beside her lover, she noticed that his jaw was severely broken. Teeth were missing. She collected some from the floor. There was blood, and her magnificent little black dress, new for the event, was ruined. She did think to secure her pearl necklace in her purse. Roger had given it to her, to celebrate her award, and their lust. She wore it. She did not believe Justin would notice or understand how she got it. She was wrong.
Once Roger was delivered to the emergency room, Deb sat on one of the plastic chairs and considered her plight. She didn't open the envelope. She thought for a while about how to approach her husband. She was both enraged at him, and so very disappointed in herself. As she was thinking about it all a detective sat down next to her.
He said, "I'm APD Detective Millard Hart. You're Deborah Wolfe?"
"Yes."
"You came in with Dean Duncan. You helped him out after the fight."
"Yes. I wouldn't call it a fight."
"What happened?"
"Well, Justin, my husband Justin, called out Roger and me in front of the entire crowd. My award dinner. It was shocking."
"Okay, but in fact you and the Dean were lovers, right?"
"Yes. Yes, I'm sad to say that's true." A lie - the sad part.
"How did the dean react?"
"He got into Justin's face as Justin turned away from the podium. Roger shoved Justin. Then Justin hit him and walked over him."
"So, the dean shoved your husband first. Was it a hard shove?"
