This is a work of fiction and any resemblance by any character or situation to any actual person or event is purely coincidental. All characters presented in this narrative are over the age of 18.
Epilogue
It's been a year since I first kissed Kim. Our world has changed more than anyone could have imagined.
Kim's final divorce decree arrived the Monday after that magical first day we spent together. Her lawyer, Serena, hand delivered the document to her that afternoon and gave her a celebratory chilled bottle of champagne to go along with it.
Mine came in the mail nine days later. Eason Masters isn't as up-close and personal as Serena, but he served me well.
Kim and I are no longer neighbors. Her hospital chain gave her a huge promotion to become head of nursing at its fastest-growing property, a sprawling, new medical center just outside Oxford, Mississippi -- a college town that's become a trendy retirement venue for wealthy Boomers.
She sold her house its first day on the market and is renting a townhouse far enough from the Court Square that it's not a nightly scene for loud, boozy partying by Ole Miss frat boys and sorority girls. It's reasonably spacious and has all the bells and whistles, and it ain't cheap. Now that she's been moved into management, though, she's got the bucks to spend.
Being in management also means she's got predictable hours with weekends, evenings and holidays off except for emergencies. Because of that, I'm usually on the road to Oxford every Thursday evening, careful to keep my calendar clear of office meetings in Memphis on Fridays or Mondays.
I proposed to her eight months ago. It was almost a formality. When we fell in love, we fell fast and hard, and we've only gotten closer since. I would have proposed earlier but needed to figure out a way to bring my daughters along with the idea. That turned out not to be a problem.
A couple of months before I put an engagement ring on Kim's finger, I was having our regular Sunday brunch with the girls in Olive Branch. Susan asked me if I was seeing anybody yet. She almost always asked that. I pretended I didn't hear her.
Then Elizabeth followed up.
"Yeah, Dad, you ought to ask out that lady who lives next door, the nurse whose ex went to jail. She's clearly available," she said.
Elizabeth knew that because she had been following news coverage of the expanding case against the multistate theft/fraud/porn ring. Roger -- and in fleeting mentions, Kim -- had been in the news. I was grateful that she had been portrayed sympathetically and accurately as an innocent, betrayed wife who had kicked him out. That's one in a row for the press.
Roger had pleaded guilty to the federal charges and had been moved to a federal penitentiary in Missouri, but he had also been indicted on state charges. At the federal lockup, he had been attacked by other inmates and beaten so badly that the state prosecution against him was put on indefinite hold to see if he will ever recover enough to stand trial.
At first, Kim was distressed over what happened to her ex until she was informed by the FBI that Roger had been trying to join the violent neo-Nazi gang the Aryan Brotherhood to arrange for someone on the outside to assassinate her. Someone had spread the word in the prison population that Roger was a snitch and is Jewish. Kim never heard anything about Roger being Jewish and doubted it was true; the feds think it was just an embellishment one of Roger's many enemies made to get him hurt or killed. Most likely, Roger
