The temperature had dropped considerably since Magdalene Brooks had started out on her walk along Prospect Park West and she found herself pulling her light coat just a bit tighter against her body. She hadn't planned to go all the way down to Grand Army Plaza, but once she did, the autumn sun was already setting before she could make it half way back home.
Still, even with the sudden chill, it was a pleasant walk as she alternated her gaze between the old brownstones across the street on her right and the tree filled meadows of the park to her left. As many years as she had spent living in Manhattan, this part of Brooklyn had always been dearest to her heart, if for no other reason than the fact that she had grown up less than a half mile south, in the less affluent part of Park Slope. At least that was what it had been forty years ago.
But time moves on, and with it, inevitable change. An influx of new money had dramatically changed her old neighborhood, so much that most of her childhood haunts were long gone. Still, the park remained, as it had done so for over a hundred years, and it was to that familiar ground that the tall brunette had retreated to consider her options as her life faced a drastic change of her own.
By this time next week, Magdalene reflected, she would be a single woman, her marriage a thing of the past. The reason for the change was common enough: her husband now preferred another woman in his bed. As unsettling as that realization had been, it was hard for her to feel as much righteous anger as one might expect. After all, twelve short years before, she had been the other woman and the fact that she had eventually married her lover didn't mitigate that.
Magdalene had been a twenty-eight year old consultant when she'd first met James Brooks, a rising star in the law firm of McCord, Jackson and Myers. Fifteen years her senior, the celebrated trial lawyer had dazzled her with his charms and effortlessly guided her into his bed, notwithstanding the fact that there was already a Mrs. Brooks of some twenty years. Now, the tables had turned and the new woman in James' life, soon to be the third Mrs. Brooks, was a twenty-three year old paralegal whom the recently made partner had met two years earlier.
"Well, as they say," Magdalene muttered to herself as she waited for the light in the crosswalk to change, "karma is a bitch."
Not that James wasn't paying dearly for her to go quietly into the night and not cause problems for him at the firm. The pricey townhouse apartment that she now lived in was just part of their separation agreement, along with a final financial settlement that well exceeded what their original prenuptial called for. Magdalene may have been foolishly blind to his infidelity, but no one could ever accuse her of being stupid.
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The building she had moved into six months before was only two blocks down from the park, and as she neared the three story structure, Magdalene noticed a slim young man in jeans and a brown bomber jacket standing in front of it. Despite this being a normally safe neighborhood, the long haired brunette hadn't been brought up to take chances. So she continued down the opposite side of the street until she was well past her destination, slowing just enough to try and get a good look at the stranger. It wasn't until he moved out of the shadow and into the twin entranceway lamps that recognition dawned. Taking a moment to check for oncoming traffic, she quickly crossed the street.
"Riley, what in the world are you doing here?" she asked, approaching the young man from the opposite direction in which he was looking.
"Hi Magdalene," the sandy haired eighteen year old said after turning at the sound of her voice, "I was waiting for you."
"Waiting for me?" she repeated.
"Dad sent some papers that he wanted you to have tonight," he explained, partially lifting a small leather briefcase in his hand.
Magdalene was understandably curious as to what could be so important on a Friday night that it had to be hand delivered, but she knew that she wasn't going to get an answer out here on the street. Saying that whatever the excuse, she was glad to see him, she invited him upstairs where they could be more comfortable.
Magdalene had barely taken a step up the stoop when Riley practically raced up past her to open and hold the outer door of the vestibule for her. She thanked him with a smile as she entered the small area, then unlocked the inner door while he waited. As they walked up the stairs to the third floor, she glanced over her shoulder and said she hoped he hadn't been waiting long.
"Not too long," Riley replied, keeping a few steps behind her, a reply that, given what she knew of him, could've been five minutes or over an hour.
By all rights, given just the facts, people might assume that Magdalene and the teenager following her had an acrimonious relationship. After all, Magdalene had been the one who broke up his mother's marriage.
Technically, Helen Brooks was actually his Aunt, but she had raised him after his parents had died when he was four and that was the way he always thought of her. Just as he always simply thought of Magdalene as his surrogate father's wife rather than a step-mom because, after the divorce, he had continued to live with his aunt.
From the very beginning, to show that she had no intention of replacing Helen in his life, Magdalene had insisted Riley call her by her first name. At most she was hoping for simply a peaceful coexistence but, much to her surprise, she and Riley developed a friendship that only grew stronger as he moved from his teen years to adulthood.
"Make yourself comfortable," Magdalene said as the entered the apartment, taking off her coat and hanging it on a rack in the hall.
"This is a very nice place," Riley said as he stepped into the living room, taking off his jacket as he did so and laying it across a wooden chair before taking a seat on the couch.
"Thank you," Magdalene replied as she followed him in. "Before anything else, can I get you something to drink?"
"No, I'm fine," Riley replied, lifting the case up onto his lap.
"Okay, I can take a hint," Magdalene quipped. "Let me have whatever's in that case, so I can see what's so all fired important that it couldn't wait until Monday."
Riley removed a slim, legal sized folder and before he could rise to give it to her, Magdalene stepped over and took it from his hands.
Once she held it, she hesitated for a moment, fearing that James had suddenly decided to abrogate the deal they'd already agreed to. That would be just like him, she thought, remembering a number of legal cases he had won by changing an agreement at the last minute when his opposition couldn't afford the time to renegotiate. She took a deep breath, then opened the folder.
"Oh my goodness, do you know what this is?" Magdalene asked after flipping through the document that was in the folder.
Riley nodded his head. Having spent the summer as an intern at his father's firm - he would be leaving next week for college - Riley knew full well what was in the folder he had brought. Having him, rather than one of the normal messengers, bring it over had been his father's idea, figuring that Magdalene was less likely to shoot the messenger if he was that person.
"My understanding was that we were going to do this at the end of next week," she stated as she continued to read text that was already quite familiar to her. "Why the sudden rush?"
Riley took a breath before answering, still feeling a bit angry that his father had dumped this charge on him.
"Dad and Amanda are flying down to the Virgin Islands this weekend," Riley said in a soft, even tone. "It was originally just supposed to be a quick business trip, but they decided that it was the perfect place for them to be married."
"They decided?" Magdalene queried.
"Well, Amanda decided," Riley clarified.
"And obviously they can't get married if I haven't signed the final papers," Magdalene pointed out.
Again Riley nodded his head.
"And again, obviously, James wants to do anything he can to make Amanda happy," she added, a touch of sadness washing across her as she remembered a time when he'd felt that way about her.
This time, Riley didn't even attempt to answer, since that was self evident.
"I can see now why he sent you with this," Magdalene remarked as she again looked down again at the papers that would officially end her marriage.
Riley braced himself for what he feared would be an emotional response. To his surprise, none was forthcoming.
