...continued from Part 2
In his dressing
room, Frank looks at his reflection awhile, takes a deep breath and exhales slowly. Thoroughly washing his sweaty
hands, he suddenly notices Alan’s reflection in the mirror. Their glance meet and they are silent. Casually, Frank continues to dry his hands. He then turns to face Alan.
Alan produces a gun.
Frank reaches in his pocket. He takes out two bullets, and then hands it to Alan.
“You’
ll only need one,” Frank says calmly. “When you return the other bullet I’ll know it’s done. My
speech is due in about an hour. Want to rehearse the
plan?”
Alan knows it like a recital. “A little while before your speech, Lisa will go to her private dressing room – painfully predictable as you mentioned. That’s when I follow her. Take care of some business.” He grins stupidly.
Frank, delighted. “In the meantime, I’ll go ahead with my speech. Joke about how long my wife takes powdering her nose. Fool the public, you know. The guests must think we’re still a happy couple.”
Alan likes the sound of that. “And my reward?”
Frank hands Alan an envelope. “Half now, the other half when the deal is done.”
Alan doesn’t waste time checking the contents of the envelope. His smile stretches from here to eternity. He laughs aloud. “It’s a pleasure doing business with you.”
Frank ushers Alan out the room. “Yeah, yeah, go now. It’s almost eight.”
Frank faces the mirror again and smiles as he makes imperceptible adjustments to his gelled hair and straightens his tie. He seems utterly pleased with himself.
Patty enters the room, standing there hand on the hips looking oh-so-seductive. Delighted to see her, Frank walks over to
kiss her in the neck.
“It won’t be long now. It’s all been arranged. And when it’s all over, I’ll pay Alan a visit…to reclaim my expenditure, if you get my drift.”
He has never once considered the option of divorce. He can’t bear the thought. It’ll halve his fortune and reduce him to paying support. And Lisa will always be there, nagging him like only she can nag, wanting more and more. Obstacles have to be eliminated.
Frank continues: “Then we’ll finally be together. It’s
perfect. It can’t fail.”
Patty flaunts her body a bit, and then retreats to affectionately touch his face. “I’ll see you inside. I can’t wait.” She blows Frank a kiss as she leaves.
Frank once again looks in the mirror. “It’s perfect. Everything’s perfect.” He loves himself. He loves being Frank Ruben.
In the corridor, Alan is waiting for Patty in the dark. Patty goes to him, smiling the most euphoric smile. They embrace, and engage in a passionate kiss.
They have the perfect plan, and it’s progressing perfectly. It can’t fail…
THE END
More summaries about the The Perfect Plan - Part 3 - Final (short story)