Bigamist

by Elaine Flowers

I simply held my head down.

  “Let’s move on… deciding who is the legitimate wife of Dr. Erick Hart comes down to which of you he claimed as his wife last, just prior to his death. There is no question whom he married first, nor is there any question he was with all three of you, acting as a husband. So, I’m going to do something that I just decided this morning and ask Dr. Rose McDaniel to take the witness stand.”

  There was some rustling in the room and I turned my attention to Stanley. He simply hunched his shoulders.

  “I realize that you wanted to recuse yourself from these proceedings and forgo any claims that may involve you, but it just isn’t as simple as that. Please, come forward and be sworn in.”

  So much for wanting to blend into the crowd; I slowly stood to my feet and took my place in the witness stand. Once I was sworn in, I took a seat and turned to the judge.

  “Dr. McDaniel, is it true that you and Dr. Hart were never married in front of a judge or minister?”

  “Yes, that’s true.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Well…” I blinked a few times. “He wanted to get married, in fact, he asked me many times. But, I have never fully embraced the whole thing of having a contract on another person. I believe that if you love each other, you take care of each other. No court system should have to be involved in that, making a person do the right thing.”

  “How long did the two of you live together under one roof?”

  “We lived together seven years.”

  “Did you know he was married to either of these ladies during the time you were together?”

  “I didn’t know about Iris at all until after he died. But, just before he died, I suspected that he had not had a legal divorce from Amy and I asked him about it.”

  “How did he respond?”

  “We were supposed to talk about it the day he died. In fact, I was on my way to see him to discuss it but when I arrived…” my voice trailed off. “I found him unconscious.”

  The bailiff placed a box of tissues next to me.

  “I’m sorry,” Judge Long said.

  “But, to answer your question, he never admitted to still being married but I had also tried contacting Amy, but we played phone tag and didn’t get a chance to talk until after he—was gone.”

  “When was the last time you spoke to Dr. Hart?”

  “Earlier that morning, April tenth. We were home—I made breakfast and we ate.”

  “What was the last public correspondence the two of you had?”

  “I’m not sure I know what you mean, Your Honor.”

  “Your Honor, if I may,” Stanley spoke up. “There was an email he copied her on, mere moments before he collapsed.” He shuffled through a folder in front of him, finally holding it up in the air.

  “Let’s enter this in as evidence,” Judge Long said to a clerk before turning to the bailiff. “Hand the witness the letter, please.”

  Once I had the paper in my hand, I began to shake.

  “Read the letter aloud, please.”

  With my hands shaking, I held the letter up. “Dear Committee Members of the American Medical Society, thank you for your consideration of the scientific award you have extended to my wife, Dr. Rose McDaniel and myself for our patent-pending medical device. We are humbled, as well as excited, to accept the nomination for this prestigious award. We have, in fact, completed the additional documentation required by your organization and will be in attendance at the ceremony in the fall. Please, find the signed documents attached to this email and let us know if there is anything further you need from us. Sincerely, Doctor Erick Hart, MD Cardiologist Specialist.” I peered over the paper to catch a glimpse of Judge Long, hoping to understand what relevance this all had on these proceedings.

  “What date was this email sent?” Judge Long asked me.

  “April tenth, mere moments before he died. In fact, I didn’t see that he’d copied me on the email until days—or even a week after it was sent.”

  “Thank you. You can take your seat.”

  I did as she instructed all the while, and with every step, wondering what had just happened.

  “None of this is easy. For all of you involved, I’m sorry that you’re here, having to go through this because I don’t think any of you were negligent. You were just trusting women in love with a man. There is no dispute that Dr. Hart married Amy Hart first, in the interim, he takes up a home with Rose McDaniel. He then, marries and starts a family with Iris Hart. Dr. Hart was fortunate enough to find three women who didn’t ask enough questions until it was too late. With that said, the laws in Texas are peculiar and allow for conditions not found in other states. Common law marriage has mostly the same legal strengths as a union performed in a courthouse or a wedding chapel with a marriage license. Iris is the last woman he made his wife; however, I have to consider which of you was the last woman he claimed as his wife. And based on the evidence presented here today, I am awarding Doctor Rose McDaniel as the legitimate wife of Doctor Erick Hart and all that the title entails with the full extent of the law. If there is nothing else, this case is closed, and the proceedings adjourned.”

  I couldn’t believe it. I never saw this coming and it was clear that neither did Amy or Iris. I reluctantly glanced over at the two of them and they were both stone-faced and in a state of shock.

  The media went crazy, rushing outside of the courtroom to hopefully be the first to break the news.

  I turned to Stanley and he simply smiled, stood to his feet, and helped me to mine. We were all caught off guard. He took me by the elbow and escorted me through the double doors.

  I wanted to say something to Amy and Iris but decided Stanley may know best and continued to follow him. I wanted them to know that I, in no way, was expecting what happened and that I would do everything to make sure they had death certificates to claim their own insurance policies.

  “What are your plans now, Doctor McDaniel?”

  “Are you going to help out the other two defendants and their children?”

  “What do you have to say to the mothers of your dead husband’s children?”

  Stanley stood in front of the gang of reporters, with me next to him, and spoke, “Obviously, we were not expecting this verdict but we’re very pleased at the outcome. Doctor McDaniel will need time to digest the judge’s decision so there is no comment at this time. Thank you.”

  Stanley stuffed me into the passenger side of his SUV. “We’ll have your car picked up later. Let’s get out of here.”

  One week later.

  * * *

  I was the last to arrive at Stanley’s office, but I was glad to see that Amy and Iris were there calmly waiting.

  “Please forgive me for being late.” I took the only empty seat at the conference table.”

  Stanley spoke up, “We realize we could’ve simply mailed copies of the death certificate to you both, but Rose wanted to clear the air and answer any questions you may have—against my advice, I might add.”

  Amy folded her arms across her chest and Iris’s expression was deadpan.

  I spoke up, “I know that the three of us will never be friends, but it would be nice if we could just be friendly, especially the two of you for the sake of the children. But I wanted to say once more that I was as surprised as anyone with the judge’s verdict. I also want to make it clear that I will not come after anything either of you had with Rick—your homes, insurance, etcetera. All I ask is that we let this whole media circus die down, stop with the interviews, and responding to the allegations. I’m not asking you to sign anything, just simply give your word. None of us deserve this and even if Rick didn’t mean for any of this to happen, it’s his fault that it has. He’s the only one who had all the information while we were in the dark.” I exhaled. “All I can do is ask that we not reduce ourselves to women fighting over a man. That’s it.”

  I waited for either of them to say something.

  “I don’t have a problem with that,�
� Iris finally said.

  We both turned to Amy.

  “Is this the death certificate?” She picked up the envelope at the center of the table with her name on it.

  “Yes, it’s yours to take,” I answered.

  “If that’s it, I’ll be on my way.” She picked up her purse and backed her chair away from the table.

  “I know you’re angry, Amy, but try to find forgiveness in your heart—for Ricky and this whole situation. You’re not the only one humiliated here.”

  Amy stood, sucked in a deep breath, and stepped to the door, never turning back.

  “Well, that’s that, I guess,” I mumbled. “There’s really nothing else, Iris. Here’s your copy of the death certificate.” I handed her the other envelope. “Please, let me know if there’s anything further I can do. Take good care of your children.”

  “Thank you, Rose. I appreciate everything you’ve done and as disappointed as I am that the verdict didn’t go my way, it could’ve been worse. I’m not even sure if I would’ve been as gracious as you’ve been.”

  The two of us hugged and she slipped through the doors, turning to wave as she left.

  I hoped it wouldn’t be the last I heard from her or Amy. I really wanted to keep up with how Rick’s children were doing but I knew I had no control over that. I just prayed that Amy and Iris would honor our husband in that way.

  23

  Iris

  One Year Later

  I latched on…

  As usual, the media eventually turned its focus to some other unfortunate souls, so things turned back to basically normal. There were a few who wanted to drag me back to the nightmare but mostly people no longer cared. It wasn’t a problem for me to move on and turn my grief and misfortune into a lucrative business opportunity. My own notoriety increased due to the scandal, so several offers came my way. I latched on to a couple of them. That’s what strong women do—with God’s help, of course, and the motivation of taking care of small children.

  Because Rose had admonished me to stop being so public with the fiasco Erick left behind, I did ask for her blessings to use our public misfortune as a platform for a talk show. One year later, a pilot show was created and shot focusing on bigamy and cheating spouses—infidelity in general. I felt I owed her that just for her simple kindness. It pays well, and I plan to ride the wave because I know all talk shows have an expiration date. And then, I’ll be on to some other opportunity.

  Initially, I was hot as hell that I didn’t win the case. After all, I was the last to marry Erick and we had a young new family. During the proceedings I clung to the love I knew he had for us and was confident things would go my way. Once things died down, and after that meeting with Rose at her attorney’s office, I calmed down. The only thing that made me feel better about not winning was Rose winning and knowing she could be counted on to be fair. With all the fighting between Amy and me, it was obvious the Universe was teaching us a lesson. Well, I learned it and made the decision to move on with life.

  Many friends and associates have tried hooking me up on dates but for now, my heart is still in the past. I haven’t met a man that has me interested enough to move on just yet. Who could ever compete with the life-saving doctor? I often wonder if Rose and Amy feel the same way.

  I still haven’t spoken to hateful Amy, but I hear she hasn’t let any grass grow under her feet. She moved away, and I imagine she’s somewhere passing. What should’ve happened was that we all came together for the sake of the children. I guess when Jersey and Darius are older, I’ll tell them about their sister and brother and maybe the four of them can come together, love and look out for one another. I hope.

  24

  Amy

  I no longer worried…

  I sold the family home and trekked to Florida. With my insurance money, I bought a small condo not far from the beach, and finally using my degree, working full time as a librarian at a library a few miles north of the ocean’s shore. I was all too happy to leave the desert heat of Texas for the temperate warmth and sounds of the ocean waves within earshot. My only regret was that I hadn’t done it sooner.

  I was so stuck to the life I had with Ricky that I couldn’t see that he’d had no problem making several other lives for himself. Most days I love and miss him and then there are other days that I can’t believe that, even with all of his faults and his cheating, I was duped by the man I thought loved only me. Finding out about Rose and Iris, and how he had created real lives with each of them, was some reality for my ass. But, life goes on.

  I date sometimes and have enjoyed that very much. I feel free, finally. I never spoke with David again after he lied in court. I wanted to ask him why, but I chalked it up to him being mad that I’d disappeared when Ricky died. Who knows why he did that. Or, maybe he thought he was telling the truth. Either way, I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of thinking I cared enough to ask.

  My children and I are in the same state—close enough for me, yet far enough for them. Ricky did a good job of planning for Kory and Kylie and really, that was all I wanted. I no longer worried about Rose or Iris taking anything from them. I’m sure Rose wanted me to bow down and kiss her feet for giving me a copy of the death certificate but Ricky belonged to me first, so why would I thank her for what was rightfully mine?

  I was so happy to leave Texas—Rose and Iris—behind. As much as possible, I act like none of it ever happened. The only thing we had in common was Ricky so there was no need in trying to maintain any other type of relationship. I don’t wish anything bad on them—I just wish them gone.

  About the Author

  is a professional writer of mainstream fiction residing in Dallas, Texas. She became a published author in 2004 with the release of her Dallas Morning News bestselling novel, “Black Beauty” and went on to pen seven more books.

  FLOWERS’ current book is on the woes of dating in the 21st century titled, “MGTOW: Ten Things Men Don’t Do Anymore” derived from her blog on dating.

  FLOWERS holds a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Creative Writing for Entertainment from Full Sail University and is also a book editor and book publisher.

  www.booksbyelaineflowers.com