6
Binky Chandler awoke early on Saturday morning. Her husband Charles was dozing, and was snoring lightly. It was a noise she found especially irritating and irksome. Nearly seven years of marriage, and she was still unable to tolerate it. Not that she had cared to try. Binky considered the many perceived flaws in Charles Chandler that she did tolerate, or pretended to tolerate, but his snoring was not one of them.
Three months ago, after agonising over the decision for almost three years, Charles had finally retired as chairman-CEO of Bannister Foods. A very handsome retirement package and a lavish party followed his announcement that he was calling it quits.
In those three months, Charley had found little else to do besides golf at the country club and lounge around the house. His nearly constant presence was beginning to try her patience. He always wanted to know what her plans were. Interfering, meddling, doting and fawning over her.
A few years ago, when the board of Bannister Foods had first floated a generous offer for Charles to retire, I hit the roof when he told me he was seriously considering it, Binky thought. I told him he'd better find something useful to do with his time, and was relieved when he told them he'd retire later, and on his own steam. But now…
Binky wondered how much longer she would be able to live under the same roof as her husband if things continued the way they were. The risks she had taken in pursuing him in the first place returned to her. Charles Chandler, who'd had a thriving business, a lovely wife and two grown daughters; Charles, who thought of himself as being high-class and well-bred; Charles, who was still woefully insecure about himself. He had been an easy target. The allure of his fortune and what he could offer her in material benefits had been very attractive, and he, in turn had been taken with her, a woman fifteen years his junior.
She was concerned at that time that she would be perceived as nothing more than an opportunistic gold-digger. Thinking back to seven years ago before Charles decided to marry her, Binky darkly remembered that Susan had begged her father not to break up with Emily. Binky saw the doubt in his eyes before he left on a vacation on Susan's advice to 'think it over', but was victorious in the end when he chose to leave Emily and marry her anyway.
Binky knew that there were those who felt that she was interested only in money, and what the privileges of being wealthy brought her, but was unconcerned about such idle gossip. What did concern her, though, was that her lawyer/psychologist step-daughter probably knew it was mostly true from the start. As she sat up in bed and made her way to the bathroom, she wondered what her next move should be.