After I was divorced, I went into the restaurant business. I had lots of friends, but one in particular was a gal I used to waitress with before I owned the business.  We were so close they  called  us "wheels that go round together" "Two peas in a pod"and similar sayings. She would come and stay with me whenever she was having a difficult time, and over a few years we came to trust each other implicitly.

She had a husband but they were apart more than together. He was a seaman, and she would be alone for long stretches of time. One year they were having a really bad time , he had lost money gambling that had been saved for a new home.
They finally divorced, and in the transition Kerry came to live with me and work in my restaurant.
After about 3 months she seemed adjusted, and happy as can be expected.

We talked about her finding a place of her own. She started seeing  a man who came in the restaurant. He took a subway to work which was right next to the restaurant and would park his car in my lot. I had several people who gladly payed to park there, I charged only a small fee.

This man came in every evening after work, to unwind with  a few drinks before going home. He was married. We knew very little about him I told Kerry I thought it was a bad idea to get involved. She didn't listen. The affair became very hot and heavy, until they were talking about going away together, just leaving everything and starting over. 

When I realized Kerry was sneaking the man in my home every chance she could, I told her she would have to leave. Besides, she had changed and was acting unlike the Kerry I had come to know and admire. We started to have arguements. It was not a very good situation, I still hoped for the best for her.

This continued for several more weeks, until I had to go away for a few days. I told her I would like her to be gone when I got back. She could still work for me if she wanted to, but not live with me. she said and did some really nasty things at this time, but I tried to be understanding of her situation. I began to realize she had come to resent me,since her affair began, and I knew it was because of him.

Just before I went away , she apologized and said she was sorry for the way she had been acting. She said  that she had found a place and would move out, but continue working for me if  that was okay.  I was relieved, and said of course it was.

When I retured home, Kerry was gone. So were  most of my clothes, all my jewelry, some cash that she knew I kept at home . Everything of value except the large pieces of furniture was gone. Understand that I had known and trusted her for years, and could not dream of anything like this happening . I let her close my registers at night in the restaurant, and put the money in the bank, she had a key,I trusted her.

She and her lover, had run off together,the day after I left, so they must have planned it. I found out later they had rented a Uhaul and moved everything they wanted out in the middle of the night, including my best art,and other goodies from the restaurant as well.  Since Kerry had a key,I had to change all the locks in both home and restaurant.

To make a long story short,they had gone to Canada, where he had originally come from. His wife had him searched for and eventually he was found with Kerry. It was about a year after they had left. I pressed no charges, and put it down to a lesson learned.

I never saw Kerry again, and heard only that she had remained in Canada, while he had gone back with his wife, and  they moved to another state. Imagine, she took him back, life is strange.That was the first  time I had ever been robbed. I called it rape, because after hearing how rape feels, it's the closest thing to it, to be robbed like that from your most trusted friend.

etw~2003