Everyone suspected that Adam wasnt marrying for love. After all, what sort of romance could there be when he was thirty and his fiancée in her mid-sixties?
Adam and I had been mates for ten years, catching up on holidays and weekends. I knew all his girlfriends, and there was never any sign he fancied older women. I first learned about Susan at his own wedding. Adam orchestrated the whole thing as a surprise, keeping the bride hidden till the very last minute, and many guests were baffled, wondering why the supposed mother of the bride was walking him down the aisle and where the actual bride had disappeared to. His friends and family were simply gobsmacked when they realised the woman he was marrying was, quite literally, old enough to be his mother. Shed already been married, had three grown-up children, and Adam could easily have been her son.
Adam never shared his reasons, but around our group, rumours swirled that Susan was a millionaire and thats why hed decided to wed her. On top of that, Adam quit his job right after the wedding. Later, it emerged that Susans health had taken a turn, and she wanted her beloved close by.
They were together for just over a yearthirteen months, to be exactbefore a nasty infection took her. Thats when Adam showed up at my flat, asking if I fancied grabbing a pint. Not because he was devastated by her passing, but because Susan had been quite cunning: shed left three flats dotted about England and a house in Italy to her children, but Adam got nothing more than the pricey gifts shed given him during their marriagenone of which were all that valuable anyway.
I begged her a thousand times to buy me a car, and she kept putting it off! Adam grumbled to me.
He really did chase the money. He spent more than a year playing the part, pretending to love her, watching his reputation sink in the eyes of friends and family, and still wound up with nothing. I tried to console him as a mate should, but I couldnt help feeling disappointed. Adam isnt dafthe had a decent job, but was willing to throw it all away for a few properties. And what did it get him?
I suppose my lesson is that chasing after money can leave you empty-handed. Sometimes, its better to stick to what you have, keep your pride, and let life run its course.
