Mark turned to Jessica, hoping his mistress could help him. He asked her to take him in her car to let him sleep at her place. But the drama in the yard was not yet over. Jessica, realizing that Mark was now a useless beggar who had also dragged her into legal trouble, flatly refused in the pouring rain. Jessica’s screams could be heard as she pushed Mark, causing him to fall into a mud puddle. Jessica yelled that all this misfortune was Mark’s fault. She called him a man of bad luck, a scammer, an idiot. The couple who had been feeding each other cake in my party now pushed and insulted each other in the mud of my yard.
The neighbors, drawn by the commotion, began to come out onto their porches. They watched the free show with mocking glances. Mark’s reputation in this neighborhood had completely collapsed. Now everyone knew his true face. Finally, ashamed of being seen by the neighbors and chilled to the bone, Jessica ran off in the rain, leaving my yard without a backward glance at Mark. She left him alone, lying in the mud. Mark tried to follow her but slipped. He fell and got up, stumbling towards the gate that had opened automatically. Mr. Harrison’s bodyguard, after making sure Mark had crossed the threshold of the gate, pressed a button on the remote.
The sturdy, tall iron gate closed slowly, forever separating my world from Marks. Mark was left outside the gate, clinging to the cold bars, looking at this house that now shone warm and bright. He realized that the gates of the paradise he had been living in had closed forever. And now he had to face the earthly hell he had created for himself. I turned and walked away from the window. I didn’t want to see him again. I took a deep breath, inhaling the air of the room that now felt more spacious, though still messy. Mr. Harrison gave me a gentle pat on the shoulder and a paternal encouraging smile.