Patricia Whittle, Contributor

The red-hot sun aimed its penetrating rays directly at Ivan. He lifted his damp hat for the 10th time and wiped the dripping perspiration from his hot head and face.

"If only I could live my life over," he soliloquised, "I would never trust a woman again."

Ahead, he saw miles and miles of rough, rocky road, not a single shelter was in sight. He was intensely hot, ravenously hungry, dying of thirst and this was all because of this confounded hypocritical woman, Rosemarie!

Rosemarie was Ivan's sweetheart. They were lovers from as far back as he could remember. She would have been his wife had he not made the mistake of getting Rosia pregnant. Alas, those were the days when you had to marry the girl if you were man enough to get her pregnant. Ivan reluctantly married Rosia and consoled himself with seeing Rosemarie on the side.

This arrangement worked well for a time. So well did it work that Ivan couldn't help wonder if what he had deemed adversity wasn't good luck in disguise. He was so happy that he failed to notice the greedy attitude Rosemarie was exhibiting.

So happy was he, courting his two Roses, that he just granted Rosemarie's wishes, even though Rosia and the children were deprived of many necessities.

Rosemarie and Rosia were good friends, so Ivan found his little affair quite convenient, since he could visit Rosemarie without arousing Rosia's suspicion. To be frank, he was having the time of his life.

Then Rosemarie started making great demands. At first, her constant requests for money didn't bother Ivan so much, but as the weeks turned to months and the months to years, her demand for huge sums of money increased. What was she doing with so much money? Why couldn't Neville, her lover, give her the money she wanted? And then it was so hard to refuse her anything. He had grown to love Rosia, but he still could not let go of Rosemarie. Who said you couldn't love two women at the same time? But boy, it was sheer hell supporting them both, especially since Rosia had his two children.

"Could Neville be blackmailing Rosemarie?" he wondered. The man was laziness personified. Why should Rosemarie use his hard-earned money to support him? Ivan was jealous of Neville, but he could do nothing about it. He had his wife, so naturally, Rosemarie needed somebody too, but what in the name of thunder was she doing with so much money? He confronted her about it and the response he got almost shocked him out of his wits.

Rosemarie calmly assured him that he was not only mad to assume that Neville was blackmailing her, but he had flown past his nest, so to speak. She told him that it was partly true that she was using some of his money to support Neville, but that was none of Ivan's business. She had earned the money and could do what she chose to do with it. She then revealed to Ivan that she had hated him all these years for jilting her, and she would not be satisfied until he suffered for it.

Ivan stood dumbfounded as he listened to what she had to say. How could he have been such a trusting fool? All these years Rosemarie had hated his guts and he had not even sensed it! How could she so passionately make love to him and simultaneously plot and plan to destroy him? Why was it only now that he saw the telltale lines of hatred in her smile and the wicked glare in her eyes as she spat out her grievance? Why had he trusted her so much?

Little details that he had failed to notice now manifested themselves. Why had he not noticed that the requests for large sums of money always came at crucial times in his life? Just about the time when Peggy was to go to boarding school, Rosemarie came to him in tears. Her house was going to be auctioned and she needed $50,000 immediately. Ivan recalled how he had withdrawn the money from his bank account to assist Rosemarie.

Later, he resorted to borrowing money in order to send Peggy to West Wood High School. And now, this diabolical daughter of darkness stood there telling him that her house was safe all the time and that was just part of her plot to get back at him! Great Jehosophat! And what about the time when Rosemarie was pregnant and was suddenly losing the baby? Was that part of the plot too? Gosh! He was mad enough to strangle her with his bare hands!

That was when Rosia was to be admitted to the University Hospital to deliver Peter. Rosemarie suddenly became sick. She called Ivan and told him that she was losing the baby she had told him about a few weeks earlier. The doctor recommended surgery immediately, for it was "a matter of life or death" The fee was exorbitant, and Ivan had to give her the money he had saved for Rosia's delivery. Poor Rosia had to go to go to a local rundown hospital instead. In the overcrowded maternity ward, she had to share a single bed with another patient, and when it was time to have her baby, no maternity bed was available. Rosia ended up having the baby on a couch and without a nurse to properly attend to her.

Suppose there were complications? Imagine, that cold-blooded witch of a woman faked a pregnancy and then a miscarriage, putting his wife's life at risk! He had to be dreaming. This couldn't be his beloved Rosemarie. He wished he could have just pinched himself to get rid of this ugly nightmare.

It was no dream. Rosemarie stood glaring at him and spitting her pent-up feelings like a rattlesnake emitting poisonous venom. He winced and turned away. That was when she delivered the final blow.

Neville was in this plan with her. In fact, it was Neville who had advised her to use her head instead of her heart. By so doing, she could wring all the money she wanted out of Ivan, and at the same time wreak revenge. Since Ivan was now aware of the plot, it was no longer funny, so she was giving him an ultimatum. She wanted $500,000 by the following Monday and then she would be out of his life for good. If Ivan failed to deliver the money, she would 'let the puss out of the bag' before boarding a plane for New York.

She would get what was coming to her, the gluttonous two-faced hypocrite! He was on his way to see to that. Again he dabbed at his sweaty face with a soggy handkerchief. Brother Demon would fix her business once and for all. Bent with determination, he continued the weary trek towards the track, which marked the final leg of his long journey.

He had given Rosia and the children a cock and bull story about working overtime, so they did not find it strange when he came home Sunday evening dying of fatigue. Tired though he was, he joked about work and his boss who was a workaholic. What they did not know was that he had paid Brother Demon a large sum of money to kill Rosemarie. They did not know that Brother Demon had promised Ivan to dispatch a ghost to Rosemarie's house to do the job that very night.

Ivan went to bed feeling very anxious. He couldn't wait to be rid of Rosemarie forever. He turned and tossed until Rosia had to ask him to go sleep on the couch in the living room. Not long after he managed to doze off, he was awakened when Neville came calling.

"Damn scamp," he muttered as he fell from the couch and hurried to meet Neville. He was surprised that it was already daylight. "Don't give anything away Ivan," he said under his breath. "Just keep calm."

"Morning Neville," he said as he opened the door. "What brings you here so early man?"

"Don't give me that crap, Neville answered. "Yu know a come for the money."

"The bastard think him smart," thought Ivan. "Although Rosemarie gone, him still want to collect." Then he said aloud, "I have no dealing with you. Why Rosemarie don't come for it herself?"

"Rose tired," answered Neville. "She spent the better part of the night packing and just as she managed to get a little sleep, a bastard came by the gate calling her name. Rose didn't expect anybody at that ungodly hour of the night, so mi shout out and ask which Rose him want. The person say him have appointment with Rose, so a give him the direction to your house, since Miss Rosia is the only other Rose in ..."

Ivan didn't wait to hear anymore. Dashing into his bedroom, he tore the covers from Rosia. He saw her open mouth and vacant eyes.

He heard the blood-curdling scream which escaped him and his eyes went dark. Then, silence.