Sex in Montpellier

Oh, what a day! First it was the usual stuff; high humidity caused a bad hair day. Then my car wouldn’t start, and I had to wait for the auto club which made me an hour late for work. Of course I snagged my hose getting out of the car, and after all of that effort my client canceled, and I could have stayed home.

Liz came into my office bearing coffee. “Mrs. Fox, Mr. Garner wants to see you at eleven since your day is now free,” Liz said.

“Do you know what he wants?” I said.

“No, but he didn’t seem too happy,” she responded. “Mr. Henderson was in to see him before he called for you.”

Liz turned away and my brain went into turmoil. I had registered a complaint against Henderson for sexual harassment yesterday, so I knew what it was about. This was my fifth similar complaint in five years that I had worked for Bigalow Architectural Associates. The first two guys were fired immediately, but now everyone seemed to object to my charges. Why should I subject myself to this abuse by all of those men with their beady little eyes and roaming hands? It was bad enough that I had to fend off Ernie every night, although come to think of it, I hadn’t had to fend him off for a long time.

After an attempt to make myself presentable, I marched into Garner’s office. He had a serious look on his face; no, not serious, hostile. I could see my harassment form on his desk, and his eyes wondered from the form to me and back. His secretary Margie followed me in and closed the door.

“Mrs. Fox, I have your complaint here. We are giving it our full attention, and there will be a full investigation of Henderson’s conduct. Does that make you happy?” Garner asked. I think I would have felt much more comfortable if Margie hadn’t had a small smirk on her face.

“Yes, Mr. Garner. An investigation will certainly bring his immoral conduct to the surface,” I replied.

“Mrs. Fox, the rest of this conversation if off of the record. I invited Margie to come in, so that we could have a witness that the conversation never happened. Do you understand, Mrs. Fox?” Mr. Garner stated in a matter of fact tone.

I was shocked by Garner’s tone and with Margie’s complicity. “I guess that means that you are going to whitewash the whole thing, right?” I said defiantly.

“Not exactly, Gloria. May I call you Gloria?” Garner retorted, not waiting for a reply. “I don’t know exactly how you could tell that Henderson was looking up your skirt, but that doesn’t matter. We are tired of catering to an uptight, sexually repressed bitch, so we are not going to whitewash anything. I am tearing up this complaint, and I am advising you to re-think your position regarding the matter. Gloria, it never happened, right?”

“So that means that to keep working here I have to subject myself to the inappropriate advances of every horny guy in the office?” I exclaimed while almost out of control. I tried to hold back tears, but the frustration had overcome me. I looked to Margie, but she didn’t even offer me a hanky.

“Gloria, you are a good architect, and a hard worker. No one questions your contribution to the company, but you have to get over this thing about men. Lord knows how your husband puts up with it. I am going to give you three days off. During that time I want you to think about your feelings, and if required, we will make arrangements for you to visit with the company psychologist. We want you to work here, but you must have a serious attitude adjustment,” Garner explained.

” Mrs. Fox, most of the women here believe that Mr. Henderson is a very nice person, and he is in no way offensive,” Margie chimed in. “Most of the women have believed that your charges in all of these complaints were unfounded because we found the men involved to be respectful and well behaved. Either you see something that we don’t, or you or you are just too up-tight, and I believe it to be the latter.”

“Now you have a nice few days off, Gloria. Liz has cleared your calendar, and you have until Thursday morning to either straighten up your act or turn in your resignation. Clear?” Garner asked.

“Yes Sir!” I said as I left the office. My insides were turned upside down. How could they do this to me? Oh God, have I really turned into an up-tight bitch? As I retuned to my office to get my things Liz came in. We were not friends per se, but she was a good person with which one could talk. “Liz, am I an up-tight bitch? Please be honest.”

“Yes Ma’am,” she replied without hesitation.

“Thank you for your honesty dear,” I whispered. “I will be back in a couple of days.”

***

My mind was spinning as I passed through the doors to the parking garage. A light mist filled the air as I reached the outside, so I guided by Beemer toward my home and my refuge. Suddenly the thought occurred to me that I didn’t want the loneliness of home, so I headed instead toward a local tavern which had great sandwiches at lunchtime. As I entered I noticed that the place was packed with people visiting each other as they ate or working on laptops to finish what they couldn’t in the normal work day. Lord, I knew how that was.

I found a table, ordered a Ruben and a dark Beck, and as I waited I reviewed the events of the day. Something inside told me that Mr. Garner had a point. After all I had made lot of complaints. Why did I do it? Ruffling feathers was not a good means of climbing the corporate ladder. I had a great job. Why was I ruining my chances?

My beer arrived, and I took a deep swallow as I tried to relax and clear my head. Work was not my only problem. I hadn’t had sex with Ernie in months. He never asked anymore. Maybe he is having an affair, but maybe he just got tired of my headaches, etc. I was beginning to see the male of the species as my enemy. I had started dressing so conservatively that I looked like a 19th century schoolteacher.

My reverie was interrupted when a man chose to sit at my table. “May I get that beer refilled for you?” he said in a gentlemanly tone. He was a handsome guy, one who would have attracted me in my younger days; sure, younger days about five years ago.

Gloria snapped,” Do I look like your whore or something.” There was no reply. Suddenly he decided that this bitch wasn’t worth the effort.

The bartender brought my order, but instead of minding his own business he said, “You were a little hard on him weren’t you?”

“I guess I was,” I replied. This is the second time today that someone has told me that I needed an attitude adjustment. I mulled over what had happened, and I guess it was finally sinking in. I was tuning off my co-workers, my husband and even strangers. If I kept going in this direction I was going to lose everything.

********

I spent the rest of that day wondering and thinking. The following morning I got dressed as if I was going to work since I didn’t want to bring Ernie into my problem. Never did I expect all of the events that were about to unfold before me.

I drove around aimlessly after lunch, but I soon decided that this was silly, and I decided to return home. I needed to talk, and Ernie was the one in which I should confide.

As I turned the corner to our street I saw Ernie’s car in the drive, but to my astonishment there was a second car behind it. Maybe he took off to play golf I thought. I parked on the street and entered the house making no effort to be quiet, but it soon became apparent that stealth was not important. I could hear Ernie and a female companion in the bedroom, and they were so absorbed in what they were doing that they could not have heard a train coming through the house. I charged up the stairs to spill my wrath and frustrations upon them, but when I came to the partially open door I froze; overcome by the sight before me. A pretty blonde about twenty-two years of age was on her knees with Ernie’s hard penis in her mouth.

Ernie had wanted to do the oral thing for fifteen years, but I would never consent to anything that nasty. It was no wonder why he wanted it. He was moaning with delight with her saliva dripping over his tool and down over his balls. Then I saw Ernie get rigid. He shook as if he was having a seizure, and then he blasted a load of his sperm into her mouth. She actually swallowed all that she could, but some still ran out the corner of her mouth.

I fell back against the hallway wall as my emotions ran wild. He had found someone who would do what I wouldn’t do. I was the one who promised to please him for life, but I had thrown away my opportunity to make him happy. Tears streamed down my face. I thought for a moment that I might become sick, but I forced back the inclination. I tried to put together the words that would spill out of my mouth as I prepared to make my assault on the room. I straighten up and tugged at my tailored jacket, but I couldn’t do it. The word bitch rattled around and around in my head, so I just stood and watched.

When I was in college guys talked about stories in which men caught their wives in situations like this. They would be angry and upset, but they would also get hard and eventually jerk off. I guess that is the difference between men and women because the one thing I wasn’t was wet.

Ernie crawled between her legs as she sat on the edge of the bed. “Oh yes, eat my pussy lover,” my nameless adversary yelled. I never let Ernie do that to me either, but as he worked his tongue the length of her slit and sucked on her clit I began to wonder what I had missed. “Oh yes, baby, right there. Please don’t stop. God, Ernie, I love it,” she exclaimed. She fell back on the bed with a look of ecstasy one her face as Ernie brought her up and left her wanting time and time again. Even from that distance I could see her pussy contracting while forcing her juice out of her vagina and down the crack of her ass.

After one last assault she grabbed Ernie’s head. “Stop torturing me, Ernie,” she screamed as she grabbed his hair and pulled his face into her wanton vagina. Oh, God. Oh, oh, yes, yes, oowww she wailed as her orgasm took control of her being. What had I been missing all of these years? Momma told me that sex was for making babies, but I was finding out otherwise.

Believing it was over, I retired to the adjacent bedroom, so that they could dress, and I could make a plan of action if I had any choices left. My tears had dried up, but the memory of my life before this left me there sobbing. I could hear them talking together in the afterglow, but I couldn’t hear words. Eventually the chat stopped, but nothing happened. No one left the room. I just had to investigate.

I peered through the crack in the door, and saw Ernie’s cock sliding in and out of the girl’s aching pussy. I didn’t even know Ernie could do it twice a week, let alone twice a day. Oh, how inadequate I must be. He was slow and loving with her, and he seemed rewarded as she had one orgasm and then another. “That’s right, Ernie. Do it slowly and easily until the sensitivity is over. Oh, Ernie, you are such a great lover. It is really a shame that you are married,” she said through labored breaths. “Ok let me get on top now, so I can finish you off.”

They changed positions, and she started riding up and down his pole, as he played with her breasts. That was about the only thing I had that she didn’t. I was only a “B” but I doubted that she could fill out an “A”. Their urgency increased as their passion rose until Ernie groaned while apparently filling her with his seed. Almost simultaneously she exploded with the grandest orgasm that I had ever seen. She screamed and shook as if she had no control over her body or the desire to control it. My heart sank as I realized that he didn’t even use protection.

I fell to the floor, no longer sobbing, but wailing with my anguish. Suddenly I saw the flash of bare legs pass before me as the girl made her escape; dressing as she ran. Ernie didn’t dress. He stood over me with juice still dripping off of his tool.

“The jig is up,” Ernie said in a matter of fact tone. “I knew that someday you would catch on, Gloria, but I have needs that you would never satisfy. I am not going to apologize, but I will leave. I suppose I should have done the honorable thing and departed a long time ago.”

“I love you, Ernie,” I said in a pleading voice. “I will leave tonight because I have to think, but when I get my head on straight I would like to discuss this. Do you still care about me even a little bit, sweetheart?”

I think I still love you, Gloria,” Ernie confessed,” but I am not going to be celibate just so you can be the ideal career woman.”

I needed someone to talk to, but it couldn’t be Ernie now. I needed a girlfriend, but I had none. I guess I had no friends at all. I decided to use the only option open to me and called the office to speak to Liz.

“Liz, could you meet me for dinner tonight? I need someone to talk to, and you are the only person that I know that would listen,” I implored. I didn’t want to cry, but I did and that must have touched a chord in Liz’s heart.

“Ok, Mrs. Fox, when and where?” she asked.

“Oh Liz, it’s Gloria, please,” I replied. “How about that steak place down by the river; my treat of course? Would six be ok?”

“Can we make it six thirty?” Liz asked. “I have to get something on for hubby and the kids, and get dressed.”

“Of course,” I answered. “Thank you very much, Liz.”

*******

I packed a small bag for one night, made a reservation at the Hilton and prepared to leave. “You will be here tomorrow, won’t you Ernie?”

“I am not sure why, but I will, Gloria. After fifteen years and three kids one more talk can’t hurt. I do have to work tomorrow, but I will be home at the regular time,” Ernie said.

I left, stopped to check in at the hotel, and went right to the restaurant to meet Liz. I knew I would be a little early, but a couple of drinks seemed right for me at this time.

I got a great table overlooking the river at about six, and I waited for Liz to arrive. She looked stately as she approached the table. She was tall and shapely with long black hair. “Mrs. Fox, oh, Gloria, is this about the office or something else?” she asked. “I know you were crying on the phone, and that is certainly unlike you, but you still have plenty of options at work.

The waiter approached, “Something to drink ladies?” he asked. “How about a bottle of chardonnay?” I asked, looking at Liz. She nodded and the waiter was off.

I started relating the events of the day through my tears, and Liz listened intently. I talked through the bottle of wine, dinner and a second bottle, and Liz softened and relaxed as I spilled my guts. She seemed genuinely interested in my problem, and started listening as a friend rather than an assistant.

“Liz, Ernie is the kind of guy that every girl wants. He is gentle, helps with the house work, is a good provider, is usually home when he is supposed to be, and he is a terrific father. ”

“What do you want, Gloria?” she began. “This may be repairable, both at home and on the job, but you are going to have to give up a lot. I don’t think you have to do sexual things that you don’t want to do, but you do have to take care of your husband. To tell you the truth I think sucking dick is great. You can let your repression take over your life or you can put it behind you, but it is your choice whether or not Ernie sticks around.”

“Just talking this out with you has made me realize that I have to change,” I responded. “I am just not sure what to do.”

“If it were me, and I wanted him back as badly as you seem to want him, then I would have the greatest dinner I have ever made on the table with flowers and dim lights when he gets home tomorrow. Let things go on from there, and if Ernie wants it to work then it will. You are going to have to give him some afterward though, without his having to ask. At work; just lighten up on your dress and don’t be so business like. Apologize to Henderson and Garner, let people use your first name, and smile once in a while. You are a great architect, and I think you could be a good friend to all of us if you would just loosen up some,” Liz advised.

After dinner we moved on to a small bar to have some more drinks. Neither of us was drinking enough to get drunk, but I did drink enough to gain the courage to ask for the answers that a grown woman should know by age twenty. The support and understanding that Liz provided gave me the strength to think and plan. My tears had dried, and my level head was once again preparing a plan to reverse the course of my life. Liz listened and I questioned.

“If you want to keep him you have to give him at least some of what he wants,” Liz rambled. “If as you say he no longer asks, perhaps it is because he has gotten tired of being turned down. You don’t have to be aggressive, but you do have to flirt a little, and to be truthful they like some aggression too. You will just have to re-think what you want Gloria. If it is not worth the trouble then maybe marriage is not for you.”

“But I have enjoyed the closeness that sex brings; I just can’t get the dirty part out of my mind. Liz, I have to give it my best shot. I can’t lose him. I will do what I have to, to get him back!” I said with a resolve that surprised even me.

We parted company and I returned to my hotel room. I knew that I couldn’t fix years of wrong in one night, but I certainly could give Ernie at least as much as that other woman.

************

I arrived home the following day at about 10AM with an arm full of groceries that would enable me to prepare the dinner of a lifetime. I also called Ernie’s Mom and asked her to pick up the kids from school and keep them over night. Of course she wanted an explanation, but all I could muster was, “I will explain later, Mom.” I parked in the driveway so that if Ernie did come home with his girlfriend he would not bring her in.

I called his office at about three to be sure that he would be home at the regular time as he had promised, and I responded to the receptionist with a pleasant “Hi, may I speak with Ernie, this is Gloria.”

“Just a minute, I will see if he is in,” the unidentified voice answered.

The wait was long and intense. What if he was unwilling to talk to me? What if he had already seen his divorce attorney? My brain was spinning with every conceivable negative that I could face including “get out of my house”. Finally his familiar voice came on the line.

“What do you want Gloria? Since you stayed away last night I assumed that we had said everything we needed to say yesterday,” Ernie stated in a matter of fact tone.

“I didn’t say or do everything I needed to say or do yesterday, Ernie,” I answered.

“I don’t want to fight, Gloria,” he replied.

“Neither do I,” I said. “Ernie, please give me a chance. Come home at your regular time. Please Ernie,” I begged.

“I expected to hear from your lawyer, not you,” he replied.

“Please don’t make this harder on me than it already is Ernie,” I said with a quiver in my voice, and tears streaming down my cheeks again.

He seemed to soften some as he advised, “Ok, 5:30 on the dot. No OT tonight.”

******

The house was darkened, with only the flickering of the candles that I had placed strategically around the living and dining rooms. I dressed in a silky little print from my younger days which barely came to mid thigh. I was a little proud that after childbirth I still had the figure that I had at twenty-two.

I heard Ernie’s car pull up and started a warm bath that he could enjoy with the Rhine wine that I had chilled. The smell of my home made French Onion soup filled the house, the butter was drawn, the salad was ready, and all I had left to do was to put the lobster under the broiler.

When Ernie entered the house he was astonished. I handed him his wine and led him down the hall to the bath. “I thought you wanted to fight and rant,” he said in a voice which was subdued by the mood that I had created.

“Thanks, guys. I don’t know how to thank you. I’m really sorry you got mixed up in my problems. I should have handled things better.”

“What happened anyhow, if you don’t mind telling us?”

“I mind but you need to know. I caught Janice in the middle of having sex with another man. She didn’t even know I was there. I placed my wedding ring where I was sure she would find it and left.”

“Damn, Boss, I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to say. I have no idea how someone would be able to deal with something like this.”

“I’ve already delt with it, Maggie.”

“Just like that? That quick? How?”

“Well, I got stinking ass drunk and I’ve had a good cry. All that’s left now is the aftermath. That shouldn’t amount to too much.”

“I don’t understand. How can it be over that quick? How can you stop loving someone that easy?”

“I do still love her but my marriage is over. Look, I have a philosophy of sorts. I’ve always thought if I were to walk in on something like that and she was being raped, the son-of-a-bitch wouldn’t leave the room alive. However, if he was there at her invitation, then I would flip him a quarter and tell him to go get a good piece when he was done with her. I forgot about the quarter but I did remember to leave my wedding ring. I’ve done all that needs to be done.”

Mike had sat there long enough without saying anything but he had to ask, “Damn, Jim, don’t you want revenge? Shouldn’t they be made to pay for their betrayal?”

“To what end, Mike? I’m not going to jail just because she decided she doesn’t love me any more. Why should I carry the guilt of harming someone over something as simple as a piece of ass for the rest of my life? That’s all it was, two consenting adults, trying to have a good time. They haven’t harmed me physically, so why should I harm them? They’ll probably destroy themselves sooner or later anyway.”

“Well, you’re certainly being awful cold about it.”

“Maggie, I’m going to go see my boss in a little bit and then I’ll get a motel room somewhere. I won’t be at work next week. Just pile the important stuff on my desk and I’ll deal with it when I get back.”

“You’re welcome to stay here if you want. We’ve got a spare bedroom and you won’t be any trouble.”

“Thanks for the offer Maggie but I have some things to work out. I think I need to be alone for awhile.”

I got up and left. They tried to convince me to stay but I wanted to be alone. Maggie said she would take my suit to the cleaners Monday morning and hang it in my office when she picked it up. They were super good people and I wasn’t about to impose on them any more than I already had.

* * * * *

I spent a little over two hours with my boss, at his home. I took him up on the offer to move and supervise the large one-year project he offered me a few weeks ago. When we were done, he told me to see the firm lawyer and then take a month off if I wanted.

I went to the firm’s lawyer after talking with my boss. Janice and I each had our own checking, savings and 401K accounts. We each contributed to the household account and she could have that. In her position, she made more than I did, so her accounts were larger. All I wanted was what was mine and I made that plain to my lawyer. He made arrangements for someone to pick up my work computer, clothes and a few personal items.

I refused to see Janice. I’m sure she would have had a lot to say. I didn’t have anything to say. I had said it all when I returned my wedding ring to her. Did I still love her? Of course I did. One doesn’t fall out of love overnight. Would I ever see her again? I hoped not. The pain would be more than I could bear. Did I hate her? No. I hated what she did to us. I’m sure she had her reasons, but nothing she could say would change what she had done.

I filled the tank on the car and left for the cabin. It was owned by one of my college buddies and he said I could use it any time I wanted. He claimed the fishing was excellent there and I was going to find out.

Chapter 07

Everyone has his or her own idea of what paradise should be. This was mine. The large one-room cabin looked down on a small lake. There wasn’t even a dock to disturb the beauty. A small rowboat was tied to a tree and the simple wooden bench sitting under the tree was actually a lot more comfortable to sit on than it looked. I know, because I had spent a lot of time on that bench, contemplating my life and options. This would be my last night here.

The cabin, though crude, had provided the peace and serenity I needed. A well, with an old-fashioned hand-pump, supplied water. A large propane tank provided for cooking and heating. There was no electricity. Two old-time coal oil lamps gave off all the light necessary. The bathroom was nothing more than an out-house, located a good fifty yards behind the cabin. The screened-in front porch looked south across the three hundred-acre lake.

Bathing options were not limited. You could use the large galvanized washtub on the back porch, or you could jump in the lake and wash with the turtles and fish. If you wanted a hot bath, you heated water in a bucket on the stove and then dumped it into the tub.

The nearest neighbor was three miles away. A ten-mile trip every other day to the closest town kept two large coolers full of ice for milk and meat products. The fishing varied, according to what one liked. Channel cat, bullheads, bass, crappie and sunfish provided hours of entertainment.

It was time for me to move on. I had a new life waiting on me a thousand miles away. Maybe there was something or someone, waiting on me there. Chapter 08

It had been a long, hard year. Work, eat and sleep. If it weren’t for Maggie and Mike, I don’t think I could have made it. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Work just went on and on.

The first thing I did was to buy a large gooseneck camper and a Dodge, duel-wheel, four-wheel drive pick-up to pull it. I parked it next to the engineering trailer, hooked into the site power supply and that’s where I lived.

The second thing I did was to con my boss into convincing Maggie and her husband to join me. Mike had worked in the construction trade all of his life. I talked to the main contractor and had Mike hired on as a crew supervisor. By the end of the first month, he was the shift coordinator for all three shifts. The main contractor was damn glad to have him.

The busy work schedule was good for me. It wasn’t unusual for someone to pound on my door at two in the morning because of some difficulty that had come up. I would solve their problem and maybe manage to get back to sleep before the day crew arrived at eight. It kept me from thinking about things that I wanted to forget anyway.

I hadn’t seen or spoken to Janice since that fateful day in the hotel room, a year ago. She had relentlessly tried to see or talk to me for several months afterward but I had steadfastly refused. I wanted nothing to do with her or her explanations. Maggie had presented me with several letters from Janice, over a period of time and I had her return them unopened.

Maggie decided that all work and no play made Jimmy a dull boy and an irritable boss. She insisted I accompany her and Mike to a nice restaurant every Saturday night, regardless of the workload. She was partly successful. I did manage to meet and date a couple of nice ladies. However, they were looking for a long-term relationship and I was unwilling to commit. I guess I sorta felt like; once burned, twice shy.

My boss had another long term project all lined up. I would take a long vacation, spend a month at the home office to review specifications and then head for the new site. Maggie and Mike were to take a long vacation and then go to the site and start on preliminary work. I would join them as soon as my work at the main office was done.

We said goodbye early on a Wednesday morning. I hitched up the trailer, fired the Dodge up and headed for home. Home, that was a joke. There wasn’t a home waiting on me any more. I had instructed my lawyer to give it to Janice. She had a lot more invested in it than I did. I took time to do a little sight seeing along the way and pulled up next to the cabin a week later. It wasn’t like I left it.

My buddy had managed to get electricity to the cabin and he had installed a small bathroom and a shower. Other than that, everything was the same. Well, not quite. He had installed a large refrigerator. That eliminated the trip to town every other day for ice. He worked for a large corporation and was currently in Europe, doing whatever it is a lawyer involved in mergers and acquisitions does. I had the place all to myself. After two weeks, I had endured all the peace and quiet I could stand.

The drive from the cabin to the home office wasn’t all that much fun. There were too many memories there and not nearly enough water had flowed under the bridge, so to speak, to erase them. I found a small campground not far outside the city, parked the camper and started making my boss happy.

Chapter 09

I ended up in the bank a few days later. My salary, which was good to start with, had substantially increased. My living expenses had decreased. The project had come in on time and under budget. To make matters better, I was holding a real nice bonus check as a reward for a job well done. I wasn’t the only one with a bonus check. The main contractor had given Mike a nice little check and a hell of a good recommendation for his next employer. I made sure my boss made out a nice check for Maggie as well. She more than deserved it.

Standing in line, whether in a bank or any other place, is boring. I was gazing around, wishing I were somewhere else, when I saw Janice come around the corner of a hallway. She stopped dead in her tracks, halfway smiled and made a little wave with her hand. I stared at her and didn’t wave back. She started to walk toward me and I slowly shook my head. Her face contorted and she turned around and hurried back the way she came.

I guess I should have changed banks a year ago. At the time, there just didn’t seem to be any need to do it. Seeing her sure ruined my day. I managed to conclude my business and left, contemplating whether I should change banks.

It was late on a Friday night and the ten o’clock news had just finished when I remembered I had a gift to deliver. Five minutes found the package and twenty minutes later; I was pulling up in front of Bear’s Bar. Stepping through the door, I had to stop and orient myself. The large bar that used to sit in front of the door had moved about ten paces to the left and it was much larger. Everything had increased in size. The dining area had been moved to the far left. Then the bar, then a very large social area and the whole place was much deeper.

I was pleased to see that Bear hadn’t increased in size. He was large enough already. He was sitting in his usual place at the far end of the bar. The only thing that really stood out was a very beautiful blonde lady sitting in the number one booth. A young black man was talking intently with her.

I walked up and gave Bear my usual greeting. “Hey, Bear, you been behavin yourself?”

“Well now, Jim, long time, no see.”

“Got a little something for you, big guy.”

I handed him a small gift that was covered with fancy wrapping, including a bright yellow bow. He delicately removed the wrapping, exposing a small bright red box. Inside was a copy of “The Courtship of Miles Standish” by Longfellow. It was a small book, measuring 3.75″ by 5.25″ and it was only 5/8″ thick. It had to have been printed in the early nineteen hundreds. The box, like the book, was in pristine condition. I thought for just a moment Bear was going to get emotional but he steeled himself and mumbled something to the effect that I shouldn’t have.

It took a while to get caught up. A lot had happened to the bar and a lot had happened in it. I told him about my job for the past year and when he asked about my family, I summed it up in one word, “Divorced.”

“That’s too bad, Jim, anything I can do to help?”

“Nah, it’s over and done with. I’ve accepted that and moved on with my life.”

“Ya can tell me that, but yer eyes say different. Ya still love her, don’t cha?”

“Yes, damn it, I do, but I can’t trust her. Hell, Bear, you know how it is. All the love in the world can’t overcome even a moment of mistrust and betrayal. It makes no difference if it was just once, or hundreds of times, the bridge is burned. You can’t cross back, Bear, ever.”

“What about forgiveness, Jim? You know, she asks, you give her another chance and start building again.”

“Can’t do it, Bear, just can’t do it.”

“Can’t, er won’t?”

“Makes no difference, the hurt is too much, the pain goes too deep. I can’t get past it.”

“Again, Jim, can’t, er won’t?”

“I don’t know, damn it! I saw her briefly the other day. You know, at a distance. It tore me up inside. I wanted to go over and kiss her and yet at the same time I wanted to beat the hell out of her. What am I going to do, Bear?”

“I don’t know, buddy. All I can tell ya is to follow your heart. That’s where you’ll find your answers.”

The young black guy that had been talking to the blonde in the number one booth got up and left. Bear watched him leave, seemed to consider for a moment, and then turned and asked, “Jim, would you do me, and yourself, a favor? Ya see that blonde lady sitting over there? She’s a very good friend of mine. Her name is Gail. Go over, sit down and tell her your story. All of it. Don’t leave nothin out. Start with when you first dated Janice, and don’t stop till ya get ta where ya walked in here tonight. If she has any questions, answer ‘em. Okay?”

“Why, Bear? What good will that do?”

“It may not do any good a tall. Look, Jim, we been friends fer years. I’ve never asked ya to do anything fer me in the past. I’m asking ya now, please?”

I had to consider for a little bit. Bear seldom asked for anything but when he did it was usually for a very good reason. Besides, I owed this man. He had done me a few favors back in my wild and glorious youth. Okay, fine. I finished the last swallow of my now warm beer, walked over to the booth, sat down and said, “Hello, my name is Jim, and Bear says I gotta talk to you.”

She closed her laptop, flipped to a new page in a large notebook, and looking at me expectantly, replied, “Hello, Jim, my name is Gail. Please begin.”

I began with the first time I saw Janice. I told her everything I could think of. The places we went, things we did, wedding, honeymoon, intimate details I had never told anyone else. Married life, love, lust, trust, future plans and goals. I hadn’t even started when a fresh beer appeared, as if by magic, in front of me. The only time she spoke was to clarify something I had said. I talked for three hours. By the time I was done, the table was half covered with empty beer bottles. One of the bouncers came over, helped me to my truck and drove me back to my camper. He must have had one of his buddies follow us because he was gone the next morning when I woke up. I had a bit of a hangover, but it was tolerable.

Things went pretty slow at work for the next few days. We didn’t cover a lot of ground and if we kept this pace, it would be at least two months before I could leave for the new site. I got a call from Bear late Friday afternoon, asking if I could stop by the bar later that night. I checked my social calendar and, finding I didn’t have one, agreed to have supper with him at eight.

Supper. That brought back memories. One ate breakfast in the morning, right after you got up. You had dinner along about noon and supper was the evening meal. Lunch was something you took to school, or work, in a paper sack and ate during the noon hour. If Bear invited you to dinner, you better show up along about noon. If you waited till six or seven that evening, you were just that many hours too late.

Chapter 10

I found Bear on the dining room side of the bar in his own personal booth. I started to needle him about it when I noticed Mrs. Bear sitting on the other side of the table. That changed things immensely, most notably, my behavior. Bear was large, loaded with muscles and the way he carried himself made you respect him. Besides, no one wanted him as an enemy.

Mrs. Bear, on the other hand, was medium in height, slender, had dark ebony skin that appeared to be as smooth as fine silk and the face of an angel. You could add to that, a musical voice, a heart warming smile and laughing eyes that danced right into your heart. You respected her because you couldn’t make yourself feel any other way.

The stunning blonde that Bear made me talk to last weekend soon joined us, accompanied by her husband, Paul. I think her name was Gail. We had a delicious meal of fish and fries, accompanied by a very fine wine. Talk around the table covered many subjects. Bear lost his street dialect and actually talked like the college graduate he was. Normally, he used street-talk and the slang of the area so his customers would feel more at ease. It was amusing when he would unconsciously mix proper English in with street-talk during the course of a conversation.

I learned a little bit about Gail. She was a famous author and although I don’t read much fiction, I had heard of her. She encourages people to tell her their stories and sometimes uses them in her novels. She is always very careful to change names, dates, locations, and anything else that might identify who the real people actually are.

Gail and Paul left, as did Mrs. Bear a few minutes later. That left Bear and I sitting there, staring at each other. The waiter came over and whispered something to Bear.

“Well, Jim, I have a confession to make. Janice is waiting in privacy booth number four to talk with you. I apologize for springing this on you. You don’t have to talk but I would appreciate it if you would at least listen.”

“Why, Bear?”

“Because, you need to hear what she has to say.”

“Do you know what she’s going to say?”

“No, but Gail does. She managed to have supper with Janice the other night.”

“So?”

“So, Gail thinks you need to hear what Janice has to say. I trust Gail’s opinion. Look, Jim, Gail and Paul were once where you are now. I personally know their story. They managed to get together and work their differences out. They are totally devoted to each other now. I trust Gail’s intuition on these things. Look at it this way, what have you got to loose?”

I didn’t say another word to Bear. I just got up, went to the bar and ordered a beer. I knew about the privacy booths. They were large, fully inclosed, sat against the wall, had a curtain that closed across the front and if you talked in a reasonable tone of voice, no one else would be likely to hear what you were saying. The waiters didn’t even bother you. There was a call switch on the wall. If you wanted something, you turned the switch on and someone would show up.

The local pimps liked these booths. They were large enough to seat eight. They could go in there with their working girls to settle up after a night on the streets. More than one gang war had been prevented because the leaders, at Bear’s insistence, had sat down in one of these booths and worked their problems out. Chapter 11

I slipped through the curtain and slid into the right side of the horseshoe shaped booth. A very good-looking Janice was sitting opposite from me. She certainly didn’t look like she was suffering very much. I looked into her eyes and they were saying volumes before she opened her mouth to speak. Determination … uncertainty … and fear? Yes, just a touch of fear.

“Hello, Jim, you’re looking well.”

Silence.

“Thank you for seeing me.”

Silence.

“Please … Jim … I’m sorry.”

Determination, uncertainty and fear had disappeared. All I could see now was regret. She scooted out of the booth and had started to open the curtain when I spoke.