A Helping Hand

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For the next decade or so, we spent our time making a home and raising a family. We were lucky enough to get two daughters, and each has done well. They both work hard, although it wasn't clear, during the teenage years, that it would work out that way. They seem to be happy, which is all a father can ask for.

As for Vera and me, we continued to spend much of our time at the club. We'd chat with people we have known for years and get caught up on how everyone's kids and grandkids are doing. It seemed that everyone was getting older, far faster than Vera and me. All in all, Vera and I were enormously lucky with our family and our marriage. We were very grateful for our good fortune, if not a bit mystified by it.

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It was a Wednesday when I saw the notice of Eric's death on the bulletin board in the men's locker room. He was only 67, a couple of years older than I. I hadn't seen him much recently, once I sold my business, so I didn't know he was sick. Someone had kept in touch with him after he left the club and posted a notice about the funeral arrangements. When I mentioned to Vera that I had seen the announcement, she stiffened a bit, then asked when the funeral was. I told her and she announced, in a way that brooked no dissent, that we were going. She knows I hate funerals and have threatened to boycott even my own, but she was quite adamant on this. So we went.

It was a nice service, I suppose, and Vera got more emotional than I would have expected. Of course, almost the entire club showed up; we stick together, even when someone has to leave the club for some reason. Various people got up during the service to talk about what Eric meant to them and it surprised me when Vera got up to speak.

She stepped up to the podium and looked out over the audience. "I hadn't known Eric for very long before he changed my life forever and for the better," Vera said. "He was one of the kindest souls I have ever met; I married the other one. He was always there to help a friend, and I benefited from him doing that very thing many years ago. I am forever grateful." Vera walked back to her seat and sat down. I wasn't sure what to make of her short speech, but we didn't talk about it until we got home. Instead, we milled about after the ceremony, expressed condolences to Eric's wife and kids, told them both how much we liked Eric, then chatted with friends, commenting on how, as we get older, this sort of thing happens with greater, even alarming, frequency.

When we got home, I opened the door for Vera and followed her inside. I tossed my keys onto the kitchen counter and paused, staring at the floor. "Honey, I wanted to ask you about that speech you made," I said.

"Okay," she answered, clearly a little leery of what I might ask.

"How did Eric change your life? Were you and he an item?" I asked. I have to admit I was a bit nervous. Vera could easily tell me things I didn't really want to know. But I had this strong curiosity about the relationship Vera had with Eric. I didn't even know she knew him.

Vera smiled. "No, darling, save your jealousy for someone deserving, although with what you're packing, I can't imagine you being jealous of anyone." She sat down on a chair and looked off into the distance.

"What is it, darling?" I asked.

"I was just thinking about how lucky I have been." She turned to look at me and said, "That's what I was thanking Eric for."

"I'm sorry," I said, "but I don't see the connection."

She took a deep breath and sat for a while. "Do you remember that stupid contest at the club, the one where you took away more than $100,000?"

"Sure. That saved my business."

"Well, that was the start of it. If it hadn't been for the contest, I don't think I would have found the opportunity or courage to leave that jerk I had as a husband at the time. I don't know why, but that contest and the thought of that many women indulging in that many fantasies opened my eyes somehow. I saw what a waste I was making of my life. I thought about it, becoming more and more anxious as the measuring day approached. You certainly lived up to your advertising." She cast me a quick smile. "And you legitimately won, although we cheated for you initially. George Garrison was one of the first to be measured and he was six and a half. We put him down as six and a quarter, to make sure you won."

"Well, I'm glad the victory was legitimate. What would you have done if I wasn't the biggest?" I asked, genuinely curious about these inner details.

"Oh, Eric had a plan, which we didn't have to put into effect," Vera said.

"Ah, that's the connection with Eric, then," I surmised.

"Well, sort of," Vera said, "but it was really more that he got the contest going."

"Huh?" I replied. "Eric didn't set up the contest, DJ did after I bet those guys I was bigger. That's how the whole thing started. Eric had nothing to do with it."

Vera smiled. "Yes, Eric was always good at that, taking something someone had started and making it into something spectacular." Vera paused. "Haven't you ever wondered why there were so many entries? Did all those men really think they had a chance? Jerry Halstead, a 90 year old? Really?" I admitted it sounded a bit odd. "Odd?" Vera blurted out. "Oh, my God, you are so incredibly, delightfully innocent!" She shook her head. "Look, here's what happened. Eric heard about the bet from Kathy, who can't keep her mouth shut about anything or for anything. When he heard what the bet was about, he asked around and pieced together some information that lead him to believe you had a real shot at winning." I didn't ask for details on how Eric figured this out; there are certain things one never wants to know. "So what he did was tell the membership that your business was failing but he had a way to help. He was the one who came up with the idea of everyone putting in $1000, even though most of them knew they had no chance of being the biggest. And everyone knew you would win, no matter what. That was the whole point, to help you financially without you knowing, so you wouldn't get embarrassed. You're very well liked, you know."

I didn't. I guess you never know until something bad happens and you find out who your friends are. And, like I said, the club is really just a bunch of friends who own a golf course. Really nice people, always willing to help another friend.

"So, you see," Vera continued, "it all came down to Eric. He got the contest big enough for me to have a chance to convince you of what I have to offer. And it was a chance to see what you had to offer."

"I assume you were suitably impressed?" I asked.

She laughed and shook her head. "No," she said, "that's not what I'm talking about, although..." she winked, "I was, and am, very impressed with that."

She leaned over and caressed my face. "No, my darling, I was talking about you, who you are. The sex was great, I'm sure you figured that out, but all that time we spent together was me finding out who you were."

"I was doing the same thing," I said.

She smiled. "I'm not surprised. Great minds take similar paths. In any case, I liked what I saw. I saw a smart, gentle man who needed a bit of help in the social area. I figured I knew something about that. And you showed that you could be a steadying influence on me, something I very much needed. My grandmother always told me to chose the one I could help the most and the one who could help me the most. And that's you."

"I feel the same way about you, and I think the last couple of decades of marriage have proven me right," I said. I gently rubbed her cheek with the back of my fingers.

"If it hadn't been for Eric, it's likely none of this would have happened," she said as she waved at the general "everything."

"Perhaps not," I said. "It's a possibility that I don't want to imagine."

"It's one I try very hard to remember," said Vera. "It's important, I think, to understand the way things could easily have turned out, so that you appreciate what actually happened." She turned to look at me, smiling as she shook her head. "And I really appreciate what I have."

"Me, too," I said. "It's far better than I deserve."

Fortunately, neither Vera nor fate agreed with me.

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