If It Ain't One Thing Ch. 04

So, I was going.. home.

+++

The plane ride home was again uneventful, the last layover was six hours in Denver. That is a place that hopefully there will be no need for me to sit and wait at again in my life. Noisy is the description, at least when I was there. Hard to breathe, maybe the altitude.

Before I left, there had been some crying, which changed to anger, then finally acceptance. Debra understood that I was NOT going to stay in Boston, and she was NOT going to leave there and come back home.

I never did meet her new friend William, or was it Bill? Not that I cared, and that was for the best, my mood during part of my week long stay might well have had me just belting the guy. That would have been wrong, it wasn't his fault, to my mind it was Debra's fault.

My mood by the time I found myself sitting alone waiting for the flight home at the Boston airport was, bluntly, just fuck it, fuck her, fuck everything. I was already making some plans to change my demands in the divorce.

Let's face it, Debra's income for a few years had been well into the six figures, mine was Social Security except for a stint on Ebay where I actually did pretty darn well.

And, she had just inherited a pile of stuff, near as I could tell. An apartment building, investments, some stocks and bonds. Back home, I had a house, and my truck, plus a couple of healthy deposits Debra had made to our joint account in the local bank.

That was a tad over 300 grand, what was she trying to do, win me over to her way of thinking with money?

I don't know. probably to encourage me to join her in Boston, like money could do that? There is nothing on this planet that could make me live there, Oregon is home.

So, I went down and talked to my lawyer, he redid the papers, saw that she was served again. I was sure as hell that she would balk and put up a fight, the surprise was when the papers came right back, signed.

So, the house was mine, my truck and her Camaro, the joint account which was now in just my name, mine also. And, $100K a year. That last was the demand I had put in there, to make her resist. When she resisted, we would end up in court, filed in Oregon. That would make her come back, and I think in my mind I could then convince her to change her mind.

She didn't. I discovered later that 100 grand was likely not even noticeable to her, my mistake. Turns out her mother was a very rich old lady, far more than I even realized. The other truth is, I really don't care, enough is enough, more is just something to try and hang onto.

And, it was over. I made it home, got inside the house, the door shut, then I sat down.. and cried.

+++

I spent a decade after my wife Dotty passed, just being alive. Being alive while waiting to die is not exactly being alive, I guess.

I walked down to the Bayfront café I like to go to almost every day. Of course I got asked, so I had to explain that Debra and I were divorcing, she had decided to go her own way and I chose to go mine.

I knew very well that all I had to do was move to Boston and she would be right back in my arms, lord knows we sure spent a lot of time messing around that last week I was there. But I refused, she cried, she begged, she did everything she could think of to convince me, and finally accepted that she could not.

By now, it is late September, I figure she has moved on, maybe with that Bill guy or who knows? Debra is a very highly sexed woman, and she is also rather uninhibited, so I knew of course she would find a partner. Nothing I could do about it.

The shock to my system came one morning when I happened to step on the scales. I stepped off and right back on.. 208 pounds??? In less than three months, not even that long, I had gone from a solid 180 to 208?

That same afternoon, I went down to the gym.

+++

One thing about working out regularly, twice a week like Debra and I had been doing for close to a decade is that if you stop for any period of time, it's like the reversal in the old body happens far more quickly than any gains.

Good lord did I hurt the next day!

So, I went and got a massage, from Mrs. Devlin. who has a home office. A nice normal one, sorry. I suppose I could write that It got all nasty and stuff but it didn't, it was one of those therapeutic types, intended to make a person feel better.

Which it did.

Besides, Mrs. Devlin in a nice lady about 50 or so and roughly 300 pounds. Her hands are magic.

I also dumped a bunch of my purchases of "food" in the trash can, did some shopping for real food. By God, if I was going to live alone, no way in hell was I going to go back to being the tubby old man I was after a decade of living alone following my second wife Dotty's passing.

I took up jogging, too. They call that shuffling at my age, but barely a week of that and darned if I wasn't actually moving at a pretty good clip. Get this, at age 76, I can do a mile in 12 minutes. Go ahead, try that sometime.

I had expected some reaction from my now ex wife, I didn't get any at all. Barely three weeks after I was back, the first check arrived. $8300.00. Assuming things did not go all to shit in Boston, I was going to get a check like that every month for the rest of my life, unless I remarried which was unlikely as hell.

How damn much money did Debra inherit from her Mother? Damned if I know, but it appears to be one hell of a lot.

Except for about one almost a year long period, $8300 was more money that I could call MY money than I ever had coming in in my life. So, no financial worries there.

Interestingly, Debra could have just done direct deposit, easy in today's world. But nope, she insisted she would just send a check. I looked at the check, then saw the note she sent with it.

Since Debra is a Doctor, she writes funny. Her letters are a series of to the point notes, just describing what happened and when, stuff like one bedroom got finished and they started on the second one. How she and Bill went to dinner at some fancy restaurant, how she was on her way to a meeting about some sale of property that I knew nothing about and she got stuck in traffic for two hours. And she ended it with how much she loved me and she hoped I would change my mind.

I think I read and reread that maybe 30 times. I admit I just do not understand any of this.

I have a feeling it really isn't all over. I sighed, got up and drove to the bank, deposited the check.

Then, I went to the gym. I walked in the door, someone called out "Danny!!"

Looking over, there was Kate. Kate is the nursing student that took care of me after my last accident, she is a sweetheart and cute to boot, a redhead. I went over to her, gave her a big hug.

We did our workout together, that was fun. Then, I took her out to eat, we both had a nice big salad. She got a sad look when I brought her up to date on what all was going on, then she got a curious expression on her face.

"How about I come back and live with you, we could share costs and stuff? Paying rent and all plus keeping up with tuition is really tough, and I will have all of those student loans to deal with, it would really help." She said.

"I thought you had a boyfriend?" I asked.

"He didn't last long, he liked my girlfriends as much as he did me." She tipped her head back and laughed.

"If you do, how about you just help with the housework and stuff and we call it good?" I told her. Hell, I have no house payments, no car payments, just utilities and internet, TV, the usual stuff. Kate can cook, she does laundry, about everything a wife would do except share my bed. Plus a few times she has done a few things that might raise eyebrows if it was common knowledge.

Not that I was going to be pushing that, Kate being way less than half my age.

"Great! Sure." She hugged me again.

+++

So, here I sit, writing, it's the 10th of November. Strange weather, in the low 60's, no rain. There is a nice mess of fish in the kitchen I caught yesterday, I plan on going in and filleting them in a few minutes.

Closing this for now, Kate has been coming in and out carrying stuff, she will take the spare bedroom just like before. The last two weeks she has been moving back in on Sundays.

People will probably talk, there was a bit of that before but since Debra was here, not so much. But now, here is grandpa living with a very young and very cute little redhead.

One funny thing did happen, Marilyn, the lady that brought by the pie a few weeks ago showed up with another one. Kate answered the door, they chatted a little bit and she came back in with the pie.

"A nice lady brought you a present." She told me, a twinkle in her eye.

"Great, let's have some!" I hopped up and went to get some ice cream.

Might as well enjoy the pie, probably going to be the last one I get from Marilyn since Kate told me she acted mildly upset at seeing her answer the door in just a shorty robe.

Good pie, too.

I can't make this stuff up.

+++

It was mostly an anticlimax when my attorney called and told me the petition was granted. We talked briefly, then I went in and sat down in my chair. I was still there when Kate came home. Some guy with her, tall, on the skinny side, scruffy short beard.

"This is Gene, he is in one of my classes." She told me. They guy seemed tense when he walked in the door, he looked at me and visibly relaxed.

"Kate told me she had a roommate, I didn't expect..." His voice trailed off.

I got that, he expected some guy, like competition, but here was a grandfatherly old man, white hair and not what he would consider competition at all. Knowing Kate, she would have just told him about having a roommate, not likely she described me as just an old man.

I offered him a beer, which he accepted, then drank half of it in one pull, maybe 60 seconds later he sat down the empty. By the time they left, off to something, who knows, my six pack was gone.

I was thinking I had best have a chat with Kate about that later. I was just settling down to watch CSI someplace when someone was at the door.

Marilyn, no pie this time. Kind of a surprise.

"Hi, Danny. I was bored, I thought maybe you could use some company?" Big smile on her face. Hell, why not, I let her in. I would have offered her a beer but the kid had sucked down all I had, so I went in and made some Tea.

Marilyn was easy to talk to, not all that bad to look at, and I found myself confessing about my marriage going in the toilet, why I had a young lady living with me. I told her all about Sandi, my sort of daughter and her being married to our County Sheriff. She got a good laugh when I explained the brief struggle with that Carlos asshole that was Sandi's "boyfriend" back then (That story is posted here someplace)

It was a nice visit, she left around 10 PM and I went to bed.

Alone.

Noise woke me up, I glanced at the clock, it was almost 10, had to be morning. I never sleep that long, certainly not over 10 hours but I sure did that night.

I tugged on my robe, normally I would not bother but I sleep naked and now had a roommate. Sure, I had seen Kate naked and she had seen me, plus she had done a few things to me back when she was needing to help me bathe, but the relationship was not like that if that makes any sense.

In my kitchen, there sat Millie at my breakfast table. 10 AM, she was dressed in what looked like a going out on a date outfit, a little low cut. Hair styled, makeup, I had to admit she looked nice but what in the hell was she doing in my kitchen at 10 in the morning?

Kate had a huge grin on her face, told us she had someplace to be and left.

"Hi, Millie! You look nice, what's up?" I asked as I poured myself a cup of Coffee. I also smelled some Bacon, glanced over and realized I was starving. I didn't eat dinner and I had no lunch the day before either.

196 pounds and headed back to in shape.

"Oh, just in the neighborhood, and thought I would drop by and see how you are doing." She said brightly.

Millie left about two hours ago, she was a bit more energetic this time. Hell, maybe she can be trained, who knows? She does have a nice body for an older lady (listen to me, I am 76 and call Millie an "old" lady..)

She also carefully trimmed things down there, the last time she was on the shaggy side. I did some serious licking, thinking she might return the favor but no such luck.

I plan on taking her down to see Charlene at the salon, get her waxed. She saw that I am of course, and asked questions. Mostly, does it hurt, stuff like that. Plus she uses the tips of her fingers on me, sort of different. I didn't try to stick it in her mouth yet, she just might throw a fit.

I haven't as yet mentioned any of my little kinks, I can hardly wait to see how she reacts when she realizes I get a happy ending after my own waxing session. I already spoke to Charlene, told her the situation, and suggested she maybe push things a bit with Millie, see what happens.

Worst that can happen is she hits the roof. Charlene cracked up at the idea. But then, I happen to know that Charlene likes me too.

One of these days...?

Of course, there is Marilyn in reserve. I haven't tried that yet.

So, this old man will be just fine, I really will be.

The bad part? There usually are bad parts in situations like the one I am in.

I woke up a couple of days ago, from one of "those" dreams. The hopeless ones, like lost and trying to find the way back, but there is no way back. Every corner turned has a new obstacle, no end to them. That kind of dream. Falling but you never land. That kind of dream.

I keep having those, over and over since I got home.

I wake up, sometimes sweating.

I reach out for Debra.

She isn't there.