Speed of the Sound of Loneliness Ch. 02

Rebecca came over to my table and sat with me for a few minutes. Aser was off socializing with various staff and their wives and I realized that he saw that as an important part of his job. Rebecca and I had a dance and then the band took a break and she followed me back to the table.

"Pardon me for being nosey, Jack ... where's Mrs. Tompkins?" she asked looking straight at me.

"Ah ... we're ... separated." I stammered.

"Oh ... I'm sorry to hear that. My apologies for being insensitive." she said sincerely.

"It's OK, Rebecca. I guess I'm not making it easy by still wearing my wedding ring." I said.

"Are you hoping that you might get back together, Jack?" she asked kindly.

"I don't know. There are some wounds that have to heal. I'm not the guy I used to be. It's hard to say what will happen." I was floundering; asking myself the same questions that Rebecca was asking.

Rebecca sat up and I looked at her and she looked at me. She seemed to be appraising me.

"Aser thinks a lot of you, Jack. He say's you're one of the best things to happen to Interstate since he found Phil."

"He does? Wow ... I mean ... I know we get along well but ... I had no idea." I felt kind of guilty not telling him about my personal life. This party told me that it's an important part of her husband's beliefs. "I guess I should have been more honest and up-front." I offered lamely.

"Don't let it bother you, Jack. Aser is easy to talk to. When the time is right ... well ... I'm sure you'll figure it out." She smiled as she stood and headed to another table.

I sat there pondering that strange but satisfying conversation with Aser's wife. I guess I did owe Aser an explanation. Maybe I owed myself one too. There was nothing stopping me from taking off the ring, but there it was, day and night, always on my finger. I'll bet a psychiatrist would have a field day with that symbolism. I decided it was time I had a talk with Aser. I'd see him Monday morning if I got a chance.

I did get that chance right after the weekly Management Meeting and I asked Aser if I could have a few minutes of his time. I was relieved when he quickly agreed and asked me to follow him. He closed the door behind me and I sensed that he knew that his was a private conversation.

"Aser, I think I owe you an explanation about my private life." I began, somewhat hesitantly.

"Why do you feel that way, Jack? Your private life is just that ... private." he said quietly.

"I guess I never told you that my wife and I are separated. I should have. I don't want to keep anything from you. You and everyone here have been great to me and I don't want to do anything that would upset you or embarrass you."

"Jack ... let me put your mind at rest. I knew quite a bit about you before we had our interview. I did a little background digging with some contacts and learned quite a bit about you. I know the kind of job you had to do at SandStacker and I know from some of my friends just what kind of environment you were in. I also know what you accomplished last summer in getting your life in order and as you call it; creating the "new Jack Tompkins." he smiled. "I didn't know about your wife exactly except that you had separated and were living in an apartment. What interested me was the transformation you made from someone you didn't like to someone you did."

He stopped and looked at me for a minute. "I already knew quite a bit about you before we met. I was impressed with someone who could do what you did ... remake yourself. I wanted to find out if that could be translated into action here at Interstate. I took a chance based on what you said you believed in and how you would handle specific situations. The other people you talked to here all came back with the same opinion. You weren't the usual candidate. You'd handled a crappy situation in a crappy environment and despite Sandivale's best efforts to screw it up, you kept them in business. So now I get all the benefit of the new Jack Tompkins and I have to say I'm feeling pretty clever." he laughed.

Aser had a way of taking the tension out of a situation. I'd seen him do it a number of times in meetings and it was gift that most people don't possess. I was impressed if not a little disturbed that he could find out so much about my life with just a couple of phone calls, but when you have a lot of friends, information comes more easily. It was all good for me.

"I guess I can assume that I still have a job in the New Year." I kidded.

"That's a pretty safe assumption, Jack. There is one thing you can do for me, though." he said with a more serious tone. "You've been working very hard for the past three months; too hard in my opinion. I know you want to impress and succeed, but I don't want you burning out. I want you to take this break between Christmas and New Years and stay away from the office and leave that damn laptop here. You need a break. Go see family, or watch TV or whatever you feel like, but give yourself a break. I need you with full batteries in January because we've got some ambitious plans to share with you and there will be plenty of times that you will pray for a break; believe me." he said, pointing his finger at me.

How could I argue with my boss? "OK, I promise. I'll take the time off. Thanks, Aser. Thanks for taking a chance on me." I offered.

"Oh, it wasn't that big a gamble, you know." he said airily, and with that, the meeting was over. As I walked out of his office I realized I really hadn't told him anything about Molly and me. Maybe it really wasn't that important to him.

-0-

Christmas was on a Monday this year and by the final Friday, I was ready for a break. I would have ten days to myself with strict instructions from the boss to goof off. When I checked my bank account I noticed a deposit of nearly two thousand dollars had been made the same day. My mid-month salary had been entered the previous Friday and the amount was smaller than the month-end amount. I decided to check with Phil. I knocked on his door and he waved me in as he studied something on his computer screen.

"Hi Jack, ready for the holidays?" he asked conversationally.

"Yah, I really am ready. But I've got a question about a deposit from here in my account. I don't know what it's from or if it's a mistake."

"No mistake, Jack. It's a special Christmas bonus from the company. You've earned it and I should get on Aser's case for not telling you about it before you discovered it." he said with a sly smile.

I must have had a strange look on my face because Phil jumped in again.

"Jack, Aser and I believe in rewarding people for outstanding effort. No one has done more in less time than you have. You've earned every penny of if and I hope there's a lot more for you in the future. Now go on out to your nice blue car and go wherever you want for the next ten days." He stuck out his hand and I shook it heartily. "Have a great Christmas Jack and we'll see you next year."

I tried to see Aser before I left but either he was busy or he had already left; his door was closed. I walked out of the office after seeing all the department heads and wishing them a great Christmas and New Years. I was wondering how I could top this year; well ... at least the last half of it. I didn't have a clue what I was going to do with my ten days, but I had a nice little bank account these days that would pretty much allow anything I wanted. I thought about a last minute booking on a Caribbean cruise, but I wondered if I should be away at Christmas. Maybe I could go to Florida for a week. Disneyland? Nah ... that's for kids. For the first time in my life I had options and the money to choose one without worrying about it.

I had been working for Interstate only three months but the funds from the sale of our house came through and that put almost a hundred grand into my 401K. Then there was the three month severance that asshole Sandivale owed me. I put that in my savings account. On top of that, I'd been so damn busy that aside from my rent and food, I hadn't spent much money in the past three months, so most of it was still in the bank. When I looked at my chequing account, I had over twelve thousand dollars in it and I quickly transferred eight of it to savings. I had a lovely new Camry, a nifty cell phone and a terrific laptop. It was time to move up from my drab old apartment. I could afford it and to be honest, if I was going to play the role of the senior manager at Interstate Plastics, I really should have better digs. I knew what I wanted to do in the next ten days. I wanted a new home and I was going to start the search.

When I got back to my apartment that Friday night, I was a little light-headed and wondered for a second if I was OK. I took a blood sugar reading on my machine, but the number looked normal; 5.3. I guessed it was just the excitement of the last couple of hours. I phoned Aser's cell phone but he didn't pick up. I wished him and Rebecca a happy Hanukkah and thanked him for the bonus. I decided to celebrate and fished a bottle of wine from the pantry. I had been reading about wine lately and buying a bottle of this and that to try and find what I liked and what I didn't. I'd been satisfied with some French wines from the southern Rhone Valley and it was a bottle of Cotes du Roussillon that I chose that evening. I pulled the cork and let the bottle stand while I went into the bedroom to change into my jeans and t-shirt ensemble for the rest of the day.

When I got back to the kitchen, I had a look at my meal plan and pulled the lasagna out of the freezer. I quickly put some of the pre-made tossed salad mix in a bowl and took the Italian Dressing from the fridge. There were the remains of a French loaf in the bread box and I quickly made up a small garlic butter mix, spread it on the three remaining pieces and stuck it in the oven. The lasagna could go in the microwave and when I felt like it, I could have dinner within fifteen minutes. I looked around to make sure all was in order and then poured that lovely red wine into a glass and flicked on the TV to a news channel. I sat in my usual chair and put my feet up and took a sip of the wine. Hmmm. Good choice! I congratulated myself on being smart enough to listen to the clerk in the wine shop.

I don't suppose I had more than five minutes of peace when the phone rang on the table beside me. I picked it up and was surprised at the caller.

"Hi Jack, it's me, Molly." she said in a fairly bright voice. "Long time no talk."

"Hi Molly. You're right, it has been a long time. How are you?" I guess my tone of voice was pretty positive. Why not? I was on a roll and even at the end of a tiring week, I was happy with my lot and I had a nice glass of wine in my hand.

"I'm OK. Still working at Marie's and still living in the old house." she said. "You still in your apartment?" she asked.

"Yah, but I'm getting ready to find another place. I've been so busy that I haven't taken the time to look, but I've got ten days off now and I can get serious about finding a better place." I could feel my comfort at telling Molly this. I wasn't intimidated or nervous by what she might know any more.

"Jack, I wondered what you were doing on Monday? Anything special?"

"Uh ... Monday ... no ... no I don't think so. Why do you ask?"

"It's Christmas, Jack. Christmas Day. I just wondered what you were doing on Christmas Day." she said in a surprised tone. She was wondering if I could possibly have forgotten Monday was Christmas Day and of course the answer was yes!

"Oh, of course! I should have realized that." I scrambled.

"Would you like to have Christmas Dinner here?" she asked in what sounded like a careful voice.

"Oh ... I hadn't thought about it. I didn't plan anything." I stopped for a moment then made a snap decision. "Sure, Molly. That would be fine. Is anyone else coming?" I asked.

"No ... just you and I. I hate being alone on Christmas. It would be good to have you to share it with. I'll cook a turkey and we can have a nice, sit down dinner; not in front of the TV." she blurted out.

I had to laugh. She was thinking of the "old Jack". "I'll bring the wine." I offered. "Is there anything else I can contribute?"

"No ... it'll be good to see you again. Come anytime you like. I'll be home all day." she said, sounding happy.

"How does two o'clock sound?" I didn't want to sound too anxious.

"Two's fine. I'll see you then. Bye Jack,"

"Bye, see you Monday." I hung up the phone and put my head back in my chair. I wouldn't have bet fifty cents that I would be spending Christmas Dinner with the woman who kicked me out of my house and her life; but here I was, agreeing to do just that. To top it all off, I didn't have any regrets or second thoughts. Maybe it was the idea of spending Christmas alone for the first time in thirty years or maybe it was me trying to be a nice guy for a change. I had beaten her up pretty good in the last six months. Maybe it was appropriate that I could do something nice at Christmas.

I spent most of Saturday and Sunday looking through real estate ads for Drayton and the surrounding area. I hadn't really thought about what I wanted, but as I looked at the ads, I thought there seemed to be a good selection of new bungalows in subdivisions and the prices weren't out of this world. I had dropped in at my bank on Saturday morning and got a pretty good idea of what my borrowing power was and I was surprised. It was far more than I expected and I reset my expectations on what I wanted. I really enjoyed visiting the open houses on Saturday and although there was little on show on Sunday, I still got a good sense of what was available and where they were located. By Sunday afternoon, I had almost made up my mind that I wanted a new house in a new subdivision in Drayton.

-0-

When I rang the doorbell just after two on Monday afternoon, I was feeling a lot less confident and a lot more unsettled. I'd had too much time to think about this afternoon and my head was full of weird scenarios that might take place. I had spent some time on Saturday picking out a couple more gifts for Molly. I found a nice wool sweater in a pale blue that I knew she would wear and I chose a very nice pair of Italian leather gloves from a specialty shop downtown who promised me faithfully that they could be exchanged if they didn't fit. I had both gifts wrapped at the store to prevent my meaty mitts from making a mess of a simple job.

Molly opened the door and smiled at me. "Hi Jack. Merry Christmas." she said brightly.

"Merry Christmas, Molly." I handed her a small bouquet of flowers I had picked up the little corner grocery store that morning and leaned forward to kiss her on the cheek. It seemed to catch her by surprise, but she smiled again and I walked into my old home for the first time in over six months. I carried a plastic bag with the three gifts and put it by the side table next to my old lounger. There was a small artificial tree with a string of mini lights and several small ornaments on the end table beside the lounger. A couple of small packages were around the bottom of the tree.

I looked at Molly and I was surprised and impressed with her appearance. Her hair continued to be nicely cut but now coloured to a lovely dark mahogany tone with a slight hint of auburn. Her dress was a more modern soft yellow and had a low cut front, showing a nice bit of cleavage. Molly had nice breasts but always seemed to be shy about showing them. Changes were happening to her too. She had definitely lost weight, although she was not badly overweight to begin with. She looked very good and the changes had taken ten years off her appearance.

I took off my new overcoat and hung it up in the hall closet. I noticed only a couple of Molly's old coats there; nothing new. The room felt warm, so I took off my blazer and hung that up as well. I was wearing one of my new sport shirts with a new pair of grey wool slacks and my revamped black Bostonians. Molly was eyeing me from the Living Room and apparently approved of what she saw.

"Would you like an eggnog Jack?" she asked as she headed for the kitchen. The eggnog was a small tradition that we normally indulged in on Christmas morning.

"Thanks, yes." I answered as I followed her. I watched her make the drinks with the dark rum and eggnog mix; sprinkling the top with a bit of nutmeg and putting a small cinnamon stick in each glass. I took the drink from her hand as she passed it to me and we engaged in a silent toast. I took a sip and turned back to the living room. I thought about sitting in my old lounger, but that was another reminder of the past and I chose the sofa instead. Molly was watching me and I saw a slight smile when I chose the sofa and she joined me; albeit at the other end.

"You look very nice. That's a new dress?" I asked.

"Yes. I've been trying to find some nicer things to wear to work and I chose this as one of them. It's a bit daring, but the girls thought I looked good in it, so I took their word for it." She was speaking carefully, measuring her words. She hadn't quite relaxed yet and was a bit tense I thought.

"Your friends are right. It's very pretty. It makes you look younger. It's even a bit sexy." I grinned.

Molly blushed and looked away.

"I bought you something for Christmas, Jack. I hope you don't mind." she said tentatively.

"No, of course not Molly. I bought you a couple of things too. Why don't we open them now?" I suggested.

Molly nodded and stood up, walking to the end table and picking up a small package and bringing it to me. I thanked her and went to the table and handed her the package with the sweater. We both opened our presents as we returned to the sofa; still sitting at opposite ends. My gift was a new leather wallet with lots of places for credit cards. I thanked her and told her it was thoughtful and useful gift. As it happened, I had been meaning to get a new wallet for my business cards and corporate credit and I.D. cards, so it really was a useful gift.

Molly was very pleased with the new sweater and I was happy that the size was right as well as the colour. I had chosen a V-neck and I think she grinned as she saw that, but I couldn't be sure. I handed her the gift box of perfumed items and she was very pleased with that also. She still wore it as her favorite and I think she was surprised that I remembered that. Finally, I handed her the package with the leather gloves.

"Jack, this is too much. I just bought one thing. I feel terrible." she said with a forlorn look.

"Don't Molly. I just got a bit carried away. I saw things I liked and I thought you would too. I didn't mean to embarrass you."

She opened the last package and unfolded the paperboard cover to reveal the gloves. I saw the look of surprise and I thought, delight on her face. I knew it was something she would never buy for herself. She held the gloves to her face to feel the softness and smell the wonderful scent and looked at me with a big smile and a tear in one eye.

"Oh Jack. They're so beautiful. I wouldn't ever have thought of something like this." She tried the gloves on as I held my breath; praying that they fit. It was the perfect gift and I wanted it to be a perfect fit. I was in luck. They slipped on over her hand as if they were cut just for her. I let my breath out noisily and she looked at me in surprise.

"What ...?" she asked curiously.

"Nothing ... I was worried about the fit. I guess I got lucky." I thought about what I had just said and wondered when this string of good luck was going to end. It seemed that everything I touched lately turned to gold. I leaned back in the sofa; taking a sip of the eggnog and watching Molly examine the gloves on her hands. She was obviously more than pleased and so was I.