Speed of the Sound of Loneliness Ch. 03

"Molly, Marina has arranged to have us look at a couple of other homes in this area this afternoon. It'll give you an idea of what the area is like and you may see something you like better." I said by way of explanation.

"Ok, but I can't imagine anything better than this." she said her voice trailing off as she looked around her again in wonder.

We left 1511 and headed for the next house, a couple of blocks away. It was a conventional lot and a nice home, but didn't have the view or impact of the previous candidate. I knew Marina had set this up to make our first viewing the most dramatic and therefore the most likely one we would chose and when we got to the third house, it was almost a disappointment. It was a small lot and had a conventional layout with a formal dining room. There was nothing about it that grabbed either of us even though is was a nice, new modern home.

I had a sense that the choice was already made but I knew that Marina still had four others that were available for viewing.

We stood in the kitchen of the third home and I asked Marina the key question in my mind.

"Marina, are any of the other four homes as good as 1511?" I asked pointedly.

"To tell the truth ... no. They're nice homes and some of them are lower priced, but when you look at that lot and see the potential, I would say none are as nice as that. That's why I wanted you to see if first."

"OK. Will you excuse us for a couple of minutes please?" I asked.

She nodded and moved to another room. There was really only one question on my mind.

"Molly, do you see anything about 1511 that you don't like or anything you don't understand?"

She shook her head. "No ... nothing. It's perfect. It's better than perfect. I could live there forever." she said with emotion.

"OK then. It's settled. We're going to make an offer on it." I said definitively.

Molly looked at me with her eyes wide and when she decided I was serious, she lunged at me; encircling my neck with her arms and holding me as tightly as she could. I'm not sure she believed what I had just said, but it didn't matter because I called Marina back in and told her our decision. She had a big smile when I told her our pricing strategy and nodded in agreement. We signed the offer sheet back in her office and then with good luck handshakes all around, we left and headed home.

I had to admit, there was a surrealistic quality to the events of the last five days. I walked through the front door of our old house on Monday afternoon, Christmas Day, with some trepidation and by Friday, we had made an offer on a new home for ourselves. I've never thought of myself as being impulsive but I had to admit that I had been very impulsive this past week and I was just as mystified at my behavior as Molly must have been. When I sat down to think about it, however, I didn't have a single regret or a single second thought.

When we didn't hear back from Marina over the weekend, we assumed the builder wasn't available and we would just have to wait for a few more days to get a response. In the meantime, Molly had picked up her new dress and we prepared ourselves for the New Years Eve party. Molly was dazzled by the suite I had rented and we made love before getting dressed for the party. We were both giddy with excitement over the prospect of the new house, our new life together and the fun we would have this special New Years.

I was relived to see that many of the men at the party weren't wearing tuxedos and I didn't feel out of place. My new shirt, tie and my well polished Bostonians had made my somewhat conventional blazer and slacks look pretty good and Molly looked spectacular in her new dress. She had splurged, as she called it, on a new small clutch purse that matched the shoes she had chosen to wear and I felt pretty lucky to have her on my arm as we walked into the dining room just before seven.

The meal was very good; four courses with a nice pair of wines on each table. We were seated with three other couples; all of whom were from Drayton. We introduced ourselves as the about-to-be new imports from Brentwood and I mentioned that I worked at Interstate Plastics. That got the attention of two of the men who had a business relationship with our company and the conversation was off and running. Molly, to my surprise, struck up a conversation with two of the wives and they seemed to be pleasantly engaged as well. Two or three other couples drifted over to our table after the meal and more introductions were made. I was going to have difficulty remembering everyone's name but I did remember I had my business cards in my blazer vest pocket and gave one to each of the men I was talking with.

Finally, the band struck up and soon the tables began to thin out and Molly and I were able to talk to each other for a couple of minutes. She was obviously enjoying herself and her new role as a local executive's wife and it didn't take much persuading to get her out on the dance floor. I don't remember when we had last danced, but it was a long time ago. We molded into each other as if we had done this every day and I found myself becoming erect as I could smell her perfume and the touch of her skin. She detected my arousal as well and leaned back, grinning at me without saying anything and then returned to our close embrace. I'm no great dancer, but I felt like we were completely in tune right then and I didn't want the music to end.

I was lost in my lewd thoughts when I spotted familiar faces in the crowd on the dance floor. It was Phil Tupper and Diane. I had obviously missed them when we came into the ballroom earlier. I mentioned to Molly and we gradually danced our way over to them.

"Hi, Happy New Year!" I said to them. "I'd like you to meet my wife, Molly." I blurted almost too quickly.

Phil put on one of his really big smiles and Diane held her hand out to Molly.

"Wonderful. Happy New Year to you too. Great to see you here." Phil enthused.

We joined the Phil and Diane at their table, exchanged partners for a couple of dances and generally just talked and enjoyed the evening. Shortly before midnight, we excused ourselves much to the surprise of the Tuppers and headed upstairs to our suite. As ordered, the champagne had arrived and after I loosened my tie and took off my jacket and shoes, I opened the bottle. We toasted the New Year right on the stroke of midnight and then I undressed my lovely wife and then myself before we retired to make love for quite some time. I was slow and fluid and emotionally intense. We both sensed that this was the beginning of the rest of our lives and we wanted to savor the moment for as long as possible.

-0-

The New Year brought a landslide of activity for both of us. Our offer of $260,000 for the house was countered at $265,000 and we settled in the middle at $262,500; within a couple of thousand of my target. The mortgage was arranged and new furniture was purchased for the Living Room; now known as the Great Room. Some other pieces were included to set up my office and Molly's kitchen. The rest of our old furniture would do for now and we could replace it as time went by and we saw things we liked.

Molly finally told me where her new found sexuality came from. It was one part 'The Girls' at Marie's and one part eavesdropping. The girls constantly talked about their sex lives with their husbands or boyfriends and Molly began to accept the less inhibited lifestyle they represented. The capper was an overheard conversation between two women while they were waiting for her to cut some fabric. They were obviously talking about a man they had their eye on and as Molly pieced the conversation together, she realized with a shock that they were talking about me. It seems the women were in the Wednesday afternoon swim group and had set their sights on me. Molly couldn't know that I stopped going on Wednesdays when I started my new job, but she was upset and determined no one was going to get to me before she did. We had a good laugh about that when she told me.

Molly got her drivers license and began commuting to Brentwood, using the state highway rather than I 65; she felt more confident on the less traveled two lane road. I threw myself back into my work and we had the fresh start we were looking for. The first week after New Years, I took Molly in to meet Aser and the rest of my 'gang'. Unexpectedly, Rebecca was there and you'd have thought Molly was a long, lost relative. She left the office feeling very welcome and very good about the people I worked with and quickly understood why I was so happy in my new environment.

After some argument, I got Molly to agree to my plan for a second anniversary. Our true anniversary was the 17th of April, but I thought we should be celebrating June 5th as well. It was the day she threw me out and the day that everything started to get better for both of us. It took some convincing, but she finally saw my point and we celebrated both dates in fine style.

I was traveling more; as I had expected and my homecomings were wonderful occasions. Even if I had only been gone a day or two, I was welcomed home by Molly in a very intimate way and it reminded me of how much I had missed when we were apart. Even though I called her every day, it was the personal contact that made all the difference.

Molly's next big surprise was in August when I told her that she needed to plan a couple of week's vacation in October. Aser, Phil, Keith and I were all going to Düsseldorf to the "K show", the world plastics exposition, and our wives were expected to accompany us. I think Molly nearly fainted when I told her and then added that since we were going that far, I didn't make any sense not to go to Paris and London while we were there. We hadn't been on a vacation together in a long time and it was another thing I wanted to rectify. She had already applied for her passport at my insistence and it would arrive in late August.

I was out on the West Coast in July and took Molly with me for a long weekend and a couple of extra days. We were looking at acquiring a now-derelict blow-molding plant in Vancouver, Washington and I needed to work with Phil to see what it would take to resurrect it and how much that would cost. We landed in Portland and Bonnie and our grandchildren met us at the airport and took Molly to their home in McMinnville while Keith and I headed across the Columbia River to do our work. Molly went home before I did, but thoroughly enjoyed her visit with our daughter and her family. Her husband got home from his latest long-haul trip and got reacquainted with his mother-in-law as well.

The trip to Europe was everything I had hoped for. There was too much to see at the "K show" and we had to be very selective on how we spent our time; planning each day ahead for our objectives. The 'girls' on the other hand, were on the loose and formed a fun foursome. Rebecca was the leader but Sherry was the fun instigator and Molly and Diane just enjoyed the four days of sightseeing and shopping. We all met each evening before eight and headed out to dinner together. We had become an inseparable group and each night Molly told me how much she was enjoying this trip. She told me in the most meaningful way possible.

We split up at the end of the show and Molly and I took the fast train to Paris and a few days later, the new Eurostar to London; through the 'Chunnel' no less! Molly loved Paris but she really was absorbed in London. Perhaps because of the common language but more likely because of all the famous locations; she reveled in every moment and as she did, so did I.

When we got home in late October, it was back to our usual 'new' life. We had some wonderful memories to keep for a long time and I found Molly and Rebecca, particularly, were developing a close friendship. If she hadn't been working at Marie's, I think she would have been spending a lot of time with her new friends. We had gotten to know our new neighbors and there were three other couples who were about our age group or older that we would see socially for a barbeque or an evening card game. We had settled into a nice suburban life in our new home and new home town. I often thought how lucky I had become. I couldn't account for why unless the 'gods' thought I was owed some good luck, but I was willing to take it as it came.

When I think back now, those were the eleven happiest months of my entire life. Everything was so perfect; my renewed marriage to my lovely wife, our new home, the great job and the good people I worked with and who I counted among my friends. I think that's why I was able to make it through the next two months without coming apart at the seams. When our receptionist called me to the front office on a cold, rainy Thursday morning, I wasn't expecting the shock that I was about to receive. It was the State Police and in a soft, soothing voice, a young woman officer informed me that Molly had been in an accident on the highway and had been killed.

I have no idea how long I must have sat at in the lobby, staring off into space. I vaguely remember Jennifer coming and asking if I was alright. I must have said something because she rushed out and a moment later Phil and then Aser came and led me to Aser's office. It's still a blur, but I know I recited the information the State Police officer had given me, but I really didn't know what to do next.

A while later, I was still in Aser's office when Rebecca came in; tears streaming down her face. She was saying something to me, but she was sobbing so violently that I couldn't understand anything she was trying to say except her sorrow and grief at my loss. She was hugging me and then Aser and then me again. I was beginning to get my wits about me and I remembered I had to go and identify Molly at some point. Phil phoned the State Police and then volunteered to drive me to the morgue in Brentwood for which I was grateful. We made the half hour trip and in one of the worst moments of my life, the man lifted the sheet and there she was; a ghostly white face surrounded with her still beautiful dark brown hair. I had hoped it was all a horrible mistake and that it couldn't be Molly, but in that terrible moment all hope was dashed and I knew that she was gone.

We headed back to Drayton and Phil dropped me at my house, telling me not to worry about my car; it would be brought over later that day. I walked into our lovely new home and I had an immediate flashback to a year and a half ago, June 5th, when I realized I was alone. I stood in the Great Room looking out over the beautiful scene toward the woods below. The trees had lost their leaves but the grass was still green. I had lost my Molly but I was still alive. This time, there would be no reconciliation; no second chance. This time, the separation was final.

I got through the next two months thanks to my friends. They rallied around and supported me without suffocating me. I began to recover my energy and went back to work the next week; if for no other reason than to have something to do. The daytime wasn't so bad. I was busy and I had people around me. Walking through that door every night was the hard part. I was alone and I was very lonely. My meals were by myself and my bed was empty on one side. My nights were interrupted by dreams and memories and the overriding sadness of my loss.

I couldn't face Christmas alone and I headed for McMinnville to stay with Bonnie and her family. I'm sure she was a little apprehensive that I might sour the Christmas mood; especially for the children, but I managed to put on a good face and got through the week without spoiling anyone's holiday. When I headed back home just before New Years, I hugged everyone and told them that I would see them soon. I didn't know how prophetic my comment would be.

In the New Year, Aser completed the purchase of the old Vancouver plant and we began the process of purchasing equipment and hiring employees. That's when he threw me a curve ball. He wanted me to run the plant since I had been responsible for putting the recovery plan in place. He would 'loan' me Keith to get things started and I was going to have a bright young man from our Co-op program to work his way into Production Management. Phil promised to help find a good Controller and we had our eye on another young woman from the Co-op to be our customer service/production planner in the early stages. We didn't have to worry about business; there was plenty for us to get going when the equipment and people were available. It was just a matter of the time it would take to get things going.

I thought it was ironic that my good luck in my career had continued unabated when my personal good luck had come to such a horrific end. I was happy to have the challenge in Vancouver and I knew I wouldn't regret leaving Drayton. The good memories would stay with me, but I didn't think I could live in that house any more. It was the house I bought for Molly as much as for me. I had a few months of great joy and perhaps that's all some of us get in our lifetimes. I would celebrate them in my memories and I would move on to my new life. I was hearing the echo of the sound of loneliness once again.

The End

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The title "Speed of the Sound of Loneliness" is from the John Prine songbook. John is a good 'ole boy from Southern Indiana.