The Road to Love

Then I remembered Jane Holmes. I'm not proud of that. I always told myself that I did it as a favor to her rather than because of my lust. Even I don't swallow that anymore.

There was a period of several years when I was able to see Shirley on TV regularly. She was a sportscaster for a local station. I don't know what happened to her. I'm hoping that she moved up to a bigger market. She was good at that job. I'm betting that she moved up.

I know that Beth moved up. I saw her quite often on the tube. She was on late-night shows quite regularly and I even saw her on Saturday Night Live. I took Peaches to see Beth's show in San Antonio. I had told Peaches that I knew Beth, but not that I had been in a relationship with her.

When the show was over, Peaches pulled me towards the stage. She was a big fan and had bought a souvenir that she hoped to get Beth to sign. She gave up when Beth rose and headed towards the VIP room. As Beth walked by us, she recognized me. She yelled my name, waved, and walked down the steps toward us. She gave me a big hug. Peaches was in shock.

When I introduced them, Peaches handed the souvenir to Beth. She signed it, hugged both of us, waved goodbye, and continued her trip to the VIP room.

Peaches grabbed me and said, "What have you not told me? Tell me more about your friendship with this superstar."

I said, "Well, we dated back in the day. She remembers me, but not fondly enough to invite us to the VIP room. That's all I need to say about that."

Peaches showed me her souvenir. The signature said, "To my friend, Peaches. You are one very lucky girl. I hope you realize that. I wish I had. Beth Mason."

I know Peaches was impressed, but she put her souvenir away and I never saw it again.

Then, reluctantly, my thoughts turned to Monica. A few days after the canceled celebration that turned into a huge fiasco, I was thinking about trying again with her. If June had planned the whole thing to make me jealous, perhaps I had acted precipitously. I began contemplating calling Monica to see if she was interested in some coffee and conversation.

During my period of contemplation, I encountered June at the ACL Music Festival. She tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Hi, Roy. Are you still mad at me?"

"I would say more confused than mad, June."

"I'm so sorry. You have to believe me, Roy. I caused Monica to mess up---really mess up. If you aren't mad at me now, you soon will be. Here's the deal. Monica should have called you, but she just couldn't do it. I owe her big-time, so the task became mine. I knew you would be here, so I decided to bite the bullet.

"Monica has been feeling bad for a while now. She finally consulted her doctor. He took some tests. He advised her to call you since you might be getting sick soon. He said he hoped that she would let you know before you received a letter from the Department of Health."

"Are you saying she has an STD?" I croaked.

"Roy, she has AIDS. She had to give the doctor the names of all her sexual partners. She had only two, and you are one of them."

I'm a little slow, but I became interested fast.

"June, you said nothing happened that night," I yelled.

"Nothing was supposed to, Roy. We rented a room to make the whole thing seem real if you investigated. When they went there to await your arrival, things got out of hand. He told her that since they were going to be thought guilty of doing something, they might as well do something. It just got out of hand. I didn't know any of that when I was taking the blame. Turns out, his gate swings in both directions. You were right after all."

I got tested and I was disease-free. It makes sense since I didn't have sex with her after she had sex with her "gay" lover. Even so, that shows how an unintended fiasco can become a deadly one.

That brings me to Darla. I will always wonder if she played a part in bringing Peaches to me and in everything that followed. My brain tells me there's no way, but my heart thinks differently.

The way it all came together when she visited me on our third rendezvous. The little girl with the peach. Was it all just a dream? How can you dream a peach? I held it in my hand. Was it a vision?

Then, how about when I went to the bank to get a business loan? The fact that Peaches said she was "peachy-keen." Then she even said "Later Gator." Could it be a form of dualism? Could Darla and Peaches be cohabiting one body?

I finally resorted to admonishing myself. I said: "Self, get real. Maybe Darla did put in a good word for you up there, but Peaches is Peaches, period. Just accept your good luck. Some people never find a soulmate, but you were lucky enough to find two. Quit trying to analyze it or make it mysterious. You have been successful beyond your wildest dreams. You have a perfect wife and family. You have great business partners. Why do you need to know what forces or entities are behind everything? Just be happy. It is what it is. Just chill and enjoy it. You can't change the past and you can't foresee the future. All you ever have is right now, and right now is pretty spectacular. Your only duty is to relax and enjoy it!"

Then I rolled over and fell into a very contented sleep.

The End