The Road to Love

I pointed to the big table that was being cleared. "I had that table reserved for a celebration. I had to cancel it. That's all."

"What were you going to celebrate?" she squeaked.

I pulled the little box from my pocket and flipped the lid open. She saw the ring. She saw the shining diamond surrounded by glistening sapphires.

I turned to her colleague. "Brandon, I'll be returning this ring to the jewelry store. I designed it specifically for Monica. You might want to reserve it. I doubt that you could find one that she would like more."

I then looked down and spoke to the table. "I hope you people have a better night than I've had. Goodnight Brandon. Goodnight June. Goodbye Monica.

As I walked toward the door, I felt a hand grabbing my arm. It was June.

"Roy, this is all my fault. I set this up. I told her it would make you jealous and get you off of dead center. I had no idea what you had planned.

"She has no interest at all in Brandon. Roy, Brandon is gay! He went along with this to help us. It was all staged. None of it meant anything. Call the guys back. Do this thing the way you had planned. Blame me. Don't hurt yourself and Monica because of my insanity."

By then, Monica had joined us. She was crying uncontrollably. I looked at her and said, "You embarrassed me in front of my friends. They will assume that you were in a room with Brandon whether you were or not. They will be sorry for me, of course. They'll pity me. They'll laugh behind my back wondering how blind I must have been. I may recover from this, but it will take a long time."

Monica grabbed my hand saying, "You heard what June said. It was all a setup. Nothing happened."

"Is that your story, Monica? Are you sticking with it?"

"Yes, and yes," she answered. "It's my story because it's true, Roy."

I turned to Brandon. "I've seen you at work functions with a girl on your arm. I've seen you on dates with girls. Now, I've heard of people coming out of the closet, but you're the first one I've heard of that decided to jump into the closet. At best, you're 'bi,' at worst you're a liar."

"Look, you don't understand," he responded.

I turned on my heel and headed for the exit. Both June and Monica grabbed at me as I left, but I pulled away. I drove home knowing that my life had changed forever.

Both Monica and June made repeated attempts to get me to reconsider. They stopped saying nothing had happened. Now they just said it was a huge mistake. Even their parents called me, but it was over. I could never trust Monica again.

Even if she didn't have sex with Brandon, she showed a total lack of respect for me by going along with such a devious plan.

If she would do that now, what would she be capable of doing after we were married? It was over.

My experience with Monica soured me on the whole dating scene for a long time.

Mandy:

(Peaches)

I continued to dream about Darla at least once a week. Most of the time I was running to catch up with her or swimming to an island to reach her. There was always some obstacle that kept me from being with her. Often, she would start walking towards me and then just disappear.

Sometimes, I just looked toward the stars and talked to her. One of those occasions occurred just after the debacle with Monica. I said, "Honey, I know that you promised to help me find someone and I'm certain that you have tried. There's just not another Darla on this planet, honey. I have failed miserably. I'm afraid that I've lost my way and taken some roads that I should have avoided. I'm not proud of myself and I'm sure that you aren't proud of me. I think I'm just going to quit looking. I'll just cherish my memories of you, sweetheart."

That very evening when I finally drifted off to sleep, I dreamed again. This time, she was reaching out to me. Every time I thought she was going to touch me, she slipped back. I could see her face. I could see tears on her cheeks. I yelled her name. My voice woke me up. I couldn't get back to sleep.

Meanwhile, I had arrived at the point that Darla and I had planned for. I was ready to open my own HVAC company. Coincidently, it was time for my third and last rendezvous with Darla. The first two were a bust. I even stayed an hour longer, but not a sign of any kind resulted.

This time was different. It was very different. I don't claim to understand it. It was nothing short of a trip into the twilight zone. All I can do is state what happened. I only know what I experienced. I'm usually not much for mystery or fantasy. I'm hard to convince that there's anything beyond simple reality. Having said that, all of those beliefs were challenged. This is exactly what happened.

When I got to the park, I unrolled my blanket and sat down to wait. I hadn't slept much the night before due to thinking about taking the big step of opening my own business. It was what Darla and I had hoped for. Now, it would be just me. I was happy, sad, and very tired; all at the same time. I prepared for another long, unfruitful wait.

Suddenly, I noticed a bright light coming towards me. As I watched, there was a flash, then there stood Darla. She was smiling. She looked very happy. She reached out to me. Just as our hands were about to touch, she seemed to be pulled backward. She reached out again, and once again she was pulled back before our hands could touch. This time she kept moving slowly away. As she got farther and farther away, she kept pointing to herself and then pointing at me. She did that until she disappeared from view.

I was puzzled. What had just happened? What did it mean? Was it real? Had I fallen asleep and dreamed it? Was it some kind of vision? It seemed real!

As I sat there contemplating, I saw another smaller light coming down the path. Was it happening again? As the light drew closer, I could see that it was a little girl walking down the path. She was dressed in white from head to toe. There was a white ribbon in her hair. She was wearing a long, white dress. Her shoes were gleaming white. She was dazzling in the midday sun. I shielded my eyes from her brightness. When she was close to me, she left the path and walked toward me. When she entered the shade by my blanket, I could see her pretty face. She was smiling. She had something in her hand. She handed it to me and whispered something. It sounded like she said, "Ollie, this is for you."

As she walked on, I yelled, "Who's Ollie? You have the wrong person. I'm not Ollie!" She just turned around and waved. She blew me a kiss. Then she disappeared behind the shrubbery. Just like that, she was gone.

I looked at what she had given me. It was a beautiful golden peach. Was this the strangest afternoon of my life? Was it all a dream? It had to be real. The peach was heavy in my hand. I gathered up my blanket and wrapped it around the peach as I left the park and headed home.

When I got home, I shook the blanket out on my bed. It was empty. There was no peach! It must have fallen out on my way home. What a strange ending to a bizarre afternoon.

A few days later, it was time to execute my business plan. The first step was a trip to the bank for a business loan. I was directed to a loan officer. I gave him a copy of my business plan and made my spiel.

He left to consult with his manager. As I was sitting in a chair waiting for him to return with a verdict, I noticed a woman at a desk close by. What I noticed most were her mannerisms.

When she drank from her coffee cup, she held her arms close to her body and leaned forward. When she lowered the cup to her desk, she rotated the handle to the right. Every few minutes, she flipped her hair in a very familiar manner. These mannerisms were very well known to me.

She was facing away from me, so I couldn't speak to a physical resemblance. Except for her hair color, I could have sworn that I was watching Darla. Those mannerisms were carbon copies of the ones that I had grown to know so well for so long.

I decided I needed to see this woman's face. There was a water fountain just past her desk. The coffee they had given me was a little hot for my liking, so I decided to use the ruse of cooling my coffee to get a look at her face.

I walked to the water fountain and added some cold water to my coffee. Then I turned around and got a good look at her. It was obvious that she didn't look like Darla. I was disappointed as I walked toward her, studying her face.

She glanced up at me. Her eyes locked on mine. It was as if she recognized me. I was suddenly uncomfortable. Not knowing what to do, I said, "Golly, how's your day going?" What a lame thing to say.

I know that no one will believe what I'm about to say. Hell, I have trouble believing it, and I was there! Anyway, I kid you not, she smiled at me and said, "Peachy-keen, how about yours?"

I stopped dead in my tracks. I just froze. She broke the spell saying, "Do I know you? You seem familiar."

"I don't think so, but you sure remind me of someone," I stammered.

"Maybe that's it," she said. "My boyfriend always used that water fountain to cool his coffee. Maybe that explains it."

"Believe it or not, you remind me of my girlfriend," I responded. At that moment, my body let me down. Despite my best efforts, a tear rolled down my cheek.

She looked confused. "Is that a bad thing?" she asked as she handed me a tissue.

"She died of pancreatic cancer," I explained. "I'm still not over her."

"Oh, my god. My boyfriend died of cancer. I understand your sorrow. Believe me, I'm in the same boat." She was using a tissue herself at that point. I noticed her nametag. It identified her as "Mandy Perkins."

Before we could continue our conversation, the loan officer returned and called my name. I said, "Guess I'd better go get the verdict," as I stepped away.

Now, this gets weirder by the minute. I know that no one will believe this, but I'll swear it on a stack of "Truth Teller" magazines. When I headed back to the loan officer's desk, Mandy sang out, "Later Gator!" I don't have an explanation for this, but I can't help but see Darla in it! Is there any other explanation?

To make a short story shorter, the loan officer turned me down. He said I had the technical expertise, but not enough business training. "You need both to make it with a startup, young man. I'm sure you realize that most startups fail, even when they are fully prepared. I'm sorry that we can't help you, but we're not in a position to take on that kind of risk at this time. Maybe you can find a venture capitalist to help you," he offered.

"See that dark-haired lady over there?" he asked as he pointed to Mandy. "She might be able to match you up to one of her private investors," he offered as he handed me her card. "You should see if you can get on her calendar. She strives to introduce private investors to good business opportunities. She's good at what she does. Because of that, she's always busy. It might take a while to get an appointment, but you should get on her list."

I walked back to her desk. She looked up and smiled. I held up her card. She motioned for me to sit down in the chair next to her desk saying, "I guess that means you didn't get a satisfactory verdict."

"Yep, he suggested that you might be able to scare-up a private investor for me. He said I should get on your calendar," I explained.

She handed me a short personal information form to fill out. As I was writing, she was checking her computer. I assumed she was looking for an available spot for me on her calendar.

I handed her the completed form. She glanced at it.

"Well, Roy, I have a full appointment schedule this week. I can set you up with an appointment next week, or we can talk informally over lunch in about an hour. It's up to you," she smiled.

"My mom always told me to never put off till next week what could be done today," I quipped.

"Good deal, Roy. Sounds like a smart woman. I'll see you in an hour or so."

"Great! I'll be here. Your choice for lunch. It's your say and my pay, Peaches."

She didn't seem to notice the "Peaches" term of endearment that I'd hung on her. "Roy, I'm not allowed to accept any remuneration from clients. I'll pay for mine, thanks anyway."

"Ok, let me start over. I'm really glad that I met you here today. Too bad that I can't do any business with your bank. It's apparent, however, that you and I might have a lot in common. Would you be at all interested in a lunch date with me? We could start today!"

"My, goodness! Handsome and fast on your feet too. How could I refuse such a chivalrous date request? Tell you what, I'll see you in an hour. Meantime, I'll take a quick look at this," she said as she picked-up my business plan.

I handed her the rest of the papers. She rose and shook my hand.

"Wouldn't a kiss be more appropriate?" I grinned. "After all, we're dating."

"Roy, I never kiss before a first date," she laughed.

"Then I'll be happy to wait till after lunch, Peaches," I smiled.

"Peaches? What's this 'Peaches' thing all about?" she queried.

"It's because 'peachy-keen,' was the first thing you said to me," I explained. "Given our admittedly short history together, I think 'Peaches' fits you perfectly," I exclaimed.

At that point, it was back to the twilight zone. She looked me in the eye and said, "Peaches it is, then. That means I need to call you 'Golly,' since that's the first word you said to me. That's a strange pet-name. How about I use 'Ollie,' like in Laurel and Hardy? It rhymes!" she grinned.

I almost fainted. I had to grab her desk to keep from falling.

"Are you alright?" she asked. "Are you a big Laurel and Hardy fan or what?"

I muttered something about her taking my breath away, but of course, I was thinking about a little girl in dazzling white that I thought had mistaken me for someone else when she called me Ollie. I left wondering if this whole day was all just a dream. Maybe none of it was real. I pinched myself. I was awake.

I arrived at Peaches' building ten minutes early so I would have time to catch the elevator and be at her desk on time. To my surprise, she was waiting for me at the building entrance.

"Hi, Ollie. Do you like Cajun food?" she asked.

"Well, I like gumbo and I like crawfish."

"Fantastic. We can't go wrong then. How about a place that serves crawfish gumbo and is just a block away?"

She grabbed my hand and we were on our way.

"Ollie, I'm impressed with your business model. What you call the "Robin Hood" strategy is admirable. It might be a hard-sell to most investors, however. They are not too keen on the rich giving to the poor."

"It's a little more complicated than that. I need to explain it to you," I offered.

She squeezed my hand and smiled. It seemed so natural, us walking hand in hand, smiling and laughing. It felt so appropriate, so comfortable.

When we were seated in the Blue Bayou restaurant and our orders had been placed, we were talking about my business plan.

I explained that the "Robin Hood" strategy was not about "stealing from the rich." I told her that when one of the more affluent customers needed a repair, I made sure to inform them about the advances that had been made since their unit was manufactured.

"They usually don't like to hear that their neighbors might be 'one-up' on them with a more advanced system. I appeal to their inherent 'keeping up with the Joneses' compulsion. I also inform them that I don't charge for disposing of their old unit. If you can believe it, that usually impresses them!"

I explained that the old unit, or parts from it, end up helping the needy. "So, while the rich provide the merchandise, it's a side benefit. They are in it only to update to a newer, better system. I don't look at it as stealing from them. They make the decision to upgrade, with just a little nudge from me. I always take the old unit away free of charge. Then I install it for someone that needs it but can't afford to buy a new one. I see it as a win/win."

"I get that, Ollie, I do," she stated. "I admire you for embracing such a strategy. I see it as a rarity in the current dog-eat-dog business environment. It speaks volumes to me about the kind of man you are. Having said that, I need to revise that idea. I hope you see why. It doesn't mean I don't like the strategy; I actually love it. Let me give it some thought.

"Other than that, you have a basically solid plan. It's something that I think I can work with."

I told her that I understood her concern, but I really wanted to retain some form of the "Robin Hood" strategy. I stressed how often I had seen perfectly good parts end up on the junk pile. Then I told her that I was impressed with the way she approached her job. I ventured that she must love her work.

"You're wrong there, Ollie. I hate my job. In fact, I've been thinking that I would like to team up with an entrepreneur, say someone opening a high-tech startup. Many of them need a partner with the necessary skills to handle the business side of things. Say, for instance, some guy wants to open an innovative HVAC business, but lacks the necessary business know-how. I could team-up with that guy and we just might be able to make some big bucks together."

I was stunned. "Really, Peaches? How long have you been considering doing that?"

"Well, Ollie, would you believe that I've been considering it ever since I met you this morning? Here's the thing, one of my private investors is almost a guarantee to invest in your business. She's been looking for a good local startup. She's been after me big-time to get involved in a startup myself. She keeps telling me that my job is a dead-end with no future.

"If you approve, I'll adjust your business plan slightly. I'll leave the 'Robin Hood' feature in, but I might need to change the language a little bit. Then I'll add my credentials to yours and present our updated plan to my investor. She has a heart of gold. I think she'll be impressed with the plan and with you too. There are no guarantees in life, but I think this one can happen."

Now, I was really stunned. "Do it, Peaches. Do it!"

"Look, Ollie, you do realize that what I'm offering here is a partnership, don't you? I'm not getting an investor for 'your' business, I'm getting an investor for 'our' business. We will be partners in this. Are you sure that you're cool with that?"

"Absolutely. I'm 'all-in' on this. It's exactly what Darla and I had planned to do before disaster struck."

"Ollie, I never in my wildest dreams expected to be having this conversation today. I don't even know you. You know nothing about me. This is crazy! You know that, don't you?

"I don't have any idea if you can fix an air conditioner or furnace. You don't know if I can keep the books, file the taxes, secure the permits, and do all the other things necessary to keep a business afloat. What are we agreeing to here? Are we loco?

"I can't explain it, Ollie, but when I first saw you at the water fountain, I felt this huge attraction to you. It was like you were an old friend instead of a stranger. I never take risks, but here I am offering to risk everything with a complete stranger. Wake me up if this is a dream."

"Peaches, if it's a dream, then we are sleeping together. Whoops, that came out wrong. What I meant to say is we are dreaming the same dream. I'm sure it will take some time to bring this investor thing together. While you're working on that, let's spend every possible minute getting to know each other. I'm talking about 'extreme dating.' Then, by paper-signing time, we will know each other well enough to sign with confidence, or walk away. Can you live with that?"

"I can. I like that idea. We'll be multitasking; building a business plan and a relationship simultaneously."