The Road to Love

"Peaches, let's both circle this date on our calendars. We might look back on this day as the start of something really spectacular," I exclaimed.

"In more ways than one, Ollie, in more ways than one.

Talk about dating with intensity! We had lunch together every day and dated every evening. We talked about childhood, school days, former dating experiences, and the people that we had dated. We discussed subjects ranging from our favorite pastimes to our deepest convictions. We soon knew each other in every way, including the biblical way! There was no doubt in my mind, we were in love. There was no doubt about the future, we would be equal partners in both business and marriage.

When I told Peaches how I felt, she surprised me. She said that while she felt the same way, there was an obstacle that we needed to face. She looked into my eyes and asked, "Do you believe that the tendency towards infidelity can be passed down genetically?"

I asked her why she wondered about such a thing. She told me that it was because of something that happened to her family; specifically, something that her mom did.

I began voicing my doubts about such an occurrence. She stopped me and insisted that I listen to her. She said, "I think that I'm falling in love with you and I sense that you are interested in more than a business relationship too. If you think that there's any chance in the world that you might propose to me someday, I want you to know what happened to my family. I want you to enter such a relationship with your eyes wide open. I want you to know what behavior I might have inherited. Otherwise, we need to agree right now that our relationship will never be more than business-related. No thoughts of marriage."

I was stunned, to say the least. I could see the determination on her face. I could see how resolute she was. She was as serious as a heart attack! I said, "Mandy, there's something sinister that happened in my family too, but we are not our parents. You are not your mom and neither am I. Whoops, you know what I mean. I can't believe that we are cursed to repeat the mistakes our parents made. I trust you, not your mom. Nevertheless, if telling me what happened is that important to you, I have no choice but to listen."

She nodded her head as she told me that her mother's name was Julie. Then she continued, "She was an accountant. She rose through the ranks to become the assistant manager and then the manager of the accounting department where she worked. My dad's name was Bill. He had a hush-hush job with a government agency. At the time of this story, his agency was going through a RIF (Reduction in Force) procedure. Since retention depended on seniority, not performance, he could be facing a loss-of-job situation. I would like to believe that what my mom did could have been influenced by that fact."

She was already sobbing. She said that the only way she could go on was to distance herself from the happenings. She wanted to tell the story like she was reading a book, using names like "Julie, Bill, Becky, and Mandy," in place of, "Mom, Dad, Sister, and Me." I told her to do whatever she was comfortable with. With that, she told me the painful story about her family.

She began by saying, "The villain in my story was my mom's boss, Richard Lowry. She was already sobbing.

Mandy's Parents:

Julie awoke to the sound of the room phone ringing. She watched and listened as Richard answered the call. She heard one side of the short conversation, which was not enough to know what it was all about. She only knew that it had upset Richard.

He turned to her saying, "Go back to your room, Julie. That was Evan. He's called an emergency manager's meeting this morning. He told me to forget about flying home today. I'd better grab a quick shower and get down there. Thanks for a memorable night, by the way."

He kissed her one final time, then she dressed and headed back to her room. As she walked down the hallway, she was wondering why Evan, the company General Manager, would be calling such a quick meeting.

Back in her room, she began preparing for her flight home. It was just yesterday that she had arrived in Vegas to attend the last few hours of the annual company accounting conference. Four hours later she would be boarding the company plane for the flight back to Texas.

Two nights ago, she had been entwined with her husband, Bill, in their marital bed. Last night, she had been entwined again, but not with her husband. She'd been entwined with her supervisor, Richard Lowry. Shamefully, she had been in his bed, in his room.

It all seemed unreal to her now. It was like she had spent last night in an alternate universe. Now, she was returning to reality. That reality consisted of her comfortable, love-filled home, her loving husband, and her two precious children. She had forgotten her personal reality last night, but now she was mindful of just how much she missed Bill, Becky, and Mandy.

She made a call to give Bill the estimated time for her arrival. Her call went straight to voice mail. She continued to call until it was time for her to get ready to leave. She finally concluded that his battery had died or he was having some other phone problem.

Now that she had some time to think, she began pondering the phone call she had received from Bill last night. She was in bed when the call came in. She wasn't there to sleep. In fact, it wasn't her bed. She couldn't call it an unfamiliar bed since she'd been in it for an hour or so. She would be even more familiar with it---and with the man she shared it with---when she crawled out of it in the morning.

After answering the call, she had tried to hurry the conversation to an end. It was a difficult task, to say the least. Not because of what was being said, but because of what Richard was doing to her while she talked to her husband. It was awkward in the extreme! She finally muttered, "I'll call you back, Bill," as she abruptly dropped the connection.

Now, her thoughts of Bill were waxing as her thoughts of Richard were waning. She would be home in a few hours and she would find herself face to face with the man she loved, the man she married, the man who fathered her children, the man she betrayed last night. She failed to call him back as promised last night. Would he be upset? How could he not be? She had forgotten all about his call. She had forgotten all about him. She had other things on her mind. Things that she thought were more important at the time. Now she had trouble believing that she had been so delinquent in determining her priorities.

In retrospect, she was trying to make sense of their conversation. She recalled Bill asking her if she remembered the information that he had given to her about his job. It was what he told her on the night that he proposed. She was trying to recall what he had said that night. It was difficult since the most vivid memory of that night was the shock and excitement of his proposal.

She tried to recreate that night in her mind. She remembered Bill telling her that he worked for a top-secret government entity which he would not---could not---identify. Most of the people he worked with were agents, but he was an encryption specialist.

She remembered sketches of other mysterious things that he mentioned. He mentioned the swallows of Capistrano, the monarch butterflies, and the flock of bats under the Congress-avenue bridge.

He also said something about his grandpa. Something about him being a cook on a tuna boat. She remembered he was telling her those things so she could understand his job. It would be important someday, so she should remember everything. She didn't understand it then and she didn't understand it now. She was straining to remember more.

Why did he need her to recall that conversation? What about that long-ago conversation pertained to last night's aborted phone call? Did he know she was cheating? Was that why he imparted those mysterious messages to her? Was it some kind of code? What was she missing?

It was just too mind-boggling. She would see him in a few hours. She would find out what that strange conversation was all about when she got home.

She continued to think about her family and her flight home. Her reverie was interrupted by the ringing of her phone. For a fleeting moment, she became excited thinking it was Bill calling, but it was Joyce Jennings. Joyce was Evan's assistant. She was calling to tell Julie about the emergency manager's meeting. Julie was careful not to give any indication that she already knew about the meeting. She wondered why Joyce would call a non-manager underling such as she, with news about the manager's meeting.

Her question was answered when Joyce said, "Since Evan will miss the flight home, I'm inviting you to take his seat next to me on the plane. We need to talk."

"Thanks for the invitation, Joyce. I look forward to that. I hope the emergency meeting doesn't mean there's something wrong at the company."

"There is something very wrong, Julie. I'll tell you all about it during the flight."

Julie was concerned, to say the least. All kinds of possibilities wove their way through her mind as she entered the company limo, cleared airport security, and found her seat beside Joyce on the company jet.

Joyce wasted no time in getting down to brass tacks. A distressed husband had sent the company GM some incontrovertible evidence that Richard Lowry had misbehaved at the conference. The misbehavior was defined as having sexual relations with three of his female subordinates. Needless to say, one of the subordinates was the wife of the complaining husband. The evidence was professionally presented and included videos of the trysts.

Julie didn't know how to react. Should she feign surprise? Should she own up to her participation in the misbehavior?

She was relieved of that decision when Joyce continued, "Evan asked me to give you a heads-up on the fallout that's coming. None of the women will be disciplined. In fact, the company will take measures to compensate all of them to avoid possible sexual harassment charges. Richard Lowry will be fired today at the emergency meeting.

"Evan asked me to inform you that he has decided to recommend to the board that you be promoted to replace Richard. If you accept, you will assume Richard's responsibilities as soon as the paperwork is completed. You will be reporting directly to Evan. I can assure you that you will never again face the pressure that you were forced to endure while working for Richard Lowry. That kind of behavior is repugnant to both Evan and the company.

"It's our hope that you will accept your new position as restitution, however inadequate, for what you have been put through. I've been asked to give you these documents, Julie."

She produced several documents and encouraged Julie to read them carefully. She pointed out that the documents covered not only her promotion but also an agreement that she would take no action against the company pertaining to the misbehavior of Richard Lowry. There would be a meeting at the office Monday morning. The papers could be signed and notarized at that meeting.

Julie was in shock. She was overwhelmed. She began to sob. Joyce raised the armrest between their seats and put her arm around Julie, like a mother comforting her child. Julie hoped this meant that she had survived a dangerous threat to her marriage and family. If so, a tremendous burden had been lifted from her shoulders. Richard would be out of her life. The risk to her marriage and family would be gone. Maybe she had managed to dodge a potentially lethal bullet.

Those thoughts battled with the possibility that the 'evidence' that Joyce mentioned came from Bill. Maybe he was the one to expose Richard. In that case, all bets were off. A promotion would in no way compensate for losing her marriage and her family. She was on pins and needles.

When the plane landed, Julie looked around for Bill. He wasn't there, but a guy was holding a sign with her name on it. She introduced herself to the man. He asked her a couple of questions to confirm her identity. Then he explained that while her husband was not able to meet the plane, he had taken steps to provide for her transportation home.

She was whisked to a waiting limo. A few minutes later, she and her luggage had been deposited at her house.

She called-out for Bill, but there was no answer. She ran from room to room, only to find the house unoccupied. On closer inspection, there were lots of empty hangers in his closet. Three suitcases were missing too. His razor, shaving cream, aftershave lotion, deodorant, and shampoo were missing. It was easy to ascertain what had happened. Her husband had left her. It could only mean that he knows about Richard! He's probably the one that sent the evidence to the GM. She was officially worried and completely devastated.

It was then that she noticed a note on the kitchen table. It was from Bill. It said that he hoped she understood why he was gone and he wished they could have talked longer on the phone last night. Then he said that he fully understood that she was pressed for time and had other things to do. He ended by telling her that the kids were at their grandma's house. They were expecting her to pick them up before dinner.

There were no words of love. It was all business. It appeared to be a "goodbye" note. She tried again to reach him by phone. She even called his work number multiple times, but she always received the same message, that he wasn't available. She finally reached his secretary and said, "Sally, please tell me what's going on. Has Bill left me? If anyone knows what made him do it, you do. Please tell me why he wants to end our marriage."

"Mrs. Roberts, don't assume the worst. There are other explanations. Keep your head up and your hopes high," Sally responded.

"How can I, Sally? His things are gone! What other explanation is there? Did something happen, Sally?"

"Mrs. Roberts, can you think of a reason that he would be gone? Can't you think of something that he's told you or something that he's hinted at in the past that might explain why he's gone?"

"What does that even mean, Sally? I don't think it's him. It must be me. I've displeased him. I know I have," answered Julie as she ended the conversation with sobs.

She searched her mind again for some hidden message in that last aborted conversation with her husband. She could see the big fishhook that Bill's grandpa had given him. It was in a glass-covered frame on the wall. The hook was huge and so was the attached piece of rope. She knew that Bill treasured it, but she couldn't conceive of any lesson to be learned from it. Try as she might, she couldn't see what it could mean.

As for the swallows, butterflies, and bats; she was beginning to understand. They all flew away.

He had also mentioned that most of the people he worked with were agents. Those agents were investigators. Most likely, one of those investigators he worked with had found out what she'd done with Richard. Upon looking at the evidence, Bill had followed the example of the swallows, butterflies, and bats. He had flown away.

So, what should she do? Perhaps she needed to hire a private investigator. That might allow her to locate Bill. Then what would happen?

When she had the opportunity to talk to Bill, she should seize the moment. She had to be proactive. She should confess and explain everything before he was able to level any accusations. The unanswered question was if and when that conversation would ever take place.

She drove to grannie's house to pick up the kids. They were eating when she arrived. They invited her to join them. She filled a plate but ate very little.

She asked them where daddy said he was going. They said he told them that he was on a "mission" and didn't know when he would be back. She asked if he explained what he meant by that, but they said he didn't tell them anything else. Granny said he seemed to be preoccupied and anxious to leave. Julie was more certain than ever that he knew about her activities last night. Why didn't she refuse to go on that plane? She should have stayed home.

She took her children home and tried to act normally, but she could tell that they sensed that something was wrong.

She placed a circle on the calendar around each day that Bill was gone. This morning, after breakfast, she drew her sixteenth circle. She was sipping her coffee when she heard a car in the driveway.

She ran to the front window. She didn't recognize the car. It was a black limo. Was this Bill coming home?

The man walking toward her door had blonde hair and a beard. Bill had dark hair and was always clean-shaven.

She heard a key enter the door lock. She screamed when he entered the house. It was Bill! He looked different, but his eyes and his smile gave him away. Bill was home!

He had a suitcase in each hand. She ran to him and they kissed. He made no effort to avoid kissing her. He dropped both suitcases and held her face in his hands. All of these things were encouraging.

He said, "Honey, please make some coffee while I get the rest of my luggage. I need to put some of this stuff away, then I need to have a long talk with you. I need to explain the things I've done. You need to know the what's and why's. I owe that to you.

She raced to the kitchen and started brewing more coffee. He was putting papers in his desk and clothes in the laundry basket.

She had two cups of steaming coffee ready when he entered the kitchen. "Bill, sweetheart, I'm anxious to hear about your new hair color, beard, and everything; but please let me talk to you first."

"Ok, honey. What's up?"

"First, I know that you know. I wish I had leveled with you at the start, but late is better than never. I want you to hear it from me. There are things you need to know that only I can tell you. First, please believe me when I say none of this is your fault. You have been the very definition of the perfect husband in every way. That includes in the bedroom. Don't blame yourself in any way. This is all on me.

"It started last year when you told me that your company was laying off people due to a Reduction in Force, which you called a RIF. You indicated that you might lose your job. I knew I needed to step up and help more with the finances. As you will remember, I told you that we were getting a new department manager and that I might be able to compete for the assistant manager's job, which would mean a big salary boost.

"We were told that our new boss would be Richard Lowry from the Chicago office. He was not bringing his assistant with him. It turned out that I knew his Chicago assistant. In fact, Lilly Clark and I had classes together in college and we became close friends.

"I needed to take advantage of that situation. I needed a leg-up, so to speak. I called Lilly and she gave me the lowdown on Richard Lowry. She said that she would put in a good word for me, but she needed to mention something first. She said, 'There's no way to sugarcoat this, so I'll just tell you. He expects a little something extra, if you get my drift.'

"Do you mean 'boss with benefits,' Lilly?"

"Exactly. He isn't very demanding. He never does anything in the office. It always happens off-campus. He doesn't do anything traceable, like renting a hotel room locally. It usually happens at conventions or off-site meetings. I worked for him for three years and we were together a total of a dozen times. Most of the encounters happened at parties in his house. He's usually very happy with just oral. If you start there, once he gets off, you're done. As 'benefits' go, he's easy peasy."