Thoroughbred

"Okay dear," she said, "Let's get you home."

The ride was mostly silent. What could they say? What could she say? It was past noon when she walked into their leased condo. It felt empty, she could tell Kurt wasn't there.

She went straight to his dresser and pulled out a drawer. His clothes were still there.

"Well that's a good sign." She said to herself. She had expected that he would have gone.

Kurt

After Kurt had taken a shower to wash off the sweat from his run he decided to go out, enjoy the weather, maybe walk along the beach. When he got into his car he put his hand on the steering wheel and pulled quickly pulled it back. His hand hurt and was bruised, he thought about going to a med center, but being a guy he blew it off.

After his walk on the beach he felt great. It was now about lunchtime, so he decided to grab a bite to eat. An In-N-Out burger would hit the spot. He decided to sit inside. He watched the people. There was one particular couple in their early 20's that he fixated on. What was so special about them he didn't know, but he kept looking at and thinking about them. They were focused only on each other, oblivious to his watching them. He smiled at that.

After lunch he decided to take a drive down the coast a bit. While the scenery was amazing, there was something that bothered him as he drove through the surrounding hills.

Audra

All day she had tried calling Kurt, but it went right to voicemail. She wished he would call her. It was already 5:00 and she hadn't heard anything from him. She was starting to get worried. Would he return at all? She thought about calling one of their friends, but how could she explain why he wasn't with her? They knew that this was the weekend her boss had invited them to his house in Rolling Hills. She had made sure to let everyone know.

She was cleaning, a habit of hers when she was nervous, when she heard the front door open. She came out of the bathroom and saw Kurt plop down on the couch, grab the remote, and turn on the T.V.

"Oh Kurt, I'm glad you're back. I'm so sorry for what I've done. Can you please forgive me?"

He didn't say a word, he just watched the T.V.

"Kurt, will you talk to me?" She said as she moved closer to him.

He still ignored her. She hated that about him,. When he was mad he would give her the silent treatment.

She raised her voice, "Kurt!! Don't give me the silent treatment. Talk to me!!"

He just sat there, watching T.V.

She grabbed the remote from the coffee table and turned the T.V. off.

He looked puzzled and said out loud, "Now what?" and looked around wondering where the remote was.

"Kurt, you have to talk to me!! I told you I was sorry. Please talk to me!"

Kurt started looking on the couch and even on the floor for the remote. Audra was getting pissed that he was playing this game. He kept searching, so she threw the remote on the couch and said. "There's your damn remote! Grow up, and when you do, we need to talk about this!!"

Kurt found the remote on the cushion next to him and looked puzzled, staring at it. He picked it up, shrugged, and turned the T.V. back on.

Audra screamed, "SHUT THE FUCKING T.V. OFF AND TALK TO ME!!!"

Kurt just sat there watching T.V.

Audra stormed out of the room and slammed the bedroom door.

Kurt

After an uneasy drive through the hills around L.A. he decided it was time to go home. He was tired from just being out all day, so when he came through the door he plopped down on the couch, grabbed the remote, turned on the T.V. and sat the remote back down.

He was watching T.V. and all of a sudden the T.V. shut itself off. He looked puzzled, said, "Now what?" and went to grab the remote. Now where was that remote? He looked around on the couch, on the floor, it was nowhere. As he looked to the left and there was no remote he looked to the right, there it was sitting on the cushion where he had just looked. "What the heck?" He thought to himself.

He turned the T.V. back on and continued to watch his show. A minute later the bedroom door slammed shut. "The wind must have pushed the door shut." He thought to himself.

After a while Kurt decided he was hungry so he ordered pizza delivery. He ordered a small deluxe. "Twenty five dollars to have a small pizza delivered. That doesn't even include the tip!" He thought to himself. "The cost of living here is outrageous."

Audra

"The bastard actually ignored me!" She said. She was angry. She should have expected it, he was childish that way. Whenever they fought he would play the silent treatment. Of course, this was far worse than anything they had fought about before.

She wished he would scream at her, stare with daggers in his eyes, anything but ignore her... She needed to know that he still cared.

She started crying again. She had to figure out how to fix this.

She must have fallen asleep, because when she woke up it was dark. She got out of bed and went into the living room to check on Kurt. There was an empty pizza box on the coffee table, but Kurt was not there. She checked the bathroom and then she checked the guest bedroom, it was locked. She hung her head and went back to their bedroom.

Kurt

Monday morning Kurt was up early. He was committed to start his training. He would be looking for 5K events to start running in as early as this weekend. He found a Planet Fitness close to where he worked. He signed up and hit the treadmill. After about 45 minutes he hit the showers and dressed for work. He had been thinking while he was running. Why was he living in California? Sure, it had it's positive points, but to Kurt the negatives (high cost of living, traffic, and housing prices) outweighed the positives and were killing his motivation at his job.

Kurt worked at Northrop Grumman. He was an Engineering Technologist. Yes, he was a nerd. Today he was a nerd that wanted a change. He had decided that today he would speak to his boss about a transfer. Yes he may have to take a pay reduction to move out of California, but the cost of living difference would more than make up for it. After all, there was nothing keeping him here.

At work he went to his boss, "Sir, I would like to find out about a transfer."

"What, to a different department?"

"No, to a different state. I want out of this hell hole,... California."

"Wow, I wish my wife would let me move out of here, between the housing cost and all the idiots on the road. It would reduce my blood pressure by 40 points. You're a lucky man to be able to get out."

He put Kurt in touch with HR and by the end of the day he had opportunities in Wyoming and Montana. Of course, there would be an interview process, but with his boss' recommendation and his excellent job record it was just a formality.

After work he decided to go to the gym again. He needed to work on lifting weights to help with his endurance. On his way home he picked up some Thai food so that he wouldn't have to cook.

Walking in the door at 7:00 he sat down on the couch and opened his food. He needed something to drink so he went to the refrigerator and grabbed a beer. Another night in front of the T.V., eating take out. "What an existence." He thought.

Audra

Audra woke on Monday morning and looked to the other side of the King bed. She knew he had stayed in the guest bed even before she saw his side of the bed had not been touched.

"Maybe he'll talk to me this morning." She thought as she made way to the bathroom. Once in the bathroom she noticed that his toothbrush, razor, and deodorant were gone. "Has he moved them to the guest bedroom?" She wondered. She went to the door and knocked. There was no answer so she tried the knob. It was unlocked and when she opened it she saw that he was already gone. She grabbed her phone and tried calling him again, but no luck, right to voicemail. She resigned herself to try to talk to him again this evening.

At work she noticed that people were acting differently toward her. Evidently the weekend events did not stay within the Directors. She would have to have a talk with them about spreading rumors and how private lives are to remain private. Perhaps she could stop it from spreading any further.

The day seemed to drag on. She really wanted to be home. Kurt is usually home by 5:30. She wanted to have his favorite meal prepared for him when he got there.

At 4:00 she left work (only a little earlier than normal) and had Chicken Alfredo waiting for him at 5:25. She had rehearsed what she was going to say to him.

By 6:00 she was getting worried. She went to check his clothes. It looked to her that it was all still there. That was good, he hadn't moved out.

By 6:30 she was getting angry. The food had been put in the oven to stay warm. She tried calling him again, no luck. She would just wait. She kept looking at the clock. The digital numbers seemed to be taking forever to change.

At 6:50 she sat at the table and put her head down. She had went from anticipation, to worry, to anger, to despair. He was over an hour late and he had not called. She needed to hear his voice.

At 7:03 Kurt walked in the door. Audra hopped up and went to the oven to retrieve the food. Kurt came into the kitchen. Audra said, "I made your favorite. I'll have it on the table in just a minute."

Kurt opened the refrigerator and grabbed a beer, then walked back into the living room.

Audra set the casserole dish on the table and looked over at Kurt in front of the T.V. He was already eating from take out containers.

"Kurt! I made dinner. At least you could come to the table and eat it, even if you don't talk to me." There was no response, he didn't even look up.

"Kurt!!! Listen, you need to quit this! You need to say something!!!"

Again, no response.

"Well, FUCK YOU!!" She said as she dumped the Chicken Alfredo in the garbage and stormed off to the bedroom again.

She had to figure out how to get through to him. What could she do?

After about a half an hour she went back out to the living room. "Kurt, will you look at me, will you talk to me?" She begged in a subdued tone. There was no response, he just kept watching T.V.

She decided to do all the talking. "Look Kurt, I know you're mad. I understand. What I did was wrong. I wish I could take it all back, but you know I can't. How do we get passed this? I need you to talk to me, tell me what you want me to do?"

She contemplated telling him that she would quit her job, but she had worked hard to get where she was at. She needed the job because it fulfilled her.

Kurt continued to ignore her. She was heartbroken. What could she do?

Not knowing what to do, she went and sat on the couch next to him. She knew better than to try to hug or kiss him. Past fights had shown her that when he was mad he did not want any physical contact.

So, she just sat there next to him on the couch. She sat there for an hour, him laughing occasionally at the sitcom he was watching, but he never said anything to her. At 8:30 he shut off the T.V., got up, and went into the bath to get ready for bed.

She just sat on the couch in the dark, tears streaming down her cheeks. She was realizing that she was going to have to give him time. She had cut him deep, this was a wound that would take her a long time to heal. She only hoped that he would give her that time.

Tuesday he was up early again at the gym, his mind wandering as he ran on the treadmill. He decided on Wyoming. It would be close enough to Nebraska, his home state, but far enough from home that he wouldn't be expected to come home too often. He cherished his solitude.

When he got to work there was a message for him from HR. He called and they told him that both Montana and Wyoming had requested an interview. He decided to pursue both, even though he was leaning toward Wyoming.

Not wanting to waste any time he set up video interviews for the same day. With the time difference he would need to do it sooner rather than later. So, at 1:00 he had the Montana interview. He felt it went well and there was definitely a need that he could fill. Wyoming, however, had won him over, not because of the proximity to his home state, but because they were working on weaponizing hovering drones with lasers. This was something that he felt a strong attraction to and his present job experience would be of a particular advantage.

"When can you start?" He was asked.

"Give me this week to transfer my responsibilities and tie up a few loose ends here. Then I will need a week to get moved and settled in. Can we say the first week of October?"

"That sounds good." His new boss said. "If you need help with anything feel free to call me or my assistant. We'll make sure to help make this a smooth transition."

So, throughout that week Kurt spent his early mornings going to the gym and he worked late every day to insure that all of his projects would move forward smoothly.

This meant that when Audra had dinner ready on Tuesday night at 5:30 he was not there. By Thursday night she hadn't even bothered to make dinner. Each night he was home late, having either grabbed take out or eating before he came home. There was still no interaction between the two. No matter how much Audra tried to talk to him he ignored her.

Friday night his fellow nerds took him out to a bar for an impromptu farewell party. That night he didn't get home until almost 11:00 and he was quite tipsy. He fell asleep passed out on the couch.

Audra was disgusted and disappointed by Kurt and his reluctance to even acknowledge her. She had called a woman from her work and made arrangements to go to breakfast. She needed someone to talk to about this situation. She needed help. Her friend was divorced, maybe she would have some insight into how she could save her marriage. Audra was hoping to learn from someone else's mistakes. Learn what not to do.

When Kurt woke up, and after taking aspirin and his first cup of coffee, he was ready to start packing up his clothes and other personal items. Two hours later he was surprised that all of his belongings were in his car. His lease lasted for another 3 month's so yes, he would have some added expense, but the fact that he was leaving this shitty state was worth the added cost.

Unceremoniously he got in the car and pulled out of his driveway. As he drove out of the complex he passed a car entering. He thought nothing of it, he had 2 days of driving to do.

Audra

"I wonder where he's going?" She said to herself as she passed by Kurt's car going in the opposite direction.

She had spoken to the woman, Melanie, about her divorce, what led to it and how she might be able to save her marriage. She had cheated with a family friend. By the time she found out that he knew, he was already gone. In fact, he had moved out of the country, that's how far gone he was.

The picture Melanie had painted didn't look good. Some men, most men she had said, couldn't cope with the thought that "his woman" had given to someone else what he thought was his and his alone. If she thought about it, Audra would feel the same about "her man" if he had cheated. How could she fix this? It's not like she could wipe it from his memory.

When Audra walked through the front door of their condo something was different. When she looked into the living room she noticed that the T.V., DVD player and game console were gone.

"Oh shit." She said and ran to the bedroom. All of his clothes and toiletries were gone! She collapsed onto the bed. She was too late. Less than a week had passed and he was gone. Not a word or even a note, just gone!

She grabbed her phone and started calling all of their friends, the hell with trying to cover for her indiscretion. "Indiscretion," she thought, "let me call it what it was, a fucking mistake, literally." None of their friends knew where he was, nor had they heard from him in over a week.

She couldn't convince herself into call his parents. They were in Nebraska, surely he wasn't going there.

What was she going to do? She was lost. Work had been a challenge. She had had to have more than one talk with guys making advances on her. She told them, in no uncertain terms, that their attention was not appreciated and would not be tolerated.

In spite of the rumors being spread about last weekend she had already gotten the moniker, 'HR Bitch' whispered behind her back. She was okay with that if it put a halt to the rumors and guys hitting on her.

She knew it was futile, but she called Kurt anyways. Of course it went to voicemail. She left a message anyways. "Kurt, I saw you leave. I don't know where you're going. I really wish you would talk to me. I love you. I am so sorry for what I've done. I don't know what to do to make it up to you. I'm starting to realize that there is nothing I can do. I fucked up. Please call me. I need to hear your voice."

She hung up. She didn't end the call the way she usually did, with a "I love ya." She knew it would sound hollow.

Kurt

Kurt had mapped it out. His plan was to drive to St. George, Utah today. Desert driving was grueling very little to see or appreciate, so it would seem like a 10 hour drive even though it would probably only take me about 7 - 8 hours. He would find a motel and get up early to make the long drive through Utah and into Wyoming.

As he traveled along he thought about his life. College in Arizona was a different experience than his Midwest upbringing, but Embry-Riddle really brought out the best in him. Made him a perfect candidate for his career at Northrop Grumman. When they approached him to come work for them he was ecstatic. It was a dream job. The years flew by, in fact, he could hardly remember much of it. Most of it, he knew, centered around work.

With California behind him, he was looking forward to starting over in a new place, new challenges, and maybe he would find someone to share his life with him. He felt a hollowness in his soul when he thought about that.

Audra

Monday morning Audra decided she would take some time off work and try to force the issue by visiting Kurt at his job. Being a military contractor, security would not let her past the receptionist. When she asked to see Kurt she was told that he wasn't available. Of course she didn't believe that, they were covering for him. She asked to see his boss. When Mr. Haven came down to the reception area to speak with her he was a little confused.

"How can I help you Mrs. Bryant?"

"I need to speak with Kurt. I know that he is avoiding me, but I really need to speak with him."

"Uh... I'm a little confused. Kurt isn't here. Friday was his last day here."

"He quit?"

"No, last Monday he requested a transfer. He said he wanted out of this 'hell hole' - California."

"So where did he go?"

"Uhh... I don't know that I should give you that information. If he didn't speak with you about it then there must be a good reason. You're an HR Director, I'm sure you understand."

"So he left California?"

"I probably shouldn't have even said that much." He said.

She knew that she would get no more information out of him, so she said, "Well, thank you. If you talk to him please tell him that I want to talk to him." She could see that he understood there was trouble and that she wanted to try to resolve it.

As she walked out to her car she scanned the parking lot, just in case she was being fed a line of bullshit to cover for Kurt. After looking for a minute or so she was disappointed that Kurt's car was nowhere to be seen. Mr. Haven had been telling her the truth.

Kurt

Sunday's drive through Utah and into Wyoming was unbelievable. The scenery was breathtaking. He had never driven through Utah before, having always flown home from L.A. for the holidays. He would have to spend more time here now that he would be only one state away.