INTRODUCTION
When I was young, like most other kids, I often fantasized that I was a famous movie star or a great athlete. But I gave up these fantasies because they weren't practical, and I became very practical at an early age. From that time on my fantasies consisted of taking a real situation, then projecting forward in time with everything going perfect.
One of my best fantasies was when I was in sixth grade. My teacher secured a scholarship for me to attend one of the exclusive private schools in the Philadelphia area. I simply had to maintain good grades to keep it all the way through the end of high school. I was sure I could do that, and the contacts I would make with some of Philadelphia's most important families would be very helpful in my career down the road.
The scholarship offer was real. My parents and I even went to visit the campus and be interviewed by the headmaster. My fantasy involved athletics. The private schools had multiple teams in each sport, based on size. Football, for instance, was based on weight. As a seventh grader I would be competing mostly against third and fourth graders and even though they would be the same weight as me my extra maturity would give me a big advantage. I fantasized about being a star on the weight-controlled team, and becoming good enough to make the varsity in high school, which was not weight-controlled.
As it turned out my father changed jobs and we had to move away from Philadelphia. My scholarship included room and board but my parents would hardly ever get to see me so they turned down the offer.
As I left for the airport on Friday, April 4th I started my most elaborate fantasy ever, about my future, personally and professionally. It started with a definite plan for Monday.
MONDAY
I had one coworker who had divorced and then married a woman much younger than he was. His second wife had worked for him at the company he was at before joining our consulting firm and his first wife got custody of his two children, so it wasn't much of a leap for me to assume he was having an affair while married to his first wife. Although this all happened outside Atlanta I thought he could give me some insight on how he came through his divorce financially and what to look for in a lawyer.
I had no intention of short-changing Joan or the kids. In fact I wanted to offer her the same settlement she would win if she proved adultery, but I hoped to avoid a contentious trial and settle it within Georgia's no-fault divorce rules. I had no idea how it would play out financially but que sera sera, whatever would be would be. It was my wish to meet with an attorney Monday afternoon so I would have an idea of what my finances would look like before I left for Pennsylvania.
That was my plan, now for my fantasy.
TUESDAY
Melissa and I are sitting at a table for two in the middle of the sea food restaurant. As usual all the booths and several of the tables are occupied. The waitress has just brought our cocktails, a 7 and 7 for Melissa and a gin and tonic for me. I turn to the waitress, "Thank you. We'll be a few minutes before we are ready to order. I'll let you know."
Melissa gives me a quizzical look as the waitress leaves. We each take a swallow of our drinks and then I begin, "Melissa, my project work is coming to an end soon so it's time for us to have a serious discussion about us."
"Bob," she starts but I interrupt her.
"No. Let me say what I have to say. Then I'll give you all the time you want. You know how much I've enjoyed being with you these last several months and if you want it to just be a pleasant interlude; well, I'll have to live with that. But I would like it to be more. I think we are in love with each other and I want something permanent."
As I pause to take a swallow of my drink Melissa starts in again. "Bob, I --"
"No," I interrupt her again. "Let me finish. I think I know a lot about you but you know very little about me. As for what I know about you; for instance, I've seen you and Heather together enough to know you are an excellent, very responsible mother. Her love and respect for you shows in her eyes.
I also believe you are an excellent cook."
"Now, how do you know that?" she squeezes into the conversation.
"You may think it's trivial but I think fixing fried eggs is very difficult. The way you handled the frying pan and the fact that the eggs were perfect is very meaningful. Joan is an excellent cook but she can't consistently get fried eggs to come out right. You may not know how to cook all the dishes I like, but learning new recipes is easy if you know your way around the kitchen, and you obviously do!"
"What else?"
Now I have her attention. "I believe you know how to handle money. I know things are tight for you right now but, from what I've seen, I believe you would be a good, careful shopper even if you had more at your disposal. For starters, what you have, like the coat you're wearing tonight and your suede jacket, are good quality which will last for a long time, making them better buys than cheaper but inferior coats would be. As for your dresses, I believe they are home-made but they are very well done. I don't know if it's simply your mother who is a good seamstress or if you did a lot of the work yourself, but the dresses look very good and are well made."
As I take another sip of my drink, she asks, "How did you know my dresses are home made?" She wasn't interrupting, just curious about my deductions.
"The three dresses you have worn on our dates are very similar even though the tops and the sleeves and the belts are different. When I was young, my mother made a lot of clothes for my sister. The patterns came with a basic structure but a lot of alternatives to enable the seamstress to vary the final look. Incidentally, the one you're wearing tonight with the vertical pleats is my favorite. And that black skirt I like so much was probably made from the same pattern. It looks just like the skirt portions of your dresses but, being a stiffer material, it sticks out away from your body, showing off more of your legs."
"Are you done?"
"No. I also think you're quite intelligent, even though you've had a limited education. I can tell that because your English is perfect. You may not have a real large vocabulary but your sentence structure and pronunciation are just right. I'll bet that, before you dropped out, you got good grades, probably As and Bs." She nods her head as if to confirm my assumption about her grades.
I go on. "But, now, as for me, you have only seen me at my best. I do believe I really am a pretty nice guy but I do have my faults. Incidentally, I don't believe being unfaithful is one of them even though you once said you'd have a hard time trusting me.
No, one of my faults is that I'm a workaholic. I spend a lot more than eight hours a day on business, which can be a nuisance if you expect me to be good company every evening. Also, like a lot of guys, I'm into sports, both participatory and as a spectator. So that eats up a lot of my spare time. Finally, I'm absolutely useless around the house. I don't wash dishes, vacuum floors, cook, or clean. I have done some creative projects but as for housework, no; I don't even mow the grass, but that might be negotiable if you find it's too hard."
I take another drink. "Are you done now?"
