THE CONCLUSION: Engineer Mike Giles and wife were unable to start a family and neither would undergo tests, fearful of being identified as the problem party. Gloria took a lover leading Mike to suspect her motive was pregnancy. Then he learned that his girlfriend on his worksite 200 miles north was pregnant - so that answered the question about his alleged infertility problem. Mike and Gloria agree to divorce; Gloria remarried and is pregnant through IVF. Mike's girlfriend graduated and went off to start her career, leaving him with that emply feeling until... well, read on.
SIXTEEN
A couple of months went by and I was waiting for the company to win another sizeable contract. Two small ones had been secured and it had been suggested I should be project manager for both of them as they were only 150 miles apart. In the meantime I was assigned to update the company's manual for senior engineers.
Life sucks at times. I couldn't find any woman interested in more than a one-night stand.
Suddenly that all changed.
Our biggest rival in highway construction, Blue Pacer Highway Systems, announced overnight it had gone bust. Our directors decided to make a takeover offer, including all debts, and a team of us was sent in to make assessments and to help prepare documentation.
Besides heading the team to physically look over the project, reputedly one-third completed, I was asked to assess the entire field staff of 155 personal ranging from project engineers to supervisors of site facility cleaning subcontractors. My instructions were to end up with a 60-40 ratio β keep the best 60% and recommend which 40% should be declared redundant.
Not the nicest of jobs, but it had to be done.
First ear-marked for redundancy was their senior project engineer who, if he came across, would be my boss due to seniority. My reason for my decision would, of course, be due to "excessively high salary and seniority exceeding our needs."
The contract was for 25 miles of new 4-lane highway to replace a winding rural and super-congested 2-lane highway constructed in the 1950s. If the takeover succeeded it would be our largest single contract ever as it included three interchanges and sixteen bridges and had been let for $578 million. No doubt our directors were already talking to the regional highway authority to get the contract price increased and the completion time extended, because that's how things are done.
Oh boy, was I itching to get my hands on this baby.
I instructed my team to look particularly for goof-ups that had slipped past the supervision of the project manager; the grins told me they guessed I was looking for more skids to put under my potential boss.
On the third day of our appraisal Raymond my chief assistant marched in the two engineers and their shared assistant supervising eight the bridges each, which was quite a workload and required careful construction scheduling as they couldn't be in more than one place at a time.
When that assistant entered the room behind them I was face to face with Nancy again.
"This is Missβ¦" but I interrupted Raymond as he saw me kissing Nancy the lips.
"Good to see you again," I muttered.
"Likewise," she said.
She'd filled out a bit and was looking great.
"Married?"
"Nope."
"Engaged?"
"Nope."
"Me neither," I grinned, trying not to show my teeth while she looked as if I was discussed non-delivery of bridge railings.
"Nancy and I worked together some time back," I said vaguely and then got the meeting underway.
The two engineers claimed bridge construction was spot on target. I asked Nancy and she looked at her two colleagues, and one nodded, I guess indicating it was okay to speak.
"I ran through everything this morning β we're almost half a day ahead."
"Good, good. I'm sure if we take over the contract you three will remain on the team. But please, keep that under your hats as so far only a few people have hi-tailed it; the others await their fate presumably optimistically."
I was doing the paperwork when my phone went β it was Nancy.
"Hi, sorry I had to act so laid-back."
"Me too. Interested in eating out tonight?"
"I have a boyfriend."
"On site?"
"Yes."
I growled: "Tell me who is he, and he can go now."
"Don't be mean," she giggled. "He's in planning."
"Out of my area; I promise not to interfere with the appraisal of him."
"Thanks."
"Well, I better push on," I said.
"Dinner tonight?"
My heart flipped. Time to be truthful.
"Look Nancy, I'm too old for you."
She giggled.
"I only said dinner. Anyway, I love my father and he's much older that you β I can't recall ever hearing you warning me off him."
"It's not the same thing."
"I know, but you know I've got a brain. Tell me this, have you the faintest interest in marrying me within the next three to five years?"
She heard me let my breath out; my lungs had virtually collapsed in shock.
"I didn't hear that," she said.
I hadn't said anything as my mind was in turmoil.
Time to be brave.
"Yes," I croaked.
"Very well," said Nancy with clinical precision. "I am prepared to consider resuming my affair with you."
"Consider?" I croaked.
"Well, I didn't wish to sound too pushy."
My breathing was almost back to normal.
"I dream about you at least a couple of times a week, Nancy."
"Ohmigod β you too?"
"Huh?"
"Whenever I rub my clit it's always you I think about; it always gives me the most satisfactory outcome. What time will you finish here tonight?"
"About seven."
"Good, I'll pick you up at 7:45 β which hotel?"
"S5 at the Astor."
"Oh, a suite β of course, you're one of the big shots now. Come down to me β I'll be driving a beaten up Jeep β number plate 'Nancy.' I won't show myself so you won't be embarrassed as being seen with an assistant engineer."
"Embarrassed? What's embarrassing about being envied."
"Goodbye, Mr Smooth Tongue. Don't be late."
It's true, I do dream about Nancy, just as I used to do about Gloria when I began courting her. I am aware I have this great, deep feeling for Nancy β it erupted when she told me she was pregnant. At first I though it was a reaction, like when finding a wounded doe, but it never quite went away, which told me something. But then Nancy went away physically.
Do I want to marry Nancy? Yes. Well then, begin the courtship!
I wish all decisions in life were as simple as that β I'd pointed out my concern about our age differential, but she'd brushed that aside, and no more warnings or objections or uncertainties were in my mind. As they say: bring it on!
We have a lovely flirtatious time at the little rural restaurant and she came back to my hotel suite. We sat on the sofa, smooching a bit and talking until she finally lost patience with my stonewalling and was all over me and within the next thirty seconds had us both undressed and was pleading, "Oh Mike, put it into me it's been so long."