This is part 2 of a 4 part story. Tom is a character that began as a stand -alone story and as it proceeded I wanted to bring it into the SF Bay Area environs and characters from the later chapters of "The Epiphanous Spouses". This is not a story of great wrongs and retribution. There is no bitch burning and from my perspective there is no judgement of right or wrong. These are people who might do what others would not or not do what others might rush into.
There were no real people harmed in the writing of this story and it is not a collection of my experiences in any way except in understanding the emotions involved. I am going to leave anonymous commenting open for now but will probably delete those comments that are not constructive and adding to any fruitful discussion.
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After my conversation with Helen, I lay wide awake in bed for most of the night. Ann was putting me up which meant I needed to share the conversation with her or she would have worn me down. There wasn't much to share with her that she didn't already know so it was a confirmation, really.
"So, no chance of getting back together?"
"Honey, I learned a very long time ago to never say anything in absolutes but would you really want two unhappy people spending the rest of their unhappy lives together?"
"Dad, if you were unhappy, no, but you didn't really settle anything in your mind, did you?"
She was my daughter and we were close. There wasn't much about my psyche that she couldn't discern and she was right. It was an unsettling feeling like a piece of unfinished business that nags at you until you close the book on it. That is what this trip was supposed to do yet lying awake all those hours belied that purpose.
So, it was a long flight back to San Francisco the next day, a couple days earlier than I planned. I had already made a decision that gave me some comfort, if not relief. Carl's reports on Charles Madison painted the picture of an abusive spouse married and divorced three times, arrested twice for domestic abuse and a serial philanderer. How in hell Helen ever fell into his clutches can never be explained. She was never a stupid woman but apparently it took a beating and rape to waken her to the reality of her own nightmare. There is some comfort in knowing that her constitution shut down any further relationship with the abuser. He lost her the first time his fist connected. That is just how she is made.
Charles Madison could hold off on fucking Helen. He didn't need it. He was having a sexual relationship with two other women, both married, at the same time. I gave Carl the go and he delivered the smoking evidence to the spouses of both women and to his employer. Both women worked in the same offices. I learned later there were two divorces and an unemployed Charles to add to the philanderer's sordid history.
It was a red eye flight and I got into airport parking around 2 AM. After grabbing a quick all night eat, I pulled into the condo around 5 AM and sat there for a while. There was no reason really. I just wanted to absorb where I was living. At that time of the morning, it's as quiet as a mausoleum and I could see the nightlight shining in my entryway and the shadows casted from the lighting of the other units. With the window down and feeling the rush of cool air on my face, not even an insect made a sound. The door to Unit 38 opened and a man walked out adjusting the ball cap on his head. He walked with a swagger and settled himself into a grey Porsche Boxster. I knew his name. It was Art Sajac and he didn't live there. Somebody named Janet did.
The next morning I woke up a bit late and since it was Thursday I wasn't expected back in the office for a few more days. I called Bill at Omega just to let him know I was back in town a bit earlier if he needed anything. We got up to speed on business and I grabbed a quick bite at one of the local café's nearby.
"Well, hello stranger!"
I looked up into the face of Dana, one of the ladies I met at Janet's parents a few weeks ago.
"Good morning to you too!" I replied with sincerity. "Grab a seat here if you wish. I'm just grabbing a Danish and coffee."
She joined me and we had a wonderful conversation over brunch for the next hour or so. She reminded me of my commitment to visit their business incubator and I agreed to do it the following morning. I enjoyed her company. Dana was an attractive woman with an engaging personality. She's a tall woman, full breasted with dark hair and eyes and almost porcelain skin. I didn't mind the company at all.
Later that afternoon, I called my brother Carl. He opened a set of financial accounts in Helen's name and after giving me the pertinent information, I wired $5 Million into those accounts. I know some of those folks who love the 'burn the bitch' scenario in their own disastrous lives might not understand this but I had time to salve some of those gut reactions. I was satisfied with the timing of my sale but much of what I did was to prevent a paramour from getting his hands on what I had earned. I didn't see any chance of that now. Besides, my daughter asked me to do something for her and she pulls the strings to my heart.
In addition to my obligation to my daughter, I also felt that Helen had actually earned a good deal of that and more over the many years we were together. I didn't build the business on my own without her help on the home front even if never did pay attention to the specifics. Besides, if she had been in total bitch mode, she would have squeezed half the value of me, many times more than the $5 million.
I didn't run into Janet that day so she didn't know I had arrived back earlier than planned. I'm in unit 34, a corner condo with a wrap- around patio/balcony on two floors. Unit 38 is on the other end of the building, constructed in a similar fashion, and neither of us could see the other. I guess that was a good thing this evening.
Neither of us had made what we had an exclusive relationship although I think there was an unsaid understanding among adults that if it wasn't going to be exclusive, that understanding should at least be communicated. It never was. At 1AM, the little Boxster was back and I called it a night.
Maybe it was because I had been out of the "game" for 25 years and didn't know the rules. Perhaps it was because I was simply jealous. Whatever it was, I was a bit pissed the next morning. The Boxster was gone again.
I thought of that tall, full breasted woman with the porcelain skin, Dana. Picking up the phone, I called her with one thought in mind.
"Dana, good morning. Tom Davis here. Are you free for lunch today? I'd like to come in and take a look at your site today if you are free? Good. Noon then? Great. I'll meet you there."
With that, a lunch date was made and the day planned. I had a use for one of the incubator spots in her building that I had been mulling over in my mind for a while. My son Jason specialized in electronics engineering with a good background in robotics. He understood the mechanical aspects and electronic circuitry. I knew software. I knew how to run the brain. Jason could build and run the body even though he was still relatively young out of school.
So I met with Dana and Gail, her partner whom I had met before Christmas. I checked out their property and when we had finished, I laid out my proposal to them. They were certainly not expecting that. This was really supposed to be a social call and curtesy business visit. What I wanted was a unit to work out of and I got it, at a good price.
This was to be a place to play, outside my responsibilities at Omega. I was thinking of building a business for my kids and something I could have some fun toying around with. I called Jason and laid it all out to him.
"Dad, this is a lot for me to digest all at once. Can you give me some time to think about it and work out how all this all comes together?"
