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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The Sunday drive back to the condo was a leisurely one for me. There was a conundrum of conflicting thoughts playing out in my mind. Years ago I had thought life would be simpler, that with the kids grown up and the business sold, I or we would kick back and take life a day or week at a time. Instead, I'm divorced and in a relationship with another woman.
I've kick started a new business with my kids. I'm busting my ass off as the CEO of a thriving company and now I'm off to Europe to do a company- wide integration and reorganization for the next year. To top it all off, I've jump started an amicable relationship with my former wife who is still clearly in love with me and can't move on. Worse still, it has shattered my daughter's perceptions of who she is and what she wants out of her precious life.
Janet and I grilled shrimp later that evening at her place and enjoyed a quiet dinner. I couldn't quite figure out her angle but I felt she was up to something. We talked about my "date night" with Helen and when I told her I spent the night there, she couldn't get the biggest grin off her face. It didn't matter that I slept in a separate guest room although I didn't share the fact that Helen crawled into my bed sometime in the night, nude.
Maybe it is a California thing. I don't know but Janet was on fire later that evening and nearly fucked me senseless, twice. Afterwards, we cuddled and talked quietly into the night. My trip to Germany was coming up this week and I had a lot on my mind.
"Janet, are you sure you won't come to Heidelberg with me? I've got a large corporate apartment right in the historic district. It would be great."
She rolled over on top of me, her naked breasts pressed against my chest.
"Nope! I need to be with my mom. Besides, you need the time to yourself. Tom, you need to find out who you want to be in your new life."
I wasn't sure what she meant.
"You need to go over there and when you aren't working your ass off doing whatever it is you do, I think you should live it up. You see, I know who I am and what I'm living for. I like myself and what I do. I like lying in this bed and having a strong man like you fuck me silly. I also like waking up in the morning, grabbing a bag and going wherever I feel like going without answering to my Mom or Dad or a husband too. I like the freedom and independence. I was married for 10 years and liked about 7 of it. I don't know if I ever want to do it again.
You, on the other hand, did it for 25 years and you miss it. I can see it in you. You'd marry me in a heartbeat if I said yes because you like being married.
Tom, go over there and enjoy yourself. I'll still be here when you come back but I need to be honest with you too. I need to stay with my Mom. I also know that a year can be a long time and I don't want you to have to fight temptations. Do you remember when we talked about Pam's arrangement she had with her first husband, Bob?"
I nodded hesitantly. Her cousin Pam and her first husband gave each other a "free pass" while he was in Afghanistan. She called it 'The Arrangement'. Pam just thought it was accommodating a healthy human appetite for good sex. Whatever the case, it was a consensual agreement for a discreet FWB thing while they were apart for long periods of time.
"Good, then you know what I'm saying. I want you to be able to enjoy yourself without worrying about temptations. I'm trying to be honest here with you. I have a hard time with temptations. Sometimes, Tom, I really need to get laid. Before I hooked up with you regularly, I had a guy that I got together with occasionally. It was always just good sex and nothing more. He kept me sane. So do you know what I'm asking?"
OK, so there was the cracked nut. She might need a sexual relief valve in my absence. We've been exclusive together for a couple years. Going to Germany now was going to change the formula and was I going to be OK with that? I thought it over for a couple moments.
"Janet, it's not going to be a problem. I know you aren't some promiscuous tart who's going to get laid by every Tom and Dick in the building. You said it best. You like your freedom and independence and to tell you the truth, that has worked great for us. I guess I'd like to know if you do but I don't need to know the details. So, don't worry about it. It's all good."
I was becoming more Californian by the minute as well as being haunted by the image of that other naked woman in my bed the previous night.
Three days later, I was on a Lufthansa Airbus A380 non-stop to Frankfurt, Germany. Omega had already shipped a personal container of belongings for me so I was able to travel light. I did have one special request and Omega obliged. I would have a new S65 coupe waiting for me, all 621 horsepower of it, to satisfy my new found Teutonic blood. 11 hours later, I stepped down to a new episode in life.
The coup was in Heidelberg. Instead, what waited for me was a short, attractive younger lady holding a sign that said "Tom Davis" in bold print. Her name was Mildreid Onstadt and I would soon learn that she was my constant shadow. For a shadow, she smelled wonderful. Her English was nearly perfect while my limited German was horrible. I had crammed over the past couple weeks with one of those Rosetta Stone packages but it was certain I'd need a lot more than that.
She poured me into a snappy looking BMW and we headed south toward Heidelberg. With her driving it was a short trip with constant weaving in traffic and punching the throttle abundantly. When we pulled up in front of the apartment building I was going to live in, she hopped out and was at the door before I could extricate myself from the seatbelts.
"Come on, Herr Davis. We are on the second floor and I believe your goods were delivered this morning."
She bounded up the stairwell with me close behind and we turned toward my apartment. When we entered there was another small German woman standing with her hands behind her back and the slightest smile on her face.
"This is Frau Helga Schmidt. She is both your housekeeper and cook. You will need to work out your schedule with her and I think you will find her culinary talents most acceptable."
We shook hands warmly with introductions and I immediately took a liking to her. Mildreid walked me through the spacious apartment and pointed out the car keys on a hook on the wall. It was parked in 2B, pearl white with a red leather interior. The apartment itself had three bedrooms with 2 Β½ baths and a full size American fridge, a rarity in Germany. It was roomy throughout, twice the size of the average German apartment. It was going to be an enjoyable stay.
Mildreid, Helga and I sat down and worked out a schedule for housekeeping and cooking and when we finished both women excused themselves for the evening. I had left SF at 11PM Wednesday and it was now Midnight Thursday evening, local time. Helga had made up a couple sandwiches, big concoctions stacked with pastrami and cheese with lettuce and tomato. In addition, there was a bottle of rum, a liter of Coke and what looked like a case of half liter bottles of WeiΓbier. Somebody had shared my preferences with my hosts and it was going to be an excellent stay.
If there was anything I didn't like about the apartment it was the obnoxious grinding bleat of the door alarm. I couldn't call it a bell because it was a terrible buzzer noise. I answered it at 7:30AM on the dot and Mildreid stood there with two cups of coffee in her hand. I had been up for 3 hours at that point, unable to sleep but for an hour at a time. My suit was crisp, the shoes were polished and I looked every bit the picture of a fit German businessman. Bill had warned me beforehand about their customs and expectations, even from an acquired company.
"Mr. Davis, we need to be going. Your first meeting is at 8AM sharp and Herr Honerlecht really despises waiting. He has been that way for years."