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Gary met Cherie when he interviewed with the company, seeking a software engineering marketing job. He was fifty-seven at that time and she was twenty-nine, eleven years ago. When he got the job, he was assigned to work out of the same office as she did. Gary noticed right away that Cherie had a special talent for connecting with clients and the technical skills to win over client technical experts. He used her technical expertise to impress clients, helping Gary win many large contacts for the company.
Cheri was a pretty young woman, with medium length blond hair, blue eyes and a trim, lovely body. She dressed very well and was always neat, even on the 'casual dress days' when she wore T- shirts and blue jeans. Cherie was comfortable with herself, even though many of her female co-workers often pointed out that Cherie's chest was nearly non-existent. These jabs were mostly in fun, and Cherie was not offended. She gave as good, as she got. That was one of her charms. Gary recognized that she possessed excellent management talents. They made a fine team working to secure business for their company. Gary would uncover the business opportunities and Cherie would convince the clients' technical staff that the company could do the job. As a team, they traveled all over the country winning contracts and making huge profits for their company.
Gary was married with grown children and a wonderful wife, Lori. In a few years, Lori would suffer a massive stroke and become, for all practical purposes, an invalid. Cherie, too, was married to a young man, Ben, who was rising swiftly as an engineer with a Fortune 500 company. In many ways, Gary had taken Cherie under his wing to help her hone her management skills and prepare her for advancement. Working as a team, Cherie and Gary would often lunch together discussing work items, family activities and generally enjoying each other's company. Gary and Lori considered Cherie as the daughter they never had and were thrilled when she became pregnant. They attended her showers and were among the first to visit Cherie after the baby was born. Cherie was very comfortable being around Gary. She sometimes used him as a surrogate father in getting advice about both business and personal problems. Later, Cherie had another baby to round out a beautiful family with two children.
After eight years, Gary had an opportunity to retire comfortably when the company decided to downsize. The company offered senior staff special retirement benefits, which Gary could not ignore. He retired and Cherie found herself without her friend at work. Gary was provided with the customary retirement party and his last day was sad. Cherie cried and hugged Gary, telling him that it would just not be the same without him at work every day. Gary and Cherie kept in touch by occasionally meeting for lunch and at company parties that included retirees. Gary always brought Lori to these lunches and parties, but Cherie, was more often alone. Her husband, declined to attend these get-togethers. When Gary's wife suffered her stroke, it left her unable to feed herself, see, stand, or walk. She was confined wheelchair everywhere, indoors and out. Occasionally, Gary would call Cherie and invite her to lunch as a respite from the care he was giving Lori. Graciously, Cherie would meet him and try to cheer him up. It was as a breath of fresh air for Gary, to get away for a couple of hours from the responsibility of care giving.
One pleasant August morning, Gary received a call form Cherie to meet her for lunch. After finding someone to care for his wife, Gary joined Cherie at a local restaurant. As usual, he hugged her when he first joined her. He was a bit surprised at the length and strength of the hug she gave him, but quickly shrugged it off. Cherie looked visibly upset as they sat down. They ordered their lunch and exchanged some small talk before Cherie detonated a bomb. "Gary, Ben has moved out of the house," she declared. Gary was stunned. Never in his wildest dreams, had he expected Cherie and Ben to separate. He was at a loss for words. Cherie continued, "He told me that he needs his space to figure out what to do." Gary remained dumbstruck. "Ben feels that I spend too much time with the children and don't attend to his needs," Cherie told him. Wisely, Gary listened and did not try to offer advice on a situation that he had little knowledge about. He remained the shoulder that Cherie needed to unload her pain.
"I don't know what he means, Gary. I do everything with him, but he seems so aloof and indifferent about the children's activities. He rarely attends their school or sports functions and becomes upset when I go without him," she related. They ate in relative silence and Gary tried to comfort Cherie. He said it was just his midlife crisis and it would soon pass. Cherie wasn't sure, but replied that she hoped that was it.
"Some men have a hard time as they approach age forty, and they do some silly things," he encouraged her. Finally, Cherie said she had to return to work and thanked Gary for listening. She had to tell someone about it and Gary was the one she trusted most He thanked her for her confidence and told her he hoped he helped her in some small way, although he wasn't sure he had. Cherie assured him that he had, just by listening. She hugged him again and left.
In the ensuing months, Gary met Cherie for lunch a few times and nothing had changed between she and Ben. He still lived apart from her and the kids, and was seeing a therapist about his 'problem'. Gary assured her that she was not at fault and that soon Ben would realize the error of his ways and come home. Several weeks passed when Cherie contacted Gary by email. She was free for lunch and asked Gary to meet her at a nearby Holiday Inn restaurant for lunch. Gary called a friend to stay with Lori and emailed Cherie that he would meet her. He arrived a little early and waited a few minutes until she arrived. They hugged, as usual, and sat down for lunch. Cherie seemed nervous and Gary worried that Ben had upset her further. Cherie toyed with her food and finally put her fork down and looked Gary in the eye. "Gary, you know that I care for you a lot and wouldn't hurt your relationship with your wife for anything in the world."
