Thanks to JayPierce95 for providing me with the idea and general outline for this story.
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Roger rolled the plastic garbage can out to the curve. At 48 years old, it would appear to most people that Roger was the definition of successful; and if they defined success as having money, they would be correct. He owned a nice multi-million dollar house in the suburbs and had a BMW parked in the garage. The lawn and garden surrounding his house was immaculate, as he had hired the best landscaper in town to take care of it. Roger had once thought that all of the niceties in life would make him happy; but now that he had them all, he realized this was not the case.
Roger Everret was a software programmer by trade and was one of the best in the business. At the beginning of the smartphone boom, Roger was there drilling out code. He was dedicated to his craft and knocked out top app, after top app for his company. It took very little time for Roger to notice that he could start a business of his own and bring in a lot more money.
When Roger started his own company, the big businesses followed him to his startup, as he continued to provide top notch work. The business was actually doing too well, as more companies were coming looking for business then Roger and his small team could handle. Roger had to pick up the slack and work long hours, sometimes going days without sleeping or leaving the office.
Within three years, Roger's business, TechHouse, had gone from startup to one of the top software firms in the nation. What started as four guys drilling out code in an old Kinkos, had become a company of 300 programmers who worked in a 10 story office building downtown.
The world had labelled Roger as successful. Yet, there was one person during Roger's rise who didn't feel the same way. Roger's wife, Emily, had been his high school sweetheart. They had their first son together when they were both in college, which forced Emily to drop out of school. Emily worked two full-time jobs, while Roger continued his pursuit of a degree. When Roger graduated and got a job, he was making more than enough money to support their family. He insisted Emily stay home with the kids, as she had sacrificed too much valuable time with them so that he could earn a degree. They went on to have one other son two year later.
Emily enjoyed being a stay at home mother, but was never a fan of the hours that came with Roger's programming job. She missed her longtime companion; and even offered to go back to work, if Roger would take a job that would allow him more time with the family. Roger never bit on the offer and continued to put in long hours.
The issues with Roger's schedule only became worse when he started his own business. 14 hour work days had turned into 70 hour work binges. Roger was excited as the money was pouring in, and figured his wife would be excited too. The thing was Emily didn't care about having a lot of money. She enjoyed being able to afford things, but not if it came at the cost of having an absentee husband.
It all came to a head on Roger's 43
rd
birthday. Roger's oldest son was about to graduate college, while the other was about to graduate high school. The eldest son had driven ten hours to come celebrate his father's birthday. Emily had gone all out, making Roger's favorite meal and had beautifully decorated a cake herself. Roger had promised he would be home at 6:00, and for once he was punctual. Roger rushed into the house and veered for the bedroom before ever making it to the kitchen. Thirty seconds later, Roger left the bedroom and headed back to the garage holding some clothes.
"We've got a big deadline at work, honey. I just came to grab some clothes. I'll probably be home in a few days once we get this done," Roger called out.
"Roger, come in the kitchen!" Emily barked.
Roger made a quick U-turn and paced back into the kitchen where his sons and wife stood ready to celebrate his birthday. Emily and the boys burst into the birthday song when he entered the room.
"Guys, I appreciate this," Roger interrupted as they were merely a line into the song, "but I really have to go. We can celebrate my birthday when I get done with this assignment. I love you all, but I really have to go."
Roger turned and walked out into the garage. Emily sprinted after him, catching him as he got into the car.
"Roger, come back here now! Your son drove across three states to come celebrate your birthday and now you are just going to leave?" Emily said.
"Honey, I can't stay. The team needs me back at the office. You know how this work is. I'll be back in a day or two and we can celebrate."
"No! I've had it. Roger this is the last straw. I will not sit here and let you do this to our family. Either you come back inside, or when you come home in a few days it will be to an empty house."
"Emily, I don't have time to argue. I promise I will fix this when I get back. I really have to go."
Roger pulled out of his garage and changed his life forever. When he returned two days later, the house was nearly empty. Emily had him served with divorce papers the next week.
Fast-forward five years, and Roger's life was not remotely the same. He still was the CEO of his software company, but in title alone. The emotions of the divorce, coupled with years of insane work hours, finally caught up to Roger. His doctor forced him to cut his work schedule to one six-hour work days per week, out of fear that any more stress could cause his body catastrophic harm.