[We first met Tony in "Disciplined for Peeping." He was 25 at that time. He is now 56.]
Tony was moving into a retirement community. It had been more than a year since he buried his wife, Molly. Molly had died of cancer. She was only 56. Tony buried her next to Ronnie, their long time lover. On the other side of Ronnie was Walter, her husband. There was one space left in the family plot. Neither couple had had children.
Tony had waited a full year before he made any major decisions in his life. He sold their main house and their vacation cottage near the water. Tony and Molly had saved quite a bit of money and had looked forward to travel in their retirement. In addition, Ronnie had left them half of her estate, which was millions. The other half went to charities that Tony had helped her select.
Tony's new home was expensive. One of the reasons it was expensive was because of the services provided - all his meals, maid service, laundry and dry cleaning, fitness center, transportation, among others.
Tony was slowly getting used to his new life with little to worry about. He didn't have much interest or energy. On a weekday afternoon, Tony had a visitor. She introduced herself as Emma St. Clair, "Just call me Emma." Emma was very attractive, mid-30s. She was dressed in a brightly colored, button up, spaghetti strapped, summer dress. Emma worked for the facility as social coordinator and was part of the welcome committee. She was sent to interview Tony to see how he was fitting in with the rest of the community. Tony was happy to speak with her. He was lonely and had never really learned how to make friends.
"How are you doing, Tony? Is the food to your liking? What amenities have you taken advantage of?"
Tony answered, "I'm fine, I guess. The food is fine. I haven't done much here, yet."
Emma frowned. "Tony, that's not good. Do you miss your wife?"
"Yes, I do. We were married almost 30 years. I miss her smile, talking with her, and her physical presence."
"Did you have an active sex life, Tony?"
"Yes, we did. When we first got together we had a close, loving relationship that included an older woman, Ronnie. I miss everything about both of them."
"Have you met any of the widows living here? Many are very friendly, and some are as lonely as you."
"No, I have pretty much kept to myself."
"Tony, you have to get out. You'll slip into deep depression."
"I'll be OK."
Emma knew Tony had a problem. She left him that afternoon with a promise to return in a week. Emma was especially attracted to Tony because he remind her of her husband. Her husband had been much older than she but a loving, caring man. Unsurprisingly, he had died while Emma was still young. Emma felt she had to help Tony. The difficulty was that he had to let her help him. She went back to him in a week, as promised.
Tony answered the door. "Hi Emma, I've looked forward to our visit."
"Has anything changed, Tony?"
"It's all about the same. I consider myself an incompetent extrovert. I want to meet people, but I don't seem to have the skills."