Note: Everyone in this story is over the age of eighteen.
Families sometimes drift apart, and sometimes get back together. My sister Anna and I had grown up on the east coast, but we both had a kind of wanderlust. When I graduated from high school I went off to college in the midwest, and during my first year only came home for Christmas. By the end of my freshman year I had a summer job lined up in Chicago, so I only went back home for a few days around Labor Day, just before school was supposed to start. My sophomore year I got involved with a girl, and didn't go home for Christmas. The relationship didn't last, and I decided I would surprise Anna and show up at her high school graduation.
She was thrilled, my folks were glad to see me, and everything went well. A couple of days later, Anna and I went out to lunch, and I asked her what her plans were.
"I've had enough of school for now," she said. "I don't want to go to college. I want to see some more of the country, have some fun. I'm going to San Francisco."
"Wow, big step!" I said. "What do the folks think about that?"
"Well, they're not happy, but I'm eighteen, so there's not much they can do."
"Any idea what you'll be doing?"
"You remember our cousin Ralph?"
"Vaguely. He's a lot older than we are, right?
"Yeah. Well, he's a big shot in some tech company out there, and I wrote to him and asked him for some suggestions. He got me a job."
"That's great!"
"Oh, it's just entry level, and I'm sure boring as hell, but it's in San Francisco!"
The next day I headed back to Chicago, and we promised to keep in touch. But of course we didn't.
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Fast forward eight years. I had gotten serious with a woman my junior year, and when we graduated the next year we had gotten married. I was working for a management consulting firm and traveling a lot, and she had a job as a paralegal in a Chicago law firm. She didn't like being left alone, and one thing led to another, as they say. After five years we agreed to call it quits. Last I heard she was dating an attorney and applying to law schools.
So for three years I was single again, still traveling a lot. Other than exchanging Christmas cards and what I picked up from my folks, I hadn't heard much from Anna, but to be fair, she hadn't heard much from me either. I had my buddies, I had some women I dated, and Chicago had great entertainment. So I wasn't too happy when my boss called me into his office.
"Tom, you're a good worker, but we're top-heavy here. Headquarters says we have to get rid of some overhead. So -"
"So, what? Are you firing me?"
He laughed. "No, nothing like that. I'm offering you a position in the San Francisco office."
I resisted at first, but realized I didn't really have that much in Chicago. Friends I could make anywhere. Women - well, as the boss said, in his own sensitive way, "The ratio of women to straight men is about eight to one out there. You'll get more ass than a toilet seat."
So we negotiated. I got a bump in salary, and they agreed to pay all my moving expenses, and even sent me out for a few days to try to find an apartment. The folks in the San Francisco office were very helpful, with advice on where to get this and that, how to take the bus and subway, and where to go for a good dinner. I felt a little miffed when I found out that my salary increase would just about cover the increase in state taxes, but all in all things went pretty smoothly.
Just before I left Chicago I had called my folks to let them know. My mother said, "Oh, good. Check on your sister. We haven't heard from her in a while."
So after I had unpacked in my new place I gave her a call. "Hey, Anna, it's Tom. Guess what? I got transferred to San Francisco."
"You're here now? I don't believe it. We have to get together."
So we made plans to meet for dinner in a restaurant she said had great seafood. I thought it was a little strange that she didn't invite me to her place, but maybe after eight years she wanted her privacy.
Anyway, we met for dinner at the appointed hour, and I was amazed. The last time I had seen her she was just graduating from high school. Now she was a woman, and a very good-looking one. She obviously exercised regularly. She was slender and toned, her brown hair was styled, and her dress made her look sexy and elegant at the same time.
I gave her a kiss on the cheek, and told her she looked great. She smiled and said, "Thanks," then changed the subject, asking about my move here, where I was living, and so on. Then she said, "So how does Marcie like it here?"
Marcie was my ex-wife. "I said, "You didn't hear? We split up three years ago."
"Oh, no! I'm so sorry!"
"Don't be. It was mutual. But didn't mom and dad tell you?"
"I - well, I haven't talked to them much. They were all like, when are you getting married? I couldn't deal with it."
"Yeah, I get it." I paused. "So, when are you getting married?"
I meant it as a joke, but to my great embarrassment she started to cry. "Anna, I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have said anything..."
"It's okay," she said, wiping her eyes. "It's a long story. Do you have plans for the rest of the evening?"
"No."
"I don't want to talk about it here, but I want to talk about it. It helps. Can you come to my place?"
"Sure."
We finished eating, skipped dessert, paid the bill, and headed out. I followed her to her apartment in an area that she called "the avenues," and we went inside. After the usual formalities, we sat in her kitchen with a glass of wine.
"So," she said, "when I came out here I didn't know anyone but Ralph, and he was like twice my age and then some. I went to work, and made some friends, but it was pretty lonely. Then I met Ed. I was coming out of the grocery store just as he was going in, and I dropped one of my bags. He helped me pick everything up and got me to my car. He was handsome and seemed kind, and like I said, I was lonely. I gave him my phone number. After a few days, he called me and we made arrangements to go out. I had a really nice time, no pressure. We saw each other pretty regularly, sometimes dinner, sometimes a movie, but only on weeknights. I have to admit, I fell for the guy. Well, things progressed, I invited him here for dinner, and we ended up in bed. That's when he told me he was married."
She took a long drink of her wine. "I was pretty pissed, but he was very persuasive. It was a marriage in name only. She was a strict Catholic and didn't believe in divorce. So on and so forth. He said meeting me was the boost he needed to get out of the marriage."
She took another sip of wine. "So we kept seeing each other, and kind of settled into a routine. He'd come over here, we'd have dinner, we'd make love, and he'd go home. And never on weekends. After a while I started pressuring him. He always had some excuse. 'Oh, the time isn't right, my wife is sick, my parents wouldn't understand.' Finally about six months ago I gave him the ultimatum. Her or me. He hemmed and hawed. The next time he came over I wouldn't let him in the house, and I told him I would show up at his place over the weekend and have a discussion with his wife. I haven't seen or heard from him since."
"That's - that's horrible," I said. "Much worse than what I went through. Have you told anybody else?"
"Just a couple of girlfriends from work. But I'm beginning to wish I hadn't."