The Resurgence of a Weary Man Pt. 01

This is a four part story. 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.

Part 1

There was a time not that long ago when I used to enjoy pulling into the driveway after a day at the office. I would be met with the smells of a busy kitchen and if they were not out with the neighbor's kids, a couple of beautiful children might greet me somewhere in the house. I would see her working on one of her culinary creations or setting the dinnerware or bustling about the household somewhere. There was always the dutiful and sincere kiss, a greeting and a welcoming embrace. It was the middle class American portrait, something Norman Rockwell put to canvas a hundred times.

It took some time to get there. Our early years were lean and at times hard. The children were little with large demands yet somehow we got by and never really suffered. Our needs were met even though the wants were often times pushed out until they too eventually became needs. With patience and hard work, we began building the dream. There were two cars, a larger house and the niceties we wanted around the home when we could afford them. Our parents grew up in the Great Depression years and instilled a sense of frugality in each of us. Over the passing of time and into middle age, that ingrained responsibility reaped rewards for the Davis household.

By our early middle forties, Helen and I were firmly in the upper middle class lifestyle. Our kids, Jason and Ann, had graduated high school and were both off at University studying for their respective careers, Engineering for my son and Marketing for my daughter. They had the same drive that Helen and I had when we were young. They know what they want and how to get it.

It was when they left that the changes began. The dinners would sometimes become a quick eat or a request to stop at the deli and bring something home. While the house would still look the same, it felt empty, beyond the absence of children. It was missing a wife and partner as well. We used to go out on our date nights every week without the kids. Those disappeared as well or dropped down to once a month if that.

Helen started working with a volunteer group at the community center with a couple of her friends from the neighborhood. I didn't see her much during the week when that started. They were not friends I felt comfortable with but they were her friends and not mine. It began to feel as if we were living two separate lives.

Now, when I turned into the drive there was a sense of loss. I remember pulling out my driver's license and looking at Tom Davis, age 46 and I saw a tired man looking back at me. Now, that doesn't mean I'm physically tired. I'm a gym rat and have been since college. I'm thinking of an emotional exhaustion from 25 years of marriage that until four years ago seemed ideal. Our sex life had been active and fulfilling or so I thought. Now, that too became a once a month event. That is probably the one thing that really angers me about all of this more than any other. I've always been adventurous in that regard and Helen was always receptive. Yet, as soon as the kids were out of the house, there was an almost 180 degree change. So, I'm emotionally exhausted and physically charged and it is quite the dilemma.

I turned the key in the lock and entered. It still looked the same yet different. There were no kitchen smells. I glanced at the mantle and noticed a couple pictures were missing along with a gold box she kept several little personal treasures in. Walking up the stairs and into the bedroom, her closet was open and mostly empty while her dresser stood bare, nothing left in the drawers. On the side table on her side of the bed was a folded letter and sitting on top of it was her engagement ring.

I gave her that ring 25 years earlier. It had belonged to my grandmother. My grandfather had given it to her 55 years before that. As I picked it up I remembered the day I placed it on her finger. We were so young and carefree with the whole world at our fingertips and in our imaginations. After slipping it into my jacket pocket, I picked the letter up and unfolded it.

"Dear Tom,

I didn't know how to do this any other way without having to hide my face in shame so I chose this coward's way of dealing with what I have to do. After a long time considering it, I decided today that I need to move on in my life without you. Tom, I know this is a hard thing to have happen in our lives but we've become different people over the last few years and I can't do it anymore.

Tom, please believe me when I tell you that none of it, absolutely none of it was any of your doing. It simply happened. I found myself falling in love with another man and I can't live this lie any longer. I know you were going to find out sooner or later so I am telling you now. The kids don't know yet but I'm going to tell them. Please believe me, Tom, that when I do tell them, they will hate me because I'm not going to lie to them.

I felt awful for the longest time living this lie and I can't do it anymore. If there is any consolation, I am not taking much. I took one half of the savings, some of the photo albums and I will have copies made of everything so that you can have them too. I am not taking anything else financially. The house, the investments, everything except the one half of the savings account will remain yours. I have taken everything I wanted already and I will not be back.

Tom, this is important too. I know you will grieve because of this just as I did when I made my decision. Eventually, the kids will know where I am. It's only natural. If the pain of what I am doing to you ever subsides and I pray it will, I hope that someday I can sit down with you face to face and tell you how sorry I am for what I have done to you. I can't look you in the eye today because of my betrayal. I hope you will someday understand that.

Until I can face you again, know that I will always love you, Tom Davis.

Helen"

I'd like to think I went through all the emotions I could muster but the plain truth was I was just drained from it. I sat there and wept for about 15 minutes before rising up and walking into the kitchen. I reached up into the cupboard and pulled out a bottle of 20 year old rum and poured two shots into a tumbler before filling it with Coke. When it was gone, I did it twice more.

I'm not a heavy drinker. I stick pretty much to Rum and Coke and the occasional beer and wine. Becoming a sorrowful drunk was not in the cards. She left me on a Friday so I had the whole weekend to contemplate what she had done. By Sunday evening, the half-gallon of rum was empty and I had planned my course of action.

Monday morning, before I could leave the house, I was served papers by some young woman who looked like she couldn't have been a day over 18. Just as Helen had written, she left everything to me except her share of savings. She had walked away from a fortune she never knew about. I remember thinking what a foolish woman she had allowed herself to become. You see, the last few years of slow decay in our marriage had already prepared me for the loneliness. She thought I was going to grieve and miss her. I did for 15 minutes on Friday evening.

After calling the office and letting them know I would be in later in the morning, I called my personal attorney to let him know about the divorce and he agreed to meet for coffee. It helps when your attorney is also your brother.

"Tom, it is all above board. She is walking away from everything. While I can hardly believe it, my immediate recommendation is to sign it and let her walk away. Is there any chance of reconciliation?"

I looked at him like he was my nutty brother and he is.

"Jesus, Carl, you read the letter. What do you think?"

I grabbed my pen and in his presence signed all the appropriate places on three copies.

"Let's get them returned to her attorney and have them file ASAP."

"That is probably a good thing. If she gets wind of your actual financial situation she might start having second thoughts."

I agreed. Helen had no idea what she walked away from. She might not want a piece of it now but her paramour might push in that direction if he ever found out. What she didn't know is that her upper middle class consistent husband was the owner of a soon to be sold software company worth $40 million in recent appraisals. We make robotic software for controllers and DCS equipment. I literally started the company in our garage 20 years ago and Helen had absolutely no clue how big we had become. She thought I was just a software engineer who wrote code on the side.

When the kids went off to school, it had been my intention to sell the company and the house and take Helen to someplace new to live, maybe Hawaii or even Europe. But when the changes started, it never happened. She grew more and more detached until, well, she blew it all up.

Carl called me later that afternoon and informed me that Helen's attorney had filed the papers with the court. With no change of mind or reconciliation, I would be divorced in 90 days. If you haven't gone through this, it's a funny feeling to explain. Only three days had passed since I came home to an empty house. Now, I was for all practical purposes divorced unless Helen came barging through the door to tell me it had been all a big misunderstanding. Something inside me wished that would be the case but I didn't really expect it.

My son called first.

"Dad, is it true? Mom is leaving you for somebody else?"

Well, she at least told him the truth.

"Jason, I suppose it is all true. I signed her divorce papers this morning and in 90 days it will be all over."

"Dad, I don't know what to say. She told us both, Ann and I that this was entirely her betrayal of you and she had left to possibly live with another man. To be honest, I wanted to hit her I was so damn mad."

"Well, son, I'm glad you didn't. She is still your mother. Now, you will have to work out whatever relationship you are going to have with her. I have no idea where she is and at this point, I'm not going to pursue her or interfere. Like I said, I signed the papers. She apparently loves the man she is with, at least more than she does me.

As for me, I'm going to move on with life and live it the way I should."

We chatted a while longer. I did find out that she was still in the area but it is a big enough community here that our paths don't have to cross.

I had a similar discussion with my daughter. She didn't deal with it as well. She apparently broke it off with her mother and told her she wanted nothing to do with again. I felt kind of proud of that but I had the same discussion I did with Jason. She is her mother.

Over the next three months there were several times I almost expected her to walk back through the door again but it never happened. The funny thing was I wasn't angry and I couldn't figure that out. I even tried to picture the mystery man fucking her little pink quim and still no real anger. I had a bit of heartache over that imagery but it passed quickly.

Finally, on D day, Carl showed up in my office and handed me the official pronouncement. After 25 years of marriage and two children and all the struggles of life, I was now a single man with an ex-wife somewhere in the city. 95 days had passed since I walked into the empty house and learned my wife left me for another man.

I picked up the phone and made the call I had been waiting to make.

"Bill, Are we ready to close yet?"

He replied with a quick yes and we agreed to meet first thing in the morning. Bill was the CEO of Omega Software Solutions and had been pursuing me for nearly a year before Helen walked out. After she left I made a gentlemen's agreement with Bill to sell the company once my divorce became final. By noon the next day, I was an independently wealthy man with nearly $27 million in assets after taxes scattered in several investment and cash accounts.

Bill then made an astounding offer to me.

"Tom, I don't know what your final plans are but I'd like you to consider something. I've told my board that I am going to step down at the end of the year and focus solely on the Chairman role going forward. I'm 66 years old and I'd like to bring in new blood to take the helm. In my opinion, you are just what I'm looking for.

Now I know it is a bit unusual for an acquisition to take the CEO position but it's happened before. You would have to relocate to the West Coast, Sonoma to be precise, but its beautiful country, Tom. Would you consider it? The compensation package is attractive and you know our growth strategy already. Give it some thought and give me a call later. I'd love to talk more on it."

I don't know that I was flabbergasted. The British call it gob smacked. This was now a $300 million company headquartered in wine country, California. Napa had been on my short list of places I thought about taking Helen to live when I sold. Well, with her out of the picture now, I hadn't really thought of the area much. Now I was thinking of it again.

I walked around the house that evening, a newly minted wealthy man, taking in the rooms and memories of raising two children. I saw the notches on the laundry room door where we measured the kids as they sprouted. There were a lot of good memories there but they were a lifetime ago or so it seemed. The decision was easy.

"Bill, when is a good time for me to fly out and talk about your proposal? I'd like to get a good look at the area and your team."

We settled for the beginning of next week. I would spend the week out there and make a decision.

Jason was a bit hesitant about my move. Ann was thrilled. I was kind of sitting on the fence. I hadn't told them about selling the company yet. Instead I told them to read the business pages in tomorrow's newspaper or google Omega to understand why I was thinking of the move. They didn't want the suspense but I replied that I rather enjoyed it.

The next morning, on the front page of the business section, the news of the acquisition revealed everything. There was a picture of Bill and me along with assurances that the company would continue to do business here in town. Also included was the purchase price, $40 Million. I had asked that it be included even though Bill was willing to remain silent on that matter. I think he understood my personal reasons coming two days after my divorce was final and irrevocable. One of the clauses in the papers prohibited either of us from making post filing addendums. The divorce was cut and dried, final with no recourse.

A few days later, I found myself sitting in the 1st class section of a Boeing 767 heading for San Francisco International Airport. I had been divorced for all of six days and every woman started looking more and more attractive. Twenty years ago I thought airline stewardesses were particularly hot. Today, I still think that even though more of them are still closer to my own age. I think it was probably just my being horny not being laid in over three months. At least it meant I still had a pulse.

I met with Bill and his team that afternoon and had a good discussion of general business conditions and strategic direction. They were scoping me out as much as I was them and I think we met each other's approval. Toward the end of the day, Bill pulled me into his office and made me an offer, a very generous offer.

"Tom, I had dinner with the board last evening and presented to them what I wanted to do. To a man and woman, they were in full agreement. We all believe you are the perfect candidate for the position and we are prepared to show you just how committed we are.

First off, we are offering a five year contract with an annual salary starting at $1.4 Million. In addition to that, the MIP bonuses are set at 50% of salary for 100% of objectives and up to 200% for exceeding expectations. Of course, the full set of expected benefits and executive perks applies. You'll get your choice of vehicle, tradable every two years. We have an executive condo for your use in Sonoma if you choose.

It's a lot to think over I'm sure, Tom. I've got to be in the city this evening for another engagement or I'd have you join me for dinner. Let's plan on that sometime later this week since I know you're out here."

It was indeed lucrative and I would probably not have to think on it long but I didn't want to be hasty in my reply. We shook hands and I departed for my hotel room over in Napa. The offer was five times what I was paying myself in the old company and that didn't touch the MIP bonus. I was 46 years old and not ready for retirement. I could work and play in the California sunshine and nearly perfect surroundings of Sonoma and Napa. Best of all, I could afford to enjoy every minute of it.

I accepted the position the next day and Bill introduced me to all the staff. He would step down on December 31 which was three months away. For the interim, I was his Senior Consultant on the payroll as if I was already in position. The Sonoma condo worked fine for now and I started in three weeks.

For the rest of the week, I enjoyed the hospitality of the Wine Country and its attractions. I've never been a big wine guy but I think it was time to learn and as I sat at the bar contemplating my new found good fortune, I began to wonder about Helen. Who she was with? Why did she do what she did? Was our life together really that bad? Until now, I honestly had not allowed myself to ask the questions. My grief was short to non-existent yet I had not really moved on, relationship wise. I knew

I was starting to miss the company of a woman. I also realized that with my position and new wealth, women were not going to be a shortage. There is an endless supply of women who lust to be around money and position. Of course, that is what they really lust for and not the man himself unless he is really lucky and I didn't think I was the lucky kind until now.

I flew back home to take care the myriad of chores and tasks that needed to be wrapped up before I could move west. I called the kids and told them about the offer and my acceptance. Jason had come around now, especially when he realized how lucrative it was. Both of them had also read the news of the sale in the papers and knew just how set I was. Of course, they were too although I didn't tell them that.

Jason had graduated before the big split up with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Ann would finish her degree in December. She had already interviewed and accepted a positon with a local firm until the shit hit the fan. She had learned who her mother was with and had run into both of them when she came into her soon to be place of employment for some pre-employment screening and placement testing for a short paid internship position before officially starting in January.

It's a small world of some not so agreeable coincidences. It seems her mother's paramour was a business development director for the same company on the same floor and side of the building. Ann immediately rescinded her acceptance of the position but not before calling her mother a cheap whore and telling him she hoped somebody would have the pleasure of "chopping his fucking balls off".