Family Matters, Chapter 2
On Monday, Landon ate a hasty breakfast alone. He didn't need to be at work early, but he wanted to be out of the house before Sarah got up. Besides, it was usually at an early hour that he saw Michael in the foyer.
As he had hoped, he met Michael coming into the building while waiting for the elevator to go up to his office. Michael suggested taking the stairs for exercise.
"I usually try to go to the gym before I come to work, but I overslept this morning. I'm going to have to go tonight or try to get some exercise by moving a lot during the day," he said.
"Are you happy with your health club?" Landon asked. "I'm looking for a place to get back into shape. I really need to work out regularly if I'm going to keep my promise to myself never to get soft around the middle like my dad. The poor man gets his workouts lifting his fork and knife hosting dinners."
"Yeah, it's a great gym. There's lots of equipment and good steam rooms and saunas – well the ones that are in the men's locker room certainly are; I can't vouch for the women's facilities.
By the way, they're having a special offer. I can add a family member or friend for only $20 per month. That's like what you'd pay for a week's pass. I'd be happy to add you if you want. We could work out together."
"Cool, I'll give it some thought. If I had a workout buddy, I might be able to convince myself to keep it up."
The men parted company at Ad Tech, but agreed to meet for lunch. Monday was starting out to be a good day after all!
Lunch was great. They walked to a nearby soup and sandwich place which had excellent food and catered to health-conscious people. Everything was made from scratch using local organically grown ingredients when possible. The men decided to meet often for lunch when their schedules permitted.
The spring in Landon's step that day was obvious to his coworkers. Someone joked (behind his back, of course) that he was acting like a man in an ad for some erectile dysfunction product whose life had been changed by getting a prescription for the little blue pill or a shot of testosterone.
He was still working at 6:30 in the evening when he heard a light rap on his door. It was Michael smiling at him through the glass.
"Are you working all night?" the young lawyer asked.
"No, I had some things that are due in a couple of days and I'll sleep better knowing they're done. I tried to call home to say I'd be late, but only got the answering machine. Do you want to catch a bite to eat? I'm pretty sure there will be no dinner waiting for me. I'm out in the cold currently."
"Damn, I'm sorry to hear that," Michael consoled. "It looks like you and I have one more thing in common. Want to talk about it with someone who will listen? I can assure you that what you say will go no further."
The two new friends ate a light supper of soup and salad at Panera. Over their meal, they both told each other more than either had intended to. It was a relief to be able to commiserate with a peer who truly understood. Both offered the other a place to stay if their spouses ever threw them out.
In the middle of the week, Landon met Michael at 6:00 a.m. carrying a new gym bag containing exercise clothes, towel, toiletries, etc. The health club manager had offered Landon a two-day pass for free to see if he liked it well enough to join. Corporate was on the manager's butt to up his membership numbers as there would be competition from a branch of New Life Fitness due to open in the neighborhood soon.
The free admission had been the deciding factor in giving it a try.
Michael buddied-up with Landon taking him through his own routine with somewhat lighter dumbbells and weight settings on the machines. At the end, Landon knew he'd had a workout, but also felt good about himself. They spent a few minutes in the steam room to relax their muscles before showering. Since it was attached to the men's locker room, many of the guys went in nude. Landon followed Michael's example, hanging his towel on a hook and going in completely unclothed too. The steam was so thick that guys across the room were nearly impossible to see anyway. Landon and Michael sat side by side and did check each other out with a quick glance as most males will. Landon suddenly had an image from a dream flash by in his mind. He wondered what it meant.
Christmas and New Year's came and went without any particular joy in Landon's life. Landon sat with the Langston's at the late service on Christmas Eve. He enjoyed the readings and carols, but missed sharing them with his wife who refused to accompany him.
Sara and he went to an upscale restaurant for Christmas dinner, but not having a home-cooked meal with friends or family didn't exactly cheer Landon's heart. He was surrounded by strangers.
The only thing that helped Landon get through the whole holiday scene was a text he received from Michael who was in Mississippi with his wife and in-laws. Michael didn't seem to be having a great time either and missed the gym time and lunches they had together.
Landon texted back that he was eager to see Michael again.
Sarah continued her chilly manner through the next couple of weeks. She hardly spoke to Landon when they passed in the hall. He was still sleeping in the guest room. This whole scene was wearing on him. It was one thing for her to have the convenient "headache," but it was quite another to have her consistently shutting him out of the marriage bed. She also seemed to be letting herself go. She certainly had gained several pounds of weight.
"I'm going to make an appointment with a marriage counselor," he informed her on Friday. "I'm tired of living like this. I miss being a family. Family matters to me; things need to change."
"Things will change when you change," Sarah informed him. "Until you beg my forgiveness for stepping out on me and promise never to do it again, nothing IS going to change! I'm not about to air all of this to some strange counselor. I won't go!"
Following the kind of advice that "Dear Abby" gave in her column, Landon went ahead with his plan. If his wife wouldn't agree to go, at least he might get some advice about dealing with her. He was becoming less and less convinced that their marriage could be saved. His heart ached over the way things seemed to be turning out. He'd taken their marriage vows seriously and had dreamed that Sarah and he would raise a family together and still be together in their golden years. What had gone wrong? How could he have handled things differently?
When Michael invited him over on Saturday to play video games, Landon jumped at the chance. He informed Sarah of his plans and she just snorted.
"I hope you and she have a good time," she sneered. "Obviously you don't care to spend any time with me anymore."
"You certainly give me no reason to, and it's he', not she'," he responded icily.
Michael's wife, Samantha, had come home with him for a couple of weeks after the holidays, but had gone back to her parent's house for another stay because her mother's health was in decline and she was needed there. She could teach her on-line classes from anywhere in the world as long as she had Internet access, so there was no reason she couldn't return to Mississippi for a while.
Not for the first time, Michael wondered if his mother-in-law was truly that fragile or if this was an excuse to be away.
Landon and Michael spent most of the day together. They played a few video games, but eventually spent a lot of time listening to Michael's CD's. He had an extensive collection and introduced Landon to a couple of contemporary composers that were new to him. Since neither man brought up anything about their marital problems, it was fun and relaxing.
At lunchtime, Michael brought out a pot of homemade soup and makings for sandwiches. There seemed to be no end to the talents this man possessed. Landon was becoming fonder of him by the minute. They were a good match. Why couldn't their spouses be more like that?
When Landon arrived home and pushed the button on the garage door opener, he saw that his side of the garage was half filled with boxes and plastic bags. There was a big sign in magic marker telling him that he was no longer welcome in the house. He left his car in the drive as he put his key in the lock of the kitchen door. It didn't work. What was going on?
Using his cell phone, he called the land line. After several rings, Sarah answered.
"What the hell is this?" he demanded.
"Just what it looks like," she shot back. "I'm throwing you out, so you'd better call you girlfriend to come help you with your things – unless she's all worn out from getting laid today. I'm changing the code on the garage opener tomorrow, so anything you want had better be gone tonight or the Salvation Army gets it."
"Sarah, listen to reason!" he shouted. "I was with Michael all day just as I said."
But the line had gone dead, so he was talking to himself before he finished. He called Michael next.
"Bud, you're not going to believe this, but I'm going to have to take you up on the offer you made a few weeks ago. I really need a place to stay tonight. I also have about half a garage stall of clothes and things that my wife is going to throw out if I don't take them now. It's too late to find a storage place tonight. Can you help me?"
Michael said that he was on the way with his SUV and a good quality camera to take pictures in case they were needed for documentation in a divorce hearing. He arrived a few minutes later.
Sarah looked out of the window in time to see Michael get out of his vehicle. She had really expected a woman. Had she been mistaken?
It was a good thing that Landon had overestimated the amount of things he had and that most of the stuff fit in the SUV because Landon's convertible had a very small trunk. In the end, the men put the top down long enough to wedge the last bags into the Solara and then put it up again so Landon wouldn't freeze on the way.
They stacked the boxes in the empty side of Michael's garage and took some of the bags into the house. After about half an hour things were as organized as they could be at the moment and Landon had enough clothes hanging in the guest room closet to see him through the coming week. They hadn't been packed long enough to get any serious wrinkles.
The men went out for dinner after they finished the task. Since it was 7:30 and not a night with any cultural events going on, they managed to get a table at the Greek restaurant where they had met.
"I've got some comp-time coming for working extra the last few weeks. I can go apartment hunting on Monday and get out of your hair. I'm sure your wife will be back soon."
"Don't be in a hurry," Michael told him. "Samantha emailed me this morning that she's planning to extend her stay - again. I'm beginning to wonder if she'll come home at all. You and I may have yet another thing in common."
They sat at a table near the one they had shared that first night. This time, they were relieved that no one could hear their conversation. Tonight, they were discussing the possibilities and ramifications of divorce. Neither was ready to share his thoughts with the rest of the world.
The next morning, Landon invited Michael to attend church with him. Michael took him up on the offer.
"I'm working on shaping you up physically, so I guess I can let you shape me up spiritually," he quipped. "I sort of fell out of the habit of going to church because I was also mad at God for taking my mother too early in life and Sam wasn't into church either."
The Langston's invited both men to join them for brunch after the service and they accepted. Aunt Mildred said that she loved being seen on the arms of two young hunks at once. Besides, it would give her that much more stability.
No one asked about Sarah. They sensed that something might be wrong and were too polite to inquire. Neither Landon nor Michael gave any information about why there were there without their spouses. They did mention that they had become good friends because they worked in the same building and went to the same gym. That seemed to be sufficient explanation for their attending church together.
As the men were watching TV on Sunday afternoon, messages about the coming of a huge storm began scrolling across the bottom of the screen. The warnings about freezing rain became direr as the day progressed.
The guys wondered if this was for real or if it was one more example of the forecasters, like Chicken Little, crying that the sky was falling. They seemed to have a less than stellar record when it came to predicting what would actually transpire. More often than not, their inaccuracy was covered by some alibi about the jet stream moving further one direction or other than it was supposed to.
When the sleet started pounding on the roof and lawn, the guys began to believe that this might be one of the rare times when the meteorologists got it dear-right. Michael began hunting for things they would need in case of a power outage. He dug out a camp stove and a couple of cylinders of gas. He also located the candles and a battery-powered lantern that he kept for such emergencies. Once those were arranged where they could be accessed easily, he and Landon brought in a supply of logs from the garage.
"Let's take these to the basement. If the power goes off, the furnace won't run and the upstairs won't stay very warm because of the cathedral ceilings. We can keep the family room livable for sleeping if we close off the downstairs bedroom." Michael said. "We'd better eat something soon because the way those lights are flickering, I'm worried."
The men heated up leftover soup in the microwave and made sandwiches for their supper. They were in the midst of eating when the power went off completely. Michael lit a couple of candles to illuminate the table while they finished their meal.
"Maybe the lights will come back soon," he hoped aloud.
The storm increased in intensity. A thick coating of ice was forming on every exposed surface. Trees and power lines all over the city and surrounding countryside were falling victim to nature's relentless forces.
After tidying up from their supper, the men went down to start a fire. The fireplace in the lower level had been updated by the previous owners with a cast iron insert and a gas lighter. It had an outside air source for combustion, so it was very safe and efficient. When the cast iron and glass doors were shut, it wouldn't pull any heat out of the room like old fashioned ones. In a short time, they could feel warmth radiating from it.
"Come help me pull the mattress off of the bed in the other room," Michael requested. "We can put it near the fireplace to keep from freezing tonight. If we share the bed, we'll conserve our body heat too."
In an odd way, Michael rather liked this situation. He felt like a pioneer using all of the problem-solving skills he had learned in scouts. He had camped in cold weather and knew how to survive. This was like an adventure!
Landon grinned to himself as he watched his friend's almost child-like enthusiasm. He sensed that Michael was actually enjoying this would-be disaster.
When Michael brought out a popcorn popper that worked over an open fire, Landon nearly laughed aloud, and would have if he hadn't been concerned about offending his friend. The popcorn was followed by a bag of marshmallows so that they could toast a few for their dessert. Michael was turning a calamity into a campout!
Since it there was little else to do to amuse them at the moment, the men decided to go to bed early and hope for better weather news in the morning. They stripped to their briefs and T's and settled down on the queen-sized mattress. It was fairly warm and comfortable, but Michael had put a couple of extra comforters nearby in case they were needed as the fire died down in the night.
Author's notes: The following readers emailed since last posting: Ott H, Mike D, George R, Bill K, Bob, Charles, Mendy D, James H, Walt S, Burke C, Greg S, Jim W, Pete, RB, Trish R, Douglas and Lawrence, Rod R, Gary E, Wayne, Lance C, David (SC), Jim F, and Ash T.
A couple of suggestions for those of you who are new to my stories; there are a lot of other ones on Nifty which may be accessed by clicking on the "authors" button on the homepage and scrolling down to "David Lee." All of them are complete in their own right, but a number of the high school ones will have earlier characters in cameo roles. I would recommend reading Always and Forever, Zeke, Tales from Bentonville, Second Chance, Tommy and Tanner, and The Metamorphosis of Jeremiah Long in that order. As you will see, I began posting in 2004 and haven't stopped for any long periods of time.
The short stories and the "adult" ones can be read in any order. I hope you might enjoy some of them while you wait for additional chapters of the current story. I plan to post on a weekly schedule.
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Thanks for taking the time to read my stuff. Please feel free to contact me @ dlee169@hotmail.com . It's always a good idea to put the title of the story in the subject line in case your email ends up in the spam box.
Many thanks to my editors, Tom and David, and to Nifty for providing this free service.