Chapter 12: Sheldon Quits

Rudi set the phone back in its cradle and looked at Sheldon, leaning long and lanky against the door frame. "You want to talk to me. I want to talk to you. If we stay here, it's a waste of time. Let's go across the street. We can talk there."

The two men left the building, stepping into the sunshine and crossing the street. Rudy said, "Want something to drink? I'm hungry." They went into one of the up-scale sandwich stores along Pearl Street and emerged with containers of drinks, packages of sandwiches. Beneath one of the trees, they sat on a bench as they unwrapped their lunches, idly watching the passersby.

"Okay," Rudy said, inspecting the filling of his sandwich. "What's the beef? You say you've got to quit. What the hell does that mean? Aren't we treating you right? Seems to me you've gotten a pretty good break here."

"Well, now don't get defensive, Rudy," Sheldon countered. "I only said I'm thinking about it. I haven't done anything - no resumes out or anything. But I kind of think I need to get away from Boulder."

"Didn't mean to come down on you, you know." Rudy answered, offering his open package of chips. "It's just, I like you, like your work. I'd really hate to lose you, and really don't want your talent going to the competition. Aren't too many people who take charge the way you do."

"Guess that's a talent that cuts both ways," Sheldon replied. "Sometimes I think I'm too aggressive for my own good." He pulled the top off his drink cup, drank deeply, then stuffed the straw and cap into the bag.

"Not around my department, you're not. You seem to be able to take charge without getting people up tight. That's a real talent."

"Thanks, Rudy. No, it's not work that's the trouble, anyway. I'm in a spot personally and I just wonder if I ought to go looking for another town to live in."

"Want to talk about it? I know you're married, is that where the trouble is? You looking at a divorce, or what?"

Sheldon munched on his sandwich for a moment, considering a response. When he had his mouth clear, he turned to Rudy. "I don't talk about my personal life at the office, you know, not beyond the usual small talk. But I need to talk to someone and I know I can trust you. My wife wants a divorce."

Rudy lowered his voice, turned on the bench to face Sheldon more directly. "I was afraid of that. Seems like that's one of the things that makes my life as a manager a constant confusion. People are great until they get married - actually, even after. It's just that marital problems are the biggest cause of personnel problems. Now, don't get me wrong. You know I'm married myself, and happily so. What's the trouble?"

Sheldon looked at Rudy, then looked at the pavement between his feet. "She wants a divorce because she says I'm too sexually aggressive. I don't know what to do. I thought I was a pretty normal guy, but she says..."

Rudy interrupted. "Look. Maybe I'm not the guy to talk to. Have you seen anyone about this?"

"Yes, I've talked to my doctor, I've seen a psychologist off and on for months. They tell me I'm really okay. But she says I'm always after her, too demanding, always wanting sex. It's got me all screwed up."

"Shel, I don't want to get into the middle of this, but how often do you two, uh, you know. How often do you do it?"

"Well, we used to make love - right after we got married - about every day, and that was great. And I guess it's pretty normal."

"Was that enough for you? Had you been lovers before you were married?"

"Yeah, we used to sleep together several times a week; then we got married and we did it every night. But last year - we've been married two years - she started making excuses, didn't seem to want it as much as before. Well, that was okay with me, I mean, we still got it on four or five times a week. Was it enough? I guess I really liked it best when we did it every night, but..."

"Yeah, I know, sometimes you get out of phase. One wants it; one doesn't. Normal enough."

"Yeah. Well, just after Christmas she said she wanted a divorce because I'm too aggressive - that's her word - and she doesn't want sex more than once a week or so. That's really got me climbing the walls."

"After Christmas, huh? You've been dealing with this for six months? No wonder you're going nuts. You getting any on the side?"

"No. I couldn't do that. It's not my thing. But I am kinda jumpy. Nervous. Once it's settled, I can start looking around, I guess - if I want to. It'll be a while, but at least I'll be able to head for something more normal."