Chapter 7: Now What?

I spent quite a bit of time over the next few days beating myself up over Joanna. How could I be so easily fooled? What was it about me that made me a sucker for a pretty face? You would think by now I'd have figured it out ... but no. I had my life all planned out. She and I would get married, adopt the boys, build a nice house, and live happily ever after. I wondered more than a few times what it was going to take to find the right woman. Maybe I was one of those guys who never would.

Marla and Pop did their damndest to cheer me up. Marla always did suspect there was something off about Joanna, but even she was surprised at what happened.

"That's terrible," she said when I told about her going back to Ted. "It was just about the money?" She asked, as if it couldn't be true. I assured her it was.

"She always said she loved Ted, but I thought he was history. Now I find out he wasn't and I am."

Marla had her arm around me, trying to comfort me. I wasn't really in the mood for anything other than sympathy, I guess. I'd gotten past being mad. Now I was settling in to feeling sorry for myself.

I gradually came out of my bad mood over the next few days. I had to face what had happened. There wasn't anything I could do about it, so there wasn't any point in spending all my time thinking about it. It was easier to say than do, though. I kept having visions of a naked Joanna in my arms, or in our bed as we made love. At night, those visions would come and go, keeping from getting a decent night's sleep. It would take a while before they disappeared.

I hadn't been out on my own for some time when I decided to stop in at Tricky Dick's and have a beer. It was Friday afternoon, and I didn't have anything planned for the weekend. Jo had been gone for a month now. Christmas had come and gone, and New Years was on Monday, so I had a long weekend. There were all kinds of parties planned at one place or another. A lot of my friends would be attending one or more of them. I was just as happy to be on my own.

Marla was insisting that I go with her and Pop to a New Years party at the Jenkins' home. I really didn't want to, even though I had an invitation. I was sure Merilee would be there, and I didn't need that right now. The party was Sunday night, so I had a couple of days to dream up an excuse not to go. Maybe I'd catch a cold by then.

I was slightly surprised when Brains walked in with his wife. She worked at some law office or other, while Brains was the computer boss at the school board.

"Hey, Duke. How they hangin'?" he cracked. "You remember Sonya, don't you?"

"Sure ... nice to see you, Sonya. Happy New Year," I said, giving her a hug.

"Nice to see you too, Duke. How are you? Where's that nice lady I saw you with a while back?"

I didn't want to get into telling her or Brains about my disaster of a love life, so I sort of lied.

"Not seeing her just now." I didn't add anything to that. Sonya looked at me kind of funny, but didn't say anything. Brains didn't even notice.

We went through the usual stuff about Christmas and what we were doing for New Years. I asked them about their two kids, both now in school. Sonya had lots to tell me about them.

Sonya had ordered a white wine while Brains had a beer. I was still nursing my first mug. I wasn't in a hurry to get drunk or anything.

"Saw your old girlfriend Merilee the other day," Brains said out of nowhere.

"Oh," I replied, trying to act disinterested.

"Yeah. She was doing some volunteer work with the cancer people in the mall. I stopped to say hello, and she asked how you were. I said fine. I didn't tell her anything about your new girlfriend."

"Thanks. My new girlfriend is actually no longer a girlfriend. She's moved out of town, so I'm back single again." I'm not sure why I spit that out, but I couldn't seem to stop myself. Big mouth!

"Man, that's too bad. She was something else. Smoking hot!" That earned him a jab in the ribs from Sonya.

"Gotta go now," Sonya said. "It's dinner and a movie night. My mother is watching the kids."

"Have a good time," I said, as they rose to leave.

As I watched them go, I saw once again, what my life might have been like. They were a nice, typical couple with a nice, typical family. They both worked, so there were only so many hours they could have to themselves. Brains was a smart guy, so I knew he would never take Sonya for granted. And Sonya was a fine lady, keeping a nice home while she raised two young daughters. I envied them.

I ordered the Friday night special from the kitchen, chili. Another beer would help with the hot peppers. Around nine o'clock the place was pretty full. The live band was already into their second set, and the dance floor was getting more and more crowded. People were here to have fun, and the most often heard noise was laughter. I wish I felt like laughing.

My life was like a merry-go-round, I decided. I could ride, but I wouldn't get anywhere. When I reached for the brass ring, it was always just out of reach. But still, the horse I rode went around and around. I didn't know how to get off.

As the place got more crowded, I moved to the bar to give some people my table. I could see what was going on by looking in the huge mirror behind the bar. It was decorated in old-fashioned gold trim with the name of a distillery in Scotland across the middle. Just the same, I gave me a good view of the tables and booths behind me.

Mac, the bartender, thanked me for the gesture and said the next beer was on the house. I hadn't really planned on a next beer, but I thought about it for a moment, reached into my jacket pocket and handed my keys to him.

"Don't give these back to me if I shouldn't have them," I said.

Mac grinned. "No problem, Duke."

Mac was Martin Macklin, another graduate of our high school. He was a couple of years ahead of me, but we always got along fine. He was a big guy, and could handle the dual role of bartender and bouncer if necessary. It was seldom necessary. More than once I saw him take the keys from some guy or gal who were too far gone to know enough not to drive. He was a good guy.

It wasn't long after I moved that a crowd of a half-dozen young women entered the bar, all busy yakking with each other and laughing, having a good time. They found an open booth and settled in, stealing a couple of chairs from other tables. I glanced at them and one of them was familiar. It was Teresa from Jenkins. She hadn't spotted me and I really didn't want to get involved with them, so I went back to studying the pattern on my beer mug.

Mac and I were talking back and forth when there was a lull in the action. That was getting less and less frequent as the noise level went up. The band went into their next set and conversation was hopeless after that. I was pretty sure I would be taking a cab home tonight and picking my truck up tomorrow. No big deal. No one was expecting me.

About a half hour later, Mac gave me a heads-up and I looked in the mirror to see Teresa headed my way. Damn. I wondered what she wanted.

"Hey, Duke. Whatcha doin' here all alone? I thought you had a girlfriend?"

"Nope. Just stopped in for Mac's famous chili and a couple of cold ones."

"Why don't you join us? I'm sure there's a couple of the girls would be happy to meet the famous Duke Hunsinger."

"Thanks, Teresa, but I'm fine right now. Just chilling out from a long, hard week. Beside, who said I was famous," I chuckled.

"Jeez, Duke. You blew off the boss's daughter. None of the girls could believe it. She's never gotten over it. Doesn't go out anywhere. Doesn't date. You must have really shook her up."

Now that stopped me cold. I had no idea eight months after I broke up with Merilee that she wouldn't be dating anyone. That didn't sound like her. Now, I was curious. I knew what had happened to Harley. He hadn't been seen or heard from for about the same amount of time. Maybe she was upset that he was gone. It didn't sound like it the last time I talked to her, but who knew?

"Maybe I'll stop in and say hello," I said to Teresa.

"She's gone, Duke. She's working at Jenkins Toyota in the lease and loans department. Has been for a couple of months now."

"Oh ... yeah ... I guess she did say that's what she wanted to do. Looks like she got her wish."

"Well ... one thing I'll say for her," Teresa said, "she earned it. She doesn't expect to be treated special just because she's the boss' daughter. I was real sorry when you two broke up. You'd hardly got started and it was over. You can tell me if it's none of my business, but what happened?"

I smiled at her. "No offense, Teresa, but it's none of your business."

She laughed. "Good old Duke. Always tells it like it is."

A moment later she was walking back to her friends after giving me a kiss on the cheek and a friendly smile. I was glad we had parted as friends. She was a nice kid, but still a kid.

That little conversation got me to thinking about Merilee rather than Joanna. It was a relief to find something else to occupy my mind for a change. Jenkins Toyota was across town and I usually ended up there on Thursday afternoon. Their offices were upstairs and out of sight, so it's no surprise that I wouldn't have seen Merilee yet.

I had a routine that I followed pretty strictly. I had all my regular customers on a sheet and slotted in times that I would call on them. After a while, they got to know that I was going to be there on a certain day, usually at a certain time. The bigger customers, like Jenkins and the other mainline dealers, were a weekly call. The smaller outlets were on a once-every-two-week schedule. Even with that, it left me some time for prospecting. I had a couple of target accounts for this next year and I would be spending my time trying to get a foot in the door.

That reminded me of the invitation to the Jenkins home on New Years Eve. Now ... maybe ... maybe I wouldn't be so quick to blow it off. Besides, they were our biggest customer and I'm sure they'd notice if I was a no-show. I needed another beer to think about this situation. Beer always made me smarter ... up to a point.