Chapter 3

[Jack writes]

We walked and ran back to the condo to shower together. We dressed and went down to cook some breakfast. We sat close and talked about how our lives were so good.

Then Sandy said, "Jack, what should we do about your ex?"

"Sandy, I don't plan to 'do' anything about her. She and I no longer have any relationship and I have no desire to be involved in her life and even less to have her involved in mine. That is a chapter in my life that is closed. I want to keep it that way."

"Jack, she is still the mother of your children. I don't want her to be part of our lives more than necessary but being a disruptive force is worse. She has lost so much and I think is just now realizing that. I don't know if we can help her but I do want her to be able to interact with John and Becky and with us on a civil basis. I'm just not sure what we can do."

"That's the problem. I think she now wants me back and doesn't really realize that will never happen. Even if I had never met and married you, that would never happen.

"I will think on it. I think we should also talk with Pam and John. Becky and Mark are out of town. Until they return, Pam and John will hear from her if she is in town.

"None of the four are in positions where her father can harm or help them. He tried to get me to work for him but I had always refused. He's now retired and his companies are sold off. One son still has one that he runs but there is no local presence now.

"Some of this will have to be played by ear and will depend upon how much she tries to be involved in my children's lives."

Sandy said, "Jack, I'm not worried about you and her. You won't even call her by name."

I chuckled humorlessly. "Until now, I hadn't really recognized that but you are right. Let's move on to other subjects."

Sandy said, "We have plenty of time to make a decision but I would like to start planning our next trip. I want to talk to Pam and John about what they might want or expect from us. We need to think about how much involvement we want, too.

"Things have changed in two years. Then, we were concerned with keeping Pam and John together and Becky safe. Now, we are looking at being made grandparents by Pam and John. Becky is safely married off to a wonderful man."

I said, "I'm not doing badly either. I have this wonderful woman who keeps me deliriously happy with her active mind and sexy body."

We had finished eating and Sandy moved toward me. I slid the chair out and she straddled me. "You do keep me happy, stud. I love what our bodies do to each other but it's our minds and hearts that keep everything fresh and wonderful." She kissed me hard and I did my best to reciprocate. We finally came up for air. Sandy said, "If we're going to accomplish anything at all today, I need to stand up or we will wind up on the kitchen floor again!"

"That wasn't all bad."

"Actually, it was all good."

We kissed again and gradually untangled and stood. I helped rinse the dishes and load them in the dishwasher. We went into the dining room and turned on the radio to talk to family and friends. We spent an enjoyable hour that way. We went on twenty meters and chased a little DX (distant stations). We talked to a station in Belize and another in Costa Rica before deciding to shut down and do something else.

Sandy said, "I need to do a little grocery shopping. We could go to our Chinese place and then buy food. How about you?"

"I need a couple of things from Radio Shack."

"You need to look for a new pair of running shoes, too." I shrugged. I knew she was right. I just don't love to shop for clothes and that includes shoes.

We went upstairs to change into more appropriate clothes for going out into the world. That took awhile because neither of us were wearing underclothes and nakedness grabbed our interest with making love becoming foremost in our minds. It was lunchtime when we were dressing to go outside. Sandy was wearing her usual sexy panties and bra. Knowing what was under her outer clothing was always entertaining for me. We did finally get out of the house and went to have lunch.

Lunch was fun as we reminisced about our past, short though it might be. We filled our plates twice while we ate leisurely. We left for the mall and Radio Shack. I wanted a couple of parts for our mobile rig's mount which they had in stock. We then went to look for running shoes for me and found a pair at a price that I found only mildly outrageous.

We left for the grocery store holding hands and laughing as we enjoyed being together. I like to think that other people were in a better frame of mind from seeing us together. I know that I always am from being with her.

We did our shopping. With Sandy, of course, most of our food purchasing was fresh so a really good fruit and produce section was essential. Over the past two years, my diet had changed. I had never eaten much fresh food and now it was almost totally fresh. We had little in our pantry. The only thing that Sandy wouldn't cook was bread.

During one of our stays at the condo, she baked bread for the grilled cheese sandwiches and prepared tomato soup from scratch. It was absolutely delicious! The only problem was that it took all day for Sandy to prepare and cook that meal. I told her that, despite how good it was, that was too much time to spend.

I drove home and we put our purchases away. I put my new shoes on to walk them in. I don't know if it was necessary but it was a habit. Our week passed quietly and enjoyably. We did make a preliminary plan for a summer trip to the Smoky Mountains. We had gone through that area but never spent any time exploring it.