Chapter 1

Driving to the large shopping mall, Thad Moran thought this past week was one of the worst weeks he ever had in his life. It was on Sunday when his wife Doris of almost ten years surprised him by saying she wanted a divorce. Hearing her say that was like she hit him in the head with a baseball bat as it was something he thought came out of the left field. There were no indications that he had noticed which would tell him that she would be asking for a divorce.

Thad asked Doris what was wrong and suggested that they should go to counseling to try and save the marriage but she would have none of that. She said her mind was made up and somewhat reluctantly admitted she had met someone that she cared deeply about. Doris ended any further conversation about getting divorced saying she would shortly be moving out. She added that she wanted a fifty-fifty split of what assets they had and that her lawyer would be in touch with Thad’s lawyer to finalize the divorce.

Doris was true to her word because she moved out the following day. She wouldn’t say where she was going and told him that if he needed to talk to her he could do so by calling her on her cellphone. Their getting divorced was constantly on his mind with him wondering what had happened and what could he have done to salvage the marriage. Thad thought he still loved Doris but now he wasn’t so sure that he did.

In thinking about it, there probably were things that he should have picked up on but he didn’t. He remembered a few incidents that had happened but he thought they didn’t amount to anything at the time as it now turned out he had to assume that they did.

At work, during a coffee break, Thad mentioned to John Durkin a co-worker, Johnny as he liked to be called that he was getting divorced and told him how it was announced to him. Johnny who was about ten years older than Thad was sympathetic and offered him the following advice.

“Don’t feel sorry for yourself or that you are alone in getting divorced as about fifty percent of marriages nowadays end in divorce. Since you are still relatively young and good-looking, once the word gets around that you are now available, women are going to be coming on to you.”

“You are kidding me aren’t you just trying to make me feel better?”

“No, I’m not blowing smoke up your butt. By now most of the good guys around your age have been claimed by women and are married, so the available pool of single men is drastically reduced. What’s left for women to choose from, especially good-looking men who have decent jobs and are nice as you are is a very small number. I am just saying be careful when these women approach you and believe me they will. You will find that you can be very choosy in whom you get involved with, that is if you still want to get involved.”

Thad thanked Johnny for his advice but he had doubts about what he said.

The next day in thinking he had no recourse Thad took some personal time and stopped by the law offices of Gordon Frazier a divorce attorney that was recommended to him. He told Gordon that he wanted him to handle the divorce, what assets he and his wife had, and the name of her attorney. Thad said Doris wanted a fifty-fifty split which was fine with him. Thad was going to keep the condo so she should get one-half of the equity they had in it. Thad told him what two similar condos in the building had recently sold for and what was left to pay on the mortgage. There should be no alimony he said as Doris makes a good salary being a charge nurse at the Children’s Hospital.

“Gordon, I want you to handle this divorce and make sure it is a fifty-fifty split. My trust in Doris has diminished somewhat since it is she who is asking for the divorce.”

Gordon said it doesn’t sound like there should be any problems so the divorce should be done rather quickly. He will let Thad know if any problems develop.

After parking his car at the mall he walked in and went to a jewelry store which was located on the upper floor. Walking into the store he saw the sales associate that sold him the item he was returning. The business card she had given him indicated that her name was Pamela Keller. There was only one other customer in the store at this time and that customer was discussing something with another sales associate.

Pamela the sales associate who had sold Thad the diamond pendant must have a good memory because she recognized him and said, “Hi Thad, what can I do for you.”

He thought there was a lot she could do for him because with her looks she was close to being a men’s magazine calendar model. He had that thought about her when he purchased the pendant. He would guess Pamela was close to his thirty-four years of age or maybe a few years younger. She was about five foot six inches tall, in the hundred and twenty-five-pound class with light brown hair that came down to her shoulders and probably would turn lighter in the sun. Her figure was slim but her breasts size was difficult to gauge because of the dark gray pants suit she wore. He did like the pleasant personality she displayed when she sold him the pendant.

“I need to return the pendant I purchased.”

“It’s within our thirty-day return policy so you can do that but is there something wrong with it?”

“No, it’s just like when you sold it to me. It’s that I was going to give it to my wife as a tenth-anniversary gift and it turns out that won’t be happening. My wife has asked me for a divorce.”

“I am so sorry to hear that, what happen?”

“I wish I knew what did happen to be honest with you. I thought things were okay between us. Last week out of the blue she asked for divorce saying she had met someone that she deeply cared for. If there were signs this was going to happen, I didn’t see them.”

“All I can say is welcome to the club.”

“You?”

“Yes me and it was pretty much along the lines of what happened to you but we only had four years of marriage before he asked for a divorce. His secretary was more appealing to him than me. Within three months after the divorce, he was married to her. Thank God we didn’t have kids which would have complicated the divorce.”

“I know what you mean. We held off on starting a family but for the last three years we tried to have one but she didn’t get pregnant even though she came off the pill. At least she said she stopped taking the pill but now I wonder if she did do that.”

“Let me process this return and I will post the credit on your credit card.”

Watching Pamela go to the register with her back to him allowed him to further appraise her. Because of the jacket she was wearing he still couldn’t guess her breast size but he could comment on her butt. It appeared to be nice and small as well as having a cute little curve to it.

Coming back to Thad she handed him back his credit card and a receipt. She said, “I guess we now have something in common with both of us being divorced.”

“Yes we do..., now please take this the right way but I find you to be a very interesting lady. Is there a chance we could talk some more? Can I buy you a cup of coffee at the food court?”