Chapter 1: Alone

The snow was falling steadily. Roger Price looked on with tears in his eyes as the divers emerged from the pond in their black wetsuits. Between them he could see Stacy’s lifeless body in the light of the emergency vehicles. Gregory and Elizabeth’s small bodies had already been placed in the coroner’s vehicle. The blizzard of ‘96 had claimed its first three victims.

“Grace can always tell when we lose someone. I always hug her and tell her I love her as soon as I walk in,” Sergeant Williams said to Lieutenant Johnson as they watched Roger grieve.

“Yeah, poor woman was off the bridge before she knew what happened,” Johnson replied.

Roger followed the coroner’s van to the Fauquier County morgue, where he called the funeral home to make the arrangements to bury his wife and children. It felt like he was burying his life. Ever since meeting Stacy, all Roger had ever wanted was to raise a family and ensure their happiness. With their death, he had lost his purpose.

After the funeral Roger crawled into his bed, the one he shared with Stacy, and stared at the ceiling. He thought back to his first days with her. It was at the DeltaWing company’s Christmas party where Roger first met Stacy. He didn’t attend many company social events – happy hours, softball games, etc. But, Roger made a point of attending the annual “Holiday Party” (‘When did it stop being a “Christmas Party”?’ he wondered).

The ballroom was filled with DeltaWing employees and spouses. As Roger was ordering a scotch and soda from the bar, a beautiful young woman appeared next to him. She stepped up as the bartender prepared Roger’s drink. Roger quickly appraised Stacy. She wore a plum colored dress with billowy long sleeves and stylish shoulder pads. The neck line was suggestive, but not revealing, with two buttons over her stomach and breast bone. The outfit included a two-inch belt with a large rectangular buckle around the waist. It hugged her hips and extended past her knees. The outfit was completed by a pair of three-inch, closed toe plum colored heels. Overall, Stacy looked very elegant and Roger quickly grasped for a conversation starter.

“Hi, I’m Roger. Do you work for DeltaWing, or are you here with someone?”

The bartender handed Roger his drink and turned to Stacy for her order. “Heineken and a glass of Chardonnay, please.” After ordering, Stacy turned back to Roger and looked him over.

Roger stood six foot three inches tall with wavy brown hair, light brown eyes and a strong angular jaw. At 26, many women felt that he was quite handsome. He wore his typical black suit with a white shirt.

“Hi, Roger. I’m Stacy. I’m here with my dad, Dennis Patterson. He’s DeltaWing’s Defense Department liaison.”

And with that information, Roger’s heartbeat sped up. After chatting for a few minutes, Roger asked for Stacy’s number.

Over the next several months, Roger went out with Stacy whenever he could. After six months, they knew they were right for each other and got engaged. A few months later, they were married. Before long Stacy was pregnant with Elizabeth, and then Gregory.

-----Roger teared up as he thought back to his initial meeting with Stacy, the wedding, and the birth of his children. Before she came along, he was just wandering through life. She and the children gave him purpose and drive. They propelled him to succeed.

Roger went back to work at Wright Aerospace after taking a week off. Bob Wright walked into Roger’s office at around nine-thirty and saw Roger staring at his computer with a glazed look in his eye and a lost expression. “Roger, don’t rush back. If you need more time, take it,” Bob offered, in his softest tone, as he sat down across from Roger.

Roger looked up and stared right through Bob. Bob was dressed in his typical executive suit. Today’s color was beige. It struggled to conceal his spare tire and did nothing for his bald head with an unfortunate comb-over.

After considering his response for a moment, Roger said, “I can’t stay home all day. Everywhere I look reminds me of them. I see them in their beds when I pass their rooms. I see Stacy at the stove when I go into the kitchen. They’re everywhere I look.”

“If you want to see a counselor, our health plan covers it.” Bob said.

“I may just do that. I’ve never been a big fan of counseling before, but I may try it now,” Roger let out a big breath as Bob got up to leave.

Roger visited Monica Heart, PhD, LCSW, once a week over the next three weeks for therapy. Monica tried to guide Roger through his grief so he could regain his equilibrium, with little success.

Five weeks after the accident he called Mike Stanton at Aerodyne. “Hey, Mike, it’s Roger Price.” He took a quick breath and continued, “You know that job you’ve been talking to me about for the last year? I think I’m ready to listen.”

In a voice that reminded Roger of Charlie, from Charlie’s Angels, Mike said, “Wow ... Roger. Okay ... Yeah, I heard about Stacy. Are you okay?”

In a quiet, even tone, Roger said, “It’s not easy. It’s only been a month, so the pain is still fresh, but every day, it’s a little easier to get out of bed in the morning. That’s why I’m ready to talk about your offer now; I need a change of scenery. If I come work for you, I want to be based out of Florida. Can you work with that?”

Caught a bit off guard, Mike paused for a moment to think. He sputtered, “Sure, we have a field office in West Palm Beach. We have remote working capabilities, but you’ll probably spend about half your time on the road anyway. How does that sound?”

With a little excitement in his voice, Roger responded, “So far, I like what you’re saying. If we can agree on money, we’ll be in business.”

Roger told Bob he would need another week off for personal time. Six weeks after Stacy’s death, Roger flew down to Florida to start planning the next stage of his life.

He met with realtor James Robert Miller. “Most people just call me Jim-Bob,” he said, as they shook hands. With the drawl and diction, Roger imagined him in coveralls with a stalk of wheat sticking out of his mouth. Roger told Jim-Bob he was looking for a few acres of land to build on. It should be secluded, but close enough to West Palm to have a reasonable commute.

They spent two days looking at properties on the periphery of the West Palm metro area. On Tuesday afternoon, Roger made an offer on a 5-acre piece of undeveloped land in Loxahatchee Groves, Florida, a couple of miles from Lion Country Safari. By Wednesday morning, Roger was in escrow to buy the property.

On Thursday morning, Roger met with Janet Harper from Jensen & Parker Architects at their office in West Palm Beach. Ms. Harper was a senior associate who had been with the firm since she started as a drafter right after college. Her solid and timely work had allowed her to move up in the firm, first to a senior drafter, then construction planner and project manager before making senior associate at age 32. Her attractive features did not hurt advancement in the company. With shoulder length dirty blond hair, grey eyes with blue around the pupil, a slender frame and a vibrant smile, Janet was quite comely.

Janet had drawn the meeting with Mr. Price to discuss the single-family house that he had wanted to build. Janet extended her hand to Roger as he stood up from the love seat in the reception area. Roger smiled and shook her hand firmly as he admired Janet’s appearance in her red silk blouse and knee-length black skirt. Janet returned Roger’s smile and led him to a small conference room with a view of the Atlantic Ocean.

Roger told Janet about his plan to move from Virginia, and the 5-acre lot that he was in the process of purchasing. He described his vision as, “A modern glass structure with unobstructed views and room for a four-person family plus two guest families. I also want a basement with laundry facilities and a separate usable bonus area.”

Roger’s description of the building he wanted certainly got her attention. The all glass exterior would present some heating and cooling challenges, especially in the Florida heat.

During the discussions, Janet asked, “You’re proposing a very large structure, Mr. Price. May I ask why you want it so large?”

Roger responded, “Sure. I may have just lost my family, but I plan to have another one someday and want a nice place to live.”

The discussion continued. Janet pointed out to Roger that an all-glass structure would be like living in a fish bowl. Roger noted that the property was five acres with quite a few trees. However, recognizing that Janet had a point about the lack of privacy, Roger asked, “Can we make the exterior out of high-tech glass that frosts on command?”

“That won’t be cheap, Mr. Price. What is your budget for this project?”

Roger had anticipated this question. On the flight down from Virginia he had written down his assets. After steadily contributing 10% of his income to his Wright 401k, he been able to save nearly a million dollars now. He could borrow from that. Stacy’s life insurance policy would pay another million. And, he figured, after he paid off the mortgage on the Virginia house, he would net another three hundred thousand dollars.

So, with $2.3 million in assets in hand or on the way, and an increase in pay from Aerodyne, Roger responded to Janet, “If you can bring it in under two million, I’ll be happy. And please, call me ‘Roger’”

At the conclusion of the meeting, Roger gave Janet the address of the property and informed her, “I’ll be back at the end of April, and I look forward to seeing your plans.” They shook hands, and Roger was soon on a flight back to Virginia.

Back in Virginia, Roger called his realtor and made plans to list his house for sale.

The following Monday, Roger returned to Wright Aerospace and went straight to Bob’s office. “Bob, I’m sorry to tell you this, but I’m leaving. I’m willing to stick around for another six weeks, but I can’t stay around here any longer. The memories are just too many, and too painful.”

Bob sighed heavily, “Well, we’re definitely going to miss you, but I guess I understand. Let’s spend the day reviewing your projects and talking about a transition plan. Then, we can decide how much of that six weeks we’ll need you to stay.”

“Thanks, Bob. I’m sorry about this, you’ve always been a supportive and understanding boss, but I need a change of scenery.”

It turned out that, in Roger’s absence, a lot of projects had been assigned to other engineers. He and Bob agreed that it would take about three weeks to wrap-up a couple of projects that were near completion and transition his other projects to different managers. Roger’s last day in the office would be March 8^th.

He called Mike and they decided that Roger would start work at Aerodyne on March 25^th at the Virginia headquarters office. After a week of networking, orientation, and other preliminary work, Roger took the next two weeks off.

During those two weeks, Roger spent the first few days packing his clothes, and shipping them to the Motel 6 in West Palm Beach. On Wednesday morning, Roger got into his 1994 Honda Civic. He took a last look at the two-story McMansion that he had shared with Stacy - and, when they came along, the kids - for the last ten years. He sighed and with a heavy heart and a little trepidation. He started the car and backed out of the driveway.

Ten hours later, having stopped only a few times to stretch his legs, eat lunch, and answer the call of nature, Roger pulled into the Gator Inn, just outside Jacksonville, for the night. It wasn’t the Ritz Carlton, but Roger had never been too concerned about creature comforts. He knew he would be a bit of a nomad until the new house was built, and he may as well get used to it. All he really needed was a bed for the night and a shower in the morning.