Chapter 2

I picked Melinda up at her building and drove to The Chop House. All the way there, she held my hand and held it so tight that it became numb from lack of circulation. Her eyes were full of tears ... tears of joy, I hoped.

She asked, “Robbie, do you mind if I get comfortable?”

I said, “Sure.” We arrived at the restaurant and I parked. She seemed to have regained her spirit and had stopped crying. She opened that huge bag that all women seem to carry these days to haul their ... stuff. She brought out a pair of sexy little black ballet flats. She turned toward me in her seat and swung her feet and long legs over in my lap.

She said, “Robbie, would you unbuckle my ankle straps, please” and handed me the flats. These are so much more comfortable that those heels. Would you do the honors, Sir, while I fix my face?”

I slipped her heels off her pretty little feet. She arched her foot and pointed the nylon covered toes of her left foot just inches from my face.

She said, “ Do you remember those toe rings? You gave them to me for my birthday. I wear them regularly to remind me of the man I stupidly lost.”

I held her foot in my hand and stroked it from her heel to her toes, feeling the toe rings through the nylon. She closed her eyes and smiled as my hand roamed her foot and sexy leg. I slipped the flat on her left foot. I repeated the process with the right foot. Needless to say, she got the desired effect as she dropped her feet right on the boner she created. She grinned, knowingly, as she touched up her lipstick.

I watched her as we walked into the restaurant. Her natural walk and stride would make a dead man get out of her way. We were seated and got our drinks. I just took in her beauty.

“Robbie, if I may start this conversation, this is a dream come true for me. I feel like I’ve been freed of the self inflicted pain I’ve forced on myself since we split up. You were an amazing husband that I took for granted our whole marriage because I was shallow, immature, and self absorbed in my own little world. I’ve grown up, Baby. I don’t know what your plan is for me and us and I don’t care as long as I’m with you and you let me love you the way I should have the first time.”

“After the divorce, I looked in the mirror one day and asked, “Who are you?”

“In the mirror I saw a 32 year old narcissistic adulteress, divorcee whose belly was swelling with a man’s baby that couldn’t compete with her husband in any way. How pathetic is that. I was the daughter some mothers wish they never had. For sometime after that, even though I knew I was prettier than average, I really thought the best part of me ran down my mom’s leg. I was a terrible person let alone, wife.”

“I spent a week in the hospital after the miscarriage and the hysterectomy. I was lost. One of my nurses talked to me a lot and I wound up telling her my sad story. She gave me a business card of a therapist, Dr. Anne White, and said I should make an appointment. I did and I still see her, not as often as I once did, but when I’m down, talking to her seems to help. At the time, she tried, unsuccessfully I might add, to get me to abandon my self imposed celibacy, find someone, and rejoin life. I told her, I did find someone and I lost him. I wanted no other. She told me that devotion like that could be considered unreasonable given the circumstances. I told her that I knew you were still unattached and I was going to do my best to show you that the old Melinda is history. I knew getting back into your life was going to be an uphill task.”

“She advised me to get myself healthy first before going on any crusade to win you back. She wanted to know what happens if all my efforts to get back in your life fail and you tell me to piss off. I told her that if I had learned nothing else from our meetings, I had learned that I will be ok. If I find another love in my life, it will be a different one. So, it took over four years to get my head on straight and to get rid of the old Melinda Hammer. That bitch still tried to get back in a few times but I focused on my goals and beat her down. The new Melinda Hammer, and yes, Robbie, I’m proud to still use the name Ms. Hammer although I wish it was still Mrs. Hammer, is still a work in progress.”