Chapter 8

There was some nervousness on Ted’s part in making the first phone call. The conversation however went surprisingly well and Ted felt better for doing it. It was more than he expected and had hoped for because of what was said. His mood improved quite a bit when the call ended.

The next call he made was to Gale Richardson. She thanked him for returning her call and explained the reason she had called him.

“The sorority Marcia and I were members of is having an Alumni dinner-dance in three weeks. Marcia was very popular and was President of our sorority. A number of the sorority members have had questions about Marcia’s passing since they saw it announced in our sorority newsletter. I was hoping you would be my escort and come to this affair to answer the questions they have about Marcia.”

“Thanks for asking but I will decline your invitation to do that. For me to do something like that would just stir up some old memories of Marcia and the things we did that I am trying to put behind me. You know how her death occurred so you could explain that to your members. You might add that she was married for fifteen years and had one son Parker from her first marriage. Parker received his degree in civil engineering and is now working for a large multinational construction company. About one year later she married me, a high school teacher and basketball coach and we were married for four years before this tragedy occurred. Marcia was a very successful attorney who excelled in the courtroom having achieved some large verdicts. Her law firm consisted of four attorneys and she was thinking of adding a fifth attorney before this accident. I think that just about covers it.”

Gale thanked him for that information and ended the phone call.

The next call he returned was to Kate.

After answering her phone Kate asked, “Did Amy phone you yet?”

“She did call but I was going to return her call after I spoke with you.”

“Good, I am glad you called me first. The reason I am calling is that there is a fundraiser for the Mayor in three weeks and I would like you to escort me to it. It is going to be a big affair at which time he is going to announce he wants another term.”

“I am sorry, but three weeks from now I have plans to be out of town. I also want you to know that I have become involved with someone and we are developing what is getting to be a serious relationship. She wouldn’t want me to be doing this escorting and would definitely frown on my watching TV with you if she was to know about it. That means we are going to need to end this relationship we have. It’s the right thing to do and I am sure you understand why this needs to be done.”

“Unfortunately I do and I can honestly say it has been nice knowing you and she is a lucky girl. Good luck to you in the future and if your situation ever changes, you have my phone number.”

Ted did not feel any guilt in telling this white lie to Kate about being involved with someone. This relationship they had needed to end and he thought this was the easiest way to do it with no hard feelings.

Ted then phoned Amy and he confirmed the reason for her call was the same reason that Kate had called. He basically told Amy what he had told Kate. She understood and thanked him for returning the call

Mentally laughing to himself about his inflated ego it turned out that it wasn’t Ted’s good looks or so he initially thought that prompted Janice’s phone call. Janice said that a friend of hers told her about a support group that consisted of people who had lost their spouses. Janice asked Ted if he thought she should join this group. He told her that he thought this was a good idea since she could interact with other people who had similar concerns and what they were doing to get on with their lives. He also told her she should be careful because sometimes there can be unscrupulous people who want to take advantage of people that are grieving because of their loss. Ted told her to be careful and don’t walk but run away when someone starts asking her about money and her assets.

The last phone call he made was to Emily. He knew what he was going to say to her and he was not looking forward to having this conversation with her. It was however something that needed to be done.

After some small talk Ted said, “Emily there is a problem developing because I am starting to have feelings for you and that is not a good thing.”

“Why would you say something like that?”

“The reason is that I know you enjoy being a State Police Officer. You are good at what you do and you want to continue your career in being a police officer. The problem is if our relationship would get serious and it seems to be heading that way, I would be worrying more and more about you when you are working. You do have to admit that you have what can be a dangerous job. What I went through with Marcia in losing her, I would be dreading constantly that something like that could happen when you were working and I would lose you. Unfortunately, that is something I don’t want to go through again. My worrying would affect our relationship and it wouldn’t be for the better. Because of that, I think we should stop seeing each other.”