Chapter 9

That night I woke up several times, I guess due to the fact Beth was sleeping so close to me. I had not shared a bed with anyone since Susan’s death. Around four thirty in the morning I was awakened again. I raised up on one elbow and looked at Beth sleeping. She was absolutely angelic, a very content look on her face. I watched her for what must have been about an hour, until finally I got up and went into the kitchen. I decided to cook her breakfast and surprise her. Halfway through the preparation, she came in rubbing her eyes.

“Something smells good.” she said with a smile.

“I was fixing you breakfast in bed.” I replied.

“Oh how sweet, but since I am up, I will join you here.”

We ate breakfast, cleaned up the kitchen and got dressed. Even though it was Saturday, Beth had to go to her office for a few hours. I had errands to run as well. We agreed to meet up later in the day.

The day passed quickly and around four in the afternoon Beth called me. She told me she had gotten home, cleaned up and was wondering if she could come over. About thirty minutes later Beth arrived at my house. We sat on the sofa holding hands, kissing every once in a while. We finally got around to the conversation we knew we had to have.

“How and when do we break this to everyone.” I asked her.

“Oh God, I have no idea Jeff.” she replied, “But I do think we should wait a while.”

We agreed to keep the relationship under our hat for a while and let her divorce become final. Then when she had no ties, we would tell the family.

Over the next several months, Beth and I spent as much time together as we could, considering the circumstances. We were very careful when we were together, to keep it very innocent looking. In fact we went out together to restaurants several times, even the movies a few times. When we did see anyone, which was rare, we just passed it off as two single people not wanting to go out alone.

About a month before Beth’s divorce would become final, she got a call from Lance. He told her he wanted to talk to her. She agreed to meet him for dinner at a local restaurant. She told me she would call me as soon as she got back to her home. The dinner was supposed to be at six, but by ten she still had not called. I was getting worried that something might be wrong. Just about that time, the doorbell rang.

I opened the door and Beth stepped in. I took her coat and hung it in the foyer closet. As soon as I turned to her, I knew something was wrong. I followed her into the great room and sat down.

“I don’t know where to start.” she said softly.

“It’s ok Beth, take your time.” I responded.

She went on to tell me that she had met Lance about six for dinner. She said the conversation began innocent enough, just catching up on what was going on with each other. She told me Lance seemed different. He was not his normal arrogant self, instead he seemed passive and very attentive to her. Then she told me he came up with a shocker. He told her that he had made a huge mistake and wanted to know if she would consider taking him back. He admitted to her all the past mistakes he had make, but told her this time apart from her made him realize what he had lost. He begged her to, if nothing else, just start slow and date him again so he could prove to her that he had changed. She told me he actually cried several times during the dinner.

“Well honestly Beth.” I started, “I can understand how he feels. I would feel the same if I had lost you.”

She blushed slightly and looked down at the floor. She was wringing her hands and acting very anxious. She seemed to be having a hard time finding words to say. I decided to take it a step further.

“I know you and Lance have been together a long time.” I continued, “And even though, I don’t have to tell you how I feel about you, if you have second thoughts and want to try to reconcile with Lance, I will understand.”

“I knew you would say that Jeff.” she replied, “I just knew you would. For once in my life, I know I am with a man who thinks of me first. And I know that I love you, that you would never hurt me. But I have to admit, I can’t explain the feelings I have right now. I am not sure if I feel sorry for Lance or he truly touched my heart.” she said. “I know this is not fair to you at all and it’s confusing as hell to me as well.” she ended.

I didn’t know what to say or if to say anything at all. I was getting used to having Beth by my side, but I really could understand how she felt. Even though I resented Lance more now than I probably ever had since I had known him, I understood. When you’re married as long as they had been, sometimes you take each other for granted. And having shared the last few months with Beth, both emotionally and sexually, I can understand why he wanted her back.

“Look Beth, maybe the best thing to do right now is to not see each other for a while, so you can sort out exactly how you feel. I don’t want to pressure you into something you don’t want.” I told her.

We talked in circles for a while but somewhere in the conversation it became apparent to me she had doubts about us. Maybe not serious doubts, but she needed to be one hundred percent sure. We agreed to just see how things went. I told her, I was not going anywhere, I would be here when she decided and I would support her either way. She hugged me and kissed me.

For the next month, I lived on pins and needles. We talked very little, although I never did see Lance’s car by Beth’s house. That was some consolation anyway, it would have killed me to see him spend the night with her. The holidays were fast approaching again and I had really hoped Beth would be in my life this year. I so wanted to share them with her. In addition, Beth’s birthday was December the 15th. I really wanted to do something special for her.

Beth and I would talk every few days, we rarely saw each other. We seemed to talk about everything but what I really wanted to talk about. But I had decided not to pressure her and no matter how much this hurt, I was going to do just that.

I was invited to my in-laws for Thanksgiving Day Dinner, which I gladly accepted. My mother-in-law was an amazing cook and she always outdid herself for the holidays. She also told me that there would be several other guests coming as well.

I got up early on Thanksgiving morning, cleaned house and washed some laundry. I left for my in-laws about eleven o’clock that morning. I arrived to the wonderful aroma from the kitchen. She had a Turkey, Gumbo, Stuffed Bell Peppers, Crab Cakes, Oyster Dressing, Baked Macaroni, and lots of side dishes. I was the first to arrive but shortly there after other guests arrived.

My mother-in-law’s childhood friend Miss Margie, her husband and daughter arrived together. Apparently they were friends back to elementary school and had remained close. I vaguely recalled meeting her at my wedding many years before. I was introduced to her daughter Jennifer, whom I am guessing was in her mid to late thirties. She was an extremely attractive brunette with an incredible figure.

Everyone chatted in the living room while waiting for dinner to be served. I noticed that the conversation kept coming back to Jennifer and I both being single. Apparently Jennifer had been married once for a few years but it did not work out. She had been single for about ten years, she was an attorney. I sensed that perhaps my mother-in-law and her friend were trying to set us up together.

When we were seated at the table, Jennifer was given the seat next to me. Not a coincidence I thought to myself. As we ate, someone asked my mother-in-law where Beth was. She replied that her and Lance would be joining us a bit later. I was not at all happy to hear that and figured to eat quickly and take my exit as soon as I could. Last thing I wanted to do was see them together. I still had no idea what was going on with them. I was somewhat relieved when my mother-in-law added that Lance was trying to reconcile but Beth was being very reluctant about it.

About thirty minutes later Lance and Beth arrived together. As they said their hello’s, I noticed Beth eyeing up Jennifer sitting next to me. They took their plates and sat down to eat. The conversation picked up where it left off and our meal moved along. Finally my mother-in-law dropped the bomb.

“Jeff, I was telling Jennifer that you rarely get out and do anything. She basically said she was in the same boat. That her work kept her too busy for a social life. Maybe you two could get together and have a good time every once in a while.” She said.

I looked up and saw that Beth had that deer in the headlights look. I had to try and be polite, though I really did not want to start any relationship with anyone other than Beth at this point.

“I dunno Mom, I’m not much on going out, I don’t know how Jennifer feels.” I replied, hoping she would let me off the hook.

“Oh, I would love to go out sometime with you Jeff. I will give you my business card later, maybe you could call me.” she quickly replied.