Chapter 11

{p}Chapter ELEVEN
Judith

12/24/2012
11:01:01 PM

Seven blocks away, Judith Sonderman surveyed her living room in despair. Her wavy, long, blond hair hung damp in front of her eyes and she brusquely brushed it away. Tears of frustration and surrender spilled down her cheeks. The clothes she wore were clean, neat and old. Calling her wardrobe out of date didn’t do it justice. Ancient was more like it.

It was Christmas Eve and for the tenth time she was taking a silent inventory of her net worth. Even hoping for a different outcome, she knew the results and they were crushing. She was tired, cranky and hungry but not in that order. She needed to eat something before she started to get shaky. Rather than deal with cooking and cleaning up, she decided to get bundled up and drive to the all-night diner down the boulevard. It wasn’t fancy but neither was her budget. The sensible food at a reasonable price was a perfect mate for her diminished circumstances.

As the wife of a successful bank manager, Judith had enjoyed the perks. The bank paid for membership in Bethlehem’s Saucon Valley Country Club. Her husband, Chad, made good money and they were careful how they spent it. Their home had been tasteful, in a good neighborhood and priced just below the median market. When it was time to buy up, they wanted their home to be easy to sell and in an area that would continue to experience increased value.

Chad was almost the perfect suburban husband, hard working, good looking and popular with his co-workers and bosses. Judith woke up some mornings almost shouting she was so happy. The new car, nice home, beautiful clothes and charge accounts made her the envy of her sisters and girlfriends. She didn’t wallow in her good fortune as much as she enjoyed playing the part of yuppie housewife from suburbia.

It wouldn’t look good to the bank for his wife to have a career, so Judith stayed home, playing her part in hopes of quicker promotions and even more financial blessings. No matter how hard they tried, she never became pregnant and her empty womb was what unraveled her perfect world.

Chad started to come home later and later. Some nights she didn’t see him until long after bedtime. His excuses were always perfect, just like their life. As an up and coming banker, he had to work the longest hours, to prove it should be him that received the next vice presidency the bank offered. Judith understood and tried to fill her lonely hours with volunteer work, lunches with the girls and a hobby or two.

After two years of late hours and loneliness, Chad dropped the bomb. He was “seeing” another woman and she was expecting their child. He had to have been doing a lot more than just “seeing” this woman if she was pregnant and Judith couldn’t believe that she was bind to it all and that her world had just been incurably changed, forever.

A messy divorce wouldn’t do his career any good. Chad needed to get his current wife out of his house and out of his marriage quickly, before the bank discovered his duplicity. He was fairly sure no one at the bank would notice if he played his cards just right. Having a newborn would smooth over a lot of bumps in the corporate ladder game. Something about babies seemed to resonate with the big shots and Chad was counting on all the resonating he could get.

The negotiations were mercifully brief. Chad kept the house and bought Judith’s half with proceeds from a hastily arranged loan. Judith was entitled to half of Chad’s 401-K and twenty-five percent of his retirement when she turned sixty-five. Even though they spent carefully, they didn’t have a great deal of savings, bonds, stocks, or other assets. When divided, she walked away with another ten-thousand, four-hundred dollars.

The little nest egg had been carefully invested in tax free municipal bonds that would grow conservatively into a nice retirement fund for Judith. Her apartment was small, comfortable and just about all she could afford without raiding her own meager retirement savings. The second floor walk up was cold in the winter and hot in the summer but there was always hot water and the owner kept things in reasonably good shape.

The years playing the part of content suburban housewife deprived Judith of vital experience she needed, but didn’t have when she hit the job market. The best she could do was finding work as a secretary - assistant to a sales executive, at a cardboard box manufacturer. The work was steady and the boss kept his hands off of her. For both she was grateful.

After eleven years as a divorcee, she was resigned to living out her life as an invisible, lonely, divorced woman, with few friends and no beau. Dates were rarely more than controlled wrestling matches, with men who figured a divorced woman was an easy mark. Seldom was the word that described how often she dated, too. She hadn’t dated at all in the last two years. Judith wasn’t cheap and wasn’t about to start acting like a cheap woman.

There had been one friend that was different. He was always happy, full of life, energetic, hard working and a perfect gentleman. It took Judith months before she realized that he was interested in her and when she finally noticed, it seemed so ridiculous that she hurt his feelings. He was so young that she couldn’t see how he could be interested in her. That old cliché popped into her head; Young guys have only ONE thing in mind, and she didn’t want to be another notch on anyone’s belt. Hurt once, twice careful, was her motto.

He worked on the factory floor and was well thought of by the bosses for his punctuality and work ethic. He often ran errands for his supervisors and they took him in and out of most departments. Some of those errands took him to Judith’s office for documents, instructions, deliveries and other things.

One morning, James her boss, needed a document signed and notarized, and payment picked up before shipping could commence on a large order. Judith, among other things, was the office notary. They were dispatched to the customer for approval of a new box design and for Judith to get the required signatures notarized, pick up the executed contract and cashier’s check. In the days before fax machines it meant an all day, out of the office trip in the company Buick.

Judith barely noticed how careful and solicitous the young man was as he opened the door on her side and averted his head in case her skirt rode up when she got in. They talked comfortably on the ride up and the hour they waited for the customer to get everything together. Lunch was at a steak house on Highway 22. They talked there for another hour as they waited for their meals and ate. All day Judith missed his obvious interest.

As they turned into the factory parking lot, Terry asked if Judith would like to have dinner some night and continue their discussion. She was surprised, to say the least and refused without giving it a thought. He blushed slightly, “I hope I haven’t offended you, or anything.” He said it so politely, it caught her attention.

“Aren’t you a little young for me?” her voice sounded sharp and she didn’t like the tone she took with him.

“I guess some people might think so but you’re single and I am too. We get along comfortably. A pleasant dinner and a movie seem like a nice way to spend an evening. I’m sorry if I made you mad.”

“Look,” she said, a little more kindly. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that. I’m sorry,” and walked away.

Hurt but undeterred, he continued to stop by her office and continue their conversation, which turned into lots of conversations about everything from fashion to religion. There talks were precious to Judith and she found herself looking forward to those afternoons he was working three to eleven and came by before his shift began, so they could chat.

Without realizing it she started to dress for him and then it wasn’t long until Judith “spruced up” just before he’d likely stop by. It was sweet, innocent and charming. They bonded for months before he tried again.

“Hey!” His voice preceded him. “My parents couldn’t use their tickets to the Christmas concert at Lehigh U. Its tomorrow night. Want to go?”

Judith noted the youthful smile on his face. Warm smiles always drew her. There was something so ... real about an open, honest smile. It was as if no one could possibly have ugly intentions when their smile was so warm and kind. She agreed without thinking and they agreed on the time to leave.

Her young man was punctual, as always. His suit was inexpensive but clean and neat. After gathering her keys, purse and coat, which he helped her put on, she commented on his aftershave and absently brushed a speck of lint off his collar. None of these were unusual. Nothing out of the ordinary was going on; except for the intense rush of affection building inside her.

Suddenly Judith felt sixteen again. Her hands shook slightly as he took her keys and locked the apartment door for her. Careful not to get caught, she watched him out of the corner of her eye as they walked to his car, an older sedan, of which he was inordinately proud. The car was clean, neat and cared for, just as she would have suspected if asked.