Chapter 2

I wasn't going to be late for my meeting with Molly. If I had to sit in the parking lot until 7:29, I wanted to make an entrance that she wouldn't forget. She had thrown me out like yesterday's newspaper, and I wanted her to see what she had created. I secretly hoped she would be jealous, if not worried that I had pulled one over on her. I wasn't going to give her any information about my new life except the basics. I would teach her a lesson.

At exactly 7:30, I walked through the front door of Bruno's and looked over the sparse crowd to find Molly. I spotted her over in a corner, looking around for me. I began to walk toward her booth without looking at her and got to within a few feet before she looked up at me. At first she didn't recognize me, but finally she blinked and realized who I was.

"Jack?" was all she could manage.

"Molly. How are you?" I asked politely.

"Jack. You look so ... different. What's going on?"

"Well, I guess I lost a bit of weight," I offered nonchalantly as I slid into the booth on the other side of the table.

"Yes ... I can see that. You look a lot ... better."

"Thanks. You don't look too bad yourself."

In fact, she didn't. Her hair was a lot neater and she'd obviously dyed it to hide the gray. She had lost some weight, and was wearing a much more appealing dress than usual. I had always thought she bought her clothes at the Salvation Army Thrift Shop.

"You've bought some new clothes," she commented.

"Yeah, well the old ones didn't fit anymore, so I pretty much had to."

The waitress came. Molly was sipping some kind of cocktail, but I ordered an iced tea. Take that, woman! The new, disciplined Jack.

"How's the job?" she asked.

Was this a trick question? Did she know something about my new job? I couldn't figure out how she could, so I told her the truth.

"I don't work for Sandivale any more," I said bluntly.

"What happened, did you get fired?"

"Sort of. He fired me for being on sick leave. I got a severance, and I've got a new job starting next week." I gave her the minimum of information.

"Jeez, Jack. Are you going to be OK?" Now I knew that she didn't know anything about Interstate.

"Yeah ... I'll be OK. I'll make out."

"Maybe it's just as well, Jack. You hated that job anyway."

"Yeah ... no doubt about it. I won't miss SandStacker for a minute."

We looked at each other, sizing the other up, trying to see what was going on behind our facades.

"How's your health now? Are you alright?"

"Yeah ... pretty much. Doctor Vic arranged for stress leave to give me some time to ... get better. That just ended last week, but they had to pay me some severance when they fired me, so I'm OK that way. I feel a lot better ... been exercising, on a diet and things." I made light of the effort I had put in. "You happy with your new job?" I asked, changing the topic.

"Yes. It's a good job in a nice place. It's Marie's Sewing and Quilt Shop on Union Street. They've been around a long time, and with my experience, they were happy to have me," she said looking at her hands.

This meeting was uncomfortable for both of us. We were sparring without really saying what we wanted to say. She was obviously surprised at my appearance, but she was holding back. I was surprised at her appearance, but I wasn't that curious. For two people that had been married for as many years as we had, we didn't seem to want to explore the changes. Then Molly changed the topic again.

"Jack, I sold the house this week. Finally. We got a little over two hundred thousand for it. Not bad according to the real estate agent."

"That's good ... I guess. Where are you living?"

"Well, that's the thing. This young couple bought it for their parents to live in but they aren't ready yet. It's kind of like an investment. So I made a deal with them to live in the house for rent while they wait for the old folks to come out. It was easier that way. I didn't have to move, and I know the house, so, like I said, it was easier."

"Yeah ... I guess so," I mumbled.

"Where should I send the check for your share of the house? Where do you live?"

"In an apartment over on Olive Street ... for now. Call me and I'll let you know where to send it."

"Is it a nice place ... your apartment?"

"No ... not really. I'll be looking for another place ... my new job is in Reardon."

"Are you going to move to Reardon?" Her voice held a hint of concern.

"I don't know. I'll wait and see. I can commute for now. I'll let you know where I'm going to move."

She looked at me and then down at her hands again. She picked up her drink and sipped it as she studied my face. I hoped I wasn't giving anything away.

"Was there something else you wanted to talk to me about, Molly?"

"Yes. I guess you've noticed that the divorce hasn't gone through," she said quietly.

I was suddenly paying attention. I quickly realized that I hadn't seen anything of the proceedings since I'd signed the papers, and sent them back to her a couple of days after she had asked me to leave.

"Yeah ... I haven't heard a thing. Is there a problem?"

"No ... I never filed. I just never got around to it. I'm not sure why." She looked like she might start to cry, and I didn't want that. I waited for her to continue. She must have had a reason. Finally she looked up and tried to explain.

"I got to thinking. We had all those years and they weren't all bad years and..." That was as far as she could get before she began to cry. Her shoulders shook and her hands covered her eyes.

I felt very sad all of a sudden. This wasn't going very well ... for either of us. I wanted to know something that I thought she was hinting at.

"So have you changed your mind, Molly?"

"I don't know. I don't know. I've been so lonely, and I've been trying to remember why I was so unhappy. I was lonely when you were there, and now I'm still lonely. It doesn't make any sense," she cried.

"You hurt me pretty badly, Molly. You told me you didn't want me or need me or even care for me any more. You can't expect me just to throw that aside and say, 'Oh well ... that's OK.'" I said it with some anger.

"I know Jack. That's what I've been trying to deal with. Why was I so upset? I must have been very angry with you, and I can't remember why. I just remember feeling so empty ... so lonely. Just like now."

"What do you want from me, Molly?"

She looked at me with a forlorn face, a face wearing the first signs of a loss of hope.

"Maybe nothing, Jack. Maybe it's too late. Maybe it's over for us," she said sadly. She lifted her head from her hands and looked directly into my eyes. "When I saw you tonight, I knew something had changed. Not just your body, but your attitude. You're different than you were. You don't walk the same as before. You seem stronger and more confident. You're not the Jack that left that day in June."

"You're right ... I'm not the same Jack, and I'm never going back to being him. I discovered I didn't like him very much, and one of the reasons I made all the changes I did was because I saw what you saw; a poor, sorry, son-of-a-bitch with nothing to recommend him. Well, I'm not that Jack any more."

"Good for you, Jack. You sound like you saw what I could see. It wasn't what we wanted for each other," she said more confidently.

"You're right, Molly. One day I looked in the mirror and I saw the real me, and I didn't like it at all. I knew I had to change, and with a little help I got it done. What you see now is what you started. I've become a new me after you kicked my ass out."

She smiled tentatively. I couldn't tell if she was frightened of me or she was respecting what I had accomplished. It didn't matter. I was nearly through and I wanted to go, but I didn't want to hurt her any more.

"What do you really want, Molly? I know you're lonely, and to tell the truth, so am I. But I'm not going back to where I was ... ever. I'm the new Jack Tompkins, and I'm going to stay the new Jack Tompkins." I was worried that I might have overstated my case, but I left it to Molly to decide.

"Maybe ... maybe we ... should try again. Maybe we should try ... dating. Just going out together and see how different we are," she tried tentatively.

I was quiet for a while. I wasn't looking at her directly and I was thinking of what kind of answer I could live with. I closed my eyes and let my breath out through my nose.

"I ... I don't know Molly. I'll ... think about it. That's the best I can offer. I still have a lot of pain from that Saturday rolling around inside me. You said some things that burned me to the core. I don't know if I will ever ... get past that."

I looked at her and she seemed on the point of breaking down again. I put my hand over hers and said goodbye. I slid out of the booth and quietly left the diner.

So Molly wanted to reconcile, did she? How nice for her. How convenient. Even if she didn't know about my new life and my new job, it was god-awful convenient, wasn't it? I wished I had someone to talk to. I needed to get this whole mess straight in my mind. She and I were both lonely. She threw me out, and that made things better except ... I was still pissed off at her for doing it. It wasn't making any sense.

-0-

The next three months were a whirlwind of work, work and more work. I landed running that first morning and by the Christmas-New Years break, I hadn't stopped. I got so much positive reinforcement from the people at Interstate that you'd have thought I was at a Dr. Phil seminar. I was making progress even quicker than they had hoped. I had sourced and implemented a simple inventory management system -- Windows based.

I was hot on the trail of a shop floor system that they badly needed, and at the same time I was scouting for an order entry system and a sales forecasting system. They all had to work together, and I was getting all the right promises from the vendors, but I'd heard this BS before. It was after you'd bought the system that all the "exceptions" and "you didn't tell us you needed that" would show up. I wasn't going to be fooled if I could possibly help it.

I dropped into Phil's office one morning and flopped down in the chair in front of his desk. He looked up from his papers and smiled.

"What's up, Jack?"

"I need some advice ... or a strategy."

I explained my concern about the program compatibility, and my determination to prevent the usual pitfalls. I did some "blue sky" thinking out loud, and when I started to talk about using students in a co-op program from the technical college in town, I saw Phil's eyes widen.

"Phil, I need someone to do the grunt work on these programs. They'll need to have someone from our plant to make sure they're putting stuff in the right slots, but I want to take the time consuming work off our staff's hands. We pay them to make plastic containers, not build computer systems." I stated my belief emphatically.

"I couldn't agree more. Do you think we could get some students from Reardon Tech to help us?"

"I'm not sure. It's worth a try, but I want to make sure I know about any budget restraints so I don't spend money I shouldn't."

Phil smiled at that. "You are well under budget on this project Jack. Go talk to the school and give me a rough proposal. I'd be surprised if we couldn't afford it."

"Great. I really want to spend most of my time selecting and blending these systems together so they work seamlessly." I was grateful for his support.

"Exactly why we hired you. Go to it, and come see me when you're ready."

And with that, I headed back to my office. Even after three months at Interstate and six months gone from SandStacker, I hadn't reconciled the differences between the two companies. The new attitude and confidence of Interstate were contagious, but twenty-seven years of inbred conservative thinking doesn't go away overnight. I picked up the phone and called Reardon Tech.

I talked to a Ms. Janet Zukowski, and she was very receptive to the idea but wanted to discuss the details with me in a meeting. We agreed on a time at my office for the day after next, and I was satisfied that I had gotten the process started. I could give her a plant tour, demonstrate what type of work I was looking for, and how much time might be required.

When I got back to my apartment that evening, I noticed an official looking envelope. The address on the outside told me that my new passport had finally arrived. I had been on a couple of trips out of the Cincinnati airport to suppliers in the east and one out to the west coast for a meeting with a software company. I had been using my photo I.D. on my driver's license at security, but I knew that wasn't going to be good enough pretty soon.

Aser had already talked about us going to Düsseldorf to the "K Show" next October to look at new equipment. Who knew where else I might have to go? Two of our main resin suppliers were in Canada, and I was overdue to visit their plants. The passport just made my New Years planning that much easier.

When Janet Zukowski was announced at the front desk, I walked out to meet her. I was pleasantly surprised. She looked to be in her late thirties, blonde hair and an athletic build. Her nose had obviously been broken at some point, adding character to her face, and with her bright, blue eyes, I thought this was one fine looking lady. I was looking forward to a very productive meeting, until I remembered that I was probably close to twenty years older than Ms. Zukowski, and promptly pushed the growing lustful thoughts to the back of my mind.

We exchanged greetings and I led her back to my office, stopping to introduce her to Phil. Aser's door was closed, so I would check later to see if there was an opportunity to say hello. Phil and I had briefed Aser on my plan at the Monday morning management meeting, so it wouldn't be a surprise. He was very supportive of the idea.

Janet and I talked about the school and her students, and what she had hoped to achieve with her co-op plan. Unfortunately, she wasn't getting much support from the business community, which I thought was short sighted; actually foolish. We needed to find our future MIS people somewhere. Why not locally, where you could recruit people you had already seen work and who knew something about your business?

I said as much to Janet, and you'd have thought she'd just won the lottery. She'd been hoping to find someone who could see the value and would help get the program launched. She wanted both of us to work together to make this idea a winner.

After I had shown her around the plant, introducing her to the various department heads, we looked at some of the proposed programs I was considering. Returning to my office, I asked Janet if she'd like something to drink, and she was happy with water. It was my turn to be host, so I fetched the water, a couple of Aser's favorite cookies, and brought them back to the office. We sat and talked, and I found my mind wandering into lustful avenues again. I looked at her hand and saw no wedding rings. I know she could easily see the wedding ring on my hand, and I wondered why I hadn't removed it yet.

After an hour of sketching out a plan for the program, I noticed Aser's door was open and I tapped lightly on it. He welcomed us with a genuine smile. I introduced Janet, and he asked her a couple of thoughtful questions about her school and her students.

"I just want to tell you how grateful I am for your support, Mr. Rothmann. I'm hoping it really is the start of a great program for our college," she said enthusiastically.

"Well, you can thank Jack. It's his idea and he's the sponsor. I really hope it works too. We plan on expanding this business, and I want to be able to hire, train, and promote people from within the local community. There are benefits for everyone if we succeed."

We left Aser's office with Janet looking a lot like I felt the day I was hired at Interstate. I don't think she could believe all this was happening, but she wasn't going to stick a pin in the balloon to find out.

"We'll get this going right after New Years, Jack. I'll select the three students I think will be the best for the application and I'll give you a call. We can work out the details and the schedule from there. OK?"

"Very OK! Thanks for coming over today. We're going to get this launched very quickly, so if you think of anything we've overlooked, call me anytime." I handed her my business card with my office and cell phone numbers, as well as my e-mail address. I smiled as I shook her hand at the front door, and watched her walk to her car. I was going to enjoy working with Ms. Janet Zukowski.

-0-

I wasn't ready for Christmas, at least not mentally. We'd put up some decorations around the office, and I got lots of cards from our suppliers. I didn't do anything at the apartment, and I only sent out a few personal cards to the immediate family, including Molly. I sent a couple of small but nice gifts to my daughter Bonnie, her husband, and the grandchildren in Oregon, as well as to my son Brent in Iowa.

I thought about buying something for Molly, but I couldn't think what to get her. If I didn't really know her for these last few years, how was I going to know what to get her? Finally, I decided on some perfume I knew she liked. It was expensive, but I remembered it smelled nice on her, and I thought at least she would wear it. In fact, I bought a whole gift set with powder and cologne and cream. Money wasn't the problem it used to be.

Aser had arranged for a Christmas party the third week of December. It was a Saturday night, and for about one millisecond I considered not going. I didn't relish the idea of being a single at a Christmas Party, but I wasn't going to try and fool anyone by inviting Molly and pretending we were still a couple. I hadn't really gone into any detail about my marriage with anyone. Chuck Freeman knew more than most people did, based on our conversation at lunch before I was hired.

I had listed Molly as my dependent when I filled out my employment and health insurance forms at the office. She was listed as the emergency number to call in case of accident simply because I didn't have anyone else locally. It dawned on me that Molly would still be covered under my health insurance, and that she may have taken out private insurance when we split and she went to work at the store. I made a mental note to ask her. It might save her some money.

In any event, I knew I was going to the Christmas Party because I owed these people a great deal. I had a new lease on life, and if everything wasn't perfect, it wasn't because of them. I was enjoying every minute of my new job, and it seemed they were happy with me.

The party was fun, and I got to meet a lot of the wives of the people I worked with. Aser's wife, Rebecca, was particularly nice, but then what would you expect, married to a great guy like him. Phil's wife, Diane, was very quiet and a bit shy, but she was pleasant, and we had a nice chat about the weather, raising kids, and the usual domestic things. I met Keith's wife, Sherry, and she was a hoot; full of life and ready to party. I caught Keith giving her the evil eye once or twice, but to my mind, she wasn't obnoxious; she was just having a lot of fun.

I had to work hard to understand Sherry sometimes. She came from a small town in the north of England, and her accent was as thick as marmalade. Keith was from the south, and much easier to understand. I had a few dances with some of the ladies, and realized how much I was enjoying myself. These people all got along with each other, and it was obvious they all wanted to be there.

Rebecca came over to my table and sat with me for a few minutes. Aser was off socializing with various staff and their wives, and I realized that he saw that as an important part of his job. Rebecca and I had a dance, and then the band took a break and she followed me back to the table.

"Pardon me for being nosey, Jack ... where's Mrs. Tompkins?" she asked looking straight at me.

"Ah ... we're ... separated," I stammered.

"Oh ... I'm sorry to hear that. My apologies for being insensitive."

"It's OK, Rebecca. I guess I'm not making it easy by still wearing my wedding ring."

"Are you hoping that you might get back together, Jack?"

"I don't know. There are some wounds that have to heal. I'm not the guy I used to be. It's hard to say what will happen."

I was floundering, asking myself the same questions that Rebecca was asking. She sat up, and I looked at her while she looked at me. She seemed to be appraising me.

"Aser thinks a lot of you, Jack. He say's you're one of the best things to happen to Interstate since he found Phil."

"He does? Wow ... I mean ... I know we get along well, but ... I had no idea."

I felt kind of guilty not telling him about my personal life. This party told me that it's an important part of her husband's beliefs.

"I guess I should have been more honest and up-front," I offered lamely.

"Don't let it bother you, Jack. Aser is easy to talk to. When the time is right ... well ... I'm sure you'll figure it out." She smiled as she stood and headed to another table.

I sat there pondering the strange but satisfying conversation I'd had with Aser's wife. I guess I did owe Aser an explanation. Maybe I owed myself one too. There was nothing stopping me from taking off the ring, but there it was, day and night, always on my finger. I bet a psychiatrist would have a field day with that symbolism. I decided the time had come I should talk with Aser. I'd see him Monday morning if I got a chance.

I did get that chance right after the weekly management meeting, and I asked Aser if I could have a few minutes of his time. I was relieved when he quickly agreed and asked me to follow him. He closed the door behind me, and I sensed that he knew that his was a private conversation.

"Aser, I think I owe you an explanation about my private life," I began, somewhat hesitantly.

"Why do you feel that way, Jack? Your private life is just that ... private," he said quietly.

"I guess I never told you that my wife and I are separated. I should have. I don't want to keep anything from you. You and everyone here have been great to me, and I don't want to do anything that would upset you or embarrass you."

"Jack ... let me put your mind at rest. I did a little background digging with some contacts, and learned quite a bit about you. I know the kind of job you had to do at SandStacker, and I know from some of my friends just what kind of environment you were in.

"I didn't know about your wife, except that you had separated and were living in an apartment. You've mentioned the progress you've made with your fitness. It looks like it's a success." He stopped and looked at me for a minute. "We share some suppliers as you know. They said you were the duct tape that held that company together. You just didn't get any recognition for what you did. Other people saw that and wondered why you hadn't moved on sooner.

"I wanted to find out if your skills could be translated into action here at Interstate. I took a chance based on what you said you believed and how you would handle specific situations. The other people you talked to here all came back with the same opinion. You weren't the usual candidate. You'd handled a lousy situation in a lousy environment, and despite Sandivale's best efforts to screw it up, you kept him in business. So now," he laughed, "I get all the benefit of the new Jack Tompkins, and I have to say I'm feeling pretty clever."

Aser had a way of taking the tension out of a situation. I'd seen him do it a number of times in meetings. It was gift that most people don't possess. I was impressed, if not a little disturbed that he could find out so much about my life with just a couple of phone calls. But when you have a lot of friends, information comes more easily. It was all good for me.

"I guess I can assume that I still have a job in the new year, then."

"That's a pretty safe assumption, Jack. There is one thing you can do for me, though." His voice took a more serious tone.

"You've been working very hard for the past three months; too hard in my opinion. I know you want to impress and succeed, but I don't want you burning out. I want you to take this break between Christmas and New Years and stay away from the office, and leave that damn laptop here. You need a break. Go see family, or watch TV, or whatever you feel like, but give yourself a break. I need you with full batteries in January because we've got some ambitious plans to share with you, and there will be plenty of times that you will pray for a break, believe me," he said, pointing his finger at me.

How could I argue with my boss?

"OK, I promise. I'll take the time off. Thanks, Aser. Thanks for taking a chance on me."

"Oh, it wasn't that big a gamble, you know," he said airily, and with that the meeting was over.

As I walked out of his office I realized I really hadn't told him anything about Molly and me. Maybe it really wasn't that important to him.

-0-

Christmas was on a Monday this year, and by the final Friday, I was ready for a break. I would have ten days to myself with strict instructions from the boss to goof off. When I checked my bank account I noticed a deposit of nearly two thousand dollars had been made the same day. My mid-month salary had been entered the previous Friday and the new amount was smaller than the month-end amount. I decided to check with Phil. I knocked on his door and he waved me in as he studied something on his computer screen.

"Hi Jack, ready for the holidays?"

"Yeah, I really am ready. But I've got a question about a deposit from here to my account. I don't know what it's from, or if it's a mistake."

"No mistake, Jack. It's a special Christmas bonus from the company. You've earned it, and I should get on Aser's case for not telling you about it before you discovered it."

It didn't sound like he was kidding. I must have had a strange look on my face because Phil jumped in again.

"Jack, Aser and I believe in rewarding people for outstanding effort. No one has done more in less time than you have. You've earned every penny of it, and I hope there's a lot more for you in the future. Now go on out to your nice blue car, and go wherever you want for the next ten days." He stuck out his hand and I shook it heartily. "Have a great Christmas, Jack, and we'll see you next year."

I tried to see Aser before I left, but either he was busy or he had already left, as his door was closed. I walked out of the building after seeing all the department heads and wishing them a great Christmas and New Years. I was wondering how I could top this year, or ... at least the last half of it.

I didn't have a clue what I was going to do with my ten days, but I had a nice little bank account these days that would pretty much allow anything I wanted. I thought about a last minute booking on a Caribbean cruise, but I wondered if I should be away at Christmas. Maybe I could go to Florida for a week. Disneyland? Nah ... that's for kids. For the first time in my life I had options, and the money to choose one without worrying about it.

I had been working for Interstate three months when the funds from the sale of our house came through, putting almost a hundred grand into my investment account. Then there was the three month severance that asshole Sandivale owed me. I put that in my savings account. On top of that, I'd been so damn busy the past three months that I hadn't spent much money aside from my rent and food, so most of it was still in the bank.

When I looked at my checking account, I had over twelve thousand dollars that I quickly transferred most of to savings. I had a lovely new Camry, a nifty cell phone, and a terrific laptop. It was time to move up from my drab old apartment. I could afford it, and to be honest, if I was going to play the role of the senior manager at Interstate Plastics, I really should have a better residence. I knew what I wanted to do in the next ten days. I wanted a new home, and I was going to start the search.

When I got back to my apartment that Friday night, I was a little light-headed and wondered for a second if I was OK. I was worried that it might be related to my diabetes, so I took a blood sugar reading on my machine. The number looked normal at 5.3. I guessed it was just the excitement of the last couple of hours.

I phoned Aser's cell phone but he didn't pick up. I wished him and Rebecca a happy Hanukkah and thanked him for the bonus. I decided to celebrate, and fished a bottle of wine from the pantry. I had been reading about wine lately, buying a bottle of this and that to try, finding what I liked and what I didn't. I'd been satisfied with some French wines from the southern Rhone Valley, and it was a bottle of Cotes du Roussillon that I chose that evening. I pulled the cork and let the bottle stand while I went into the bedroom to change into my jeans and t-shirt for the rest of the day.