Chapter 3

Putting his cup of coffee down, Vic Jensen thought things were going good for him. It has been one month since he asked Jill to marry him and plans for the wedding were going forward. Vic didn't want to make a big deal out of getting married and expressed his desire for it to be a small quiet affair to Jill. It wasn't going to be that way however, because Jill wanted it to be a much larger wedding. Vic gave into Jill's thoughts as to the size of the wedding, but he wasn't overly pleased with what he had agreed to. He also noticed that Jill had a little will stronger than he had initially observed in her, but he could live with that. The lovemaking they had together was good and overshadowed some of the small flaws he noticed in her personality. There probably were things about him that Jill was overlooking as well which balanced it out.

What to do with his time today was another thought he pondered. Vic was originally scheduled to golf with Mike Traguski, a fellow retiree who worked part time as a ranger at an exclusive private country club. If a tee time was available, Mike could golf at this club when he wasn't working and he could invite a guest to golf with him. The guest's greens fees were gratis, but there was a small fee for the golf cart.

Vic had told Jill about his plans for today and was looking forward to this golfing date but the plans changed when Mike called Vic late last night. Mike explained that there was a death of a former classmate of his and he was attending the out of town wake and the funeral, so their golfing date would need to be cancelled. He asked if they could play a week later to which Vic agreed. Jill was golfing in her Tuesday golf league which made her unavailable. Vic needed to come up with something else to do today. He knew he had to do some food shopping and remembered a small problem at Jill's house that he had said he would take care of.

One of the gutter downspouts needed to be extended, since water was collecting too close to the house, causing the sump pump to run more than it should. Vic thought he could stop at Home Depot and pick up the needed extension. It should be no more than a five minute job to attach the extension and he would stop at Jill's house and do it while he was on his way to do his food shopping.

Vic did stop and purchase the gutter extension. He was driving his car and had turned on to the street where Jill's house was located, when he noticed that there was a car parked on Jill's driveway. The car was not Jill's, but Vic thought it looked familiar. It was a newer Honda Accord, but that was a very popular automobile. Vic drove pass and noticed the vanity license plate 'ITITUP' on the Honda and recognized this plate number and car as belonging to Don Burton, the golf pro at Vic's club. He wondered why the golf pro was there and quickly came up with a reason that he didn't like.

Vic drove his car past Jill's home and circled the block. He came back around and parked his car on the other side of the street and a few houses down from Jill's house, which afforded him a good view of Jill's front door.

As Vic was parked he was having thoughts that he didn't like. Don Burton did have the reputation of being a ladies' man and there were some rumors going around about him and some of the club's women members. Vic knew Don was dating Cindy and because of what Cindy had said, he thought that something serious was developing between the two of them. Vic hoped that what he was thinking about Don being there with Jill wasn't going on, but something was going on and Vic needed to know what it was. He didn't think Don was signing Jill up for golf lessons.

After about an hour and a half, Vic saw the front door at Jill's house open. Don was leaving the house, but he stopped, turned, and gave Jill a short kiss on her lips and a little more than a pat on her ass as it looked he slipped a hand into the housecoat she was wearing. Vic could see that the housecoat Jill was wearing looked like it wasn't fully buttoned. Don entered his car and backed out of the driveway and drove past Vic's car. Vic was slumped down on his seat so Don wouldn't recognize him as he drove past.

Vic stayed parked where he was for about five minutes remembering what he saw. How long this relationship had been going on was a question running through his mind. He started his car and went to do his food shopping.

He did his food shopping and stopped at the cleaners, but when he arrived home he realized that he didn't really remember doing any of those things. His thoughts were on what he had seen at Jill's front door. If she had something going with Don and she apparently had, Vic didn't want anything more to do with her. He knew that she was free to do what she wanted to do before they became engaged, but once they were engaged that was something else. They never did explicitly discuss being true to each other, but that was something that Vic assumed and he thought she did as well. As much as he thought he loved her, Vic knew her faithfulness would now always be in question and he could no longer marry her. He thought that even though the sex with her was good he wouldn't want to date her anymore, since her being with Don would always be in his mind.

Vic was in a daze the rest of the day thinking about his relationship with Jill. His phone rang that evening and when he answered it he heard, "Hi Vic, its Rachel Harrington. I was just calling to remind you about tomorrow afternoon meeting to discuss next year's golf tournaments."

"It's on my calendar Rachel, I will be there."

"I'm just checking, as some of the committee members have had senior moments and have forgotten their commitments."

Vic laughed at her remark. He knew that Rachel also golfed in the Tuesday Ladies' Golf League and asked, "How was golf today, did it rain and did you get wet?"

"No, we were able to finish before the rain started."

"I assume you shot par?"

"Don't I wish, it was my usual bogie, double bogie golf."

"How did Jill do?"

"She didn't play, she called to cancel saying she had a doctor's appointment."

"Thanks for calling and the reminder, I will see you tomorrow."

A doctor's appointment I'll bet, thought Vic. The thought running through Vic's mind was more like she was 'playing doctor.' At one time Vic had thought there were a number of things that Jill did that surprised him and sadly this was one more surprise he could add to the list.

Vic attended the committee meeting the next afternoon. The meeting lasted one hour with an agreement that almost all of the events and tournaments done in this year would be redone in the coming year. A new golfing tournament format of a 'four person shamble' was discussed and added to the list replacing one of the net handicap tournaments

Vic was invited to have dinner at Jill's home that evening. She said she had received a number of quotes on the cost of the wedding reception and wanted to discuss the quotes and the specifics with Vic before she made a commitment and put a deposit down. Vic was not one to put off the inevitable and he thought that this would be the time to have a discussion with her about what he had witnessed.

Jill greeted him at the front door and he did have to admit that she looked good. She was wearing a white blouse and black slacks. He could also see that she was braless as he noticed the indentations her nipples made in the blouse and the nice jiggle of her breasts as she walked. He was going to miss making love with her, but she was the one who caused that to happen when she crossed the line by being with Don.

Jill said they could discuss what she had found out about the reception costs after dinner.

There was some small talk during dinner and Jill asked Vic how his golf went yesterday.

"It was an interesting course to golf. It was in excellent condition with only a few water holes on the course, but quite a number of sand traps. The problem was the fescue in the rough which lined the fairways and almost guaranteed it was a lost ball if you landed in it. How was your golf yesterday?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary, I shot my usual score."

"Anything out of the ordinary happen?"

"Not really, why do you ask?"

Her lying to him about where she was and what she did yesterday just put the final nail in the coffin as far as Vic was concerned.

"I lied when I told you I played golf yesterday. Mike cancelled out on our golfing date so I was coming to fix that drainage problem with your house when I saw Don's car parked on your driveway. I guess it wasn't out of the ordinary when Don gives you a kiss and squeezes your bare ass as he leaves your house. I have no doubt where he was putting his shaft while he was in your house, and I don't mean his golf shaft."

Jill froze at what was just said, and turned white as the blood rushed from her face. "I... , I... , I... ,"

"Jill, you don't have to say anything. In fact nothing you say can change what I saw yesterday. I don't know how long you have been seeing Don, but I apparently wasn't enough for you. I really don't want to hear you say anything to try and justify what you did or were doing. I just would like to have the ring back as I no longer have any desire to marry you."

"Vic, I am sorry, I promise you it won't happen anymore."

"That it happened once was once too many. You are a classy and sexy lady and I will miss being with you, but the trust I had in you is broken and cannot be repaired. I can still be your friend if you want me to be, but I no longer want to marry you. I hope you will be happy, but it won't be with me. Can I please have the ring?"

Jill was quietly crying as she took the ring off her finger and handed it to Vic. He wished her a goodnight as he left. There were tears in his eyes as he drove home; it could have been so nice, but it just wasn't meant to be. Did she think it was okay to get some on the side and still want to marry Vic? If she did that was a further disappointment. Vic thought he was fortunate that he found out what she was doing now rather than later.

Vic was a somewhat sorry about the words he had said to Jill, but they had to be said. He thought that maybe he was a little too harsh and he didn't really give her a chance to explain what Don was doing there. When she said "it won't happen again" confirmed to Vic what had transpired. He just couldn't put what she was doing with Don out of his mind. If the situation was reversed he would think her reaction wouldn't be any different than what his was. This was a situation that had to be confronted and met head on. Calling the wedding off was not pleasant, but it was the right thing to do.

Vic did some serious soul searching about his wanting to marry Jill. Was he in love with her or was it just the strong sexual attraction that caused him to propose?

He knew that his ability to date different woman and make love to most of them was something that his married male friends envied and he certainly enjoyed. It was he thought what most men wanted to be able to do. Being tied down to one woman through marriage they inferred, grew old after a number of years. What men younger than him didn't seem to understand was that when you grew old, your good looks fade and you aren't as attractive as you once were. Maybe not so jokingly you would look in a mirror and say, "Who is that old man wearing my watch."

While some men didn't think they looked that old when they looked at themselves in a mirror, they usually had a different opinion when they saw a picture of themselves.

Meeting women that interest you as you get older gets increasing difficult as most of the desirable ones are already married. You eventually come to realize that you are too old for the singles bar scene when you see the reaction of the women to you who frequent these bars. It is somewhat of a shock when you understand what the physical results are of you growing old.

Worse yet is the loneliness that sets in at night and over the holidays when you are single, especially when you hear your married friends tell you about the plans they have made for spending that time with their families. Being single can be fun when you are young but when you get old, it is a bitch. Vic had concluded some time ago that he wanted to grow old with a loving wife who would be his partner, his pal, his friend. Someone who would care for him and someone he would care for. Maybe wanting to do that too much and finding a wife had caused him to propose to Jill. He thought now that he needed to move on with his life by putting his break up with Jill behind him.

The word about Jill and Vic not being engaged anymore quickly spread among their friends. No one specifically asked Vic what had happened to call the engagement off and Vic was not one to volunteer any of the details. He thought Jill would have a harder time in trying to explain why they were no longer engaged, but he never asked any of his friends if she ever did say anything.

Just after Jill and Vic broke up, Don the golf pro submitted his letter of resignation. He said that he was offered a position at a golf course in Florida that was monetarily more rewarding. Vic suspected that Jill told Don about Vic seeing him leaving her house. Further, that Don not wanting his reputation to be tarnished or have to deal with the problems it would cause if the word about him and Jill got out made him decide to head for greener pastures. Cindy was upset when Don left and suspected that there was more to the story, but she never found out what it was.

Vic had gotten used to being intimate with a woman on a somewhat regular basis and wanted to continue having that experience. He needed to find a partner other than 'Rosie Palm' and thought about how he could go about finding one. There was no single female in his circle of friends that interested or attracted him. Some of his friends offered that they could fix him up with some women that they knew, but Vic was not thrilled by these blind date offers.

The following Tuesday, Vic drove out to meet Mike Traguski for their delayed golfing get together. Vic was hitting balls at the driving range when Mike drove up in a golf cart.

They shook hands and Mike said, "Congratulations, I hear that you are engaged."

"You can save those congratulations, I am no longer engaged."

"What happened?"

"There were things that came up that showed me that we weren't as compatible as we thought we were, so it was for the best that we called the engagement off."

They played their round of golf and went into the clubhouse for a few cold beers afterwards.

After some small talk about golf and other things Vic said, "Mike, you have been married 30 years what's the secret?"

"First of all, its thirty two years and I really don't know if there is a secret. I do know that Lynn, besides being my lover, is also my pal, my buddy, my best friend. I know that she does her best to take care of me and she has given me three wonderful children. She may not have the physical looks of a movie star in the eyes of some people, but to me she does. I also see an inner beauty in her that just makes me love her all the more. It is something that I can't describe, it's just that we were meant to be together."

Vic thanked Mike for his comments as they gave Vic something to think about if he gets serious about another woman ever again.

Later in the week Vic had gone to a sporting goods store in a large mall to purchase some golf grips as the grips on his golf clubs needed to be replaced. Replacing golf grips was not rocket science as Vic had previously replaced golf grips. As Vic was walking to the closest exit to go back to his car he noticed Ed Duncan whom he had golfed with a few times exiting from an upscale restaurant with a lady. Since Vic was heading that way he stopped and said hello to Ed.

Now Ed was not what you would call handsome. He was about Vic's age, a little shorter and probably about thirty pounds overweight. He was a pleasant man who was single ever since his wife divorced him some ten years ago. It was said that his ex-wife had told some friends that Ed was boring.

The woman with Ed was something else. She was about Ed's height in high heels, in her mid-forties wearing a designer dress which showed her nice figure. She had short dark hair, was attractive and seemed to be enjoying herself in Eddie's company.

Eddie introduced her to Vic as Connie Ford. Vic shook her soft hand and told her he was pleased to meet her. He gazed in to her eyes as he said that and was pleased indeed to have met her. They said that they were going to catch a play and Vic excused himself to go to his car.

On the drive home he thought about Connie. She was one beautiful women and he thought she was too much woman for Ed to handle.

During the week at the club Vic saw Ed and asked him about his relationship with Connie and how had he met her.

"Vic, I have been going out with Connie for about a month now. She is an executive legal secretary and a very classy lady who I might say is somewhat of a tiger under her cool exterior if you know what I mean. She... , well just let me say that she takes care of me very well. It is very enjoyable to spend an evening with her."

"How I met her is another story. I placed an ad in one of the personnel columns and was surprised when I received over forty responses. There are a lot of lonely women out there that are looking for a man and maybe a little sex. At any rate after some weeding out of the responses and some correspondence requesting photos, she is one of two women that I am now taking out. You may want to try what I did as I can tell you it works. What have you got to lose?"

Vic thanked Ed for his advice and told him he was one lucky man.

He thought about what Ed had said all day about placing a personnel ad in the local papers to meet some women, and while that was an option, Vic wasn't sure that was the way to go. He saw an internet dating service being advertised on television and thought that was a faster and better way to go. Here, you would get specific information as to body type, likes, and dislikes a lot faster and a photo or photos of the other person which could tell you if there was an attraction. He acknowledged that he was a little cynical with this approach, but as everything he does he weighs the pro's and con's before he does anything.

Vic had some photos of himself taken and selected a few of them that he thought were flattering which he would use for posting. He selected and applied to a prominent online dating service. In filling out the questionnaire he fudged a little on his age and some on his weight, but was truthful in responding to all the other questions. He emphasized that he was looking for an attractive lady who enjoyed intimacy. He stated that he wasn't specifically looking to get married, but he wasn't opposed to it if he met the right person. He also wanted someone who enjoyed and participated in sports and who resided in a nearby area.

He submitted his application and was surprised by the number of responses he received. He started going through them and discarded most of them for various reasons. He sensed that a few of the responses he received from younger women were in fact from 'working women, ' but he could be wrong in that assumption. There were three responses that interested him and he started to correspond with them online by asking questions about their likes and dislikes. After some back and forth e-mailing, he eliminated one of the women and continued to be interested in the remaining two.

One lady indicated that her name was Susan Walker, she was forty seven years old, and was a special needs teacher. The other lady said her name was Beth Collins, and that she was forty eight years old and an anesthesiologist. Physically, they both said they were about five foot six inches tall, weighed one hundred and thirty pounds and had been divorced from five to seven years. Both of them indicated that meeting men was difficult for them since they were past the age of going to singles bars or lounges to meet men. Neither of these women had children and both of them indicated they didn't want any children at this stage in their life. Beth said she golfed when she had time, worked out, and jogged. Susan said she had golfed when she was younger, but hadn't done so recently. She said she did enjoy watching professional football and baseball.