Chapter 6

So life goes on. I continued to put one foot in front of the other. I continued to do my work better and better and before long I received another promotion. I finally reached my goal of many years and became Vice President of Operations for our company.

Sarah was no longer my lawyer, but she became my friend. We spent many enjoyable hours together as time continued to pass on. We realized early on that friends are what we were and never took the final step to become lovers or more.

Loretta also stayed in touch with me. We never became as close as Sarah and I, but we still spoke and saw each other with some frequency. She did manage to slip up, probably on purpose, and let me know that she was still seeing Leanne professionally and providing her with therapy and counseling.

Now that my marriage was defunct and Leanne and I were no longer conducting World War Three, Sam and I became closer. I was grateful that our 'father-daughter' relationship had survived unscathed.

We sold the house and with only some minor haggling, Leanne and I split all our finances. I moved into a spacious condo. I spent most of my free time with my friends and daughter and yet managed to continue a very good exercise regimen.

So after so many months, I was finally content with my life. I was single and I did date on occasion. I did not, however, become a bar hound who cruised the town looking to 'get lucky'. In fact, I could say that my life after Leanne had become somewhat anti-climatic.

I was sitting on my balcony, enjoying the view and a good drink while looking over the park outside my condo when the damn doorbell starting ringing. My first inclination was to simply ignore my caller. I found in my relaxed state that the noise was extremely irritating. "Damn it", I muttered, "Who could that be?"

Anyone who wanted to see me almost always called ahead first. That made the mystery ringer even more annoying. I was beginning to really resent this intrusion. Unbelievably, the damned bell continued to ring.

Giving up, I threw myself out of my lounge and stalked towards my front door. Muttering and cursing, I threw the deadbolt and quickly swing the door open I snarled, "Who are you and just what in the hell do you want?"

When I finally focused on my unwelcomed visitor, my jaw dropped and my mind went completely blank. "Wha... ?" There in my doorway stood Leanne. My simple brain managed to identify her and then my 'male' brain instantly noted that this was a Leanne that was even more attractive that I remembered.

With a sultry smile Leanne said, "Hello Monte, long time no see." Even though I had stood blocking the doorway, she managed to push past me into the condo. I couldn't take my eyes off her and I was unable to utter a coherent sentence. She looked at the drink in my hand, "I'll take one of those. Fix me a drink and let's sit out on your balcony and enjoy a little company to go with the view."