Carol's Dilemma

Carol Hart had a dilemma. For the last year, she had worked as a waitress in a coffee shop in San Francisco's business district, without making much money but with other positives. She had a chance to meet a lot of men there, including mostly gentlemen but there were a few assholes as well. Until that day, she had always thought of Hank - she didn't know his last name - as one of the former. However, something had happened that morning to make her unsure and she thought he might even be one of the assholes.

Meeting a good man was important to Carol because she was a single mother of two daughters, aged ten and five. Her husband had deserted her shortly after the birth of the second and life had been a struggle since then. She was barely able to get by on the minimum wages she was paid, the small amount of tips she received and the leftover food she was allowed to take home at the end of the day. What she really wanted was to get out of her menial job by meeting some nice man who would like her children and would want to marry her and support her and her daughters so they could live happily ever after. So far, that had not happened but she kept her hopes up.

Carol knew she was not unattractive, at least to most men. She had a curvy bottom and large breasts, which would cause some to call her fat but she knew the majority of men would find her figure attractive, even sexy. In addition, she had a pleasant face with regular features, a clear complexion and neatly coiffed dark brown hair. Although not a great beauty, she considered her looks to be a major asset and one she hoped she wasn't losing.

The clientele of the coffee shop were mostly clerical staff from the offices in the area, including Dalton's Office Furniture. Twice every work day, they came into the shop in two groups with Hank in the earlier group, usually accompanied by the younger men and women who worked there. The second group of Dalton's employees was always made up of the older members of the staff, all of whom were women. Hank was young enough, about forty Carol would have guessed, that he would have fit with either them or the younger men and women. Being 38 years old herself, she thought of him as the ideal age for her.

He was ideal in other ways too. Hank was not particular handsome but he had the kind of appearance that might have been described as "nice" looking. He was always well dressed and well groomed and Carol believed he was probably a professional member of the staff, rather than an ordinary office clerk. The only thing she might have found less than perfect about him was the wedding band he wore on the third finger of his left hand. As far as she was concerned, a romantic relationship with a married man, even a good one such as Hank, was a waste of time and effort and could only end in disappointment for her.

However, things changed for her one Wednesday morning. Hank stayed a few minutes after his companions had left and, while she was clearing the booth, he asked her out to dinner on Friday evening.

"I'll think about that," she replied, rather than turning the man down flat, and looked at the finger that had worn the object which had made him unavailable. To her surprise, the finger was bare. He was no longer wearing the ring she had seen there ever since her first day on the job.

Carol's first impulse was to tell him off for trying to cheat on his wife and string her along but she thought better of that. Reviling the man for being an asshole would probably be counter-productive so she would wait until she had talked to some of his co-workers, who would be entering the shop momentarily. She didn't know how or what it might be, but there was always the possibility she was misjudging the man.

Hank left without getting an answer to his invitation and the other members of his employer's staff came in and took the same booth as he and the first group had been occupying. Carol knew to whom she wanted to talk and was glad to see her there. The coffee shop was very informal almost like an extended family and she was on a first name basis with all the usual customers but the one she was especially waiting for was Eleanor Riley. She was probably the oldest of Dalton's clerical employees and Carol had known her as long as anybody and thought of the lady almost as a favorite aunt.

"Ellie," she started her query by saying. "Hank asked me out to dinner a few minutes ago. What do you think of that?"

"Great! You'll have a nice time with him. He's really sweet."

"Yeah, but he's married, isn't he?"

"Hank? No, he's a widower."

"A widower? Are you sure?"

"Sure I'm sure. I even went to his wife's funeral. It was about a year ago."

Louise, another of the women seated at the booth added her contribution. "It was just a couple of days over a year. I know because my niece got married the next Saturday so I went to a funeral and a wedding in the same week."

Marilyn, the third woman at the booth also verified Hank's marital status and Carol, far from having a dilemma, realized she had a golden opportunity to do what she had been hoping for. That afternoon, she placed her hand on Hank's and smiled at him while she served his coffee. Then she looked him in the eye and said she would love to go out to dinner with him.

They had a great time together on Friday. Carol learned that Hank's last name was Wright, of all things, and that he was an accountant, earning good money at Dalton's. His wife had been unable to have children and had died of cancer after only a few years of marriage and Hank had undergone a one year period of mourning for her, which included continuing to wear his wedding ring. He learned some things about Carol too, but she thought it prudent to keep her long range goals to herself, at least until she saw how things worked out.

As it turned out, they worked out marvelously. That night, after dinner, she invited Hank in for coffee and he met her older daughter, Stephanie, and helped her with her math homework. The younger of Carol's daughters, Melissa, was in bed and her introduction to the new man in her mother's life was delayed for a while. Carol and Hank said good-night at the door and kissed chastely but agreed to go out to dinner again the next evening, this time with the girls.

They were both old enough to know what they wanted and what to do when they found it. Hank Wright and Carol Hart were married six months later, with Eleanor Riley as the matron of honor. Twelve years later, Hank proudly walked Stephanie down the aisle where she married the fine young man who had been her high school sweetheart. Melissa was one of the bridesmaids and all present agreed the wedding ceremony was one of the most beautiful occasions they had ever attended. Shortly after that, the deliriously happy older couple celebrated their silver wedding anniversary and, one year later, they retired. Their days together up until then and forever after were filled with love and affection and spoiling of their grandchildren.

And, on every one of those days, Carol thanked her lucky stars for the way she had thought twice before reviling the good man she thought might have been an asshole and rejecting his sincere and honorable suit.