Finding Himself Ch. 03

Joe interrupted to calm the situation, "You were right about her Phil. I remember last week when you said she was a classy woman. She's beautiful, intelligent, sexy and, well, just pleasant to be around."

Phil looked a little down when Joe was praising Sam.

"Yeah, that's all true. It's probably what makes her so good at what she does."

Phil stood up again, "Guys, I think I'm going to take off. And, no Donny, I'm not meeting Sam anyplace. I'm just heading home. I haven't seen anyone come in, except Sam, who is worth chasing after. See you later," and then he left.

Joe looked at Donny, "Is there some sort of subtext there that I missed?"

Donny shrugged, "My understanding is that Phil met Sam about 6-months ago when he was meeting up with a client who's an exec with her company. They started dating and things seemed to be going really well, until one night Phil was out with a customer and saw Sam with one of her clients. He had no clue about her other 'job' and didn't take it well. He wasn't happy that she was working as an escort, and just as unhappy that she hadn't told him about it.

"I think you can tell that they are still pretty much hung up on each other, but there doesn't seem to be any path for them to get back together. So they try to be friends when they both really want to be a couple. Crazy, huh?"

Donny and Joe hung around for a while longer, they even found a few women to dance with, but there was no chemistry that night, so even Donny went home empty handed.

'Sorry, Joe, but that's the way it is. Some nights feast others famine, and to mix metaphors, we are batting '0 for three' this evening."

Joe returned for another weekend to his condo — what was going to be his bachelor pad — but had become almost a prison for him.

He did save Sam's card and thought maybe he would call her, and not just to talk about his marriage.

Joe was groping, trying to find his way in the dark: should he give it up and go back to Susan; pursue Betty a little more seriously, or see if Sam, even if she wouldn't take him on as a client herself, might have a 'friend'?

Joe was starting to understand how unrealistic his idea had been: get away for a while, taste freedom from responsibility again, find new, fun friends, go out and have some good times.

Instead, he was alone most of the time; he missed Susan, who he recognized now had always been his best friend. He also found himself forced to take care of so many things that he had always relied on Susan doing. Instead of his life turning into a permanent party, he was miserable.

And worst: Susan wouldn't even talk to him if she could avoid it.

What the hell could he do to get his life back together one way or another. Truthfully — he didn't have a clue how to even begin.