Hero

"Honey," he started, "we've both been pretty moody over the last couple weeks. This thing with Barry has us both all tied up in knots and I'm scared that our marriage is suffering because of it. I don't want that to happen, honey. I love you too much to let this come between us."

She started to say something but he interrupted her. "Honey, please, let me have my say first, then I will listen to you and we'll hash this thing out." She sadly nodded her head as he continued.

"Babe I know how you feel about Barry saving out lives, he saved mine too. Damn, unless it happens to them, it's impossible for a person to know how indebted you feel toward someone who you owe for your very existence. When I first read the police report I thought Barry was a brave, young, decent man, but it turns out I was wrong. He's not the guy I thought he was. I don't really know why he did what he did that night; whatever the reason I am grateful, but that doesn't mean I'm going to give him my wife in return. I will not pay my debts by pimping out my wife."

He stopped for a second trying to gather his thoughts. "Baby, I...well, I'm really hurt that you would consider sleeping with him. I don't care what he did. You are an extremely attractive woman, honey. I know you get hit on all the time but never once in all these years have I ever worried about you straying on me. I won't say I haven't gotten angry at the guys who tried their best to get into your pants, but the only thing that has kept me from a lot of fights over the years, is the fact that I knew they didn't stand a chance. Now all of a sudden this guy comes along, and for the first time in our marriage, I have doubts."

Bev's heart was breaking as she listened to the pain in her husband's voice. "Oh Carl," she whimpered with tears streaking her face, "I'm so sorry," she said shaking her head. "I agree things have been strained between us lately. I've wanted to talk but I've been afraid because I don't want to hurt you any more than I have, but Carl, this thing is eating me up inside."

She grabbed a tissue and wiped her eyes. "You said you know how I feel because he saved your life too, but I don't think you do know; there's more to it than that. For me it goes deeper...much deeper. It's not so much that he saved my life, honey; it's that he went back for you." She took a moment to wipe her eyes again.

"Did you read what that other guy said in the report, the guy who witnessed everything from the road? Barry already had me safely out of the car before going back for you. When the car started sliding down the ravine he refused to let you go, even with his own life in peril he refused to let you go."

She tried to compose herself again. "I keep thinking, what if he hadn't gone back; or what if he had let go? Don't you see, my darling; he saved me from something much worse than death, he saved me from living the rest of my life without you."

Bev's words penetrated his very soul as subconsciously he twisted it the other way around. What if it had been him safely laying on the ground and it was Bev that Barry so heroically went back for? He shuddered at the thought. He was just beginning realize how his wife felt.

Carl reached over and took ahold of her trembling hand as she continued. "Every time I close my eyes I see you trapped in that car, sliding down the hill; sliding out of my life forever. What would I have done if he hadn't risked his life and gone back for you, Carl? I can't even imagine living without you."

She was crying again and had to stop for a moment to regroup. "How...how do you pay a debt like that?"

"I don't know," he said sadly. "I doubt a debt like that ever can be paid, not in full anyway." Carl could feel a cold chill going through his spine. Now that he understood Bev's motives better he didn't feel as betrayed as he did, but now he was even more worried.

As gently as he could, he had to ask, "What are you going to do, honey. Are you going to do what he wants?"

Her eyes were red and swollen, her entire body was trembling, "I don't know," she cried. "I couldn't live with myself if I hurt you, but I don't know if I can go on with this hanging over my head either." Her face scrunched up in agony. "Sometimes I wish he'd just left me in the damn car," she blubbered. She laid her head on her hands and broke down, bawling like a little girl.

"Don't say that," Carl said as he stood up and used the table for support while hopping to her side. He leaned down and held her. He wished he could ease her burden, tell her what to do and make it all better, but he couldn't. She was the one who had to make the decision.

"Honey, listen to me," he said trying to comfort her. "I really didn't understand how you felt before but now I believe I do. I wish I could give you some magic formula that would make all this go away but I can't. I know you love me and you know how much I love you. I also trust you. I know whatever decision you make it will be because you feel it is the right thing to do." He kissed her and tried to calm her down.

Later that night Carl lay in bed with his wife curled in his arms. He stared up the ceiling while deep in thought. Without really saying it, he had still given her the impression he could live with her infidelity if that was what she chose. It was a lie and he knew it. The thought of his wife fucking another man was something he could never live with. He hoped his wife knew him well enough to realize it. Try as he would to get past it, he knew it would eventually drive them apart. It was a gamble. All he could do was hope and pray she would make the right decision. A tear broke free from the corner of his eye and ran down his cheek to the pillow below. It would be followed by several more before he finally drifted to sleep.

***

It had been a full month since the accident. Carl was sitting in a chair by the window staring out at little green buds on the tree in his yard. Spring was finally approaching. Bev hadn't mentioned Barry all week but he knew the whole situation still weighed on her mind. It was never far from his thoughts either.

It was the ringing of his cell phone that disrupted his deliberations. He knew from the ring tone it was Angie, his secretary from the office. She had called several times over the past few weeks with questions regarding one client or another.

"Hi Angie, how are things going?"

"Hi Carl, I was about to ask you the same thing; how's the ankle?" she asked.

"It's okay; I'm still on crutches for another couple of weeks but it doesn't hurt or anything."

"That good," she responded. "How are you getting around on the crutches?"

"Oh I'm an old pro by now. Why, you want to take me out dancing?" he joked.

His secretary chuckled for a second before replying, "I would, Carl, but I wouldn't want to face Bev's wrath. No, actually Mr. Bremer was wonder if you'd be able to start coming into the office, not full time but maybe three or four times a week for just a few hours."

Carl didn't hesitate, "Yeah, I could do that. It takes me a little while to get ready in the morning, how about if I come in tomorrow around ten?"

"That would be great, Carl. I'll let Mr. Bremer know. He said you could make your own hours and go home when you got tired. He'd just appreciate the help. With that nice big client you brought in last month we're a little overwhelmed right now."

This might be just the thing, Carl thought. Bev and I have been inseparable for the last month; maybe a little breathing room from each other is just what the doctored ordered. "I'll see you tomorrow morning then," he told Angie before disconnecting.

"Who was that?" Bev asked. She was coming down from upstairs and had just heard the tail end of his conversation.

"That was Angie. They want me to start coming into the office to help out three or four times a week. It won't be for the whole day, they said I could pretty much make my own hours," he told her.

"Are you going to do it?" she asked.

"Yeah, I told them I'd be there tomorrow at ten. Will you be okay for a while without me?"

"Of course; I will admit it's been good to have you home with me, but I knew it wouldn't last. Can you drive or do you want me to drive you?"

"No, I can drive. Thank you for the offer though."

The next day Carl was greeted like royalty as he stepped into his office for the first time since the wreck. As his co-workers saw him making his way down the hall to his office they all came over to greet him with a hand shake, a pat on back, and in some cases, smeared lipstick on his cheek.

Angie followed him to his office and opened the door for him. A big grin stretched across his face when he saw the large banner hanging from the ceiling above his desk saying, 'Welcome Back.' He heard a round of applause and turned around to see that everyone had followed behind him. He hadn't even realized they were there.

"It's good to have you back, Carl," said Mr. Bremer who seemed to appear from nowhere.

"Thank you, Gene," he replied. "It's good to be back and feel useful again."

Angie waited until he was safely seated behind his desk before throwing her arms around him enthusiastically, and kissing him on the cheek. "I missed you, Carl; it's so good to have you back," she told him sincerely.

"Thank you, Angie. This is just what I need. I'm just not designed to sit around home doing nothing. It was really starting to get to me. Now," he said settling into his chair, "what's first?"

Angie brought in a stack of files with post-it notes stuck all over them. He smiled; he felt like he was back in charge of his life again. That was something he felt had been slipping away lately.

About three o'clock his ankle was starting to hurt from not being able to sit with it propped up. He had been there long enough anyway. No one expected him to stay as long as he had so he decided to call it a day. When he stepped inside his home it felt just like old times.

"How is my working man?" Bev asked as she greeted him at the door with a big hug and kiss.

"He's just fine my wonderful wife," he responded. Yeah, except for the damn crutches everything seemed normal again, like before the crash. A sensation of relief washed over him as he rested in his recliner with his foot up to relieve the pain.

The day's activity must have taken more out of him than he realized because the next thing he knew his wife was waking him up by planting soft, gentle kisses all over his face.

"Honey, wake up baby, dinner's ready," she whispered in his ear.

For the first time in a while, he was able to put Barry Westchester out of his mind...well, except maybe for a few fleeting moments, but that was all.

During the day Bev bought a copy of the newest Bond film, her husband's favorite movie series. After dinner she popped some popcorn and cuddled in his strong arms while watching Daniel Craig outwit the sinister villain and triumph over evil in the name of his majesty's secret service one more time.

The three hour nap Carl had earlier in the day did wonders for his libido. That night they made love for hours before finally falling to sleep in each other's arms.

Over the next couple of weeks things seemed to be settling back to normal. Carl finally got his cast off but still couldn't ditch the crutches, not completely. He was now going to physical therapy three times a week and had to still use one crutch for support until he could regain the strength in his leg.

He was also spending more time at work now, going in four days a week and spending the entire day. Except for a passing urge to still kill now and then, Carl hadn't given much thought to Barry.

Bev was also back to her old self as well. Since Carl was at work again she kept herself busy doing the things she like to do and spending time with her girlfriends again.

It started out as a normal Friday. As usual, Carl threw his cell phone in the breast pocket of his suit coat, kissed his wife, and was out the door. Once in his office, Carl took off his coat and hung it on the rack next to his desk about the same time as Angie came in with his coffee. He had just taken the first sip of brew when Angie's voice came over the intercom, "Carl, Mr. Bremer needs you in his office right away."

"Why, what'd I do?" he asked.

"I don't know, but it sounds urgent," she replied. He thanked her then high-tailed it to his boss' office.

"Hi Carl, have a seat," he said with an air of excitement in his voice. "I just hung up with Andrew Carnahan, the president of TCB Inc.," he told Carl. "Are you familiar with them?"

"Oh sure, they're worldwide, who doesn't know who they are? How did you get a hold of him?"

"I didn't, he called me." Carl wasn't sure what this was all about yet but it sure sounded interesting. "Universal software, in California, has been their chief supplier for a decade now, but evidently something happened because TCB just fired them."

"Fired them; just like that?"

"I guess; anyway Carnahan called me. Carl he's looking at us to replace Universal."

Carl just sat in the chair staring at his boss, not sure he understood what he just heard. "They...they want us?" he asked.

"Well it's far from a done deal. They're not sure we could handle the volume but they want us to make a presentation, and from what he said over the phone, if we can convince him we can keep up with their demand, the account is ours to lose."

"Holy cripe, Gene, this is unbelievable. We could triple, maybe quadruple our size almost overnight. Shit! Okay," he said going into business mode, "we'll need two weeks to get our presentation together. I'm going to need a couple temporary researchers for some of the leg work, I want to get..."

"Ah, Carl," Gene interrupted him. "Hold on cowboy, you haven't heard the bad news yet."

"Bad news," Carl repeated slumping back into the chair.

"Mr. Carnahan is currently on their corporate jet flying back to New York; however, he is making a detour to O'Hare. I have a driver picking him up at one o'clock this afternoon. We have four hours to put a presentation together for him."

Carl was stunned, "Four hours; Gene it can't be done, that's impossible."

"Carl, in all the years we've worked together I've never heard you use that word before. I know you, I've seen you do the impossible before and I'm counting on you to do it again. Anything you want, anything at all is at your disposal. You just name it and it's yours, but he'll be here shortly after one and we need something to show him."

Carl took a deep breath. "I need everyone on this floor assembled in the conference room in ten minutes. I need you to make it clear that for the next four hours they work for Angie and me. I don't care who they are or what their job is, if Angie or I tell them to do something it has to be done," he said standing up and heading out the door.

"Yes, Sir," Gene said with a smile.

"Angie," Carl said walking passed her desk. "I hope you don't have any plans for lunch, if you do cancel them."

"What, why, what's going on?" she asked.

"Just be in the conference room in ten minutes. "He stopped for a second and grinned. "Angie we're about to go global," he told her before disappearing into his office.

Gene stood looking at all sixty-five people who worked under him as they all crowded together in the conference room. He explained the situation and told everyone what was at stake. For the next few hours, he told them, there were no egos, no one was to feel they were being degraded or talked down to; there was simply no time for hurt feelings. They were all part of a team with one goal in mind, to help land the TCB account. At the end of his speech he turned to Carl, "You're the boss, Carl," he said for everyone to hear. "What do you want me to do?"

Carl went to work. He spat out orders and directives to Angie, who in turn, spat them out to the others. "Angie, get Roberto in here please, right now."

"Yes Sir," she answered without hesitation.

A minute later Roberto was starting to sit in front of Carl's desk. "Don't sit down, Roberto, you don't have time. According to office gossip you're quite a computer hacker. I don't want any BS, we don't have time for it. Can you hack into the computer system at Universal, and if not, do you know of anyone who can?"

"What do you need, like industrial secrets or something like that?" he asked.

"No, I want access to their email and inter-office memo accounts. I want to know why TCB fired them."

"Oh, if that's all you need, sure; no sweat," he replied.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Carl asked.

"Angie," he bellowed again. She was standing in front of him almost before he finished saying her name. "Angie, in a little while Roberto will have access to Universal's email accounts. I need you to put a group of secretaries together and go through them. More than likely there will be thousands, but what I'm looking for is anything that gives me a clue as to why TCB fired them."

"Yes Sir," she said, already on her way.

At noon Mr. Bremer had sandwiches catered in for all sixty-five employees, then told them they had to eat on the run, they didn't have time to sit down.

By the time the limousine service dropped Mr. Carnahan off in front of the building, Carl had everything ready to go.

It was after six o'clock when Carl, Mr. Bremer, and the president of TCB shook hands on a tentative agreement. Carl watched from his office window as a limo drove out of the parking lot with Mr. Carnahan before letting out a war whoop in triumph. "We did it," he yelled to Angie. "I'll be damned if we didn't do it!"

Mr. Bremer brought a bottle of scotch from his office and he, Carl, and Angie sat down for a quick victory drink. "To the impossible," Gene said raising his glass. "To the impossible," mimicked Angie and Carl.

On the way home Carl stopped off for a dozen roses and a bottle of champagne. It was a little after seven when he pulled into his drive. He had been so engrossed with his day he didn't even think about the time until he noticed Bev's car missing. Where the hell could she be, he wondered. He looked at the car's clock; Shit, I should have called. I hope she didn't get worried and go out looking for me, he said to himself.

He walked in and looked around but the house was empty. He was really disappointed and hoped she would be right back. He was aching to tell her the news and take her out to dinner.

Carl headed into the kitchen to get some water for the flowers and stick the wine in the fridge for later. He found a nice vase in one of the cabinets and was arranging the flowers when he noticed a note on the kitchen table. He sat down to give his leg a rest, pulled the note in front of him, and started to read it;

My dearest Carl,

I've been trying to get ahold of you all afternoon but someone I talked to in your office said you were extremely busy with a big client. I asked him to have you call home, but since you didn't, I'm guessing you never got the message.

I got a call from Barry Westchester this morning. He's home for the weekend and wanted to know if we had reconsidered his proposition. Honey I had my mind made up that I would not do what he wanted, but when I heard his voice all the memories of that terrible night came flooding back...along with my deep sense of obligation.

I agreed to have dinner with him tonight. I confess, as I sit here I still do not know what I'm going to do. I am lost within my soul. Without his heroism I would have surely lost you, but if I repay him as he wishes I may still lose you, or at the very least, hurt you terribly.

Please darling, have faith in my love and devotion to you as I have faith in yours for me. I love you so much. I'm not sure when I'll be back, but when I am, I assure you this matter will be finished and we can put it behind us.