An Unexpected Miracle Chapter 16.2

Joe startled awake, vaguely surprised to find himself in his office chair.  Man, he thought, rubbing his hands over his face, that was too weird.  It was obvious he must have dosed off at work, but for a minute there he could have sworn he heard Mari’s voice calling to him.  It had seemed so real, he could almost feel her, but knew that was not possible.  His wife was thousands of miles away, probably having the time of her life with her lover. 

Grimacing at his morose thoughts, Joe swung the chair away from the desk to face the window.  The office was on the twentieth floor and from this location he had a nice view of downtown Houston.  The city was bathed in the light of the full moon, just visible over the eastern horizon.  It was almost eerily quiet, only the hum of his computer to break the silence.  Everyone except Joe had gone home to their families or out with their friends hours ago.  Unfortunately, going back to his apartment would only emphasize the fact he was here alone. 

He could always take up the offers that came his way from many of the women who worked in the building, he supposed.  And a very bold group, they were.  Even the single women who were in the office thought he was fair game.  He did not understand why they would think he was available.  The thick gold band of his wedding ring encircled his finger, evidence that he was a married man.  

When he went down to the cafeteria for lunch, they made a concerted effort to find ways to be near him often asking to sit with him.  He never realized he was such a catch.  He would hold up his left hand to show them the ring, but still they sat down, and then would ask him out for drinks or dinner.  He did not remember this being such a problem earlier in the year, but then he had not gone down to lunch often.  He had spent most of his free time with Ray and his family and had not paid much attention to his female co-workers other than to note they often teased Ray about his Christianity.  Ray took it in stride, always smiling, but he never made any apologies for his faith.  Joe would have thought the women would have remembered that Joe was a Christian also, but that did not appear to be the case.

 Other than a gold band, there was no evidence of a wife anywhere, no pictures or other mementos cluttering his desk, so it was a real possibility his coworkers had come to their own conclusions about his marital status.  No visual reminders of a wife or other female in the picture, therefore free game.  They could have talked to other women in the building.  Then again, some women seemed to have radar where that type of thing was concerned.  Sydney Price being a prime example.  Ring or no ring, if there was a hint of marital discord, and Sydney thought there was a chance of her attentions being returned, she would launch a concentrated effort to reel in the poor man. 

The day after his arrival in Houston, Joe had actually removed his ring.  He dropped it out of sight in the drawer of the nightstand, determined to put his troubled marriage behind him.  Closing the drawer with a smart bang he then ran out to do errands.  Halfway through a trip to the grocery store, when he once again went to twirl the band usually on his finger, he admitted defeat.  The lack of weight on his ring finger was disconcerting, and he actually felt naked without the gold band circling his finger.  It’s just a ring, he told himself as he drove home without finishing his shopping.  A trivial piece of jewelry, a trinket that meant nothing.  The matching band Mari wore obviously had no significance to her, because it had not stopped her from breaking her marriage vows. 

In the end he put the ring back on, resolving to just ignore its presence.  On Wednesday, when the beautiful blonde in the office across from his had asked him out for drinks he opened his mouth to agree.  Words of acceptance were on the tip of his tongue, but he could not seem to get them past his lips.  Something stopped him.  He was not sure what, because he had fully intended to say yes.  Instead he found himself regretfully declining.  She had smiled a coy smile, remarking that perhaps they could get together another time.

Ray watched him warily at the office, as if trying to decide if Joe were going to implode.  Not that Joe blamed him.  Tension seemed to radiate out of every pore, but when asked Joe denied having any problems.  He was becoming a master of excuses on why he could not spend an evening enjoying the hospitality of Ray’s wife and family.  He knew Ray was wondering what was up since they had hit it off so well last time, but Joe was not ready to confide in the man, no matter how compassionate Ray was.  What was he supposed to say, my wife took a lover the last time I was here and I came back to run away from the fact that she’s pregnant?  That would go over like a lead balloon.  Ray was a committed believer and had a wonderful relationship with his wife and family.  There was no way he would understand what Joe was going through.

Joe turned back to his desk, straightening the papers strewn across the top.  He rose and slowly gathered what he needed to take back to the apartment.  Joe may not want to spend another evening alone in his quiet apartment but spending the night in the office was not an option.  He would swing by the pizza place he had discovered earlier, he decided, and grab some food.  With any luck there would some mindless sporting event on the television.  Maybe an evening spent yelling at the ineptitude of some aspect of the game would occupy his mind enough to stave off the thoughts of his wife.

A short time later he was ensconced in front of the television, a pizza box resting on the coffee table next to a glass of soda.  He was determined to empty his mind of all things except the upcoming game.  When the announcers came on the screen Joe turned up the volume and sat back in his seat to enjoy the game. 

“This week’s game between the Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons…”

At the mention of Detroit Joe groaned.  All he wanted to do was spend a few mindless hours watching sports on television to keep thoughts of home at bay.  Was that so much to ask?  Now Detroit was playing Houston at home.  That in itself probably would not have been a bad thing, except it sparked memories of a trip to the Palace he and Mari had taken last year to watch the Pistons with Greg and Marla and Glen and Gretchen.

Greg and another man split season tickets since both were avid basketball fans.  They had great seats and Mari was almost bouncing in anticipation the evening before they were to go.  Glen had been able to obtain the seats just in front of Greg’s and the three couples had taken off work early to have dinner before the game.  Amid much laughter the women had challenged the men to a post-game basketball game of their own.  The stakes were high, as the losers would have to totally pamper the winners for one week.  Not being able to pass up a sure win, the men had agreed.  Glen had a friend in the Palace Corporation and had called him after the bet was made.  When he told Mike about the challenge, Mike had laughed and given them permission to play a quick game on half the court after the stadium was empty of spectators.

Joe had watched Mari throughout the game, grinning as she bounced up and down in her seat practically every time a point was scored.  He mentally laid out what he wanted Mari to do for him the following week when she would be his ‘personal slave’, as the women had called it.  He smiled in anticipation of some of the more personal care he was going to demand.

After the game the three couples waited patiently while the arena cleared out, then made their way down to the floor.  The men generously spotted the woman five points and the game would go up to fifteen.  Mike tossed them a ball and the game began.

Few points were scored in the beginning minutes as each side spent a lot of time laughing.  As the game went on, some players from both professional teams came out to watch, shouting out advice to the women.  When the score reached twelve to eleven, with the men in the lead, Mari, Marla and Gretchen called time and had a brief huddle.  Greg and Joe watched indulgently, but did not believe for a second that it would do any good.  Glen was not so sure, since he knew Gretchen was a mean ball handler, but still was not terribly worried.  Much to the men’s chagrin, the women took possession of the ball and never gave it back.  They took the lead and won easily despite a last minute surge by the men.  Cheers went up from the sidelines and the players came out to shake hands.

“What happened?” Greg groaned, his hands resting on his knees as he bent over trying to catch his breath.

“We probably should have remembered that they played on a summer league last year,” Joe told him from his position lying on the hardwood.  “Didn’t they come in second in the playoffs?”  His golden blonde hair lay matted against his head in sweat.  “I should have worn sweats.”

Glen dropped down on the bench, breathing hard.  He picked up a discarded towel and swiped at the sweat on his face.  “I think we should file a protest.  They had outside help.”

“Oh, quit moping,” Mike laughed as he came across the court.  “They won fair and square.”  The girls exchanged high fives with the professional players, then came over to their husbands.

“Had enough boys?” Gretchen swaggered across the floor, a huge grin on her face.  She leaned over Glen.  “I expect breakfast in bed at the very least,” she teased in his ear, tossing her long blonde hair away from her face.  Her nose twitched.  “You really need a shower.”  Glen grabbed her and brought her down on his lap, wiping his face against hers.  “Oh, yuck!” she cried, squirming to get free.

Mari stepped up to Joe, offering him a hand up.  “How ya doing, honey?” she asked, trying hard and failing miserably to keep her grin in check.

Joe got slowly to his feet then pulled Mari to him in a bear hug.  “Pretty good, chicky,” he laughed as she tried to free herself.  “The price you have to pay for a week of pampering, miss.  Give me a great big kiss.”

“Joe, you’re all sweaty!” Mari protested, almost laughing too hard to get the words out.               They had had such a great time at the game and when they returned home they had an even more wonderful time.  The next week of pampering his wife was no hardship, and Mari was more than willing to share her breakfasts with him.

He turned the television off in disgust, viciously throwing the remote onto the couch.  He sagged back against the cushions.  It would be impossible to watch the game now.  Joe grabbed a piece of pizza and took a huge bite, as if filling his mouth would prevent the images from those wonderful nights invading his mind.  Stop, he commanded himself.  You will not think about Mari tonight.  So far Joe had told himself that every night for the past two weeks.  Maybe tonight it would work. 

Rising off the couch he went over and grabbed his briefcase off the hall table. Work seemed to be the only option in his efforts to put his wife from his mind.  Sitting back down, he pulled a folder from the briefcase and tried to lose himself in a complicated set of financial spreadsheets.