Chapter 4 – Suzan had always wanted Joe to have a larger apartment. The one she lived in was good for now and the rent was cheap. Joseph’s apartment was a very small, third floor walk up. She spent a few nights there each month but it never felt like her own.

Suzan’s dreams put her up town and in a newer building, higher up with a grand view of the city and maybe even Central Park. “A girl can dream,” she often thought but didn’t dare say out loud to Joe.

Joe had told her more than once that, “it would come with time.” Suzan’s time table was not the same as Joe’s.

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Hello all, its Friday

Suzan was in a hurry and already had her eye on a gentleman she had met at a function dealing with her work. She thought that he had great possibilities. The tall man in a perfectly fitting suit looked like he was go places. His clothes were sharp and expensive, unlike Joe’s. He clearly had a bright future ahead of him selling stocks and bonds. She had little understanding of the business but that didn’t matter as long as he did. She had already gone out with him three times while being involved with Joe. Joe was unaware of this, of course.

Joe sat on the couch and thumbed his way through the National Geographic and reread the interesting article about east Africa. It talked about the mountain gorillas of Rwanda, the elephants and many other animals in Kenya and all the assorted animals in Tanzania that had first captured Suzan’s interest.

Joe had worked on his high school newspaper and on one while he was in college. He was no stranger to using a camera either. “Why don’t I go on this vacation anyway,” he thought as he looked at the magazine. “I’ll pitch the idea about a travel book to the boss and see what he thinks. I’ve already paid for the trip, so what the hell. I’m caught up with my projects for at least a month, That Jones deal meeting wasn’t coming up until after the new year. The marriage to Suzan is history, so why the hell not. I’ll also use this time to get over Suzan and this loss of our life together instead. Joe looked at his calendar and studied the dates of his weeks off for the honeymoon.

He had friends in the magazine business and some with internet literary connections and savvy. Perhaps he could write a series of travel articles with some photos along with it while on vacation and make a few bucks while having a grand adventure. He might even meet a woman on the trip. “Anything is possible,” he thought. He was starting to feel better already.

He then thought about Charlene’s proposal. It now seemed like a dim possibility at the moment. It was filled with peril however. She was attractive but he had tried not to notice. An impossible task for a man. They were co workers after all. As he had told himself, more than once, if anyone finds out about an office romance, it can soon turn into a battle that cannot be won easily. Usually one or both parties find themselves without a job.

If Joe made enough money to pay for the trip with his writing and photos he would be thrilled. If he didn’t he still would have have a great adventure to look back on in his old age. The worst case scenario put him in Africa, single and with no ties.

He had planned on a gap year to travel after college but then he had met Suzan. Now she was gone and he had a second chance at a new beginning. The new beginning would start in Africa. He went to his computer and turned it on. He scanned the travel websites he and Suzan had looked at for their honeymoon. He found the phone number on the screen of his computer for the travel agency that Charlene had made the arrangements with. He dialed the number. He clicked the box titled “Africa” again and found himself looking at great pictures of endless herds of animals passing through the grasses of Africa as the phone continued to ring.

Chapter 5 coming soon.