Joe 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 company that Charlene had made all the arrangements with. He clicked on the box that read Africa and dialed the number. He found himself looking at a screen full of endless herds of animals passing through the grasslands of Africa as the phone continued to ring.
Chapter Five
The friendly sounding woman who answered the phone had an accent. Joe thought it might have been British.
a”Hello, this is the Active Travel Agency, Angela Black here. Who am I speaking with and how may I help you?” “This is Joseph Monroe. I need to change my travel plans for my Africa trip. It’s coming up in four weeks. My secretary has been talking to Nancy Duffy over the last few months planning this trip and now I need to make a change. Is that possible?” I was planning my honeymoon, but that has gone by the wayside now.” The woman on the other end of the phone remained silent, listening.
“Sorry to hear that,” the sweet voice said back to Joe. I still have the vacation time and if I don’t use it I will loose it. Is it possible to still go on this vacation to Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania as a single person and get half my money back? I have to go alone now. I want to firm up the dates and the arrangements as a single now. But my secretary now wants to come along now as a single as well. Perhaps that will make matters simpler.” The woman spoke back to Joe after a short silence.
“I see the notes here on Nancy’s desk. We have your trip leaving on Monday of the last week of this month and a back up date of next month as well. But Rwanda is a pre trip extension. You must book that separately. Oh, I see that your secretary has already taken care of that for you. You still have two reserved spots as of this moment for the first trip but since you are letting us know that you are a single now, your deposit will go to that single spot.
It’s getting close to the rainy season down there so these are the last trips for viewing the Mountain Gorillas in Rwanda and the other animals in Kenya and Tanzania. The final trip leaves the last week in November. That’s the 22nd. We only take twelve people on these trips so they will fill up quickly.”
“Let’s book that spot for me then Miss Black, shall we?” “Sure Mr. Monroe, let’s put this info into the computer and see what happens.” “Thanks again miss Black.” Joe waited for the conformation to come up on Miss Black’s computer. He looked over a photo of several elephants crossing a road as he waited. He thought that he could take a photograph as well as the one in the magazine. The phone remained silent except for the eighties rock music playing in the background. Joe tried to picture the face that went with the voice of the woman that he was talking to as the phone went silent. He came up with a few faces but couldn’t decide which one was closest to being correct.
Joe hated being put on hold but the music did make it almost tolerable. “We’re good Mr. Monroe, your booked on the trip.” “Thank you so much. That’s one less thing for me to worry about now.” “If your secretary wants to come on this trip, have here call me as soon as possible. The sooner the better as these last spots will fill up soon. “I’ll talk to here soon. We have a meeting tomorrow.”
Joe had little family and no plans for the holidays with anyone special now. So that wasn’t a consideration at the moment. His only other problem had been getting the time off from work and that had been settled long ago when he was planning on getting married.
Joe didn’t know that Charlene had already booked her place on the tour.
Mary Slater sat at the bar waiting for her best friend to arrive. They were to meet at the Primrose at eight sharp. They hadn’t talked for a month of Sundays. They both had been busy with their respective lives. their lkives were very different but both were hectic.
Mary was wearing her best black cocktail dress and eye catching red high heeled shoes. She wore red lipstick and had lots of jewelry hanging from her neck and wrists. She didn’t look married. Her husband was loaded, treated her like a queen and spent gads of money on her. She was going to make the best of this ride for as long as it lasted.
Roy was just a little too old for her or so she had thought when she first saw him. She had dated better looking men and better lovers. But a girl had to look out for her future and Roy looked pretty good on paper when she first met him. They had dated six months and soon her closet was full of all sorts of new and expensive clothing and shoes. Her jewelry box had been in need replenishment too. Soon it was overflowing. Most of her jewelry had been of the costume sort but no longer. That had seriously changed after their engagement.
The stock market had been good to Roy these last few years and that trickle down economics they talk about in the papers and financial magazines had finally started trickling down to her at long last.
Roy seemed serious at first and it scared her a little but Mary had kept her options open as Roy sold his everyday on the “big board.” She had heard of these working terms coming from him for early on in their relationship but had n o idea what they ment.
Now after several years of marriage and a couple of kids she was starting to understand his working language. She had gone to the library after several months of dating and done her homework. It was all still a bit of a mystery to her but his work and income had made a great life for them. When he asked her to marry him a year later, she jumped at the chance.
Suzan Drake saw her girlfriend, Mary, in the bar through the frosty windows as she approached the wide front door of The Primrose. Mary saw Suzan through the window as well. Mary thought Suzan looked better than the last time they had been together for a few drinks and a meal. Suzan was dressed in her best suit. It fit perfectly and accentuated her lithe figure. Suzan pulled the door open by it’s long brass handle and walked in.
The noise from the constant traffic outside disappeared as soon as the heavy door closed behind her. That noise was replaced by the constant chatter of drinkers, bartenders and people eating diner. She handed her heavy coat to the girl in the cloak room and took the one step down to the bar’s floor and walked in heading toward Mary.
She could see that the large bar was filled with well dressed men and women. The bar was decorated with posters of the many plays that had played over and over in New York theaters for years near by in that famous district. That seemed to be the theme of the bar. There were many autographed photographs of well known stars on the walls that had dropped in after their shows between the posters.
“The Primrose” had become an institution of sorts and had come to be filled with those photos going back generations. They were hanging everywhere. Suzan recognized many of the faces in them. She was an avid “theater goer” as her mother was.
Fresh flowers sat in tall vases scattered around the room on the many tables and on the back bar. The large room was twice as long as it was wide with the bar running the entire length of the dark, wood floored, room. Tables for two and four were lined up along the three remaining walls as well as the center of the grand room.
“Mary, you look great,” Suzan said as they embraced and did the fake kiss thing that girls often do. “So do you sweetheart. Climb up on this stool I saved for you and join me.” Suzan slid gracefulkly on to the red stool and settled in, tucking her dress in under her.
“What do you want to drink Suzan?” “A dirty martini, of course.”” “I see you are still a martini girl.” “Yes darling,” Suzan answered with her low pitched voice, “the dryer the better.” “You know you can’t be too thin or drink a martini that is too dry Mary.” “What’s new since we last met?” “Oh Chad and I are still going strong. I think he’s the one. It’s been two months now.” Mary thought about what Suzan said but kept quiet. She knew Joe and felt bad for him. “The poor bastard had no idea,” she thought.
The two women laughed at that remark and took a drink. “I would like to meet him soon, dear. I hope I like him. What else have you been up to?” “What else have you been up to?” “Well between this newish relationship and work, I have been kept pretty busy. There’s no stopping things at the office.” “Have you heard from Joe?” “Oh God no. I’m sure he hates me with a power that is immeasurable. Everything that needed to be said was made clear when I walked out. I’m sure he is very clear where we stand.” There’s no doubt about that for the either of us. I guess he thinks I ended things badly and for little good reason from his perspective, but I’ve moved on.”
It’s just too bad that Chad doesn’t turn me on like Joe did. But Chad’s loaded and that’s worth something, I suppose.” Mary smiled and nodded her head. Her hair swayed as she moved her head. “The sex isn’t awful and sometimes it’s great. Sadly the chemistry just isn’t there like it was with joe. But I’m not getting any younger and times a wasting if you know what I mean?”
“I sure do Suzan, our kids are growing like weeds in the sidewalk cracks in front of our old apartment building.” These two women had been friends for ever and had lived near each other for even longer. “Do you think Chad wants to marry you? “He’s already making noises in that direction. I think a proposal is just around the corner and I don’t know what I’m going to do.
This relationship isn’t very old, but it might be my best chance at what I want out of life. Joe would never have mad the type of money that Chad makes. He’s very successful and comes from a rich family and my parents like that.”
“Well suzan, if it’s coming at you soon, you probably need to be ready with an answer. Why wouldn’t he ask you to marry him? Your beautiful, have great cheek bones and your as smart as a whip.”
The two women talked for over an hour over diner and more over cocktails before Suzan had to catch the subway home.
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So things are looking up for Suzan or so it seems. She has some big choices to make soon, perhaps.
Joe seems to be getting a new lease on life as well, but as a single man. He isn’t going to kill himself in the next few days, at least.
Then there is Charlene.
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