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Delights in Time Ch. 02

By: thecelt



In this section, Roz tries to stop her affair with Ted but he doesn't stop willingly. Roz continues on hoping that things will get better with Reese. But Reese has other ideas.

Thanks to Angel Love for her comments, suggestions and editing. She is an inspiration for me.

Part 2

Without anyone knowing what she was doing, Roz made an appointment with a woman psychologist she knew. She went to her first visit the following Friday and decided to lay it all out for her. She wanted to find out what was wrong and she decided that she had to be brutally honest, so she described her feelings, the first meeting in Chicago and the next two meetings here in Springfield. She was honest about how she felt and her lack of satisfaction. She also mentioned Reese's indifference lately. She talked for almost 40 minutes and felt exhausted and empty when she finished.

Since it was late the psychologist, Mrs. Fenton, asked her to come back the following Monday. She said she wanted to do some tests and ask more questions but she thought she had some ideas already. Roz left feeling hopeful but reserved. Her life was in a mess now and she was going to need more than ideas to make things right. She had to start with her home life. And getting rid of Ted. 

As if on cue, her cell phone rang. It was Ted! He was going to be in town Monday morning and wanted to see her. He had no meetings planned so they could take their time and he would make things up to her after the last time. She accepted, but only to end it. She didn't tell Ted this, but only agreed to meet him. She hung up with a satisfied sigh. This was the perfect way to begin.

The weekend with Reese and the girls was quiet and Reese was still withdrawn and out of sorts. She tried several times to engage him in conversation but he avoided her. At night, she waited but he never came upstairs to their bedroom so she was left alone and wondering. She tried to keep things light and open and herself available but nothing changed. She rode it out, hoping that next week would see some changes in her and hopefully in Reese.

That Monday, Roz met Ted at the hotel as planned. She was sure he was not going to like what she had to say but it was over. She couldn't do this anymore and he had to accept it. He had to know how she felt since the last time was a disaster. Not only did she not have a climax, he had not even been able to make her wet. He had to force her to even get it in, and the fucking itself was pathetic. It was his fault, she knew, but the guilt and the resulting pain was so intense that she was unable to become aroused. Ted would just have to accept it and move on.

Roz knocked on the door and waited. Ted opened it with a smile and beckoned her inside. He closed the door behind her and she felt his hands on her shoulders.

"Ted, please stop. I just came here today to tell you that it's over. We're through and I won't meet you again. I hope you understand and accept it. Alright?"

"What do you mean it's over? You're here so let's get it on. I'm ready to play and you're my plaything. Let's rock and roll!"

"No. Ted, I'm serious. We're through and that's it. I wanted to tell you face to face so there's no misunderstanding. No more."

"But why? Nothing's changed for me. I thought you liked it and wanted more. What's happened?"

"Nothing happened. I just don't want to do this anymore. It's wrong and I'm sick to death of it. I have to live with my cheating on Reese now and that's going to be hard. I just want it done with."

"Why don't you come over her and let me make you feel good. You know you like what I do for you. Right?"

"Please, Ted. This has been fun all right: fun for you. It's been a real downer for me. I haven't cum once with you except when you used your hand. The last time, you couldn't even make me wet. Remember?"

"That's bull! Come here. Let me show you."

"Stop it Ted. That's it. I'm leaving now and I don't want to see or hear from you again. Talk to Sabrina the next time you need to stop in. Goodbye."

As she turned to walk away, Ted grabbed her from behind, gripping her shoulders as he shoved her against the wall. He pulled on her skirt from behind and forced it down around her ankles. She was trying to fight him by kicking back, hoping to catch him someplace vital but he was too quick for her. He grabbed her by the wrists and held her arms above her head with one hand while he slammed the other across her mouth as she was about to scream, stopping any sounds.

"You'd better stop struggling and making a fuss bitch cause if you don't, I'm going to tell your old man. You've been teasing me for the past month and I'm going to collect before you walk out of here."

She still continued to try to get free but she kept her mouth shut. She knew Ted would carry through on his threat. She was still trying to kick him when she felt him push his cock against her panty covered ass. She wasn't even aware of him having unzipped his pants while she was fighting him. She wasn't going to let him do that and she increased her struggles but to no avail. He used his weight to hold her against the wall while her panties were shoved roughly aside. She felt him penetrate her pussy as he jammed her tighter against the wall. At least he didn't try to get it in her ass. 

As Ted pumped away from behind while she was crushed helplessly against the wall of the room, Roz thought that this was the culmination of her humiliation. This was what she deserved! To be raped by the man she cheated on her husband with and not for the first time. She was stupid enough to believe he was a decent man and would listen to her when she told him it was over. She couldn't even shed a tear as he fucked her for the last time as though she were a common whore. 

Ted was grunting as he plowed into her and his pace was simply fast and hard. This was brutal rape, pure and simple and she had to endure it. Ted finally gave a shout and shot his load inside her. He pushed once, very hard and then held himself still as his cock pulsed inside her. It seemed to go on forever as she pressed her face to the wall, her eyes squeezed tightly shut. He finally moved back with a sigh and let her go. She slid to the floor in shame.

"Roz, you always were a great fuck. Too bad it's over. I know this is just between us now so I'll leave you alone as you asked. Now, why don't you get yourself cleaned up and get the fuck out of here."

Roz stood up, pulled her skirt back up and straightened her clothing as well as she could. She looked once at Ted and saw nothing but his smirk. Nothing else. She turned and walked out the door without another word. Ted yelled something as she left but she didn't hear him and didn't care anyway. This disgusting part of her life was over and not a minute too soon.

She ran down the single flight of stairs to her car. As she flew through the back door of the hotel, she almost ran into a woman just entering. Roz glanced at her without recognition but her tears made everything a blur and she quickly dismissed her. She sat in her car for some time, trying to calm down and get some degree of control over herself. Her initial excitement with Ted was long gone, replaced by shame and humiliation. That elusive something missing in her life was no longer important. What she had to do now was to find some way of recovering her life, the one that she had forgotten about for too long. Hopefully, Mrs. Fenton would tell her how to begin to make things right. With a sigh, she drove home, not noticing the car that followed her all the way.

She entered the home that she had shared with Reese for the last 12 years to clean another man's cum from her cheating body before he or the girls came home. She stayed in the shower for over 30 minutes, just crying and wondering how in the world she could have fallen to such a low. She didn't seem to be able to get clean and wondered if she ever would again. Finally, she dressed for her session with June Fenton.

Her meeting that afternoon with Mrs. Fenton, or June as she was instructed to call her was not very productive. First she decided not to tell her of that afternoon and the rape. Then, June wanted to ask a lot of questions and she hardly referred to the things that Roz had told her last week. Each time Roz mentioned something, June listened but told her not to be too anxious. They would deal with things in their time. Roz finally settled back in defeat and answered the questions that June asked. She saw little sense to most of them but June appeared to be quiet happy. 

As their session came to an end, June wrote her a prescription for an antidepressant and told her to begin taking them that evening with dinner. She explained that Roz was clinically depressed and had been for some time. These pills should help make things a little easier and give them time to work on correcting the underlying causes. Roz promised to begin right away and they made an appointment to meet twice a week, beginning that Wednesday. Roz left feeling somewhat more hopeful and stopped to fill the prescription. The pills were called Zoloft and June told her that they had few side effects and not to worry. 

Over the next few weeks, she took her pills, went to her sessions and she stayed home in the evenings and spent as much time with Jacey and Jada as she could. Sabrina had the business under control and she told Roz to spend the time with her family. As she did, she noticed something gradually growing in her. It was the love of her daughters and their joy in everything they said and did. She had forgotten all of that for a time and found herself beginning to relate to them again. She began to notice what they were doing and who they were seeing and where they were going and she watched as they took it all in stride and enjoyed it all. She found herself enjoying it with them. It was all so simple. Just live and enjoy what you had. She found that she was less and less unhappy and woke one morning surprised to find that empty place she had been trying to fill, mostly full. Only her relationship with Reese was a problem and that was the last missing piece.

She waited one evening after the girls had gone to their rooms for the night before walking into his den. He had been spending almost all of his time in the evenings in there. As she walked in, she saw him dozing in his chair, the TV on low and tuned to a sports channel. She walked over to the chair across from him that she often used, sat and just watched him. She took in his hair, noticing more gray than she had in the past. She looked at the face she had lived with for over 17 years and was surprised to find some fine lines: new and somehow attractive. She saw that he had lost some of his belly recently and wondered how. She saw the man that she loved and wondered again why she had forgotten that. He was enough for her: more than enough. He made love to her, he did for her, he was always there for her and he was all that she could ask for. He was enough. Why had it taken her so long to realize that. 

Without waking him, she left the room and went to their bedroom. She realized that they hadn't made love since the Sunday night before she went to the seminar. That had been over 12 weeks now. She tried to remember the last time either had suggested it and found to her surprise that Reese hadn't since that night. She had tried on several occasions but Reese had found some excuse. Why had she not noticed that before this? Why had Reese not come to her? Why had he not wanted to make love to her? She had no answers and that scared her. Scared her to death. She undressed slowly and crawled under the covers. She began to cry to herself as she remembered again what she had done. As she slowly calmed down, she began to drift off to sleep. The last thought she had was: what if he knew?

As things continued without change, she tried to find the passion and love that she used to feel and tried to rebuild their love life. The problem was that every time she prepared to make the suggestion to Reese, she felt the guilt and deceit sour her intention leaving her unable to make the overture. As a result, she remained unavailable to Reese, in part because he never initiated it himself. She wondered what was going to happen to them if things continued this way. So many nights she cried herself to sleep knowing that Reese was still downstairs in his den, avoiding her.

Time passed and things remained the same. She was making little progress with her sessions and she had stopped taking the pills since they made her so very tired. One good thing was that she and the girls had completely returned to their previous relationship and she found herself more and more comfortable with them. They were again mother and daughters and they shared many things. If only she could find the key to her life with Reese.

Roz had been working at the kitchen table on a new menu for an upcoming catering job when Reese came in to get a beer. He had been working in the den for the past hour. Roz thought he seemed tired and distracted recently, but that was nothing new. As VP of Hadley Controls, his job often carried an extra burden when the customer needed the compliance work done quickly in order to gain a permit.

"You look tired honey. Why don't you give it a rest tonight and work on it with a fresh eye tomorrow? I can fix you a snack and we can take it out on the deck. I think the girls are out of the pool so it would just be you and I and a bunch of munchies. How about it?"

"I know Roz, but I have to get this damn thing done so that Harrison and crew can take the plan up to Chicago next week. If I don't do it now, it won't get done. Phil is on vacation for the rest of the week to attend his daughter's wedding so its me or nobody."

Roz just shook her head in frustration but tried to give it another shot.

"Still, an hour off won't make or break the deal. Come on out on the deck and bring your beer with you."

Reese looked for a minute as though he might take her up on her offer, but instead just grimaced and shook his head no. He took his beer and walked back to the den, leaving her to return to her menu. Not surprised, she watched him go. He had been avoiding her more and more lately. She was unsure of herself so she hadn't made it a point to talk to him. She decided to let it go and wait till he seemed ready to talk. 

For his part, Reese wanted to take the time with her but this job was too important to let slide. He knew that he was avoiding the inevitable but he just didn't have the will to do it now. How long he could let it go was the question. It had been over three months now. It had to be dealt with soon or it was going to eat him alive. For the hundredth time, he decided to postpone it until this job was finished. Everything was in place and all he had to do was sign the papers. Then he would do it, for sure. 

Roz on the other hand, couldn't figure out the recent coldness in Reese. He had been this way now since she had returned from the seminar in Chicago, and she had no idea of what could be bothering him. She was spending more time at home and she hadn't worked any evenings at all. She had tried everything she could think of to get him to talk to her, but this was usually the result. She wouldn't face the possibility that he knew about her. How could he live with her if he knew. She knew that he wouldn't accept what she had done. He couldn't. They had that conversation so many times in the past and both had agreed that infidelity wasn't something that either could accept. Again she asked herself, how then had she done it? She couldn't even begin to understand what she had been going through at the time, only that it seemed important that she find something to fill her up. Ruth seemed to be avoiding that question, saying it was too soon to find those answers. 

Nothing changed for the next three weeks until one night Reese came home from work with a new attitude. When Roz noticed the change, she wondered about it until finally after the girls had gone to bed, she could stand it no more. She followed him into the family room and sat down across from him.

"All right Reese. What's going on? I know something is different but I don't know what."

Reese looked at her, face calm and a slight smile on his face. She noticed that the smile didn't reach his eyes.

"Well, several things, Roz. First, I finished the job and all compliance requirements were met on time and to the satisfaction of the client. I turned every thing over to Phil last week and I resigned, effective today."

"Reese! You resigned? Finally? I am so happy that you finally did it. You must feel wonderful. Congratulations honey."

"Thanks. I do feel great. And it has been some time coming. I was the last of the big four to resign. Don't know why it took so long. But now it's done."

"What else? You said there were several things." Roz was beginning to relax a little, since apparently this was going to be good news. She began to smile.

"Well, this one is something that I have been putting off for a while, but now it's time. Tomorrow, you'll be served with divorce papers. I signed them today and copies have been filed with the court. You will find yourself well taken care of, but the terms will not necessarily make you happy."

The shock was so great that she was unable to even blink for several seconds. She felt the blood rush to her head and the roaring in her ears was so loud she missed all of what he said after 'divorce papers'. She felt sick to her stomach and her heart was pounding so loud Reese had to hear it. She tried to focus on his face but her eyes were unable to see. She was having trouble breathing and her breath was coming in short gasps. She finally heard a sound, like a high pitched keening coming from somewhere before realizing it came from her. 

Reese was watching her face as he told her of his intent and he knew the precise moment when she lost control. He watched her eyes as they literally glazed over. She was gasping for breath and she was making a low sound that irritated him. He stopped talking since she obviously wasn't listening, stood and walked into the den. There was no pity for her in him now: she had driven it all out.

She was still sitting there some time later when she was finally able to make sense of her surroundings. Reese had apparently left sometime during her fugue. She slowly got up from her chair and went in search of Reese. She finally found him in his den, sitting in his favorite chair and listening to a recording of Enya. She walked over to the chair across the room from him and sat down heavily.

"Can you tell me why you are doing this? What do you know and what are your reasons?"

"You must know that having an affair with Ted Hill was not going to be acceptable to me. Why would you not expect me to divorce you over that? We both understood the vows we made and we discussed them several times. You broke them. That's number 1."

"How long have you known? If you knew about it, you must know that it was very short and that it has been over for months. Why now? Why did you wait, leaving me in misery wondering when or if you would find out?"

"Initially I was waiting for you to confess to me and to ask me if we could work it out. As time went on, I realized that you were continuing with your affair and were not going to be honest with me so I had to do something. Divorce was not something I wanted to do. I think I still love you even now, but I needed the time to try to accept what you did. I found that I just couldn't. I waited, hoping I could find some way to forgive you but I just wasn't able to. Divorce is the only way for me."

"Reese, I am so sorry for what I did, but you have to know that it was just a brief, stupid mistake in what have been 17 wonderful years. I made a mistake but it's over. It meant nothing and it can never happen again. I want you to listen to me and I want to try to explain why I did what I did. I need for you to understand. Please, Reese, I need to tell you."


Delights in Time Ch. 02



"I'm sorry Rosalind, but I don't really care why you did it. I tried to give you everything I could. I gave you money, a home, two wonderful children. I showed you I loved you in every way that I could. It wasn't enough. You took it all and wanted more. I couldn't give you more so you went elsewhere. Why isn't important. It would just be your attempt to make what was ugly, less ugly."

Roz finally understood that what she had feared was now real. She feared this day would come. She knew deep down in her soul the first night she spent with Ted that this was going to be the result. Hoping and praying couldn't change the outcome and she knew it. Her lies and deceit had built her new home. Now she had to live with them.

"Will you at least let me tell you why I did what I did? If it makes no difference, what harm is there in letting me say what I have to say. Please?"

"Fine. Say what you want to and then I can finish this."

"It all started when I went back to work. I had everything any woman could want but it didn't seem to be enough. I wanted to work to prove myself, to show you that I could be successful and do something you would be proud of."

Reese responded to that comment in anger.

"You never needed to do that for me. Don't try to make this about me. I never asked you to be anything other than what you were: wife and mother and best friend."

The anger hurt, but Roz was determined to try to make him understand.

"I know that now. I think I used you as a rationalization for some of the things I did. I know you asked me for nothing and I know that you loved me and our children without question. I just put that aside."

"When my business became so successful, I began to want more and more. The successes we had were good but not enough to make that craving inside me go away. I think I wanted to do what you had done so I looked for ways to make it happen. The seminars helped since I could mingle with other people and the compliments I got, both professionally and personally helped. But with each compliment, I needed more."

"The first time with Ted was the night you called me and asked me who I was with. I was so angry at you for questioning me that I decided then and there to punish you. Looking back, I can't even remember why I thought that but that's not important. When Ted asked me to go to his room, I went, not for me but to punish you."

"Why I stayed with him that night I still can't answer. I knew that Sabrina would know what I did and that I would know what I did. But I didn't care, even then. When I did go back to the room, Sabrina was asleep so I went into the bathroom and closed the door. I stared at myself in the mirror not even recognizing myself. But the feeling was one of euphoria. I still don't understand that."

Reese sat quietly while she told him her sad tale of woe. He had no expression on his face and just waited. She knew that her words were hurting him, but she also knew she had to tell him the truth. It was the least she owed him.

"I didn't repeat my mistake the next night but I made arrangements with Ted the next day to meet him here in Springfield when he came through. He usually made the trip once or twice a month so we made plans for the next time he came. We met that way three more times after the first time in Chicago. I know you don't want to know this, but Ted was not a good or patient lover. He was selfish and he was not very skilled. I never enjoyed him as a lover, especially compared to you. You and I made love and it was always wonderful. Ted fucked me and it was not even that good. It was never about the sex, only the feeling of doing something that nobody else knew about and having something of my own that was separate and apart from us, that you didn't know about. At first, it made me feel smug and self confident. I looked at you and thought about my secret. At first it gave me a thrill, but that thrill soon began to pale. After the first time here in a cheap motel, the thrill became dirty. The second time was even worse so the third time he came through, I went to his room to end it."

"I wondered then why I had done this thing. I was missing something in my life, or so I told myself, but what it was really was nothing more than greed. I simply wanted more than I had and for no other reason than selfishness. I had it all and I wanted more. I will never understand that and it may take a long time for me to find out, but I will. I am seeing someone now and we are trying to find out why I did something so stupid and destructive. I will find out what that disease was that destroyed me and cut it out."

"I have tried since to be the wife you married but my guilt and remorse spoiled every attempt that I made. We couldn't even make love without me feeling guilty. I couldn't enjoy the man I loved because of what I had done to him. People always say that a guilty spouse tries to make it up by being extra sexy and loving but I don't know how. The guilt destroyed me. It never made me better and it made it impossible to give myself to you."

That was it. She was done and had told him everything. Too little, too late. She knew that now. All she could do was wait for the other shoe to fall. Her life with Reese was over. It was up to him to finish it.

Reese sat there watching her. She had said all she wanted to say but nothing she said was new or made any difference. He looked inside and found the pain and the anger and the need for revenge undiminished. It was just as strong and cold as it was when he first found out. He wondered briefly where the love had gone. He searched but couldn't find it. He waited until the silence grew uncomfortable for her and then he finished.

"That is quite a story. You are right in thinking I wouldn't understand. I don't and I didn't when I first found out. You were so foolish. Like most cheaters, you were so sure of yourself that you never even tried to disguise your deceit. You took me for a fool and you both set out to humiliate me. You may say that isn't true with Ted Hill, but men like Hill have big mouths. He made no secret that he 'had my wife'. To him, you were just another of his conquests, another 'whore wife' was the term he used."

"You might ask how I found out? You never noticed that loving couple that rode the elevator with you that first night in Chicago? You didn't notice them standing in the hall as you prostituted yourself that first night? I guess you had other things on your mind. But you were already under surveillance by then. Ironically, I thought you were cheating on me earlier when you were really only working. But I didn't know that then so I began having you watched."

He watched the realization light her face as she remembered that night. That loving couple was part of his surveillance of her that began ironically three weeks before that when she was spending more time as the storefront rather than come home. They found nothing then, but he continued the surveillance through Chicago and then after.

"I knew the first time you slept with Ted and I knew about every other time you met him. I knew times, dates and places. I even know how long you were with him on each occasion. You let me know some time ago that I was no longer enough for you so I wanted to find out what Ted was doing for you. I wasn't impressed."

Reese stopped and shook his head in disgust. This wasn't what he wanted to do. He had no need to vent his anger on her. He had taken steps to be sure she would pay for what she had done. That was what he needed to concentrate on. Making her pay!

"But, that's not the point. I told you that I needed to finish this. Beside divorcing you, I have made sure that Ted Hill was fired today. He was terminated, his belonging removed from the building, the lease on his car cancelled, and his lease on his apartment revoked. He will not be given a recommendation from his current place of employment and will never work in this state again. And he is being told why and warned not to make an issue of it. I have many connections as you know and I called in some debts. Mr. Hill was just as guilty as you and he is going to pay big time!"

At the mention of Ted and his termination, Roz hunched her shoulders more and tears began to fall. She was understanding the consequences of her actions and she understood deep in her soul the reasons why Reese had to do this. The responsibility fell more on her than on Ted but he would also pay the price.

"One last thing. When you and Sabrina set the company up, you asked for my help and advice. Remember we had it incorporated and shares issued? You and Sabrina had 45% each and I had 10% as well as a board seat. You both wanted me to have the power to break a tie. My participation was silent since you never needed me, but I was still a partner. Well, I approached Sabrina and Paul and made Sabrina an offer she couldn't refuse. I bought her 45%, giving me 55%. Part of the deal was for her not to tell you. I then controlled Delights in Time."

"Since our problems began with that venture, I needed to do something about it for my own satisfaction. I contacted one of your competitors and sold them my 55% control. You are now owned by Catering Concerns, Inc. They intend to absorb the name and the clientele and as a condition of the sale, they will have no need for your participation. You are now a minority stockholder in CC, Inc. You no longer have a job as this letter attests."

Reese handed her a copy of the sale, a notarized copy of the transfer of Sabrina's stock to him and a letter informing Roz of termination of her active involvement in the venture. She took them without comment.

"The final item is the girls. I know that you were a good mother to them while they were growing up, but recently, you turned your back on them for a time. Since I have eliminated the reasons for that I hope you can learn to be that to them again and I think it best if you have full custody. I intend to give you this house and sufficient funds to continue to live here after the divorce. The girls will be taken care of and their college trusts have been funded in full for some time. There are advantages to being rich, and we are. That is, we were. I still am, but you are no longer my beneficiary. I have cancelled all of our joint accounts but the money I am giving you will be enough to take care of expenses, all requirements for food and clothing and medical expenses, but there will be no largesse. If you want money for yourself or your future lovers, you will have to earn it."

Reese paused again to see if Roz was listening. He wasn't prepared for the look of total defeat on her face. He expected crying, screaming and begging but she was simply quiet and sad. It was no longer as much fun as he thought it was going to be to punish her, but he was going to finish it. It had to be done.

"I hope you won't contest this divorce. I expect you to sign the papers changing the beneficiary rights but you should get yourself a lawyer to protect your other assets. I will not hesitate to fight dirty if you try to contest. I have all of the dirt on your affair and I'll make it public and will use it in court. It's up to you. Talk to the girls if you want."

"Once I leave, I have no intention of ever discussing this with you again. This is the last time you and I will sit together and talk as husband and wife. Until further notice, all communication will be through our lawyers. I'll talk to the girls by myself and I won't tell them anything about your infidelity. That is up to you. I'll tell them that we simply grew apart and chose to separate. That's all they'll hear from me."

"I'm moving out tonight and I will send for my things later. I'll let you know where to send stuff and I will let the girls know as well."

Roz listened to all of this without a word. She was deeply shocked to see the depths of cruelty that she had forced on Reese. He had destroyed her in every way imaginable. Physically, emotionally and professionally. He had taken everything of importance from her except their children. He understood very well how to hurt her in ways that were the most painful.

She had tears to shed, but that would come later. She had no words of anger: they weren't justified. She had no excuses: they were all inadequate. In spite of what he was doing, she had nothing but love for Reese and all she was losing, but she understood that it was not enough now. It was, however, all she had left to hold on to.

It seemed that he had finished. He was done, now that he had destroyed her world. She had to let him know how she felt. It was important to her, even if it made no difference. 

"This is your choice Reese, and I understand why you have to hurt me. I am sorry I pushed you into doing something so unlike you. I appreciate you not telling the girls but they have to know the truth, so I'll tell them myself. I don't want your money since it obviously never made me happy. I don't care about the house since it also wasn't enough, but it is important to the girls. It should be clear to you that these things were never an issue: I had them and it made no difference. Maybe that's why you're giving them to me."

Roz rose to walk about the den. She was calm now: the end had come and she would survive it. Somehow. 

"I wish you hadn't needed to punish Ted but I understand your need to do so. I guess you're right. He knew I was married but I guess a free piece of ass was not something he was going to pass up. He forgot while I was behaving like a cheap slut to him, I was your wife and in your eyes he took something he wasn't entitled to. I know that now. Ted was just another casualty of my need for something I didn't understand."

"It may seem strange to hear me say this, but I do know what I did wrong. I forgot my pledge to you 17 years ago. I said it then and I meant it. Regardless of my issues, I should never have broken those vows. How I forgot it is something that I still don't understand. What you have given me over those 17 years is precious to me and I will cherish it forever, even if you are gone. I still have the girls to remind me of what we had and what we shared."

"I make only one promise to you. If you ever find it in your heart to forgive me, I will be here waiting. There will never be anyone else for me. You can say whatever you wish but this is my choice and I have made it. It makes no difference to me whether you believe it or not. It is my promise to myself as well and I will honor it, more than I honored our marriage." 

Roz looked for the last time at Reese, sitting in his chair in his den: the den that he had occupied for the last 12 years. She knew that it was going to be hard on him to leave this place regardless of what he said about it not being his home now. They had made love one night in this room: she could remember it so clearly now. It had been a joyful coming together after a wonderful night out with friends. That's all it was, just them enjoying each other. She remembered it now, too late. That joy they shared. The joy she had for him and their family. It was all the world to her then. Where had it gone? How had she let it slip away from her for that brief time? 

As these thoughts came flooding in, Roz turned and fled the room, tears pouring out of eyes squeezed shut in pain. She had promised herself that she would wait until Reese had left but it had begun, so soon. It was not fair that she had to pay this horrible of a price for a mistake.

Time passed and the divorce became final. True to his word, Reese had not spoken to her during that time, although he had spent a lot of time with the girls at his new place and out for dinner or school functions. Reese made sure they never met and scheduled events so that only one or the other was there. Jacey and Jada told her what they did and how he looked but he had made it clear to them that he wasn't interested in anything about her. That's the way he wanted it. 

When Roz told the girls what had happened and how she had been unfaithful to their father, they were angry and resentful for a long time. They blamed her for destroying their family, but with Reese patiently talking to them and Roz apologizing and trying to explain to them what had happened, they slowly came to forgive her and life got back to some degree of normal. 

Once the divorce was final, Reese told the girls that he was buying a small plane and intended to travel. He had had his pilot's license for some time but rarely got to use it. Now that he was retired and divorced, he intended to make the most of it. Jacey told Roz one evening after returning from a visit to Reese's place that he was leaving the next day and planned to be gone for some time. He promised to call every night and tell the girls where he had been. The girls weren't upset since they had their own lives now and didn't need to visit with either of their parents much. They were growing up. Jacey was now 16 and Jada had just turned 14.



Delights in Time Ch. 03



Roz goes downhill and the girls ask Reese to come home but things take a turn for the worse. Problems with both Roz and Reese come to a head.

Thanks to Angel Love for her comments, suggestions and editing. She is an inspiration for me.

Part 3

Roz settled into a routine, taking care of the girls, running the house and making sure everything was in order and attending the Church she and Reese were married in. That was pretty much her life now. At first, she tried to get back to some sense of a normal life but she couldn't stop the pain in her heart from growing. It was ironic: she had destroyed her perfect life trying to find what was missing from her perfect life. Now that she had driven Reese away, she found his absence was creating a hole that couldn't be filled. She realized that now something truly was missing from her life. With Reese gone, her life was a shambles and she no longer cared. She stopped socializing with the people she once shared so much with. 

Sabrina and Paul had finally divorced. She had been quite active in the social scene and always tried to get Roz to join her, but Roz wanted no part of it and made that clear to Sabrina. She blamed Sabrina in part for agreeing to sell her shares to Reese without telling her, even though she understood why she did it. Their relationship slid just like everything else in Roz's life now. She also quit the counseling sessions but promised to continue to take the Zoloft. She went back occasionally only to renew the prescriptions. 

As time passed, it was clear to the two girls that their mother was falling more and more into a dark depression. She did nothing wrong as a mother and homemaker. She always had dinner ready for them after school, she had clean clothes in their closets and all of the routine duties were meticulously completed, but she made no effort to do anything else. When they had school functions, she would drive them to and from but never attended and if they needed an adult, she called Sabrina and insisted she fill in for her. 

She showed no interest in any of their activities and made no objection if they wanted to have a pool party or barbecue with their friends so long as they made all of the plans and arrangements. She was there and made sure nothing bad happened but she did not mingle or talk to their friends while they were there. Any attempt to include her were soundly rebuffed. She rarely left the house anymore except to do some shopping and an occasional trip into town to 'visit friends'. These trips were infrequent and were normally made later in the evening. Other than these few things, Roz was slowly withdrawing from everyone.

At the urging of Jacey and Jada, the minister of their church came to the home to talk with Roz. He was a young man and very personable. He liked the girls and most of their friends and knew they were good kids, never in trouble. He couldn't understand why they were worried about their mother since they obviously came from a loving home. But he agreed to visit as part of his outreach programs. Jacey led Reverend Parker into the den where Roz was sitting, listening to music but otherwise just sitting silently. Her face was slack and her eyes were unfocused, temporarily frightening the Reverend. He looked at her for a moment before softly speaking.

"Ms. Delgorio, it's Reverend Parker. May I talk with you for a while?"

Roz flinched as he began to speak and some life came into her face. She turned to see him standing there. She rose and faced him as Jacey left the room.

"I'm sorry Reverend. Welcome to my home. Did you say something?" 

"I asked if I could speak to you for a while. You daughters invited me over. They are worried about you. May I sit down?"

"Of course, please have a seat, but there is nothing to worry about. I'm fine, really. What did you want to talk about?"

Roz sat back down and seemed to wait for the Reverend to speak. She made no effort to be polite, instead looking almost resigned to this interruption in her world.

"I just wanted to see how you were and if I could be of any help. Is there something bothering you?"

She looked at him with an expression of what appeared to be pity. She smiled briefly before she answered him.

"Nothing that you can help me with. I made a very bad mistake and betrayed my husband and now I have to live with that. Unless you can change that, there is nothing anyone can do."

With that, Roz turned away and again looked at something only she could see. She simply seemed to go away and that scared Reverend Parker more than anything else. He made several more attempts to talk to her but her responses were either abrupt or she simply ignored him until he finally gave up. He left the den and went into the kitchen where the girls were patiently waiting.

"I'm afraid I can't help your mother. I think she needs professional help. If you would like, I can recommend someone. Are you girls all right here? Do you need anyone to come in to help you?"

"Mom's fine about everything else. She's never neglected us. She does everything around the house: she fixes our meals, she does our clothes, she keeps the schedules and appointments but she won't talk to us and doesn't seem to care what we do. She won't let us have wild parties or anything like that but she won't talk to our friends when they're here. We don't know what to do."

"I would talk to your dad first. See if he can help you. They may be divorced but I'm sure he cares about you. Let him know what's going on and that you're worried and frightened. I think you should call him as soon as you can. I am worried about your mother."

He stayed for a short time just calming them down before leaving. He'd let it go for a while longer but something had to be done and done soon. He made them promise to talk with their dad and then to let him know what they decided. He left with a heavy heart, fearing things might not get better. 

When Reese called that evening, Jacey and Jada both told him what was going on with Roz. They finally made it clear to him that they were scared for her and they were afraid that something bad was going to happen. They cried at first when he said he didn't want to get involved and finally convinced him to come back as soon as he could. They wanted him to come right away but he said that it would be a week or so before he could. He would let them know for sure later. They had to be content with that. He finally told them to tell Roz that he would come for dinner the Tuesday after next. Maybe that would cheer her up. They agreed immediately and made final arrangements.

The girls discussed it between themselves and decided to tell Roz the next morning before leaving for school. They hoped that it would help boost her spirits if she had something to look forward to. A family dinner should get her moving. They went to sleep feeling better about everything. If dad could help mom, they would be grateful. Dad was the fixer in the family. He could fix this.

As planned, the next morning at breakfast, Jada waited until Roz sat down with her usual cup of coffee for breakfast. "Mom, we have some good news. Dad's coming home to have dinner with all of us next Tuesday. He wanted to know if that was OK?"

The change in Roz was immediate and unmistakable. She stopped with the cup halfway to her mouth as she turned to look at Jada with her brow wrinkled in confusion. She put the cup down carefully as she asked Jada to repeat what she had just said.

"I said, Dad wants to know if it's OK for him to come have dinner with all of us next Tuesday. Is it OK?"

Roz paused for a minute as she considered her daughter. She seemed to be trying to determine whether Jada was playing a trick on her. When it became clear that Jada was waiting for an answer, Roz understood that this was real.

"Of course it's OK. Did he call you last night? Is that when he mentioned dinner? What else did he say? I should talk to him if he calls again tonight. Will you let me know when he calls?"

"He said he would call you tonight instead of us. He'll call on our regular phone, not the one for Jacey and me." 

Jada glanced at Jacey with a smile as if to say, "Told you."

"Well then, that will be fine. I'll talk to him then and see what his plans are. Now, you girls should get ready for the bus. You don't want to be late."

Since the girls got themselves off to school every morning without Roz even noticing, they thought her comment a positive one. They both left with smiles on their faces and hope that their mother would be all right again.

Roz couldn't get her mind around it. Reese was coming home? He was coming to dinner? She hadn't seen or talked with him for several years and now he was coming to dinner. Jada said he was going to call tonight. He was going to talk to her, not the girls. As she thought about seeing and talking to him again, her heart began to pound and she had to sit down before her legs gave way. Could this be the beginning of the end of her torment? Could he have forgiven her? Maybe they could at least be friends again. That was worth anything. She still loved him completely but she accepted that he would never again be her lover and husband. Friends was all she could hope for and it was enough: she could live with that.

Roz got up and wandered through the house looking around. It was a mess. She had to clean it. She had to make things perfect. Like her life before she ruined it. Stop! Stop thinking like that! He was coming home so stop this and make things right. She began to gather the things she would need and began making the house perfect.

When the girls came home, they were surprised to find dinner on the stove, the smells coming from the various pots and pans delicious and inviting. The table was set but Roz was nowhere to be found. They put their books and packs away and went to their rooms to change but stopped when they heard singing coming from their mother's room. They tiptoed down the hall and peeked in to see Roz sitting at her vanity combing her hair. She had put makeup on for the first time in a long time and her hair was shining with a fresh washing and curling. She looked like another person. They ran back to their room smiling and giggling. It seemed that their mom was back.

Dinner was altogether different but pleasant. Instead of just dishing out their plates and then going into the den, she joined them. She served a delicious meal of baked chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans and bacon, fresh baked biscuits and a fresh fruit salad. They enjoyed the meal as well as conversation: Roz asking about their day, their activities and their plans. It was as it used to be, before dad left. Jada and Jacey shared looks that said their plan had succeeded far beyond their expectations. It was the first really fun meal they had since longer than they could remember. 

Since it was a Tuesday night, the girls had a regularly scheduled meeting of one of their many clubs so Roz agreed to drive them and pick them up. Recently, her normal reaction was to let someone else do the driving so the girls told her that they had already scheduled rides. Roz was surprised but then quickly understood that she had not been an active part of their lives for some time and apologized to Jacey and then to Jada for her seemingly antipathy. She felt tears come to her eyes but the girls quickly told her that they would rather go with her and they could call to cancel their rides. That seemed to please Roz and she happily cleaned the table while they got ready. 

With the girls gone to their meeting and the house cleaned top to bottom at least twice, Roz nervously waited for the phone call from Reese. For the first time, she wondered where he was and how he was living. She was surprised to realize she knew nothing about his activities over the past two years. She stopped asking the girls when her depression became severe and she had not tried to find out. The girls had stopped talking about him when it was clear that it just upset Roz to hear anything about him. Thus it was that she waited for a call from a man that she hadn't spoken to in several years, a man that used to be her husband and who was living somewhere else and perhaps with someone else. She decided to take one of her pills to calm herself down. She hadn't taken anything since the girls told her about Reese.

At just after 8:00, the phone rang and Roz froze. She couldn't move for the first two rings but finally found the courage to pick up the receiver. 

"Hello?"

"Hello Roz. It's Reese. How've you been?"

"Hello Reese. I've been OK. It's good to hear from you. How are you and where in the world are you. I guess I lost track."

"Well, I'm fine and I'm currently in Costa Rica, in San Jose'. I've been here for the last eight months or so and I have to tell you, I love it here. I'm staying with a couple from the states that I met. He's retired and they moved here about three years ago. It's really great. I think you would love it."

"I don't know about that. I was never one for roughing it. I always liked the creature comforts as you know."

"Well, anyway. I am going to fly back to the states, leaving here Friday and I should be back in Springfield by Sunday evening. The girls said it would be OK if I came for dinner and we could talk? Is that still OK?"

Roz paused as her heart was beating so hard that it made her uncomfortable. She was waiting for the pill to kick in and calm her down. Maybe another one. 

"Of course. I would love to have you come to dinner and so would the girls. Can you come Monday evening? I know the girls have things on Tuesday and Wednesday so Monday or Thursday would be fine. Whichever is best for you. I have no plans so I'm open."

"Monday would be perfect. I'll call in the afternoon to confirm and to find out what time to come. Should I bring anything?"

"No, just come as you are. You might plan on about 6:30. We usually eat about that time."

"Good. It's set then. It will be good to see you again Roz. It's been too long."

"I would love to see you again too. Goodbye, Reese."

Roz hung up quickly before she could say something stupid. She thought she had done well just to keep it together. His voice sounded so good, like nothing had changed. Of course she heard his voice in her dreams all the time. She saw his face everywhere and she still found herself expecting him home at dinner time. Even after all of this time, she hadn't accepted the loss of her husband, her friend and her lover. 

For her, the past years had been a constant reminder of her stupidity, her greed and her shame. She continued in her depression even with the damn pills. They made her so tired that she had to find something else to ease the pain without driving her to bed. She had made a connection with one of the delivery guys and he had put her on to a source for oxycontin, a pain pill. She found that one or two of those in the evenings when things were so bad put her at ease and made sleep welcome. She had read up on them and found that they weren't physically addictive but she had to be careful with the dosage so that she would not have withdrawal symptoms from the psychological addiction. Once in a while, when things got too bad, she took both the oxycontin and the Zoloft. That really put her into the zone. No problems then!

The phone call lifted her spirits and she began to make plans. She wanted everything to be perfect and she began to plan the dinner. This is what she did well and it was second nature to her so the pills didn't affect her as she began. She worked solidly for the next two hours until it was time to pick up the girls. She answered all of their questions about the phone call from Reese. She pretended to be calm but they knew better and they teased her unmercifully. She welcomed the feeling of really connecting with her girls. They had a fun evening of girl talk and plans. It had been almost a year for the girls as well so they were excited to see him again.

Over the next several days, Roz put everything together, making several trips into town to pick up the odds and ends that she found she couldn't do without. She filled the days with preparations, just as she used to do for her business, but this was far more important to her than business. She had the menu for dinner, she had candles, the house was spotless, and the wines were selected. The girls would each have a glass: she had promised them. Dessert would be a choice of chocolate cake or fruit with whipped cream. To be certain that everything was perfect, she arranged for everything to be delivered to the house by 5:00 Monday evening. She had decided at the last minute to have everything prepared by the best kitchen in town and used her contacts to make arrangements. She was taking no chances. Now she had only to wait.

Roz made sure she had worked her way down on all of her pills so that Sunday she had taken nothing. She was so high with anticipation that she felt no need for anything. She was happier than she had been for over a year. She was anxious to see and talk to Reese. They had said so little to each other before the divorce and nothing since. She had so much to say and so many things to apologize for that she had been practicing in front of her mirror for days. She felt scared but ready. She wanted him back in her life, even as just a friend. She had hope for the first time in so long.

Monday arrived and she was nervous but ready. The girls went off to school and Roz made final preparations. The wines were chilling, the table was set, the china was clean and the silver polished. She had to admit, it looked wonderful. She waited.

At 4:00 the girls got home from school and went up to finish their homework so as to be free the rest of the evening. Roz helped them pick out clothes for dinner and she asked their opinion of her choice. They had suggestions and she accepted most of them. They waited.

At 5:00, the food came and Roz went over everything with the deliveryman to be sure things were as ordered. Once satisfied, she took the entrees into the kitchen and put them in the oven on warm. She made sure all the sides were transferred to the good serving dishes and the desserts were in the fridge. She made a final check and was ready. She went in to be with the girls and they waited.

At 5:45, she went in to the dining room to light the candles and make a final check of the settings. Everything was right, and the table looked perfect. She lowered the lighting to allow the candles to show and went back to be with the girls. They waited.

At 7:00, they all were becoming concerned. Reese hadn't called to confirm and they couldn't understand why he wasn't there. He said 6:30 and he was never late for anything. And anyway, he hadn't called. They waited.

Finally, at 7:30, Roz called the number she had for the local airport. She thought Reese had said he used that airport to fly in and out of when he was learning to fly. Maybe they had some information or could tell her who to call. She was finally connected to a Mr. Phillips, one of Reese's original instructors. She explained the situation and Phillips told her he would make some calls and get back to her. She thanked him and hung up. They waited.

Forty five minutes later, he called back. The news was not good.

"Rosalind, it's John Phillips. I called the FAA and got some information. It seems Reese left Costa Rica early Friday morning and he was scheduled to land in Tegucigalpa Honduras, before continuing on to Belize and then to Mexico. There is no record of his landing at any of those destinations Friday or Saturday. The word was passed on to begin searching for him but they wanted to wait to be sure he didn't land somewhere else. He wasn't required to file a detailed flight plan since he was flying in sight most of the way. I'll stay on it and keep you informed. I think it's far too early to be worried, so please be calm. OK?"




Delights in Time Ch. 03



"Thanks John and please call as soon as you know anything."

Roz hung up and told the girls of the conversation with John Phillips. They all tried to remain calm but it was difficult. Since it was early, Roz decided to go ahead and eat and try to stay on plan. Maybe the routine would be good for them all. 

Dinner was quiet even though they tried to stay positive. No one ate much and the wonderful dinner went pretty much to waste. No one wanted dessert and the wine wasn't opened. Roz finally decided that they had to talk about it so she began.

"You know your dad. He's tough, a great pilot and if he had problems, he'll be able to fix them. Just trust him. OK?"

"Mom, he's late. He's never late. If he was going to be late, he would've called us. You know that. He's in trouble somewhere."

"He didn't call because he's somewhere he can't get to a phone or his cell is out of range. Just be patient. He'll come home."

He has to, Roz thought to herself. This can't be the end. He called me, damn it! He was coming back to me. I won't accept anything bad. He'll be here.

"Let's not think bad things. Just wait. And be patient."

With that, they all went their separate ways to wonder and worry in their own ways. There were no further phone calls that evening so they finally went to bed to wait till tomorrow. They would have more news then.

The following morning, Roz called John again and asked him for an update. He told her that they had air patrols out looking and that Reese had landed in Honduras as scheduled and took off an hour later. He wasn't reported being seen in Belize and no one had reported in anyplace else on his flight path. He was officially reported as missing now and the authorities were on it. John told her to be patient. If he had crash landed, the plane he was flying was a good one and had a good safety record. He may have been grounded for many reasons and in a place where he couldn't call. They just had to wait till he was spotted. 

Roz hung up with a bad feeling. The girls were right. Reese would have found a way to call if he were able. He was lost! That was official now. She needed a pill, now!

Nothing was heard from the searchers for the next three days. They had cut back on the number of search flights and bad weather made it next to impossible for anyone on the ground to be of any help. It was late Friday night when they began to believe the worst case scenario was no longer just a scenario. It was real. Reese was dead and not coming home. 

The house was a quiet and somber place that weekend. The girls worried of course, but they saw the rapid slide in Roz, back to where she had been for so long. They tried talking to her and asking her for her help but it was no use. She had retreated back into her shell. She was gone from them, again. Reese was their last hope and he was not coming home. As she disappeared more and more into her shell, the girls lost what hope they had. The following Monday, they returned to school, not knowing what else to do. Roz never noticed.

It was Wednesday night, the girls had just gotten home from school and there was no dinner on the table when they came in; no sounds from the house. They thought Roz was out visiting one of her friends. Jacey started a light supper for them all and told Jada to get changed and do her homework. She would finish dinner and let it stay on warm till they were ready and Roz returned.

Jacey had her room at the back of the house, looking out on the lake. She picked it because of the view. It was all the way back, and she had to pass her mother's room on the way. As Jacey walked toward her room, she glanced in to see if her mom's bed was made. She never made the bed if she had been in one of her 'napping' moods. Her depression often drove her to stay in bed for hours during the day. Jacey saw that the bed was unmade and continued walking but brought herself up short! Was that her mom on the floor? She wasn't sure so she reversed her steps and looked in. 

It was her mom and she was fully dressed and laying on the floor next to the bed! Jacey ran to her and looked to see if she was breathing. She was, but slowly. Jacey felt her pulse: thin and very slow. As Jacey rose to call 911, she saw a small bottle in her mother's hand and grabbed it to read the label. 'Oxycontin'. It was empty. She went to the phone on the bedside table to call and noticed another empty pill bottle and an almost empty bottle of gin. She knew what had happened! Her mother had taken pills and alcohol, trying to kill herself! Her depression had gotten to her. 

Jacey got the 911 operator and told her to have an ambulance get there as soon as possible. The operator asked her what the problem was and she told her, even mentioning the pills she thought her mom had taken. No, she didn't know how many. No, her mother was never prescribed Oxycontin. Yes, she had been drinking. As she answered her questions, she heard the sirens of the ambulance in the distance. Without realizing it, Jacey had been talking to the operator for several minutes. Long enough for the word to get out and an ambulance on its way.

As Jacey was talking on her mother's phone, she heard the other line ring and yelled at Jada to take that call. It was their line. It could be something about their father since this line was tied up, and she couldn't stop to tell Jada what had happened. She could only wait for the ambulance. As she answered yet another question from the 911 operator, Jada flew into the room, yelling at Jacey to come quick.

"They found Dad! He's OK and they found him. They . . . "

Jada suddenly stopped talking as she saw her mother laying on the floor. Her hand flew to her mouth and her eyes got as big as saucers. She dropped to her knees beside Jacey.

"What's wrong with Mom? What happened? Did she fall? Jacey, what's wrong?"

Jacey quickly filled her in on the phone call to 911 and asked her to repeat what she said about their dad. Jada was silent for a minute, but finally got out that it was John on the phone and they found Reese. His plane had developed engine problems and he had made a forced landing in a remote part of Belize. He had to walk for almost seven days, living on berries, wild bananas and drinking water from the streams. Fortunately, he knew what he could and couldn't eat and he was fine. Dirty and tired, but fine. 

He wanted to call immediately but they had no phones where he was found. It took another day and a half to get to someplace where he could call. The message was passed to the FAA and finally to John. John said that Reese should be back in the states by now and hopefully he would be back in Springfield by tonight. He would call with more information as soon as he had any.

Just then, the paramedics came running up the stairs with a stretcher and their kits. They quickly pushed Jacey and Jada aside and began life saving actions on Roz. They were silent for several minutes before one of them spoke.

"I have a pulse! I have a pulse, thin and thready but there. She's still breathing, but she'll need to be intubated. Give me that ET. Thanks! There! I'm in. OK, bag her! Good breath sounds! Her color's coming back. Stronger pulse now. OK, she's ready for transport."

The man and woman lifted Roz with ease and placed her on the stretcher. They lifted and were out the door and half way down the stairs before the girls were able to pull themselves together. They followed the team to the ambulance and waited as they put Roz inside. As the woman made ready to shut the door, Jacey stopped her.

"I'm going with you. She's my mother and I'm going." 

She turned to Jada and told her to call Sabrina and tell her to come over and pick her up and then to come on to the hospital. As she stepped up into the ambulance, she continued, 

"I have my cell phone but you should call John. Go! Call aunt Sabrina!"

With that, the door closed, the ambulance left in a squeal of rubber and Jada was left standing there, alone and frightened. She went back in the house to call Sabrina first and then John Phillips. Sabrina told her to sit tight and she was on her way. John was concerned as well, but asked her for the information about the hospital and promised to keep her informed. He ended by wishing her good luck. 

At the hospital, the emergency room attending took the information from the Paramedics and from Jacey and moved quickly to have Roz's stomach pumped. He also took immediate actions via IVs to counteract the depressive effects of the pills in Roz's system. Within just a few minutes, Roz was breathing better and her pulse had strengthened but the doctor chose to put her on a respirator. While she was still in serious condition, her vitals were stabilized. The doctor came out to pass the good news on to Jacey, with a warning that they still didn't know about any permanent damage. That would take a few more hours to confirm. They could only wait.

Jacey called Jada and gave her what information she had and Jada confirmed that she had contacted John Phillips and Sabrina and they would be at the hospital as soon as they could. Jacey tried to have Jada stay at home, but she wouldn't listen. She was coming, and that was that!

In the meantime, Reese had just landed in Dallas, Tx., getting ready to connect to a flight to Springfield. He had not been informed of Roz's condition and he was still looking forward to seeing Roz and the girls again. He had time to think while he was trying to survive in the jungles of Belize and he realized what he was missing by his ill conceived travel. He finally understood that all he was doing was trying to run away from the pain of Roz's betrayal. He had never tried to understand what drove her to do what she did and he never gave her a chance to tell him what she was feeling and why she did it. She never blamed him for anything, including walking away from their marriage and later from their girls. He still couldn't understand that. How could he leave his two girls for over a year at this time in their lives?

As he waited in the departure lounge for his flight, his new, disposable cell phone rang. It was John Phillips. In just a few words, he told Reese what had happened to Roz and gave him all of the information he had. He gave Reese Jada's cell phone number and let him know that he was available to help when Reese got into Springfield. Reese thanked him and told him he would hold him to that. He hung up and paced the lounge, waiting. He decided against calling Jada from there since there was nothing he could say or do to make a difference from here. He waited.

At the hospital, Roz's condition improved from serious to fair and the doctors began to be more positive in their assessments of her prognosis. Jacey and Jada were sent home with Sabrina to rest and get something to eat and finally to get some sleep. Roz was not likely to wake much before the next day so there was little they could do. 

John Phillips called to let them know that Reese would be home by 10:30 that evening and he would probably go straight to the hospital. Jacey called to give his name to the hospital staff so that he would be allowed in. She decided to stay at home and give their father time alone with their mother. She was hopeful, but could only wait and see.

Reese arrived at the hospital just after 11:00 and was told to wait for one of the doctors. He sat down in the lounge, realizing finally that he was exhausted and hadn't eaten or slept for over thirty hours. He found himself beginning to drift as the quiet surrounded him. He was almost asleep when the doctor on call shook him awake.

"Are you Reese Delgorio, husband of Rosalind Delgorio?"

"Yes, I'm Reese and I'm the ex. How is she? Is she going to be all right?"

"She's stable and her condition is fair right now. We have your name from your daughter so I can give you all of the information we have. She is stable, her vitals are strong and she seems to have recovered from the worst of the effects of her overdose. She took Oxycontin, Zoloft and alcohol. It was intentional from what your daughter said and she fully intended to cause herself harm."

The doctor paused to allow Reese time to assimilate what he had already told him. He continued,

"Your daughter found her very soon after she had swallowed the pills so the paramedics put her on assisted breathing very quickly. We hope that the quick action by everyone minimized what could have been a very serious situation. We can only wait and see if there was any permanent brain damage from lack of oxygen. We should know in a few more hours."

"What if she doesn't wake up soon? Would that mean anything?"

"Not necessarily. She may stay asleep for several more hours or several more days. There is no set time for this kind of thing. She should wake tomorrow, but perhaps not. We just have to wait."

"Thank you. May I see her? I just got back to the states tonight and I haven't seen her for over two years."

"Of course. I'll have one of the nurses take you in. You can only stay a few minutes."

He left and within a few minutes, a nurse appeared, beckoning him to follow her. She led him down the hall to a room with the wall facing the corridor, all glass. He could clearly see the bed and the equipment from the hall but was unprepared for the site of Roz laying in the bed as he stepped into the room. The nurse told him to stay only a few minutes and left.

Reese saw Roz, or at least her face. She was laying motionless, tubes running in through her mouth to help her breath, IV lines dripping into her arm, a plastic monitor clip on her still hand indicating her pulse and lines going under the blankets to measure her heartbeat. As he moved closer, he saw her more clearly, her face a pasty white, her lips dry and cracked, her hair tangled and dirty and no motion at all. If he hadn't seen the monitors with their blue and red numbers flashing and the repeating graph of her heartbeat, he would have thought her dead. The mechanical repetition of the ventilator and the electronic beeping of the monitors were the only sounds in the room.

The shock of seeing her this way was almost too much. Reese stumbled back until he felt a chair behind him and sat down heavily. At that moment, he realized that this was the woman he had loved for the last twenty years and the mother of the two most precious things in his world. It took a plane crash in a country that most people had never heard of and seeing her like this so close to death to remind him of what he had walked away from. It reminded him of how short life could be and how little fate cared for the mistakes of mortal man. 

Reese was still sitting there when the nurse came in to lead him out. She seemed to understand the shock he experienced and she made no attempt to talk to him or to give him false cheer. She led him back to the lounge where he finally began to function again. He knew that he should go home to see the girls and to make sure they were OK. Actually, it was no longer his home but his girls were there. He called for a cab and let it take him back to the house on the lake that he had walked out of two years ago. 

Even though it was after midnight, the house was ablaze with lights. The cab let him out and he walked slowly up to the front door. Just as he was ready to ring the bell, the door burst open and his oldest daughter ran into his arms. He held her there in the doorway as they both began to cry. It felt good to let go and to have someone who understood perfectly what the other felt. They just held each other until the sobs and shudders subsided.

Reese spent the rest of the evening with his two daughters and his ex sister Sabrina. The mood was quiet and depressed but lightened somewhat by his miraculous escape from his plane going down in the jungles of Belize. He was forced to relate most of the seven days he spent trying to find his way back to civilization and the girls hung on every word. It was enough to take their minds off of their mother, laying in the hospital. They finally fell asleep on the couch, curling up together. 

Reese and Sabrina talked for a while in the kitchen. 

"Were you aware of Roz's abuse of pain killers? It appears she had a prescription for the antidepressants but the pain pills were prescribed by a doctor I never heard of and her name wasn't the one on the bottle. The girls never told me of a problem when I called."

"Honestly Reese, I had no idea. After I sold the shares to you and you finally walked out on her, Roz and I sort of drifted apart. I know she blamed me for the loss of the business and, anyway, Paul and I weren't in a good place. I guess I sort of let our relationship slide. We drifted apart and the only time she called was when she needed someone to go someplace with the girls. She hasn't been out socially since the divorce."

"That's what the girls said too. I didn't know. Of course, I never talked to her at all so I wouldn't have known anything. By the way, sorry about your divorce. You guys couldn't make it work, huh?"

"No. Too much shit between us. We still see each other occasionally but only as friends. Nothing more now or ever again."

Sabrina looked at Reese with a calculated look. She decided to put it to him to see what his plans were. Now that she was here, she was worried about Roz's future health, not just this latest collapse.

"Reese, what are you going to do now? You are here and you know Roz is going to be very fragile for a long time. Are you planning on staying around or are you going to disappear again? If you are, it might be best if you don't stay till she wakes up."

"I'm staying. It took a lot to break through this wall I built around myself. I had taken myself out of circulation just as much as Roz. I didn't stay in the house, but I never let anyone else in either. I was just running as far and as fast as I could. Running away from the pain she caused me. I didn't have the courage to stay and try to put my life back together again. I never allowed her to say the things she needed to say to move forward. I just dumped it all on her and I took the high road and I walked out to salve my own wounds. I never even thought much about my own children, leaving them as well for the last year. Oh, I called. I did use a phone now and then but that's not giving much of myself. I just let them take care of the mess I left behind."

Reese stopped for a moment to collect himself. It was hard, saying these things. He had endured a week of misery with time to think about nothing else. It was true what they say: when you are in danger of dying, your life passes in front of you. Sometimes the things you see are painful. Especially when you realize that you put yourself first and your family second. When you realized you turned your back on another human being in pain. When you realized you behaved as if you had never done anything wrong and were free to condemn another who did. When you realized you could simply discard someone who had given you seventeen years of their life and two wonderful children because of a mistake. 

"No, Sabrina. I intend to stay here and try to make up for the pain I caused by leaving. I know that Roz was at fault in destroying our marriage, but she wasn't the one that left everything behind. I did that. She accepted the blame for it and wanted to make it right. All she asked was forgiveness. All I gave her was coldness and a callous disregard for her pain. I took the moral high road without regard for the life I was leaving for her and my children. I gave them the material things but took myself out of the picture. I put them aside in favor of my pride."

Sabrina listened with a growing feeling of hope. If Reese could forgive Roz, it would make little difference to Roz what Reese did from then on. She would simply be content to know that he had forgiven her and that he would be there for the girls as their father. That was enough for Roz. She had never forgiven herself but if Reese could forgive her, she could possibly do the same. 




Delights in Time Ch. 03



"Well, I'll stay tonight and we can decide tomorrow what to do about the girls and school and all the other day to day crap that we still have to live with. I'll take the spare room so you can have the big bed. You probably need a real bed to sleep in after what you've been through."

"A bed would feel great. I don't think I've slept in the last two days. But I'll stay in the den like I used to so often. I'll be fine there and I think the master bedroom is still a mess from the paramedics."

They parted and both went to a fitful sleep. Reese had more trouble than he expected partly because he was so exhausted that he was beyond sleep. He did finally get a few hours but was already awake when the girls came in to wake him. They brought coffee and he was grateful for the caffeine and the company. He had missed his girls so much and he finally took the time to see them as they were now. They changed so much at this age that the almost two years he had been away made a tremendous difference. They were beautiful women now, not the little girls he had left behind.

They all gathered at the kitchen table where Sabrina made a huge breakfast of eggs, ham and hash browns. Reese was surprised at how much he put away. He hadn't had a really good meal now for over a month. Everything tasted wonderful. Sabrina and the girls watched in amusement as he shoveled food in his face. He grinned as he enjoyed. 

It was finally time that they could go to the hospital. Reese got the car from the garage and he and the girls all went in together. Sabrina stayed behind to clean up and then follow them. She had hopes that things would begin to change. She crossed her fingers and said a small prayer.

At the hospital, they were told to wait for the doctor before being admitted to ICU. Reese sat with the girls and tried to keep them calm until the doctor finally arrived. He was a young man that they hadn't seen before and he sat down with them for a consult. He told them first that Roz was not awake yet but that all signs were that she would wake soon. Her vitals were strong and her physical condition was satisfactory. They had taken her off the respirator last night and she was breathing fine on her own. That was a good sign. He was there primarily as a psych consult and he wanted to ask some questions. Reese suggested that the girls be taken to the room while he and the doctor talked. 

When the girls were gone, Reese gave the doctor the background on the divorce, his leaving and the intervening years. He was blunt and held nothing back. They talked for about 20 minutes before the doctor was satisfied. He seemed to have all he needed and he rose to leave. He looked down at Reese and spoke.

"There is one thing that you have to do right now before you go into your.., her, room. You have to decide whether you are going to be here for her or not. If not, I would advise you to walk away now and let her find her own way back. If you intend to leave again as you did before, know that it would almost certainly result in this happening a second time and the next time she will probably be successful. The choice is yours."

With that he turned and walked away. Reese watched him go with clamped jaw and clenched fists. It was anger he felt and he wondered at himself. Why would he be angry? He knew that Roz loved him and had always loved him. She had hurt him deeply and she had done so deliberately but it was he that had struck the deepest wounds. She had no defense against what he did to her. She was already feeling guilt and remorse and he then destroyed her in every way he could. Coldly, cruelly and deliberately. He was no better than she and in some ways, worse. So why was he angry that people expected that he might walk away again?

He relaxed his jaw and unclenched his fists. They were right. He had his pound of flesh once and that was enough. They wouldn't become husband and wife again, and most probably they wouldn't become lovers again. But they were the parents of two wonderful girls that needed them and that was a start. They could become friends eventually. He finally relaxed and let the relief of making a decision wash over him. He stood and walked to Roz's room.

She was still unconscious when he entered the room. Sabrina and Jada were there, Jacey probably off talking with one of the nurses. She looked little different than she had the night before. He moved toward the bed and stood watching her face. She looked strange, without the light that he remembered always around her eyes, even when she was sad or angry. The life that was always there. Now, it seemed to be absent. He raised his eyes to Sabrina and then to Jada. Without speaking, they both rose and left, leaving him alone with Roz. He took a chair beside her bed and sat watching her. He noticed her hand, laying along side her body and reached for it without thinking. He took it and was surprised by how warm it seemed when she looked so cold. He kept it in his as he sat back. 

He was dozing, remembering the heat and the insects and the bone crushing weariness as he struggled to find his way out of the jungles of Belize from where he crashed his plane. It had been a fuel line blockage that brought him down, fortunately giving him time to loose altitude and speed so that when he did come down, it was in some semblance of control. He could feel the whip of the branches across the canopy as he slid to a stop. He remembered the relief when he found he was still alive and in one piece. He began walking, following the sun toward what he knew to be a small town somewhere in the distance. He was just beginning his trek when he felt someone watching him. He looked around in fear and the jolt brought him awake and back to the hospital room. He opened his eyes to see Roz awake and watching him. 

He dropped her hand and stood, ringing the buzzer for the nurse. He moved toward the bed then and took her hand again. She didn't speak but she continued to watch his every move. She wouldn't take her eyes off of him. He finally moved over to her and spoke her name.

"Roz? Can you hear me? Do you know who I am?"

She didn't answer nor did her expression change, but he did feel her hand squeeze his. Her eyes blinked several times and she opened her mouth to speak but couldn't form the words. He reached over for a glass of water and held her head up so she could drink. She took water greedily and when she had her fill he let her head back down gently. She sighed, moved her tongue over her dry cracked lips and finally spoke.

"Reese. You're alive? Am I dreaming or are you here and alive?"

"I'm here Roz. I'm here and you are the one we almost lost. Rest and let me get the girls."

"No. Don't leave. I want to see you and look at you. I thought I had lost you forever. I remember now! I knew you were dead and I didn't want to live. I tried to end it. I tried to join you but I failed. Are you here now really?"

"I'm here now. Just rest until the doctor can see you. You're going to be all right so just rest. I'll be here when you wake up again. I promise."

Just then, the nurse came in, followed by the young doctor that he had spoken to earlier. Both moved immediately to Roz and began talking to her and taking her pulse and listening to her heart. The doctor peered into her eyes with his probe and finally moved back, smiling.

"Well, everything appears to be fine. I think you are going to make a full recovery thanks to the quick work of your daughters. You have some very fine young women there Mrs. Delgorio. You should be proud."

Roz just smiled as he turned and walked away. She tried to move up to a sitting position and with the nurse's help succeeded just as Jada and Serena walked back in. Jade squealed as she noticed her mother's eyes open and she ran to hug her. Serena followed and took her hand with tears barely contained. Jacey was quick to follow and another reunion took place. Reese stood back and watched it all with a smile on his face. He left the room to allow them their time together. 

He sat down in the lounge, realizing how tired he was. It had been just over a week ago that he had fueled his plane and started back to the states to have dinner with his family. Now, a week later, nothing was as he had planned. He had crash landed in a foreign country, walked for days to find civilization and arrived back in Illinois to find his ex wife had almost died and his whole family in a crisis, brought on by his supposed death. He almost laughed thinking no one could write a story any more bizarre. He was smiling to himself as Sabrina came out to tell him that Roz wanted to talk to him. She said she was going to take the girls out for lunch at McDonalds. She smiled and asked if he wanted her to bring anything back for him. He told her that he had been living on McDonalds in Costa Rico and couldn't think of a thing he wanted. 

He walked back into the room to find Roz looking much better. One of the girls had obviously brushed her hair and helped her with some lipstick. She was still pale but now at least had some color back. She smiled at him as he walked in. She motioned to a chair and asked him to sit for a while. He did as she asked and smiled back.

"You look 100% better than the first time I saw you last night. You scared me Roz. You looked like you were dead."

"I tried and I'm sorry. It was a cowardly thing to do. I have no excuse except that I thought you were dead. I know that's no excuse to do that to the girls but I was not thinking very clearly. I know that now. It was the pills and the liquor."

"Well, that's past. Now you just have to get well and strong and get home to the girls. They need you Roz. Don't leave them again."

"I won't. Reese, I want to tell you so many things that I didn't get a chance to tell you before. So many things that I did wrong and things that I learned about myself that aren't pretty. I want to apologize for everything. I hope you'll give me the chance to say what I need to say to you."

"Roz, please, you don't have to do this. I've had time to think and I discovered things about myself that I wasn't proud of. Between us we screwed up a lot. But I want to tell you this before you start. I forgive you. For everything. I forgive you and I hope you can forgive me for what I did to you." 

Roz just stared at him and then began to cry. Not hard, crushing sobs but a soft crying. Tears fell and she let them. His words were the words she had waited to hear for the past two years. They were the words that she couldn't say to herself. She couldn't forgive what she had done but he was asking her to forgive him and he said he forgave her. She felt the pain fade and her heart open up for the first time in so long. He forgave her! Nothing else was important now. 

She felt his arms around her and she held on for dear life as she returned the embrace. It was going to be OK now. They had a life together, as friends and as parents. That was enough. It was all she needed to grow strong again and find her way. They could share their daughters and the joys of new life. They could watch as they found their own mates and had their own children and made their own mistakes and they could be there for them when their world collapsed as it was sure to do. It was life: the good and the bad, and she wanted it all. Now that she had someone to share it with, she would fight for every precious second of it. 

The end.