A Quiet Kind of Cool

It was Monday at 6 AM. I was having coffee at The Ugly Mug Cafe in Gettysburg, waiting for Jeff Samuelson to go to work. He left home at 7 AM just as I arrived. I had up-dressed a bit for my meeting with Mrs. Samuelson because I didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable. I had no idea what I was going to say to her as I rang the bell.

Although it was early, she was already dressed. I was afraid she would be in pajamas or a robe.

"Yes? Can I help you?"

"Mrs. Samuelson, m-m-my name is John Tyson. I was hoping that I could get a m-m-minute of your time."

"Are you selling something, Mr. Tyson? I don't think we would be interested."

"No madam. It's a personal m-m-matter concerning your husband and my wife."

She stood silent in deep thought. I couldn't tell if she was going to ask me to leave or ask me in.

"Your wife's name wouldn't happen to Amanda, would it?"

"Yes, madam."

"Please come in Mister Tyson. We do indeed have to talk."

Marie Samuelson and I spent the next two hours together. When I left to return home, I wasn't sure if I felt better or worse. She had suspected something for several years but was never able to come up with anything concrete. She had been calmly stoic most of the time until I told her about Brenda. Her whole demeanor change. That was when I decided it was time to leave. My work was done.

The first thing I did when I got back was to tell Ivy everything. I could not start a relationship with her if there were secrets. She seemed to understand and took some extra time to try and console me.

Things were back to normal. Ivy and I were looking at houses. We were too old to start a family of our own, but Ivy was interested in either foster care or adoption. We checked into possibilities and found out that our chances of adopting hearing disabled children were pretty good. The people in Staunton would be more than happy to help us.

oooOOOooo

"Dad, it's Colleen." I wasn't expecting a call from my daughter in the middle of the night.

"Hi. Is everything okay?"

"Not really, but nothing for you to get excited about. I am at the Baptist Hospital in York. Mom has been shot. She is Okay, but I felt that I should call you."

"Okay! N-n-now you got my attention. W-w-what the hell happened?"

"What I can piece together is that Mom and Mister Samuelson were having supper at the Cracker Barrel when Mrs. Samuelson came in and emptied a .22 revolver at them. All of the shots missed except one that just nicked Mom in the right arm. It wasn't serious but did require medical attention. They are going to release her in a couple of hours. I am going to stick around and then drive her back home."

"What happened to the boyfriend?"

"He didn't get a scratch, but he did suddenly disappear before the cops even got there. He just left Mom stranded. Mrs. Samuelson sat in a chair and quietly waited for the police to arrive."

"I guess there is no reason for m-m-me to come up there?"

"No. I'll have her home by the time you arrived. I'll call you later. Oh, I forgot, Mom is really pissed that her boyfriend ran out on her. I have never seen her that mad."

"Thanks for the call. B-b-by the way, keep some time open at the beginning of April. Your Dad is going to get m-m-married."

"Congratulations! I will diffidently be there. Oh, I won't tell Mom. It would really crush her right now. See ya,"

As I hung up the phone I thought that I better say something to Ivy about the upcoming wedding.

Epilog

Thus ends the saga of a quiet, cool man. He bought a house and moved into it with his new bride. They adopted three kids and fostered several more. Colleen got a teaching job at the Virginia School for the Deaf and married a year later. John continued on at Oakbrook Meadows, but Ivy did not. Amanda is still working at Zinn's diner. Jeff Samuelson was never seen again. Life is good.