Mr. Nice Guy

"C'mon Sue. You know that it's the right thing to do. You can't just hide every time you see him."

Sue nodded, took a deep breath, and prepared to leave with Jan. They walked up to the table occupied by the two men.

"Hello Tim. Lou, it's so nice to see you. How is Marci? Tim, you know Janet, of course. Lou, let me introduce my friend Janet to you." Sue said all of this bravely with a forced smile on her face.

Lou arose, "Sue, it's so nice to see you," and gave her a hug. Turning to Janet, Lou extended his hand and said, "It's nice to meet you, Janet."

While this was taking place, Tim had gotten over his shock and also rose. "Hello, Sue. Nice to see you," he mumbled.

Lou was a bit startled when he shook Jan's hand and found a square of paper in her palm. He quickly placed it in his shirt pocket and smiled at her - a smile which she returned.

Greetings and goodbys were exchanged and the girls walked out of the restaurant. Sue had broken into a light sweat, but Janet was grinning.

Tim dropped Lou off at his car and they parted with promises to get together again soon. Lou clasped Tim by the shoulders and reminded him that he would be there for him whenever he needed. Tim, looking troubled, nodded and patted Lou on the back as he climbed into his car.

Lou sat in his car and watched Tim drive off. He retrieved the small square of paper that Janet had passed to him and opened it. It read, ' Please call me,' and was followed by an address and phone number. Intrigued and fairly sure of Janet's intent, he pulled out his cell phone and called the number, knowing that Janet was probably still with Sue.

When Jan answered the phone, Lou started speaking quickly. "Look Janet, it's Lou. I got your message and I realize that you're probably still with Sue. How about meeting at your place around 10?"

"Ohh, uhhh, ok, 10 sounds ok. See you then," she replied and signed off quickly.

Lou realized that he had some time to kill, so he returned to the restaurant and sat at the bar, nursing a drink and watching the ball game. Lou was feeling just a little guilty. He was pretty sure that Sue's friend wanted his help in reuniting the couple, and yet he felt strongly attracted to her. It was crazy he knew. He had only seen her once and for only a few moments. At 9:40 he lifted himself off of the barstool and headed to his car.

Janet was drying off after a quick shower when she was startled to hear her doorbell. "What the ......... who the hell can that be," she muttered to herself.

Throwing on a thin robe she went to the front door and peered through the spyhole. She was a little stunned to see Lou Kaufman standing there. Confused, she opened the door a crack, keeping the safety chain on.

"Lou, what's wrong - why are you here?" she asked anxiously.

Lou just stood there, perplexed. "Uhh, didn't we say 10 o'clock?

Janet quickly realized the error. "I thought you meant 10 o'clock tomorrow morning, not tonight," she laughed. "Oh well, you're here now. Let me unchain the door.

Lou entered, feeling a bit foolish. "I'm really sorry, Janet. I don't know how I got confused. I just got really excited about your note because I think that we're on the same wave length, so to speak," he babbled. He was obviously nervous and just a bit uncomfortable. He had quickly realized that Jan was fresh from a shower and that she had little if anything on under the bathrobe.

Janet suddenly realized the same thing and clutched the collar of the robe snugly against her. She seemed to blush a little, but composed herself and smiled wryly at Lou.

"You seem to have caught me a bit unprepared for company, Lou. Why don't you have a seat. Would you like some coffee?" she asked.

"Uhhh, Janet...... I, uhhhh, I could come back tomorrow. I, uhhh, I really didn't mean to barge in on you," Lou stumbled, obviously ill at ease.

Janet glanced at him, now rather amused. "He is cute," she thought, "and I'm standing here almost naked." She turned to him and said, "That's ok, Lou. You're here now. Just excuse my appearance."

"Excuse?" Lou wondered to himself. He caught his breath and said softly, "I don't mind one bit, Jan," he said and grinned.

Janet giggled and then opened her eyes in surprise. She wondered where that came from - when was the last time she giggled like that?

She fussed with the coffee maker and tried to engage in a conversation with Lou standing across from her. In the meantime Lou had trouble keeping his eyes above her neck. He was painfully aware of the fact the there were no bra or panty lines showing under that thin robe, and he was also aware that she had a figure that was firm and shapely. They returned to the living room with mugs of coffe. Jan settled herself on the couch and indicated the easy chair across from her to Lou.

"Lou, I think that you know why I passed you that note. I really think that Sue and Tim still love each other and I want to do anything I can to get them together. Please don't think that I'm a nosy busybody, but I've known Sue and Tim for years and this situation is totally crazy."

"I couldn't agree with you more, Jan. We just have to be very careful that Tim doesn't discover what we're up to. I don't think that we can come up with any kind of plan tonight, but we can agree to think about what we can do about this situation."

Lou colored a bit again, but continued. "Uhh, Jan. Do you think it might be a good idea if we kind of.....uh, like perhaps.......perhaps we could kind of...... introduce ourselves? Like, perhaps tell each other a little bit about ourselves?"

Janet smiled and agreed that that was an excellent idea and while she sipped her coffee she gave Lou a brief summary about herself and her background. As she spoke, she found herself relaxing and enjoying her visitor.

Without her noticing, her robe had slipped a bit and the slope of one breast became visible. She had crossed her legs and Lou, catching his breath, saw the underside of her thigh. It was difficult for him to concentrate on what she was telling him.

"Suddenly, she turned to him and..."Lou? Did you hear me?" she queried.

Lou nodded his head vigorously. "Yes.....yes, of course, Jan. Sure. I guess it's my turn," and he proceeded to give her a short precis concerning the years after the Navy and up to the demise of his wife.

Janet listened intently to Lou's narrative and in doing totally forgot that the only clothing she had on was a thin robe. The front had gapped even further apart and the folds had fallen away from her legs, exposing them to the upper thigh.

Lou stopped speaking, unable to contine because of the vision before him. Janet, thinking that he was temporarily overcome speaking about the death of his wife, clucked sympathetically.

"Lou, it's ok, I know exactly how you feel. Don't forget, I just told you that I lost my spouse also. I know the pain, the loss. Believe me, I fully understand."

Lou arose suddenly and cleared his throat. "Uhhh, Janet. It's getting a little late and I'm really sorry I disturbed you like this. I hope that I.....uhhh, I mean I think that......uihhh, I mean that I really appreciate what you're trying to do and I really want to help any way that I can."

He realized that he was rambling again and he also knew that he was blushing. Janet was startled at his sudden movement and as he turned from her, she saw how exposed she had become. She also blushed and pulled her robe about her. She then paused and smiled. "Hmmmm, He is that flustered by my body?" she thougt to herself and found herself pleasantly surprised.

They said their goodnights and Lou promised to call her the next day. They would get together and see if they could come up with some kind of plan.

Lou drove away from Jan's place, his mind in a whirl of emotions. He couldn't fully understand what had happened. He knew that he was very attracted to this woman. Even in slippers she was only a head shorter than his 6' 4". Her short blond hair was thick and soft. He knew that she was well into her 40s, yet her body was obviously taut and firm. He sighed, confused at these feelings. This was the first time since he became single that he felt such an attraction to a woman. Interestingly, Janice, standing by her kitchen counter, was deep in thought and experiencing similar emotions.

*****************

The next day dawned clear and bright. Lou was anxious to set off for Jan's place. He had called and agreed with Jan that it might not be a bad idea for Sue to also be there. He had something to explain to Sue as to why her infidelity was so devastating to Tim, much more so than to the average husband. A reason why it would be much more difficult for Tim to forgive her - a reason why a reconciliation might never be possible.

Jan answered the door and greeted Lou with a smile. She was wearing a brief sun dress that exposed a good bit of leg and cleavage. Lou had to force his mind back to the reason he was here. He did know that a relationship with Janet was something he was going to have to explore.

Sue rushed up to him and greeted him with a hug. "Oh, Lou. It's so nice to see you. Do you really think that you can help bring us back together? I'll do anything that would help, you know that," she pleaded.

Jan had made a full pot of coffee and they moved into the kitchen and sat around the small breakfast table with mugs of the steaming beverage.

Lou frowned a bit and began. "Sue, I really don't know if I can do very much, so don't get your hopes up" He saw Sue's face fall and rushed to continue.. " Please, let me explain why I seem so pessimistic, but you both have to promise me that I what I tell you here today will never leave this room. What I am going to tell you has to be in strict confidence. Do I have your promise?" and he looked to the both women.

They both reassured him and he proceeded to tell them of Tim's years in the US Navy and exactly what his job was for those years. They both sat, spellbound, amazed that such a mild mannered man could have that kind of background. Lou sat and patiently explained to them the reasons why Tim valued loyalty as he did and consequently why he felt so betrayed at Sue's indiscretion.

Sue sat and listened with a feeling of dread and remorse. How could she have been so stupid, so blind and yes, so selfish. She now realized that she had confused restraint with timidity, forbearance with weakness, an abhorrence of violence with cowardice. She sat and slowly came to the realization that there was very little chance that Tim would ever forgive her.

Lou finished speaking. They all sat silent, the women digesting the information they had just received and Lou pondering his next words.

"Sue, I'm not sure how much I can help, but I will try to see what I can do. No promises though," he cautioned. Sue sat still and nodded. Her eyes shone with unshed tears as she looked at a future without Tim.

Lou though, was not quite as pessimistic as he appeared. He knew Tim and he had a plan. Fortunately, his plan required no action, just quite a bit of fast talking.

*****************

Tim opened his front door and was surprised to see Lou Kaufman standing there. "Hi Tim, can I can in?"

Tim blinked. "Of course, Lou. I'm just surprised you see you. Is everything ok?"

"Yep, everything is fine. I just finished talking to Sue at Janet's place." He saw Tim's eyes harden and quickly stepped up to him.

"Now listen to me, Tim. You're going to hear me out even if I have to try to pin you to the floor. I know, you'll probably beat the shit out of me, but it will come down to exactly that if you don't sit your ass down and just listen to what I have to say."

Lou watched signs of indecision pass over Tim's face until his friend finally sighed and grimaced. "You always were a pain in the ass. Okay, I'll listen to you, but you know it will make no difference," and with that he settled himself on the sofa.

Lou remained standing and began speaking. "Tim, I have listened to you tell me about the disintegration of your marriage, I listened to Janet, by the way you've got a good friend in that lady. I have also listened to Sue who poured her heart out and I have come to some conclusions that you should hear.

"No, I'm not going to give you a bunch of psychobabble, although my background helped me make some sense out of the problems in your relationship. Do you remember the day that we all were sitting around, waiting for our discharge papers? We all enlisted in the navy at the same time and we were being discharged together. You sat, serious as a heart attack, and informed us that you were going to be a totally different person from that day on. You said something to the effect that you were going to go from a vicious killer to the kindest, calmest, most compassionate person you could be. You were going to be the nicest person you could possibly be. Do you remember that?"

Tim nodded, he remembered that event very well and he knew that he meant every word of it. He also thought that he had achieved that goal.

Lou continued. "We ribbed you about that, Tim. But what you never realized was that we never believed you. No, no, let me explain something that we should have told you then. Not one member of the team considered you a vicious killer. You had a job to do, just as we had jobs to do. We didn't consider ourselves vicious, we just had the missions to accomplish. We didn't realize how serious you were. This may now be news to you, buddy, but we always considered you the kindest and nicest person we ever had the honor of knowing. What you didn't know, is that we always referred to you as a hell of a nice guy. We all thought the world of you, Tim.

"Now as far as I can make out, you were dead serious about that and thus you went to the opposite extreme from the vicious killer that you thought you had become. You became the kindest, most compassionate, sweetest, most nonthreatening person you could be. But what you didn't realize is that, over the years, you drifted more and more into a shell of a person without a backbone, a person without convictions. You went from being a nice guy, to a cellophane man. Someone people looked through, not at. In your desperate attempt to escape your past, escape those years as a Seal, you became a non-entity and as the years passed, you became even more a shadow of the man that you truly were. You moved from a Dr. Jekyll, a man you never were, to a Mr. Hyde, a man that never was."

Tim was now listening carefully, Lou noted with some satisfaction. He knew how intelligent Tim was and he had counted on that intelligence when making his case.

"Tim," Lou said softly. "This is the man that Sue was living with. Her love for you blinded her to what you were doing to yourself. She didn't see your intent, she just saw how kind and compassionate you were. She viewed you through the eyes of her love for you. But, obviously, your continued drift into personal obscurity, the submergence of your basic personality, finally, although subconsciously, began to get to her. She couldn't understand where the man she had fallen in love with had gone. As the years went by, you, almost imperceptibly, became a will- o'-the- wisp."

Lou looked at Tim closely. He saw his friend sitting and shaking his head, as if denying what he was hearing. Lou didn't stop.

"This is the man that Sue was living with, Tim. The man that she loved so deeply was being taken from her and she didn't realize it and she didn't know what was happening. The past few years was a nightmare for both of you. Sue was reacting to a man she didn't even know, didn't even recognize. You weren't the man she had fallen in love with and married."

Tim looked up at him, tears shining in his eyes. "But Lou, she cheated, she cheated, she cheated." he kept repeating. "She betrayed me, she was disloyal."

Lou looked at him pityingly. "Ok, let's deal with that. Your relationship finally got to a breaking point, if not for you then for your wife. She was totally befuddled, unable to deal with what she considered to be a dead-end marriage. So she went to Vegas with a bunch of girl friends. I know, I know, you told me how she packed. Did you ever think that maybe, just maybe she wanted to feel feminine, sexy, desirable? Maybe, just maybe having sex with someone there was the furthest thing from her mind?

"Then she got plastered and into the clutches of a player, a creep who plied her with more drinks, complimented the shit out of her, (something that you hadn't done in some time, I'm sure) acted macho as hell and took advantage of her. Look Tim, I'm not excusing what she did, but it wasn't an affair, it wasn't a long, drawn out relationship. It was a one night stand and it absolutely sickened her afterward. I know this because Sue had tearfully confessed that incident to Janet right after it happened . Not the action of someone who planned an affair.

"Also, you're confusing the loyalty the team had to each other to what loyalty is between a man and a woman. We were loyal because we HAD to be, our very lives depended on each other. Lovers are loyal because they WANT to be, but when the foundation of the relationship begins to erode, then everything erodes, even loyalty, and you were BOTH to blame for that."

"Enoujgh," screamed Tim. "For God's sake, Lou, enough. You're tearing me apart. His voice dropped to a whisper. "I can't hear anymore, Lou. Please, leave me alone, please," he now sobbed.

Lou suddenly discovered that he had tears in his eyes and his heart ached in sympathy for his old friend. He quickly moved to the bar and poured a healthy shot of whiskey which he pressed into Tim's trembling hands.

"Tim," Lou said softly. "I took absolutely no pleasure in the things that I said to you, but I truly believe that they needed saying. I love you as I would a brother and I just did what I did out of the love and respect I have for you. Sip on the whiskey and just think about what I told you. That's all that I ask."

Lou turned slowly, worrying now about Tim's state of mind, and let himself out the door.

**********************

Thirty days had passed since the confrontation between the two friends. The season had changed and Tim sat at his desk looking at the new buds on the maple just outside his window. He turned back to the desk with a sigh and picked up the phone. It was answered on the first ring.

"Hello?"

"Sue, this is Tim. Can we talk..........?"