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A lost career and bad marriage yield to love w/a younger man.
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komrad1156
komrad1156
3,766 Followers

"Why aren't you ready for work?"

"Because I quit."

"Yeah, right. No, really. What's going on?"

"I quit, Joel."

"You what?"

"I quit. I told you I made a mistake. A very costly mistake for the firm. I admitted it was my fault. The partners thanked me for being honest but they were also brutally honest with me. They told me I'm no longer on the partner track and I might never be again. So I quit."

"Jesus, Libby. How could you do that without even discussing it with me? You don't live in a fucking vacuum, you know!"

Joel Russell rarely dropped an F-bomb and when he did, it was because something had angered him. Really angered him. In this case, he was already stressed out about money. With two kids in high school and college expenses looming just around the corner plus a killer mortgage on a huge home just outside of Seattle along with two hefty car payments, the last thing he needed was added stress over money.

"I'm sorry, honey. But I never liked my job. I only chose the law to make my father happy. It's nothing but endless minutiae and mindless detail and who can make the better argument. I don't need that kind of stress in my life."

Libby Russell really never had enjoyed the law. For her, it was a paycheck. A paycheck she knew they badly needed even though Joel owned his construction business and made more than enough money to pay their bills. Most of money had been going into savings and investments for the kids' college funds which were only about 25% funded. Keith was a senior and had already been accepted to The University of Washington. That was expensive but FAR less so than had he gone to his first choice of Stanford. Erin was a junior and would also likely—hopefully—go in state—if she didn't get sidetracked. Even so, money was now a huge concern and Libby felt guilty over her decision. Even so, it hurt her deeply that her husband not only couldn't see her point of view, but had lit into her accusing her of hurting their family.

They'd married young. He was working for his father learning the construction business and she was just out of college when they met and fell in love. To his credit, he put her through law school after she married the handsome young contractor. Keith came along the next year followed shortly by Erin.

Joel had been a good provider, a hard worker, and nearly always a loving, supportive husband. But this last year something had changed. He was working longer, his temper was shorter, and he seemed unable to be supportive. Quitting her job had set him off, and for the first time in their marriage Libby felt...afraid. She knew he'd never hit her, but she feared something even worse. The loss of his love and respect. Her job had never been her life. It was just a job. Her life was her husband and their two children. But with Joel being so cold and distant, what would be left once the kids went off to school? And she began to wonder if their sex life, which had had gone from great to good to bad to almost non-existent would ever come back.

"Do you think I like dealing with 200 employees and angry customers demanding something from me all day, every day, Lib? Do you think like I like the stress of deadlines, budgets, payroll, filing quarterly taxes, and meeting the demands of OSHA and ever-growing regulation on my company? Do you think that's fun, Libby? Hell, no! That's why they call it work! And you just pulled the rug out from under our family. How the fuck am I supposed to earn enough to pay for this house, our cars, our food and clothes, AND put our fucking children through college? How, Libby? HOW!!??"

Libby was so close to losing it she was shaking. He not only didn't kiss her on his way out, something which had become the norm the last few months, he didn't even say goodbye. Were it not for the kids coming downstairs in a few minutes, she'd have curled up on the couch and cried her eyes out. But she forced herself to keep it together when Keith came down first. He was always so pleasant and so positive. Libby loved both of her children dearly, but Keith was so easy to love. Erin, on the other hand, was a continual challenge and a virtual train wreck waiting to happen. So far, she'd kept her grades up enough to stay on the honor roll at school, but she would never be the straight-A student Keith was.

"Morning, Mom!" he said cheerfully as he poured himself a huge bowl of cereal.

"Hi, honey."

"You okay?" he said chewing a mouthful of Golden Grahams.

"Oh, sure. Why wouldn't I be?" she asked with a forced smile.

"You look sad," he told her. "Are you staying home today?"

"Oh, right. Yes, I'm taking the day off, honey."

"Cool. You work too hard, Mom. You need some time for yourself. You should hit the spa today or maybe go bowling. You guys used to do that all the time."

"Yeah, I know. I loved being in a league. We just got so busy something had to give and bowling was the easy choice. Maybe I'll do that."

Keith finished the bowl in record time—even for him—then poured another as Libby heard him say, "All hail The Moody One!"

"Shut UP!" Erin told him.

"Good morning to you too, Sunshine," Keith said knowing how easy it was to get under her skin.

"Fuck off!" she said.

"Erin!" Libby said. "Good morning, by the way."

"Yeah?" she replied without even looking at her mom. "You sound like you've never heard the word before. But wait! Yes you have. Dad said a bunch of fucking times just this morning. Yeah, we heard it all the way upstairs so um, good morning to you too, Mom."

On their way out the door they were arguing about who's turn it was to drive—again. Libby was so exhausted from not having slept all night and then the fight with Joel...and Erin...she was too tired to cry. She did however, go lay down on the couch and pull a quilt her grandmother had made over her. She managed to fall asleep and woke up around noon in a total haze. "What time is it?" she said to herself.

She made herself a cup of coffee then went upstairs and took a shower. The warm water felt great and helped bring her back to life. She got dressed and took a quick look in the mirror. In spite of the lack of sleep, she felt pretty good about the way she looked. Libby took great care of herself and at 40 she still got hit on pretty regularly out in the corporate world. She had her sandy blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail and wore just a bit of mascara and some light-colored foundation. Her skin was tight and smooth and she had a killer smile that set off a very pretty face.

She turned sideways and felt satisfied with the way her tight butt looked in the jeans then took a quick look at how flat her tummy looked just below her C-cup rack set off by the clingy black sweater she wore over it. "Not bad, Lib," she told herself. "And today you don't have to wear a suit and heels. Nice!"

She warmed her coffee then finished it before deciding, "You know what? I am gonna go bowling today."

It had been almost three years since she and Joel gave it up and she was thinking back on how much fun it had been playing in a mixed league. Her best friends and their husbands were also there every week and it was not only a great time, but she'd gotten reasonably good. She was averaging just over 150 by the time they gave it up and Joel was regularly bowling 200s and carrying an average of about 170.

She found her bag with her favorite ball and shoes in it buried in a closet and headed for West Seattle Bowl on 39th Ave. She walked inside and took a quick look around. Not a lot had changed since she was there the last time. In fact, as she was standing in the lobby, the owner, Rick Shelby, saw her and called out her name. "Libby? Is that you?"

She smiled and said, "Hey, Rick! How've you been?" She headed over to the counter to get a lane and chat with him. Rick was an older gentleman she guessed to be around 60-65 or so and he was always upbeat and cheerful—like Keith.

"Good, Libby. Haven't seen you or that handsome husband of yours in forever."

Libby smiled. Joel really was a very good-looking guy and although she wasn't the jealous type, she knew the few women he worked around flirted with him all the time. For the first time, she stood there wondering if he might possibly doing more than just flirting back. "I know, right?" she said back smiling brightly. "We just got SO busy we couldn't keep up, you know?"

"You still working for the big corporate law firm downtown?"

"Oh, um...no. I um...I've moved on, Rick."

"Good for you!" he said having no idea she hadn't moved on to anything. "We've got a lot of free lanes today, Libby. Any preference?"

"No, just don't put me next to any screaming kids, okay? I need to relax a little."

"No worries, hon. I'm gonna but you on 22 and 23. And I'll only charge you for one lane."

"You don't have to do that, Rick," she said.

"It's on me, pretty lady. I'm just glad to see you again. Enjoy yourself, okay?"

"I will, Rick. Thank you so much and it's great seeing you."

It was two o'clock in the afternoon and the alley really was nearly empty. She saw a grand total of about ten people and six of them were on one pair of lanes. There was a couple bowling on another pair and two single bowlers, both younger men.

She sat her bag down and pulled out her old, familiar shoes and put them on before removing the Storm bowling ball and setting in the rack. Rick turned the lanes on and she waved to him. "Good luck!" he called down to her.

Libby walked the approach without the ball and tried sliding a couple of times to make sure there wasn't something stuck to her left shoe. "Smooth as glass," she said to herself.

She picked up her ball, then found the spot she always used as her starting point. She looked down the lane and focused on the second arrow from the right and began her five-step approach. She bent low and followed through as the ball left her hand. It felt good as she rotated through the ball and continued raising her arm all the way to the 'hitchhiker' position. It rolled straight over the arrow and began hooking about 3/4 of the way down. The ball hit slightly high leaving the 10 pin but not a bad first ball.

Libby lined up for the second shot way to the left side and threw the ball hard to minimize the hook. It sailed straight as an arrow and nicked the ten sending it shooting sharply into the sideboard for a spare.

After an open frame, Libby rolled another spare and then a strike. Unconsciously, she said, "Yes!" as the scoring machine added another 20 pins to her total.

"Not bad," she heard a voice say.

She turned and saw the guy who was two lanes to her right pointing to the score. "Oh, thanks. It's been a long time since I've bowled."

He walked over to her and said, "You don't remember me, do you, Libby?"

His use of her name really surprised her. "No, sorry. Do I know you?" She was racking her brain, running through client lists, and other people she knew.

The younger man said, "Okay, close your eyes and listen."

Libby furrowed her brow but did as he asked. "I want a banana popsicle and a hot dog!" He said 'hot dog' like 'haw tog.'

"Garrett? Are you Garret Miller?"

"I am," he said with a smile.

"Oh...my...God!" She sat her ball down and said, "That can't be you! It can't be."

"Oh, it's me," he assured her. "A hundred pounds lighter and my teeth are straight."

He smiled an exaggerated smile to show her his perfect teeth and Libby put her hands on her face and said, "I can't believe it's you! You were so..."

"Fat?" he offered.

"I was going to say 'different.' You were such a sweet boy!"

"Ha! Well, you were the nicest babysitter I ever had. I had the biggest crush on you, by the way. I mean, as if that wasn't obvious."

Libby laughed and said, "That is so sweet!"

Garrett laughed and said, "You're the reason I still have a thing for girls in sweaters, by the way."

"What? Seriously?"

"Oh, yeah. You always wore them and because I thought you were the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen, I think my brain subconsciously made some kind of connection."

Libby laughed and said, "Well, I hope you stand the 'temptation' today. Had I known, I'd have worn a blouse. Or a tee-shirt."

"Well, you do look great, Libby. Sweater or no sweater, you look...amazing."

"Thank you, Garrett. You are still very sweet. So, wow! How long has it been?" she mused out loud.

"Let's see. I'm 25 and the last time I saw you I was maybe ten so..."

"That's crazy! Has it been that long?" she said unable to process that.

"Yep. My mom and I lived right next to you when you were still single."

"Yeah, she'd drop you off for me to watch you every morning so I could earn some extra money. I watched you up until I started going to law school and just didn't have the time. Wow! Talk about ch-ch-ch-changes! Speaking of looking great...just look at you!"

"Me? Look at you. You're the one who looks amazing!"

"Hardly. I just look...old. My kids are in high school now, you know."

"Keith and Erin are in high school? No way?"

"Yes, way. Keith's going to college next year and well, let's not talk about Erin, okay?" she told him. "So what do you do these days, Garrett? What brings you out here bowling?"

"Well, believe it or not, I'm on the PBA tour. Rick is my primary sponsor and I'm here during the off season all the time."

"Get outta here! You're a professional bowler?"

"I am. I even won a couple of tournaments last year."

"That is just so amazing. And you look really good, Garrett! Oh, my God. It's so good to see you!"

"You too, Libby. Hey, do you mind if Rick moves me over here so we can talk?"

"Are you kidding? That would be great!"

Garrett hollered up at Rick who nodded and gave him a thumbs up.

"Let me just grab my balls and I'll be right back." He stopped dead in his tracks and said, "That...did not come out right."

Libby laughed for the first time in days and said, "No. That wasn't your finest moment, but you did make me laugh."

For the next hour, the two of them bowled and talked. Garrett was good. Really good. He bowled a 262 and a 237 while Libby put together a modest 124 and a respectable 143.

"This has been so nice seeing you again, Garrett!" she told him sincerely. "But I'm afraid I'm gonna have to run."

"Can you spare 30 minutes to let me buy you lunch? I've really enjoyed talking to you and after bowling ten games before you got here, I could really use a break."

"Well, yeah, I suppose I could do that. Sure! Why not? Let's do it!"

Ten minutes later they were sitting in a Red Robin ordering lunch. Libby ordered the Garden Burger while Garrett went with the Grilled Turkey.

"Are you still a vegan?" he asked Libby.

"Vegetarian," she corrected him. "I stay away from red meat, but I do eat chicken, fish, and shrimp."

"Me, too. Once I learned how to eat right and exercise, I was able to make better choices. I was at a point where I felt like I was going to die before I was 21 if I didn't do something drastic."

"Well, you most definitely did that," she said. "I still can't believe it's you."

Their order arrived and Libby thanked him again for taking her to lunch. "How's your mom, Garrett? I always loved her. She was so sweet and so hard working."

"I'm sorry, Libby. Mom passed away almost three years years ago."

She set her food down and put her hand on top of his. "Oh, Garrett. I'm so sorry."

"Me, too," he told her. "You know she had MS, right?"

"Yes, of course. That's why I always thought she was so brave. You know, going to work in all that pain day after day."

Garrett nodded as he finished a first bite. "She'd do anything to make my life better even if 'better' meant worse. I don't blame her at all, but she's part of the reason I was so heavy. We never had money so Mom just fed me whatever I liked and kept it coming."

"Like banana popsicles and hot dogs?" she said trying to lighten the mood.

"Exactly! Plus double-stuffed Oreos, Twinkies, Ding-Dongs, Nutty Buddies, and anything else I could get my hands on."

"You poor thing," she said. "And your poor mom."

"She was in so much pain that last six months. I'd just earned my PBA card and she came to watch me bowl in my first-ever tournament on TV. I finished third and she was so proud of me. I know she was hurting badly sitting there watching her son, but she never once complained or stopped smiling."

He sighed then said, "So tell me about yourself, Libby. I want to hear all about you and Joel, your kids, your job...everything."

Libby had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach as thought about her job...her former job and her recent relationship with Joel. She decided to skip all of the details and give him the Cliff Notes version. "Well, as you know, I married Joel right out of college. We had two kids while I was in law school but I still managed to finish in just over four years. After that I passed the bar and went to work for Harper and Williams. Joel took over his dad's business almost six years ago and I already mentioned the kids. But I want to know about you, Garrett. Tell about how you got into bowling."

He also gave her the short tour explaining how he lost all the weight, got his teeth straightened, then started playing sports for the first time. "I tried a little of everything from baseball to fishing to bowling and bowling stuck. I couldn't get enough of it. My mom insisted on getting me into a youth league and I won a couple of trophies so she found someone to help coach me. We couldn't pay much, but he said he saw potential and worked with me anyway. My game really started improving and once he talked Rick into sponsoring me, I could bowl here for free. I really stepped up my game and managed to qualify for the PBA and for the last three years, I've been out on tour bowling all around the country."

"That's just amazing. I can't believe I haven't heard of you," she said admiringly.

Garrett chuckled and said, "Bowling isn't exactly a glamour sport like football. Even the greatest names in the game aren't really known outside of the bowling community. Everyone's heard of Babe Ruth, but how many people know who Walter Ray Williams or Peter Weber are?"

"Point taken," Libby told him having no idea who either man was even though Williams had won more PBA titles than anyone else.

"So you're a professional bowler and if I may say, very good looking. What else is there to know about Garrett Miller? Is there a Mrs. Miller in your future?"

Garrett scowled mildly and said, "I hardly think so. I'm on the road all the time and that's not a recipe for family stability."

"But you make good money, right? Couldn't she travel with you? At least until you had kids?"

"Kids? Hold on there, Libby! You've got me in a nose ring with children, no less, and I'm not even dating anyone right now."

"Right now? So was there someone special in your life, Garrett?"

"Kind of," he said. "There was a girl I went to high school with. Cute, cheerleader. Never looked twice at me before. She saw me on television and like you, couldn't believe it was me. She just 'happened' to look me up and started flirting with me."

"Did you flirt back?" Libby asked with a smile.

"Sure. I mean, she was the hottest girl in school and now she was interested in me? Hell yeah, I flirted back. Sorry...heck, yeah."

"So what happened?" Libby said ignoring his mild profanity and thinking how Joel was saying the worst kinds of things to her all the time now without so much as a second thought let alone an apology.

"Turns out she was looking to um, get rich quick. Which is funny because bowlers aren't rich. We can win decent money for sure, but except for the top 10-20 players in the world, no one would ever call us rich."

"That's awful," she said with real sympathy. "Why do relationships have to be so difficult?"

komrad1156
komrad1156
3,766 Followers