Ray tore open the letter, but not until noticing the return address was different than the one he had. Someone must have corrected it. He scanned the page. In the first part of the letter Wes told about what he’d been doing since returning home. There was a period of unemployment for many months. Wes had joined a local American Legion Post and was friends with a small group of people. He said the drinking social hour afterward was the best part of the meeting. It was when he made a lot of new buddies and they had a lot of laughs.

Ray noticed that one of Wes’s new “friends”, the only one mentioned by name, was a woman named Sunny. It got Ray wondering if there night be a romantic connection there.

His buddy went on: “I love my job and the beach is a place I regularly visit, since my apartment is only a few blocks away. On the third hand-written page, finally, was Ray’s answer “I’d love to see ya, guy. We could talk about the fun and not so fun times we had in Germany. Maybe we could do some bar hopping.” 

Ray groaned remembering those times the two of them were in town on authorized leave. But that discomfort quickly went away and Ray looked to see if Wes had given his phone number. He had. 

At 11:00 pm that night, Ray called. Wes immediately recognized Ray’s voice. “Is that you, Ray. Wow! It sure is great to hear from you. What you been up to?” Ray filled Wes in on his work. While he did, it seemed like the years and distance melted away. Finally, slowly, Ray said “My wife just died.” 

Wes didn’t say a word. 

Ray finally said “Wes! Are you still there?” 

He quietly answered. “Yea, man. I am so sorry”

Ray struggled to stay composed. “Thanks. It’s been just awful. Sometimes I think I’m over it and then I’ll go into the laundry room and everything will hit me and it feels like I want to throw up.” Ray went quiet again. “Sometimes I just want to run away, get as far away from this place as I can.” He paused to figure out how to bring up the idea of a visit. Finally Ray, feeling shaky as he talked, said “Wes, that’s why I’d like to come visit you. I just need to get to someplace different. Everything in this house reminds me of April. I just need to get away for awhile. I’m pretty sure I can get time off from my job.”

Wes interrupted at that point. “Ray, buddy, I would love to have you come and visit. I was relieved to see this place is still gorgeous. There are lots of great beaches, with great looking girls,” he chuckled. “It’ll be just the ticket. When do you want to come?”

“The sooner the better. How about next week?”

“That’ll be just fine.”

“That’s great. I’ll talk to my boss tomorrow and see when I can leave. As soon as I find out, I’ll give you a call. By the way, can you get time off from your job?”

Wes again did not hesitate. “I’m positive old buddy! We’ll have a blast.”

With that they both hung up.

For the first time since April’s death, it felt like some of the heaviness of sorrow and anger in his heart had lifted.  That single bed in their guest room, even though it looked lonely, was a welcome sight.

The next day brought a mob of dark clouds over the city. Ray thought they must be a bad sign.  His dread seemed justified when his boss, Arthur Langton, called him into the office. Like all other offices in the building, the walls were a pale yellow with nondescript framed paintings. Each office had standard gray colored flat weave carpeting supporting neutral colored metal desks and black leather executive chairs.  With floor to ceiling glass on each outside wall there were spectacular views of the downtown area. Langton invited Ray to take a seat. Feeling quite uneasy, Ray did what he was told.

“Ray, I’ve been concerned about you. Losing your wife so suddenly must have been a terrible blow. How are you managing? Are you eating ok? How’s your sleep lately?”

Again Ray felt the urge to burst out crying but forced himself to stay composed and responded in a slow, low voice “It’s been rough, like nothing I’ve ever been through before. Just when I start thinking I’m managing ok, some memory will hit me and I’ll feel almost helpless, like I don’t know what to do with myself. All I can do is sit down and let the tears come, even though I hate the feelings I get.”

With that, Langton got up from his desk, came around and stood next to Ray who quickly got to his feet, and shook his boss’ hand. Langton’s eyes moistened. He stared at Ray and said “Let me know if there is anything I can do. I’ll try to keep your workload on the low side because I know it can be hard to concentrate. Besides, all the budget reports for the month have been completed. Things are in good shape right now.”

Ray thought for a minute and then with new found confidence said “Well, actually Mr. Langton, I was wondering if I could take another two weeks off from work. I know I am not much good these days and I think a little break from everything might help me get life and my work back in perspective again.”

Langton smiled and nodded. “Ray, I think we can arrange that. I too believe it will do you some good and help you come back a bit refreshed from all the stress you’ve been under.”

Ray reached out his hand to Langton’s and shook it firmly. “Thanks so much, sir. I really appreciate it. I agree. I think it will help me. And…thanks for understanding.”

Wanting to share the happy news with Wes that evening, Ray started writing a letter, but threw it away. He would call Wes and tell him the good news  on the phone so he could hear Wes’ reaction.  While he waited for the discount calling period, he looked at his calendar and while smiling, marked off the dates. Tomorrow I’ll go back to the travel agent and hope I can still get the discounted price. 

His call with Wes didn’t take long. Ray told him that his boss had given him the time off and the vacation would begin next Monday. Meanwhile, he would go back to the travel agent tomorrow to make all the arrangements. 

That night he didn’t recall having any dreams. When he woke up and looked in the mirror, he smiled at his reflection. 

Now, he had to set up the trip. When he thought about it, he remembered Doris, the lady who had helped him two times. For a few seconds, he smiled at the thought of seeing her again. Then he remembered something.