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Two

Especially in big cities, there are little sections or groups of people who are isolated by their jobs or interests or kinship. Each segment believes they are The City. They’re the important ones. It’s mental territory.

It is solely for them that the city puts on the park festivals, the food tastings, the bands playing and the marching parades. It is all done only for their segment’s own entertainment.

The other people who are there are just phantom people.

The actual citizens who live among friends hardly ever even see the phantoms who are busily involved in their own lives and their own groups. Well, they don’t see them unless some hungry eyes are looking for someone of the opposite sex. Then they see everybody!

But mostly a group sees only those in their own group, and they ignore the many others who are all unseen shadows. The phantom ones drive cars and walk streets and go to grocery stores and to their cleaners.

The phantoms are like elevator background music. They are there to fill in the edges of lives so that no one believes he’s alone. The phantoms are busy with things to be done.

So are those busy people who think they are so special that the world is really just theirs. To those who believe they are the ones in control, the world is for them. Simple. That is true. But all the segments of people think that way. It is their own group that is the important, vibrant, needed one.

For those isolated, self-contained groups, the strangers’ houses might just as well be empty. The unknowns’ offices are blank. The other people in the restaurants don’t county. Not unless you’re looking and then those strange ones are real but unknown others.

Few people think about all those unknown others who live in the city and move about. They don’t really matter unless they get into some kind of trouble. Then everybody helps. Helping isn’t thought out, it is reaction.

Such thinking was just so, for those who were involved with Tyler and Kayla.

Their friends and kinfolk talked to each other about the divorced pair. At a remote family wake, one cousin of Tyler’s mother said of the divorced pair, “I do declare I’ve never seen any couple so hostile to each other. Even Cousin Douthet didn’t carry on this badly. I’ve no patience with the two of them.”

“Hush! Tyler is right over there, and he can hear you!”

The cousin pinched her mouth as she lifted her eyebrows and looked down without moving her head. “Listening to me just might do him some good.”

And at her side, a male voice inquired softly, “What would you say to him?”

It was Tyler himself who spoke. So his mother’s Cousin Maren replied, “You ought to’ve been talking to that child, all along. She’s a Davie, and you let her get away from you!”

“I wasn’t there when she left.” Well, he was asleep...on the sofa in the living room. But he had the audacity to add, “I had no choice.”

And Cousin Maren replied, “Once I left Hebert!” She raised staying hands and turned her head aside. Although no one said anything, Cousin Maren held up her hands as if they’d all gasped and protested such an act. She went on: “And Hebert came to Daddy’s house and said, ‘You get her out here as quick as you can!”’

Tyler inquired, “And, did your daddy do that?”

“No.”

So Tyler asked, “What’d Cousin Hebert do?”

“He came into my room and said to me, ‘Get your things together, woman, I’ve used up my patience with you.’”

“He said that?” It was Tyler, himself, who exclaimed. Of course, Tyler had heard her husband’s version so he was interested in this one.

And Cousin Maren replied, “I stood firm and lifted my chin.” She showed them how she’d done that. “And I pointed to my doorway and told Hebert, ‘Leave here.’ But he would not.

“I finally had to go down and open the front door for him. He then picked me up and carried me to his car. My daddy tried to help me, but Hebert wouldn’t allow that.”

Tyler was the only new listener. All the others had heard Cousin Maren’s version, in its varieties, for some time, by then.

And with some unkind humor, Tyler asked, “Did you ever escape again?”

Cousin Maren sighed and looked off sadly. “I never managed. Hebert is such a determined man.”

So Tyler offered, “I’ll come help you the next time.”

There were coughs that covered the listeners’ shocked hilarity.

But then Maren looked up at Tyler, and he saw that she was not loved as she wanted. Hebert had never cherished her as she’d needed. So she had made up what she wanted.

With earnest compassion, Tyler told his mother’s cousin, “He was lucky your daddy couldn’t stop him, and he got you back. You’re a jewel.”

Her eyes filled with tears, and Tyler hugged her.

As she leaned into his arms, the old lady asked, “How could Kayla ever have left you?” And she looked up at Tyler’s eyes with such remorse.

The odd thing about that little vignette was that it didn’t just joggle Tyler’s understanding, but it surprised the watchers who’d never before realized Cousin Maren was so vulnerable. It made them all think and, after that, they were kinder to her.

But the experience touched Tyler. He’d been deliberately pushing the edge with the old lady. He was acting that way to amuse the watchers. How strange to realize the old cousin wasn’t a joke; she was human and she needed attention.

So Tyler searched the noisy crowd out to find Cousin Hebert and told him very seriously, “Your wife needs some civil attentions from you. You need to admire her and hold her hand and be kind.”

Cousin Hebert squinted his eyes at Tyler and asked, “What all’ve you been drinking, boy? I want some of that.”

Tyler became very serious and settled in to educate the eighty-one-year-old cousin, in women. Tyler was earnest and kind.

Cousin Hebert protested, “I’m too old for that stuff, boy! I can’t even get up on a horse no more.”

Earnestly, Tyler coaxed, “You can share the sunset with her. You can see to it that she’s comfortable. You can buy her something little, and you can give her a rose—”

But after a while, Hebert just asked, “How long since your wife left you?”

Sadly, Tyler said, “Too long.”

And Cousin Hebert said, “How come she left?”

“Damned if I know.”

“I guess you wasn’t doing something you ought to’ve been doing?”

“I don’t know what that is.”

And Cousin Hebert suggested, “Ask her.”

With great sadness, Tyler told the old man, “I haven’t been able to get in touch with her.”

But Cousin Hebert said, “Maybe you ought to try harder?”

“I suppose.”

It’s strange how events turn around and can be viewed from another angle. While Tyler didn’t budge Cousin Hebert one quarter inch, Tyler was budged into finding out why Kayla hadn’t come back to him. She had not only avoided him, she hadn’t even spoken to him.

Why had she so carefully made herself unavailable to him? That was the part that hurt Tyler so terribly. She no longer wanted to see him. That made his feeling of self-worth fade.

He wasn’t a...hero anymore. He was just a man.

About the only thing that kept Tyler Fuller going was the baseball team. It had been organized by the legal firms there in San Antonio. From among the various firms, they had rival teams. There were a whole lot of snide comments about lawyers playing baseball.

Even the lawyers said those kind of things to one another.

And one of the first problems was when the women lawyers and secretaries and receptionists had insisted on playing baseball with the men. It hadn’t worked. The men used different bats and the baseballs were hard. So the female players gradually moved to playing separate games.

And last season the women in the Reardon firm won the area’s legal cup. And the male segment of the firm scored second...to last.

However, being enlightened, the men set up an elegantly structured table in the lobby of their building and put the women’s cup on the table with a spotlight. The table was exactly the right size to show off the cup. It wasn’t too small or skimpy and it wasn’t humongous to overwhelm the cup. It was a perfect exhibit. That soothed a lot of ruffled feathers.

It had been Barbara Nelson’s idea. It was she who had suggested it to the men. She’d expected a hoopla of objection, but the men fooled her. It had been a good move. When Tyler had commented positively on the cup, his boss, Barbara Nelson, had just smiled at him.

Even though he’d been married, then, that smile had scared Tyler more than anything else. Hers was a predator’s smile.

On the team, Tyler played second base. He did well enough as a batter but he had never hit a home run. He was alert and quick. He did his share and he was accurate in his throws. Probably the best thing was that he looked. He knew where players were and he threw precisely. He was a plus. He kept his eye on the ball.

Probably the best advice he got on playing ball was from his great-uncle Clyde, who said, “Whenever a baseball referee mentions your number, shake your head in a serious, surprised way. Everybody will think the referee was as blind as they’d always suspected.”

That small move could also be applied to a lawyer’s devaluation of another lawyer’s client in court. Especially if there was a jury.

Last year, Kayla had been one of the wives who’d come out to the games. She’d been interested and ornery. She’d laughed when the crowd got too upset over anything. She’d been weird even then.

Tyler groaned as he contemplated how he missed her. As the games were played, he’d foolishly look in the stands for her. And he’d realize she was gone. He had no one to cheer him on and give him the knowledge that somebody cared about him.

His parents were there. His sisters and brothers and nieces and nephews. His cousins... Yeah. And they cheered. But Kayla wasn’t there.

Even Barbara Nelson was there. She would be. She made Tyler’s skin prickle in alarm.

It was after a while and months of trying before Tyler finally got hold of his ex on the phone. He was so surprised when she answered that for a breath he couldn’t think of anything to say.

She’d repeated, “Hello?”

And he’d said, “Don’t hang up.”

Her impatient sigh had been obvious. But she hadn’t hung up.

He’d said, “I need to know that you’re all right.”

“Yes.”

“And I need to know if you need anything at all. Do you have enough money?”

“Yes.”

He’d scrambled for something to say. “Is your car working all right?”

“Yes.”

“I miss you like bloody hell.”

“You’ll get over it.”

“Now, Kayla, that wasn’t nice at all. You could’ve said you miss me a little.”

“I bought all those other dogs.”

“Other? You didn’t have a—You mean me.”

“I’ve never seen anyone who went such places as you chose.”

“I was curious. It wasn’t for long.”

“I doubt it I must go. Have I replied to all your questions?”

“You aren’t out watching the games. I miss you in the bleachers.”

In surprise, she did gasp but then she’d said flippantly, “I’m busy.”

“Who’re you busy—with?”

“The Davies are having their annual picnic. I’m helping get it organized.”

“It was fun last year. Since I’m—was married to you, do I get to go this year?”

“No.”

He had coaxed, “We had a good time last year.”

“How nice.”

“Let’s have coffee tomorrow. I’ll come by your office and get you.”

She wasn’t encouraging. “I’ll be busy.”

“Not...that...busy. We need to talk.”

“My other phone’s ringing. Take care.”

And she’d hung up.

Oddly enough, the stiff, aloof exchange had made Tyler exuberant! It was the first time she’d talked to him in a long while!

His counterself had said a sour: Goody.

And he’d replied to his counterself, Well, we exchanged words. Those were the first exchanged words that weren’t about divorce!

In spite of his counterself, Tyler had gone to bed that night with a smile. His dreams had been erotic. He’d been faithful. He had dreams. He wakened with the stimulation. And he lay and wondered if that hungry body of hers dreamed like his. His sex was named Godzilla. Yeah. He’d done the naming at age fourteen. Half his lifetime ago.

At the office, since his divorce, he referred to Barbara as Miss Nelson...relentlessly.

She told him, “You needn’t be so formal.”

He smiled at her and replied, “I’m being formal. You’re my boss. To call you by your name would sound pushy.”

“I don’t mind...pushy.”

“It isn’t businesslike and respectful.” He was adamant. So he went right on calling Barbara, Miss Nelson.

For a while she sassed back by calling Tyler, Mr. Fuller. But he accepted that term with a slight, serious nod. So she went back to calling him Tyler.

If Barbara had been any younger she would have torn her hair. But she just waited.

For Tyler, her waiting was a whole lot like realizing a big spider knew where he was and was watching him from some crack in the wall. It was scary.

He shared that fear with Jamie.

Jamie said, “Tell me which crack, and I’ll take care of it for you.” Jamie said that not even looking up from his papers.

So Tyler told Barbara, “Jamie admires you.”

And she asked, “Jamie...who?”

Tyler blinked. She really didn’t know which man was Jamie. So Tyler was gentle. “We share an office. He’s Jamie Oliver. A fine lawyer. He looks at you with admiration.”

Barbara slitted her eyes and watched Tyler but she didn’t respond, so he went off. He could feel Barbara Nelson’s eyes under his clothes all the way down the hall. He shivered.

So then Barbara-who-was-now-referred-to-as-Miss Nelson met Tyler in the hall. She asked Tyler to lunch with her.

But he said earnestly, “I’ve a meeting with Kayla. She has a problem.”

He hadn’t even said thank you or looked directly at the woman. And he just went on off down the hall.

And he didn’t dare to look back to see if the prickles down his backside were actually from her lascivious stare.

He called Kayla at work and said, “If you have any sense of compassion at all, you’ll have lunch with me today. That barracuda who is Barbara Nelson has her eye on me.”

In a dead voice, his ex-wife said with no emphasis at all, “How exciting.”

“Don’t be nasty. You could help out a little. You owe me something.”

“I owe you something? I do not!”

“Kayla, you are the most compassionate woman I’ve ever known. I’m not asking you to come back home and get into my bed—” And the very idea of her doing that ruined his breathing. He was silent.

She sighed into the mouthpiece and said, “Okay. This once.”

He left his office early to avoid walking out with Miss Nelson...and having her glued to him for the lunch hour...with Kayla. No way.

At the bank, Tyler went to Kayla’s office before she was ready to leave it, and he sat patiently in the waiting room until Kayla came to fetch him.

Kayla groused, “Everybody in the building knows you’re here! They all think we’re bonding. This has got to be the last time I see you.”

“Why?”

And Kayla sighed with great patience and reminded Tyler, “We’re divorced!”

He told her logically, “We married because there is a bond between us. WE understand each other—”

“Oh, no, we don’t!”

“—most of the time.” He had continued. “You tend to be more structured in your conduct and not open to new ideas—”

“I will not see you again!”

“—but we are friends.” He finished his words.

Kayla was positive, “No. We are not.”

With legal logic, Tyler was firm. “We were friends in our marriage. And we were lovers. I want to continue the friendship.”

She scoffed, “You want a shield. You can’t handle one woman, much less two.”

Their argument continued all the way down the street and into the restaurant, through the line as they chose what they wanted, to their table and all the way through their lunch. It was like old times. What else can a woman expect from a lawyer? He argues all the time!

Tyler cheerfully walked Kayla back to her building. He would have escorted her to her desk, but she was firm that he did not.

So that night at the park’s baseball diamond, Tyler batted in two runs. He was thrown out both times. But the team cheered the runs. At least Tyler had helped somebody else make it to home plate.

But Kayla wasn’t in the bleachers. He looked. He watched. He almost missed a ball. He settled down, accepted that she wasn’t there and he played baseball.

At the office, at that time, Tyier’s primary concern was drafting the contracts for a hospital, which was buying out a doctor’s private medical practice. This was done under Miss Nelson’s watch. The hospital would put the doctor on their payroll as a full-time employee. The hospital would bill the patients, and the doctor would rotate with the other doctors in being available on night call and weekends.

While it was interesting to Tyler, he felt some hesitancy for the doctor. However, he was again impressed with Miss Nelson’s ability and knowledge. She was a superior mentor.

She scared him spitless.

The contract would take about a week to finalize the draft to present to the hospital for their input. Somebody at the firm would meet with the hospital authorities to agree on the final version.

The hospital would then present the contract to the doctor, who would consult his own lawyer. His lawyer could make suggestions for changes. After that was done, she would return the contract to the hospital.

The hospital then might or might not agree to the changes. And they would have to have a meeting. If there were no changes they could sign the contract. If there were changes and the hospital agreed with them or the parties agreed with some modification, they would ask the law firm to include the modified changes into the contract. Then it would be ready for execution.

The entire process was interesting to Tyler. He found it stimulating to smooth people’s problems and help them. His mind worked differently from nonlegal minds. He always considered ramifications.

He had decided against being a candidate for any local or federal political office. He had given the idea thoughtful consideration. A political career wasn’t for him. He was a home boy. But he could help a candidate. He’d help somebody he believed in.

And he found it was annoying that Kayla wasn’t there as his sounding board. She had taken that position since he’d first known her.

She’d taken other positions since then. Now her position was to be gone from him. What an irritating woman! Why couldn’t she be pliant and fascinated like she was supposed to be? Instead she was out of his life, on her own and not needing him around!

It was depressing to understand an ex-wife didn’t need him any longer. She adjusted well to being on her own. Actually, she wasn’t entirely. She and her dogs were sharing a place with Henrietta and her cats.

So one noon who should Tyler run into on the street but Henrietta! He smiled his smile of greeting women and didn’t look at her chest. He said, “Welt, how’s it going?”

Henrietta grinned. “Great! Thanks for getting me a new roomie.”

Sourly, Tyler replied, “I didn’t have anything at all to do with Kayla leaving me. I’m trying to get her back.”

“I don’t think she’d be interested.”

“We’ll see. How are the dogs and cats getting along?” And his eyes were cool as he waited for her reply.

But Henrietta said airily, “We got rid of the dogs before she even moved in. Most were prime dogs. They were snatched up. One of the prime ones went with his original owner! We couldn’t find where they’d stolen the other dogs.”

“I thought Kayla bought those dogs.”

“Oh, she did. And she got her money back. But the dogs had been stolen. Well, one hadn’t.”

Tyler frowned. “I didn’t know the dogs had been stolen.”

“Haven’t you ever seen the papers when the pit dogs are killed by an opponent, the pit people then drive through the city and just leave the dead dogs In an alley somewhere?”

“Poor dogs.”

“They use female dogs, in heat, to lure the male dogs away from the owners’ yards.”

“Females have always been a trial for males. Even dogs.”

Henrietta laughed, gave Tyler a casual wave and went on off down the street.

Tyler walked along to a café for lunch. He was deliberately alone. With a group a man can’t offer to sit down with a single woman. He needed a woman. Actually, he needed Kayla. Even going alone this way, he wasn’t really interested in finding another woman to be permanent. He wanted to talk and be listened to.

He went through the lunch line not seeing anyone he knew. The place was Nick’s. The owner was named Bob. The place had been Nick’s for something like thirty years. Tyler greeted Bob, didn’t see Tim wave to him and went to a table with one woman.

No rings. Not bad looking. Slender. Reading a book. She needed company.

Tyler inquired with courtesy, “Vacant?” And he indicated the chair across from her.

She looked up from her book to look only at the chair. She said, “Nobody’s around. You can have it.” And she went back to her book.

She didn’t say one word to Tyler. She didn’t even look at him. He felt like a ghost. Women looked at Tyler. He was always careful to only smile and never wink. Winking can get a man in trouble.

His table partner went on reading. He tried to see what the book was. Not a clue. He asked, “What’s the book about?”

She briefly looked up and said, “Huh?” But she instantly went back to the book.

That’s a put-off. So Tyler didn’t try for dialogue.

It was diminishing to have a book be more interesting than being a man like he was. He asked for the salt.

Blindly, she handed it to him from the middle of the small table. She didn’t look up from the book.

He pretended to salt everything without salting anything. He didn’t tilt the shaker but he moved his hand up and down as if he was salting it all. She never looked up. Then he put the shaker in the middle of the table. He asked, “Why is the book so interesting?”

“I’m on my lunch hour.”

Tyler narrowed his eyes. That was another put-off. She was on her lunch hour therefore she didn’t need to discuss anything with a stranger.

She ate and read. Tyler sat silently and ate. He looked around somewhat. No one was staring at him with knowledgeable sneers. People went on with their lives not needing to know what Tyler Fuller was doing or how he was doing or if he was deliberately being ignored by another indifferent woman.

It’s diminishing to realize no one really cares about a recently divorced man.

He remembered the sci-fi motion picture of The Shrinking Man. Tyler’s clothes still fit. He could sit on a chair. He wasn’t actually shrinking.

That was something to be thankful about. He drew a breath that was rather sad. She didn’t look up. A man could sigh that sadly and that heartless woman didn’t even have the courtesy to ask what was the matter. What was the world coming to?

So Tyler took the long way back to the office. He told Jamie, “I met a woman at lunch.”

Jamie never glanced up. He replied. “I saw her.”

Tyler silently sat down at his desk. Jamie had seen the reading woman who’d never even once looked at Tyler.

Tyler picked up some papers and began to read them for errors. He went back and began again. He finally actually began to read.