The Perfect Spouse: A Novel. Sioux Dallas

very drunk strangers were staggering around yelling and laughing. He didn’t know either man and did not open his door.

      He was relieved when the door across the hall was jerked open and a man stepped out. He recognized him as the man who had spoken in the garage. The man was irate; after all it was eleven.

      “What do you men want? Get away from here. There’s no one here that knows you or wants you. You’re waking people that need their sleep.”

      “Oh, yeah? Well, our buddy, Frank, knows us and he’ll want to let us in and party with us.” The man speaking began beating on Jason’s door again and yelled. “Frank. Come on out and tell this jerk that we’re going to paaarty, paaarty.”

      The man across the hall spoke up again. “There’s no one here by that name. Frank does not live here. You’re at the wrong apartment.”

      Apparently the woman had called the police because two officers showed up just then and arrested the two drunks. Jason waited until they were gone and then stepped out in the hall. The man was still standing there looking at the police leaving.

      Jason looked at the man. “I’m sorry you were bothered, but I honestly did not know those men.”

      “Don’t worry, son. I’ve seen enough of you to know you don’t mix in company like that. My name is Tony Dixon and this is my wife, Betty.” He turned to the woman who was standing in their doorway.

      “I’m glad you’re living across from me. I don’t know that I would have done anything about those drunken men other than to ignore them. I’m glad to meet both of you,” he smiled. “My name is Jason and I’ve got to get up early to go to work. If you’ll excuse me I must get back to bed and hope I can sleep some. Thank you again.”

      “Oh, I’ve already made hot chocolate. Do please join us,” Betty said with a smile.

      Jason reasoned to himself that they were probably lonely and it wouldn’t hurt him to have one cup of hot chocolate. He grinned sheepishly and pointed to himself dressed in pajamas.

      “You’re fine,” Tony urged him. “It won’t take long to drink a cup of hot chocolate. We’re in night clothes, too. Come on over for a few minutes.”

      Jason shrugged and walked over into a homey, pleasant room. Tony showed Jason to sit on a lovely old-fashioned tan camel back couch. He sat and found it surprisingly comfortable. Betty came in with a tray on which were three mugs of hot chocolate with marshmallow on top. Beaming, she handed mugs to the two men and then took one and sat down.

      Tony raised his mug and said, “To good friendship.”

      Jason smiled, inclined his head and said, “Hear, hear.”

      Betty brought out pictures of family. Jason learned they had a daughter who had married an Arab and now lived in Iraq with grandchildren they had never seen. They had two sons, both killed in service. He could tell they were heartbroken. In reality they had lost all three of their children. Jason quickly realized that they were not only lonely but needed someone to talk to about their grief. He felt sorry for them but hoped they wouldn’t expect to replace their loss with him.

      A clock chimed midnight and Jason jumped up. “Oh, I have to get some sleep. I’m getting up at six for work. Thank you for the hot chocolate. I have enjoyed meeting you.

      He felt ashamed for his actions but hurried out and back to his own apartment. He was angry at himself that he couldn’t seem to find a common ground for a discussion with the Dixons. His mind flew around subjects so much that he had a difficult time falling asleep.

       Chapter Six

      It seemed to Jason that he had just closed his eyes when his alarm brought him straight up in bed. He yawned and stretched, slowly got out of bed and staggered into the bathroom.

      Dressing in a dark blue suit with a lighter blue shirt and red and blue tie, Jason drew on his boots. He snapped on his watch, checked for his wallet and a clean handkerchief and headed for the kitchen.

      He remembered he had left his briefcase on a kitchen cabinet at the same time that he smelled the coffee. God bless the person who invented an automatic coffee maker that could be programmed at night to start working the next morning. He slipped two pieces of frozen French toast in the toaster and put two eggs on to boil.

      While his breakfast was being prepared, he went to his door to pick up the paper which he had delivered. He took off the clear plastic wrapper and sat at the kitchen table to spread the paper out and read. He finally thought to check on the eggs and decided he had let them boil too long, but that was too bad. He’d eat them anyway. He slipped the now cooled French toast into the microwave for fifteen seconds to warm. He spread butter on them and reached for the syrup. Breakfast over, Jason washed what few dishes he had and left them in the drainer to air dry.

      He ran to the bathroom to brush his teeth. Returning to the front of the apartment, he put on his overcoat and Stetson, grabbed his briefcase and hurried out. Locking his door he walked quietly down the hall to the elevator hoping he would not disturb any of his neighbors.

      In his office, an hour before the others, he concentrated on completing work he had neglected while getting established in The Perfect Spouse. He disciplined his mind to concentrate on the work and not on his impressions of the people he had met at the party.

      Grace hurried in bringing a swirl of cold air. She took off her coat and knit cap and hung them up after putting her gloves on a corner of her desk. She placed her purse in a bottom desk drawer and turned to go make coffee. She gave a strangled scream when she discovered Jason standing in the hall.

      “What are you doing here this early? You nearly scared me to death. I couldn’t imagine how anyone could have gotten in and I sure didn’t expect to see you.” She sat down to take off her rubber boots.

      “I’m sorry, Grace. I’ve gotten involved in some personal matters and decided I needed to come in early to finish work that I had started. Go on and fix the coffee. I’m having some fresh pastries and fruit delivered in a few minutes. Put them where the three of you can enjoy them.” He went back to his office and quietly shut the door.

      Jason thankfully completed a quarterly report a local business had hired him to do and to stay on top of their financial affairs. He breathed a sigh of relief and reached for a folder of work that belonged to an attorney in a nearby town.

      He lost track of time with his mind so focused on what he was doing. He looked up when someone knocked on his door and then opened it. Grace entered with a mug of coffee, as he liked it and a Bavarian cream-filled Long John. She placed these on his desk then took an apple and some napkins out of a packet.

      “Oh, Grace, you’re worth a fortune, but you shouldn’t have bothered.”

      “Doing something for you is absolutely no bother. I bet you don’t eat properly most of the time with no one to remind you. Do you even shop for groceries?”

      “Whoa. At least stop long enough to take a breath. Yes, I shop for groceries and do basic cooking. I had breakfast at six fifteen this morning and it’s now ten, so this is good. Thank you.”

      Grace frowned and leaned against his desk. “There’s a Margaret Archer calling and insisting on speaking only with you. I told her that she’d have to make an appointment, but she snorted and hung up.”

      “Snorted?” he laughed. “Who is Margaret Archer?”

      “I have no idea and neither Greg nor Beth can remember ever knowing her or hearing about her. What should I tell her if she calls again?”

      “That she has to make an appointment. She also needs to tell you the nature of her business. You know the drill.”

      “Jason, you have a business to run and need clients, but I had the hair, on the back of my neck, standing up while she was talking. She has an irritating voice. I don’t have a good feeling about her.”

      “Well,