| Romance Fiction posted July 2, 2022 |
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Fireworks for the weekend
The July 4th Affair.
by Terry Broxson
STACI'S STORY
July 4th, it has been thirty years. Those seventy-two hours I spent with Larry were full of fireworks, but it was not going anywhere. In the big scheme, it did not even amount to a blip on a radar screen looking for a UFO. He was just a guy. Okay, he was cute and funny.
I married Scott a couple of years later. He was the right kind of man for me. Scott had ambition. He had a vision of opening a chain of high-end bicycle stores. We opened the first location in Dallas. It was an absolute winner from the first day.
Scott and I were a good match. We both loved biking. We rode the ''Hotter than Hell 100'' in Wichita Falls every year. It was a grueling one hundred miles in August. It was hot but, so were we.
Scott and I were buffed, fit, and a poster couple of what people would look like if they just bought one of our bikes. Life was going to be good.
Life was good. The North Dallas store was making great money. Scott bought me a Mercedes. My job as an exercise physiologist in a sports medicine clinic was okay, but I could see developing the bike business as franchises or company-owned stores. Those decisions would come after we opened the second location.
Scott and I agreed the new store would be in Austin. It was perfect for us. Austin was the home of the University of Texas. The demographics of Austin fit our business model like a glove. Yuppies were young, upwardly mobile people with fitness and the environment on their minds.
It was going to be a slam dunk!
Her name was Kim. She was twenty-three and had graduated from UT with a business degree. She had a year of experience in retail. Scott hired her to be our store manager. I blamed her at first, but I knew it was all Scott. The divorce was quick. What was there to say? She was twenty-three, and I was thirty-five.
Scott did have to leverage all the assets and profits of the two stores to pay me off. I bought my house with that money. Twenty years later, the home is worth a small fortune. I have over thirty years in the same job. I have dated a few guys and almost got serious once.
I never heard what happened to Kim. Nine months after the divorce, Scott lost both stores; they had too much debt. I know he married a woman with kids a few years back. I have no idea and don't care how that turned out.
Once a year, I do think about July 4th. Larry was working in the construction business, trying to figure life out. He had lived in San Diego before coming to Texas. He said he liked surfing.
I told him surfing was great aerobics. I remember he said it was also good for the heart. Duh, I had a master's degree in exercise physiology, I told him I knew something else good for the heart. He was cute, fun, and very attentive. We had a long holiday weekend. I never saw him again. I do wonder what happened to Larry.
LARRY'S STORY
July 4th is coming up, and I still think about Staci. She was gorgeous with long red hair and fit. Oh my lord, the girl had a body. She must have worked out all the time. I remember she liked bike riding. Staci was smart. I think she had some kind of college degree.
I was twenty-five and trying to start my own business installing tile for new and remodeled homes. I had been bumming around after high school. My goals were murky at best. I worked the construction job all day and spent all my money at the sports bars at night, hoping to find true love or a substitute.
My aunt's husband said, Larry's idea of planning was to put both hands in his pockets only to declare damn, I am out of money! He was right. That did happen more than once, and it did end the evening.
I met Staci on July 2nd, I don't remember if I ran out of money. It didn't matter. She had an apartment and no roommate. It was the best three-day weekend of my life. It was also the longest relationship I ever had until I got married.
Now, thirty years later, I am married to a beautiful, smart woman. We have a blended family. We live near Dallas and have built a fabulous party venue on fifty acres we think will provide for our retirement. My tile business has done well, but I am ready to give it up and let the next venture blossom. Life is good. Still, on July 4th, I wonder what happened to Staci.
STACI'S STORY
July 4th, it has been thirty years. Those seventy-two hours I spent with Larry were full of fireworks, but it was not going anywhere. In the big scheme, it did not even amount to a blip on a radar screen looking for a UFO. He was just a guy. Okay, he was cute and funny.
I married Scott a couple of years later. He was the right kind of man for me. Scott had ambition. He had a vision of opening a chain of high-end bicycle stores. We opened the first location in Dallas. It was an absolute winner from the first day.
Scott and I were a good match. We both loved biking. We rode the ''Hotter than Hell 100'' in Wichita Falls every year. It was a grueling one hundred miles in August. It was hot but, so were we.
Scott and I were buffed, fit, and a poster couple of what people would look like if they just bought one of our bikes. Life was going to be good.
Life was good. The North Dallas store was making great money. Scott bought me a Mercedes. My job as an exercise physiologist in a sports medicine clinic was okay, but I could see developing the bike business as franchises or company-owned stores. Those decisions would come after we opened the second location.
Scott and I agreed the new store would be in Austin. It was perfect for us. Austin was the home of the University of Texas. The demographics of Austin fit our business model like a glove. Yuppies were young, upwardly mobile people with fitness and the environment on their minds.
It was going to be a slam dunk!
Her name was Kim. She was twenty-three and had graduated from UT with a business degree. She had a year of experience in retail. Scott hired her to be our store manager. I blamed her at first, but I knew it was all Scott. The divorce was quick. What was there to say? She was twenty-three, and I was thirty-five.
Scott did have to leverage all the assets and profits of the two stores to pay me off. I bought my house with that money. Twenty years later, the home is worth a small fortune. I have over thirty years in the same job. I have dated a few guys and almost got serious once.
I never heard what happened to Kim. Nine months after the divorce, Scott lost both stores; they had too much debt. I know he married a woman with kids a few years back. I have no idea and don't care how that turned out.
Once a year, I do think about July 4th. Larry was working in the construction business, trying to figure life out. He had lived in San Diego before coming to Texas. He said he liked surfing.
I told him surfing was great aerobics. I remember he said it was also good for the heart. Duh, I had a master's degree in exercise physiology, I told him I knew something else good for the heart. He was cute, fun, and very attentive. We had a long holiday weekend. I never saw him again. I do wonder what happened to Larry.
LARRY'S STORY
July 4th is coming up, and I still think about Staci. She was gorgeous with long red hair and fit. Oh my lord, the girl had a body. She must have worked out all the time. I remember she liked bike riding. Staci was smart. I think she had some kind of college degree.
I was twenty-five and trying to start my own business installing tile for new and remodeled homes. I had been bumming around after high school. My goals were murky at best. I worked the construction job all day and spent all my money at the sports bars at night, hoping to find true love or a substitute.
My aunt's husband said, Larry's idea of planning was to put both hands in his pockets only to declare damn, I am out of money! He was right. That did happen more than once, and it did end the evening.
I met Staci on July 2nd, I don't remember if I ran out of money. It didn't matter. She had an apartment and no roommate. It was the best three-day weekend of my life. It was also the longest relationship I ever had until I got married.
Now, thirty years later, I am married to a beautiful, smart woman. We have a blended family. We live near Dallas and have built a fabulous party venue on fifty acres we think will provide for our retirement. My tile business has done well, but I am ready to give it up and let the next venture blossom. Life is good. Still, on July 4th, I wonder what happened to Staci.
 Recognized |
#38 July 2022 |
Artwork by Raoul D'Harmental at FanArtReview.com
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