Calvin sighed with contentment as he settled into the chair on the patio area, in front of the door to Dexter's apartment. That first taste of beer really felt good going down. He set the bottle on the cement of the patio.
Calvin said, "I was thinking about having a beer on my ride home. You can't imagine how nice it was to have you offer me one when I got here."
"It's a perfect day for a beer," Dexter said leaning back in his chair.
"I couldn't agree more."
After taking a drink out of his bottle of beer, Dexter asked, "So how are things going with Samantha?"
"Good. We've had a lot dates, and only a couple of them were ruined by work. She hasn't complained when I've had to rush off to take care of a problem. I'm very lucky," Calvin said.
Calvin reached down and picked up the bottle of beer, leaving a wet condensation ring on the concrete. The weather was hot, the air was muggy, and the beer was cold. He took a swig from the bottle and sighed in pleasure. He set the bottle down on the cement of the patio where it immediately created another ring of water.
"She's a nice lady," Dexter said.
"She's smart in addition to being pretty," Calvin said. "I think smart women are sexy."
"I couldn't agree more," Dexter said. "You'll spend more time talking to a wife, than having sex with her. It's important to be able to talk to her."
"Don't give me marriage advice," Calvin said.
"Why not?" Dexter asked.
Calvin answered, "Amber has told me a little about how you treated your wife."
"What did she tell you?" Dexter asked bristling more than a little.
"That you acted like an asshole, when your wife sent you that text message," Calvin answered.
"Me? I acted like an asshole? That's bullshit," Dexter said angrily.
"Maybe. Maybe not," Calvin said. "Maybe I've got thicker skin than you."
"What do you mean?" Dexter asked.
Calvin said, "You know that I'm a systems administrator, right?"
"Yes."
"All day long, I get messages from users that some system, somewhere, is not working right. Sometimes, they really get abusive when reporting a problem. You wouldn't believe the kinds of things that people say to me," Calvin said.
"I probably would believe," Dexter said.
Calvin laughed as he replied, "You might, at that."
"So what has that got to do with Amber saying that I acted like an asshole?"
Calvin said, "You're wife let you know that your marriage was broken. Did you try to fix it? Nope. Did you even ask what the problem was? Nope. Did you even check to see if the message was an error? Nope. You just ran off, shouting 'fuck you', without even looking back."
"I was hurt," Dexter said.
"That's not an excuse. You're supposed to fix things, not let them fall apart even more," Calvin said.
"But..."
"Man up!" Calvin said.
"I was sure that she cheated on me," Dexter said. "A man can't stay married to a cheating wife."
"Did you have any proof?" Calvin asked.
"No."
"Shit! The first thing you learn, in 'Troubleshooting 101', is to identify what the real problem is. You didn't do that," Calvin said.
"Well..."
Calvin took a long drink from his beer. He put the nearly empty bottle down.
Calvin said, "You blew it."
"You think so?"
"Yep."
"Shit."
Calvin said, "You're a pretty smart guy. I mean ... your advice on your website nails one problem after another. You identify exactly what the real problem is, and then you provide a solution that solves that problem. That's a rare talent."
"Thanks," Dexter said.
"You should have tried that with your family," Calvin said.
"Hey! I'm getting along better with the kids, now," Dexter said defensively.
Calvin would have responded, but spotted Mary walking up the sidewalk. He waved to her.
She said, "Hello, Calvin. Hello, Dexter."
"Hello, Mary," Calvin said.
Trying to be polite, Dexter said, "Hello, Mary. Would you care for a beer?"
"Sure."
Her answer took him by surprise. He hadn't expected her to be interested in joining them for a beer.
"Do you want another, Calvin?" Dexter asked while rising from his chair.
"No, thank you. I'll take some water," Calvin answered. "I don't like to drink when I'm liable to be called for work. You wouldn't believe what damage you can do, when trying to fix a system problem while intoxicated. It's not pretty."
"All I've got is tap water," Dexter said.
"That's fine."
Mary said, "I never drink tap water."
"Why not?" Dexter asked.
"It's not as pure as bottled water," Mary said.
"I'd argue that," Calvin said.
Dexter decided that he didn't want to be part of that conversation. His personal opinion was, that bottled water was one of the greatest crimes against the American public ever perpetrated by marketing folks. Half the time the water was tap water, despite misleading product names. It was a scam to get people to pay an exorbitant amount for money for something that was basically almost free. A lot of the bottled water crowd didn't appreciate his comments about being fooled into spending their money for nothing.
He went in the apartment to get Mary's beer, and a glass of water for Calvin. While in the kitchen getting the glass for the water, he decided that he should probably get a glass for Mary's beer, since most women preferred to drink out a glass rather than a bottle. He filled one glass with water, after adding a little ice to it. He carried the beverages out to the little patio in front of his apartment door.
He handed the glass of water to Calvin. After handing Mary the glass, he opened the beer and held it out for her.
"I don't need a glass," Mary said while taking the beer and handing the glass back to him.
"Sorry."
"Don't be. It was a nice thought, but I can drink out of the bottle as well as the next guy," Mary said.
"Okay. Why don't you sit in my chair? I'll bring another one out," Dexter said.
"Thanks," Mary said.
Dexter went back in the house and brought out another chair. He sat down just at the entrance to his apartment.
Mary asked, "What were you two arguing about when I came up?"
"Nothing," Calvin answered diplomatically.
Dexter answered, "He was telling me that I was an asshole concerning how I treated my ex-wife."
"What did you do?"
"I divorced her," Dexter answered.
"Were you screwing around?" Mary asked.
"No!"
"She asked for a divorce, and Dexter just ran off, without even talking to her," Calvin answered.
"Why did she want a divorce?" Mary asked.
"She says that it's because I wondered who she was, when she came home from work one night," Dexter answered.
"What?" Mary asked looking a little confused.
"She needed a hug, and he asked who she was," Calvin answered.
"She was almost out of the room when I said, 'Who was that woman?' She didn't say anything about needing a hug," Dexter said.
He wasn't sure when the events that his wife said had taken place, had actually taken place. There had been quite a few evenings that he had wondered about Janet, and his relationship with her. He didn't recall asking the question, but Janet had insisted that he had asked it. He did know that his wife had never mentioned needing a hug.
"I'm not sure that I understand," Mary said.
"Neither do I," Calvin said.
"That makes three of us," Dexter said.
Mary asked, "Didn't you ask her?"
"No."
"You should have," Mary said.
"Why?"
"Did you love her?"
"Well ... I ... I guess so," Dexter answered.
Calvin said, "Check out his ring finger. My girlfriend remarked on that the other day."
"You're still wearing your wedding ring," Mary said after leaning over to examine his ring finger.
"So?"
"Jeeze! You still love her," Mary asserted.
"Well, I didn't ask for the divorce," Dexter said.
Calvin said, "You really fought hard to save your marriage. You never talked to her about it, until after you got shot. You wouldn't listen to her when she tried to explain what happened. You basically threw her away, even when she was begging to stay married."
"That's horrible," Mary said.
Dexter said, "She texted me that she wanted a divorce."
Calvin said, "You still love her. Judging by that ring on your finger, you haven't really accepted that you're not married to her. According to Amber, your ex-wife still wants to be married to you."
"Maybe."
"Do you like being single?" Mary asked.
The way she stated the question, made being single sound like a fate worse than death. It was obvious that she wasn't happy being single. Calvin's expression supported her attitude.
"Not really," Dexter answered.
"So why aren't you trying to get her back?" Calvin asked.
"Because..."
"Because what?"
"I don't know."
Mary said, "Call her and ask her out on a date."
"That's a good idea," Calvin said.
"That's a horrible idea," Dexter said.
"Why?"
"I don't know. We're divorced."
"So?"
"I don't know," Dexter said unable to come up with a reason.
Calvin said, "Is she interested in dating you?"
"She said she was," Dexter said.
"So call her and ask her out on a date," Calvin said.
"I don't know."
Calvin said, "When something breaks, you take it apart, replace the bad part, and put it back together again. If you can do that with something as complex as a dishwasher, you can do it with a marriage. You've taken apart the marriage. Now you can fix the bad part and put it back together again."
"You said I was an asshole," Dexter said.
"That's one of the bad parts," Calvin said with a chuckle.
Mary said, "That's an easy part to fix: stop being an asshole!"
"I don't know," Dexter said.
"Come on, Dexter. It's time for you to 'man up'. Go back to your wife and tell her you were wrong."
Mary looked down the walkway and spotted Dexter's neighbor walking towards them.
She said, "Hello, Xavier."
"Hi, Mary."
"Xavier?" Dexter asked wondering if he had heard correctly.
"That's my name," Xavier said.
"Wasn't that the name of the Happy Hooker?" Calvin asked.
"She was named Xaviera, not Xavier. The 'a' makes it a woman's name," Xavier answered looking very irritated by the question.
"Sorry," Calvin said.
It was obvious that Xavier had been asked that question many times and was very sensitive about it. Dexter was lucky that Calvin had asked first. He had been about to ask the same question.
Xavier said, "Now you know."
Dexter asked, "Would you care for a beer?"
"I'd like to get into my apartment," Xavier said.
"Sorry. Just thought I'd offer," Dexter said.
Looking over at Calvin, Xavier said, "Do you mind backing away from my door?"
"There's plenty of room," Calvin said.
"I don't like being near people," Xavier said.
Mary said, "Lighten up, Xavier. They won't hurt you."
"You don't know anything," Xavier said.
"They're my friends," Mary said.
Dexter was shocked to hear Mary call him a friend, particularly after she had maced him. He was also surprised that she knew Xavier. He kind of figured that she viewed all men as little more than possible modern incarnations of Attila The Hun ... ready to rape her at the drop of a hat.
"Will you vouch for them?" Xavier asked.
"I'm drinking a beer with them. You know my story," Mary said. "Do you think I would risk drinking a beer with them if I didn't trust them?"
Xavier frowned and looked at the ground. After taking a deep breath, he said, "I guess one beer wouldn't hurt."
"Good for you, Xavier," Mary said.
Dexter said, "One beer coming up."
"Could you put it in a glass?" Xavier asked.
"Sure."
Edited By TeNderLoin