{"id":5944,"date":"2013-09-03T00:00:02","date_gmt":"2013-09-03T04:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gadflyonline.com\/home\/?p=5944"},"modified":"2013-09-03T09:07:22","modified_gmt":"2013-09-03T13:07:22","slug":"unfinished-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/unfinished-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Unfinished Business"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Unfinished_585x585\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Jack Harvey had been coming to Germany for many years.\u00a0 A successful salesman whose retirement was quickly approaching, he wanted to spend his Saturday visiting one of his favorite places.\u00a0 This was the little Bavarian village of Markendorf, located an hour or so north of Munich.\u00a0 Although he hadn\u2019t visited there in a long while, Jack loved the place.\u00a0 It held a lot of sentimental memories for him.\u00a0 He had struggled with his emotions for a long time before finally making his decision to return there.\u00a0 He hoped that he wasn\u2019t making a big mistake but coming back to Markendorf was something that he felt he really needed to do.\u00a0 He had some unfinished business.<\/p>\n

The morning air in the village was cool as he walked from the train station to Parkstrasse where he turned to the north and continued for two blocks until he reached the Hotel am Wald.\u00a0 He had been a guest there many times in years past.\u00a0 It was a great little hotel and he had always enjoyed it very much.\u00a0 As he approached the hotel, it still looked exactly as he remembered it.\u00a0 It had changed very little through the years.\u00a0 Jack entered the hotel through the front door.\u00a0 Inside, a boy in his early teens was cleaning the lobby floor with a damp mop.\u00a0 Jack smiled at him in a friendly manner as he hesitated and then tiptoed across the damp floor until he reached the breakfast room.<\/p>\n

\u201cEntschuldigen,\u201d <\/i>Jack said to the boy in a slightly embarrassed tone of voice.<\/p>\n

The boy didn\u2019t speak but he smiled good-naturedly in return.\u00a0 He was a nice looking kid.\u00a0 He quickly redid the area of the floor where Jack had walked before continuing with his chore.<\/p>\n

The breakfast room was not crowded so Jack took a seat at a table near the front window.\u00a0 As soon as the waitress brought him his coffee, he went to the buffet where he chose the food items that he wanted to eat.\u00a0 Although he was hungry, he selected only a few items for his plate.\u00a0 He could return to the buffet again if his initial selections did not fully satisfy him.\u00a0 Slowly, he began to leisurely eat.\u00a0 He had plenty of time and he intended to enjoy his meal.<\/p>\n

It was only a few minutes later when Jack saw her enter the lobby through the front door.\u00a0 She stopped momentarily to have a few words with the teenage boy who was still cleaning.\u00a0 She then went behind the front counter where she began to organize her paperwork.\u00a0 Several hotel guests would be checking out that morning and she wanted to be ready for them.\u00a0 Soon she was finished with this simple task at which time she turned her attention to the breakfast room.\u00a0 As she slowly surveyed the room, Jack tried not to look at her although he soon sensed her gaze firmly upon him.\u00a0 He decided to return her stare and smiled tentatively as he did so.\u00a0 She did not smile back.\u00a0 Instead, with a surprised expression on her face, she entered the room and approached his table.\u00a0 Jack felt nervous, not certain that he was prepared for the upcoming conversation.\u00a0 Hopefully it would go well.<\/p>\n

\u201cHello, Jack,\u201d she said in a very formal tone of voice.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s nice to see you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHello, Veronica,\u201d he replied.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s nice to see you, too.\u00a0 How long has it been?\u00a0 Fifteen years?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, not quite that long but does it really make any difference?\u00a0 It\u2019s been a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jack could feel the bitterness in her words, perhaps even a subtle anger.\u00a0 He knew immediately that she had been harboring her feelings for years and he understood why.\u00a0 He already wondered if he had made the right decision in coming to see her today.\u00a0 He had allowed his sentiments to influence his reasoning and he sensed that perhaps he shouldn\u2019t have.\u00a0 He wished that he were now sitting someplace else, anywhere except his present location.\u00a0 His hand slightly trembled as he lifted his coffee cup to his mouth.\u00a0 He wondered if she noticed his nervousness.<\/p>\n

\u201cWould you like to join me for breakfast?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, thank you,\u201d she replied.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve already eaten.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease, Veronica,\u201d he requested.\u00a0 \u201cWill you have some coffee?\u00a0 I need to speak with you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Veronica nodded her head.\u00a0 She briefly went into the lobby where the boy had finished his work and was sitting in a chair waiting for her.\u00a0 She instructed him to watch the front desk for a few minutes, as she needed to have a discussion with a guest.\u00a0 Jack Harvey now noticed that the boy was wearing a football (soccer) uniform.\u00a0 He doubtlessly had a game today.\u00a0 The boy accepted his order reluctantly and assumed his position behind the front counter.\u00a0 Veronica smiled approvingly at him.\u00a0 Then, after briefly stopping at the breakfast buffet and taking a croissant and some butter, she returned to Jack\u2019s table.\u00a0 As she approached, he poured her a cup of coffee from a ceramic carafe.\u00a0 She took the seat directly across the table from him.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, what brings you here today?\u201d she asked, not wasting any time.\u00a0 She began putting butter on her croissant as she awaited his answer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m retiring in a few months,\u201d he explained to her.\u00a0 \u201cThis is one of my last trips to Germany.\u00a0 I enjoyed many fun times in Markendorf.\u00a0 I guess for nostalgic reasons, I wanted to come back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNostalgia?\u201d she replied flabbergasted.\u00a0 \u201cYou came back for nostalgia?\u00a0 I would\u2019ve thought that you\u2019d finally come back because you wanted to see me.\u00a0 We did have a past, Jack.\u00a0 Surely you must remember.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, I remember,\u201d he replied, \u201cand, yes, I wanted to see you.\u00a0 I was hoping that you\u2019d still be here.\u00a0 I\u2019m pleased to find you here this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere else would you have expected me to be?\u201d she asked.\u00a0 \u201cYou know that my family owns this hotel.\u00a0 Where else would I go?\u201d<\/p>\n

Jack had met Veronica years earlier on his first sales trip to Germany.\u00a0 He was a very personable young man at that time and she had taken a quick interest in him.\u00a0 Jack was flattered by her attention and he returned it to her.\u00a0 They made love in his hotel room on his second night in town.\u00a0 It had been immensely satisfying for both of them.\u00a0 During his subsequent visits to Markendorf, he shared his bed with her whenever possible.<\/p>\n

During the next twenty years, Veronica never married and she always eagerly awaited his next visit.\u00a0 Meanwhile, much to her disappointment, Jack married his sweetheart in America and they had two girls together.\u00a0 She would always pleasantly smile whenever he discussed his children or shared his photos of them with her.\u00a0 This was difficult for her to do.\u00a0 She loved Jack and it hurt her to realize that another woman was more important to him than she would ever be.\u00a0 She had accepted this reality.\u00a0 There was no other choice.<\/p>\n

Eventually Jack\u2019s customer in the village went out of business.\u00a0 Their factory was sold to a large conglomerate and its assets were transferred to a more modern facility near Passau.\u00a0 Once his customer was gone, Jack stopped coming to Markendorf.\u00a0 He had never corresponded with Veronica during their long relationship.\u00a0 He would come to town unannounced several times each year and although she had grown to accept this routine, she never liked it.\u00a0 He had never provided her with his address in America or his telephone number.\u00a0 He had never mentioned the name of his company.\u00a0 She never knew how to contact him.\u00a0 He lived in Ohio, but that was the only information that she had.\u00a0 It took several years but Veronica eventually resigned herself to the reality that Jack would no longer be a part of her life.\u00a0 She longed to see him again but she had to accept the obvious fact that this feeling was not mutual.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy did you stop coming, Jack?\u201d she asked him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry, Veronica,\u201d he replied.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know what else to say.\u00a0 I\u2019m really sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI need to hear more than that you\u2019re sorry.\u00a0 You knew how much your visits meant to me.\u00a0 You had to know how much it hurt me not to see you anymore.\u00a0 I\u2019ve always wondered if I did something wrong.\u00a0 Not knowing this has been awful for me.\u201d\u00a0 Veronica got tears in her eyes as she spoke.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never wanted to hurt you, Veronica,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cMy customer here went out of business.\u00a0 At that same time, my company reduced my expense budget.\u00a0 My trips to Germany were cut from two weeks in general to only one week or less.\u00a0 My travel schedules became loaded with appointments and I had virtually no extra time for myself.\u00a0 I\u2019m really sorry but I never had enough time to come and see you.\u00a0 Believe me, Veronica, I wanted to see you but I couldn\u2019t.\u00a0 I was just as disappointed as you were.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDisappointed?\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t just disappointment, Jack.\u00a0 I loved you.\u00a0 You knew that.\u00a0 Couldn\u2019t you have at least called me to say good-bye?\u00a0 This hotel has a telephone, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jack silently nodded his head in agreement.\u00a0 He had been wrong, no doubt about it.\u00a0 Although he had never loved her as he did his wife, he had enjoyed her companionship and had willingly slept with her on numerous occasions.\u00a0 She had given herself to him completely and although he had certainly sensed the strong feelings that she had developed for him, he chose not to recognize them.\u00a0 He kept himself in denial.\u00a0 To him, their relationship was a romantic interlude from his marriage, a fringe benefit to his job as an international salesman.\u00a0 He readily indulged in the physical pleasure that she offered him without ever allowing himself to develop any significant emotional ties to her.\u00a0 When the time came for him to end their relationship, he was reluctant but he was able to do this without enormous difficulty.\u00a0 Although he understood how hard it was going to be for her, he chose to end it without any notice and to let her cope by herself as best she could.\u00a0 During the ensuing years, he felt increasingly guilty over how he had treated her.\u00a0 She had deserved much better.\u00a0 It was for this reason that he had come to see her today.\u00a0 He wanted to relieve his conscience while providing her with some very late closure to their affair if she might in fact still require it.<\/p>\n

Jack and Veronica conversed for the next forty-five minutes.\u00a0 They had a very frank discussion of their past relationship as well as its abrupt end.\u00a0 They also discussed their lives over the past thirteen plus years.\u00a0 His life had been just fine.\u00a0 He and his wife had recently celebrated their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary and his daughters had finished college.\u00a0 His younger girl was now married, expecting his first grandchild in about ninety days.\u00a0 A sonogram indicated that she would be delivering a grandson, the little boy that he had never had but had always wanted.\u00a0 He was very excited about this.\u00a0 Veronica\u2019s life, conversely, had been relatively uneventful.\u00a0 Her parents had died and she was now the proprietor of the hotel, the family business.\u00a0 She worked long hours and because of this, she had never been able to develop a lasting relationship with another man.\u00a0 She was not a happy person, this was clear for him to see.\u00a0 Veronica was no longer a young woman. \u00a0She had lost her youthful figure and now possessed a more matronly shape.\u00a0 Nevertheless, she was still an attractive woman.\u00a0 Jack hoped that she might still find someone.\u00a0 Otherwise, unless she would decide to sell the hotel, retirement for her was not a viable option.\u00a0 She still had many years of work ahead of her.<\/p>\n

Finally, as their conversation neared its completion, Jack prepared to leave.\u00a0 He was glad that he had come.\u00a0 He sensed that she was, too.\u00a0 He realized that she still loved him but they both understood that this love could never be reciprocated.\u00a0 His responsibilities were to his wife and family in America.\u00a0 No thoughts of trying to restart their relationship were exchanged, as this would have been impractical for both of them.\u00a0 When he departed Markendorf today, they both understood that he would be leaving this time for good, never again to return.\u00a0 Although they had been apart for years, the finality of today\u2019s departure was apparent to them.\u00a0 As he stood from his chair, they both felt incredibly sad.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood-bye, Veronica,\u201d he told her.\u00a0 \u201cThank you for speaking with me today.\u00a0 You are still a very generous woman.\u00a0 I\u2019ve caused you a lot of pain and sadness in your life.\u00a0 I remain very sorry for this.\u00a0 You deserved so much better.\u00a0 Please forgive me if you can.\u00a0 Perhaps I can forgive myself some day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI do forgive you, Jack,\u201d she replied.\u00a0 \u201cPlease don\u2019t allow our past to burden you.\u00a0 In many ways, I\u2019m responsible.\u00a0 I chose my course in life.\u00a0 I should have accepted the fact that we would never be together.\u00a0 We both knew that this wasn\u2019t possible.\u00a0 I was foolish.\u00a0 Love can do that to a person.\u00a0 Go home to your wife and family.\u00a0 I wish you a long life and a pleasant retirement.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, Veronica.\u00a0 I wish the same for you, nothing but the very best.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jack felt the urge to kiss her and to hug her but he restrained himself.\u00a0 Nothing positive would have resulted from that.\u00a0 Instead, he took her hand, kissed it and then gently smiled at her.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood-bye,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cI will always remember you.\u201d\u00a0 With that he put down her hand and squeezed it softly.\u00a0 Then, turning toward the door, he smiled pleasantly once more before slowly walking away.\u00a0 He walked through the lobby before exiting the building through the front door.<\/p>\n

Veronica watched him through the window as he turned south on Parkstrasse and headed toward the train station.\u00a0 She began to weep quietly, releasing some of the many emotions that she had held inside for so many years.\u00a0 Hopefully, she could now put this obstacle to her happiness behind her.\u00a0 Perhaps she still had time to find someone else.\u00a0 For the first time in years, she felt compelled to try and do so.<\/p>\n

Once Jack Harvey had left the building, the young boy vacated his station behind the front counter and entered the breakfast room.\u00a0 He was now late for his soccer game and he needed to be going.\u00a0 As he approached the table by the window, he immediately realized that she was crying.\u00a0 He felt immediate concern.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong, mother?\u201d he asked as he placed his hand on her shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cWhy are you crying?\u201d<\/p>\n

Veronica looked at the boy through her tears but said nothing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho was that man?\u201d he asked.\u00a0 \u201cDid he make you cry?\u00a0 What did he say to you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Veronica was unable to respond.\u00a0 Although her crying would have made her speaking difficult, she simply didn\u2019t have a good answer for him.\u00a0 How could she tell him?\u00a0 She didn\u2019t know what to say.<\/p>\n

As the boy continued to look at his mother\u2019s forlorn face, he read the pain and confusion in her tear filled eyes.\u00a0 Suddenly he knew.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t have to tell him.\u00a0 The answers to his questions were clear.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh my God!\u201d he exclaimed in a loud tone of voice.\u00a0 \u201cHe was here?\u201d\u00a0 The boy was in a state of disbelief.\u00a0 \u201cWhere did he go?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo the train,\u201d she replied with much difficulty.\u00a0 \u201cThe train station.\u201d<\/p>\n

The boy turned in a panic and ran from the hotel, running as fast as he could toward the train station.\u00a0 He wondered if he would get there in time.<\/p>\n

As Jack Harvey arrived at the station, he was pleased to find that the train to Munich was already arriving.\u00a0 Perfect timing, he said to himself.\u00a0 As the train came to a stop and the doors opened, he climbed aboard and took a seat beside the window.\u00a0 He had just leaned back in his chair when he saw a young teenage boy run onto the station platform.\u00a0 He was wearing a soccer uniform.\u00a0 Jack immediately recognized him as the young kid who had been at the hotel.\u00a0 He watched as the boy frantically roamed the platform, obviously trying to find someone.\u00a0 Unable to locate this person, the boy approached the train conductor and began to engage him in an urgent conversation.<\/p>\n

The conductor listened to the boy for about thirty seconds before abruptly ending their discussion, gesturing with his hands to indicate that there was nothing that he could do.\u00a0 He tapped his watch with his fingers, indicating to the boy that it was time for the train to leave.\u00a0 As the boy pleaded, the conductor turned his back and signaled to the engineer that the train was ready.\u00a0 He climbed onto the train and shut the door behind him.\u00a0 The boy remained on the platform and hollered at the conductor.\u00a0 As the train began to move, the boy grabbed his head with his hands and began to sob.\u00a0 Jack could not help but notice the expressions of frustration and despair on the kid\u2019s face.\u00a0 He felt great sympathy for him and wished that he had had a few more minutes at the station.\u00a0 Perhaps I could have helped him somehow, he thought to himself.<\/p>\n

Soon thereafter, the conductor walked through the train car and stopped to collect each new passenger\u2019s ticket.\u00a0 Jack gave his ticket to the man and politely watched as he efficiently reviewed it and then stamped it.\u00a0 The conductor seemed to be a friendly guy so Jack did not hesitate to ask him his question.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho was the boy on the station platform in Markendorf?\u201d he asked in the German language.\u00a0 \u201cDid you know him?<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d the conductor replied, also in German.\u00a0 \u201cHe was just some local kid.\u00a0 I\u2019d never seen him before.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe seemed pretty upset,\u201d remarked Jack.\u00a0 \u201cWhat was his problem?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSome kind of family matter,\u201d replied the conductor, shaking his head.\u00a0 \u201cHe said that he needed to speak with his father.\u00a0 He said that it was important and he wanted me to hold the train.\u00a0 Can you imagine that?\u00a0 A boy that age suggesting such a thing?\u00a0 I told him to man-up and to stop acting like a little kid.\u00a0 If he needed to talk to his old man, he should have come to the station earlier.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jack Harvey nodded his head in understanding.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy not just call him on the telephone?\u201d continued the conductor.\u00a0 \u201cEither that or wait and speak with him when he comes home.\u201d\u00a0 The conductor paused briefly before continuing.\u00a0 \u201cPerhaps the kid is always this annoying and the old guy is trying to get away from him.\u201d\u00a0 He laughed heartily, greatly amused by his own joke.<\/p>\n

Jack smiled at the conductor although he really didn\u2019t find the situation to be so comical.\u00a0 He was merely being personable.<\/p>\n

As the conductor walked away, Jack thought momentarily about the boy.\u00a0 He felt bad for him.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The boy had seemed like a nice kid and Jack had to wonder if there wasn\u2019t more to his story than the conductor was aware.\u00a0 Jack felt guilty, believing that perhaps his long conversation with Veronica might have delayed the boy in getting to the station.\u00a0 He hoped that the boy had a good relationship with his father and that the two of them would be able to speak together soon.\u00a0 He wondered if the kid\u2019s parents were friends of Veronica.\u00a0 He assumed that they probably were.<\/p>\n

He thought some more about Veronica before his thoughts slowly wandered and turned to his soon to be born grandson, his wife and his daughters.\u00a0 Then, feeling drowsy, he decided to close his eyes and try to take a short nap.\u00a0 He still had about an hour before the train would be arriving in Munich.\u00a0 He was pleased that he had made the effort to go to Markendorf today and that he and Veronica has spoken together.\u00a0 He had put this off for too many years.\u00a0 The visit had been a success and he was satisfied in knowing that he had finally taken care of his unfinished business.\u00a0 He could now relax knowing that this unhappy matter had been settled amicably.\u00a0 It was such a good feeling.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t like to have open issues in his life.<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Ralph S. Souders was born in Chicago and grew up in the suburban village of Riverside, Illinois.\u00a0 He graduated from the University of Central Florida with a degree in Business Administration with a major in Marketing.\u00a0 He is married and has one daughter.<\/p>\n

Since graduating from college, he has written a number of short stories as well as three novels. The first novel, Hans Becker\u2019s Family,<\/i> was a self-published suspense thriller that takes place primarily in Munich, Germany.\u00a0 His second novel, Ursula\u2019s Shadow, <\/i>is recently completed. A third novel, Dead in the Water, <\/i>is virtually complete, undergoing some final editing and some minor rewriting.<\/p>\n

He is in the early stages of his fourth novel, San Marcos.\u00a0 <\/i>He expects to have it completed sometime next year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jack Harvey had been coming to Germany for many years. A successful salesman whose retirement was quickly approaching, he wanted to spend his Saturday visiting one of his favorite places. This was the little Bavarian village of Markendorf, located an hour or so north of Munich. Although he hadn\u2019t visited there in a long while, Jack loved the place. It held a lot of sentimental memories for him. He had struggled with his emotions for a long time before finally making his decision to return there. He hoped that he wasn\u2019t making a big mistake but coming back to Markendorf was something that he felt he really needed to do. He had some unfinished business. <\/p>\n

The morning air in the village was cool as he walked from the train station to Parkstrasse where he turned to the north and continued for two blocks until he reached the Hotel am Wald. He had been a guest there many times in years past. It was a great little hotel and he had always enjoyed it very much. As he approached the hotel, it still looked exactly as he remembered it. READ MORE.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":164,"featured_media":6001,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,218,200,219],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5944"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/164"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5944"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5944\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6006,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5944\/revisions\/6006"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}