Intro: The exploits of a man whose given name fit him perfectly, Randy, and he certainly was that. He was a high-school history teacher and coach until he hit the lottery and retired early at 52. While he was not averse to returning flirtatious quips from the girls in his classes, he did avoid giving in to the urge, telling the more enticing of them to, "come see me after you graduate." Some did, but these stories deal with his life after hitting it big and building two houses; one along a river bluff 45 miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean and another on a secluded portion of the Northern Outer Banks, both equipped with playrooms. And he still had over a hundred million to spare. All characters are 18+ years of age. All stories can stand alone, but reading the series gives added insights and descriptions as it unfolds.
Synopsis: One night stand with the Wedding Director
June, 2018 -- Hotel in Charlotte
Halley had called, which was a rarity as she and Randy did most of their communication by text and that had been slim to none lately.
The setup had been that she would instigate all contact, as he never knew who she was around, but still, he had not attempted to contact her either.
Still, she apologized for her sparse interaction and explained that she carried an exceptionally heavy schedule and was not going to be able to visit him until probably December.
"I had the max load last spring and am doing it again for both summer sessions and this coming fall. I more I can take, the faster I can get finished and the less money it will cost me. And don't start with offering me money." she had expounded.
"I wasn't," he replied without emotion.
Randy was not happy, but played it off and did not let on. Guilt would not do either of them any good. She told him she was going to try to make a quick trip in August, but wasn't certain she could swing it and apologized again. She finished up by trying to reassure him that she wanted to see him, but that she needed to get past this summer session and the fall semester and then things would free up.
Randy clicked off the phone and wondered immediately why it bothered him so much. It was not like he did not expect her to grow distant from him. He had just been preparing to head out to a wedding of a former student in Charlotte when she had called and he brooded over the situation the entire drive.
He briefly wondered if she had met someone, but Randy dismissed that out of hand. If she had met someone, Halley would have told him so. Randy believed they had an honest, open relationship. Still, the thought lingered in the back of his mind as the miles clicked by, his brooding worsening as he searched for a possible answer for why Halley's absence bothered him.
The afternoon rush hour in Charlotte traffic did not help his mood as he made his way to the fancy, upscale hotel downtown on the first Friday of June. Thankfully the check-in was all on the hotel app on his phone, quick and painless; it even had a digital key.
He pulled out his suit from the garment bag and hung it in the bedroom closet, checking for wrinkles but finding none. It was a suite, a nice one, and he wandered into the sitting room and pulled back the curtains. The home stadium of the Charlotte NFL team was so close he could almost reach out and touch it. Beyond it, the traffic on I-277 was crawling along and he grumbled to himself that he was thankful to be out of it.
The wedding was for a former student and player who was marrying a girl from one of the richest families in the state. It was to be a big affair, so despite his loathing of wedding hassles, he had made the trip anyway.
Around six he went down to the hotel restaurant and had dinner, but there were no unattached females in attendance that were of interest to him, and he spent the night alone, channel surfing aimlessly. Halley floated around his mind until he suddenly began to think of Ellie and their last few rendezvous. They had been very satisfying and a wry smile passed across his face. But eventually his mind found its way back to Halley and stayed there until he finally drifted off to a fitful sleep well past midnight.
*
The next afternoon he put on the charcoal gray, pinstriped suit and made his way down to the wedding forty-five minutes early of the 2 p.m. start time.
Everything was in the hotel; the ceremony in a large conference room that would hold upwards of 500 and the reception in an even larger banquet room just down the hall. Judging by the assembled mass, Randy thought they might need a bigger room.
When he walked in, he saw a woman he knew while he waited to be seated. She had her back to him, but he knew it was Cindy immediately. There was a sheaf of papers in her hand, and she was directing the wedding.
Randy's mind focused on the particulars: mid-forties, Amerasian by way of Vietnam but had been born in the US, black hair cut in a bob, black eyes that would mesmerize you, and 34Ds that were obviously bolt-ons because she was flat-chested when she was his student as a senior all those years ago at the first high school where he had taught and coached.
Cindy apparently did not know he was going to be in attendance because she froze momentarily upon seeing him, but recovered quickly. Randy thought he saw a brief flicker of something pass over her eyes when she saw him, but he put it off to his imagination or wishful thinking. He became certain it was his imagination when she did not acknowledge him at all as he passed by her on the way to his seat, even though he had looked at her and nodded.
He asked to be seated near the back. This was a favorite ploy of his and he would do it simply so he could watch the people. However, the enormity of the affair limited his enjoyment. The front of the room where the bride and groom would take their vows was so far away, he briefly thought he should have brought binoculars. His mind turned back to Cindy.
They had never hooked up. In the madhouse of her post-graduation ceremony, he had congratulated her, and she had told him as they hugged, "I'm legal now, almost nineteen and no longer a student. I'm coming to see you this summer," but she never showed. It had never come up in the few times they'd seen each other afterward; before Randy had moved away.
His mind turned back to people watching and trying to pick out those he could remember, while trying to decipher how much they had changed in appearance.
Weddings were a target rich environment, albeit a risky one. One had to discern attachments and he knew that in these situations the truth was sometimes scarce. He had a brief thought that he should have planned ahead, just in case, but he had brought only a travel bag without any toys, just an ever present bottle of lube. His hand came up to feel the knot of his tie as he wondered about using it if the situation arose.
Turning to the wedding program in his other hand, he studied the listing of the wedding party, searching for familiar names, but other than the groom, finding none. Randy was beginning to feel out of place. On the back of the program was a thank you to those that were in attendance for sharing the 'special day' and several acknowledgements. The one for Cindy mentioned her business, which apparently was for wedding planning and services. Randy pulled out his phone and checked the business online, finding that it was very high-end. He was impressed with what she had apparently built for herself.
Not long after, the wedding processional commenced. Randy was seated toward the outside of his row and, if he turned his head slightly, he could she Cindy standing at the back giving directions to the wedding party.
He noticed that she occasionally stole a very brief glance his way during the formalities, but she still did not acknowledge him. During the 'I do' part of the wedding his mind latched onto the idea that, 'She's high society now, prim and proper. I guess that she has to be in order to fit in with her clients. The upper crust of the Queen City's society ... can't be seen with the out-of-town riff-raff,' and he settled in on the couple that was far away, but front and center. He pushed Cindy out of his mind as well.
When the ceremony concluded, Randy made his way to the reception; placing a sealed envelope marked 'For the Honeymoon' on the table set up for gifts. He never knew what to give as a gift and usually settled on money. A thousand dollars could come in handy.
He mingled and greeted a few others that he knew from his first school and took the time to catch up. This slowed him from making his way to the hors d'oeuvre line, but he eventually did and loaded up a plate. He grabbed a plastic cup of red punch and then found a small circular table along the wall.
