Ted settled in with his second cup of coffee. Having answered his email and checked in with Steve at the home office, he was ready to start the long and tedious project report. "Project reports are incredibly dull. But they are a necessary evil," he would tell Georgette when she asked why he disliked them so. This one was going to prove to be a doozie. The project ended well over budget and five months late. He really disliked writing negative reports and this one was not going to be kind to the project manager and her team.
He was well into his fifth page when Georgette entered the office. "I am meeting Virginia for some tennis at the club. I will be back before lunch. Do you need anything while I am out?" she asked, but it was just a courtesy because she knew Ted did not hear a word. He was very myopic when he had a report to write. So, she just kissed his head and left.
When she arrived home a couple of hours later, Ted was speaking on the phone. "I am going to catch a shower then I will make lunch," she whispered to him. He acknowledged her with a "thumbs-up".
Dressed only in a towel and stepping into the bedroom from the steamy bathroom, Georgette spied a special hand-carved box. She picked up the box and a loving smile emerged from her lips. The box is a reminder how grateful she was about Ted's and her recent life changes. Ted and Georgette are empty-nesters; their two daughters moved to Atlanta two years ago. However, their empty-nesters life was not what they had expected. Shortly after the girls moved away, Ted had lost his good-paying, but demanding VP position and had gone out on his own as a consultant. But, he ended up putting in more hours than as a VP. In addition, Georgette, who has always been a stay-at-home mom, was feeling intense separation anxiety with her girls more than 500 miles away. Therefore, for the first two years Ted and Georgette's empty-nest ... well ... it sucked, until one day about six month ago, Ted surprised her by secretly finding a permanent contracting engagement, arranging to sell their old house and move to Atlanta. Now their empty-nest was what they had envisioned it would be.
Twirling the box in her hand, an idea formed in Georgette's mind. She set the box back on her dresser where it belonged and headed down stairs. The door of Ted's office was open and he was sitting with his back to the door, finishing a phone calls. "Yes, Steve the report is done and on its way. Yes, I know it is early. Thanks. Just hold onto it until the Old Man said it was due. It should give you a week to write up the presentation and break the news to the project team. Yes, the invoice is included in the email. Saturday? I think I can work in a round of golf. 7:00 am tee-time, I think that's do-able. See you then," and Ted hung up the phone.
"What was that about being do-able?" Georgette said from the doorway. Ted turned and watched his wife walk towards him, still dressed only in a towel. Before he could say a word, Georgette wrapped her arms around his neck and planted a very sensuous kiss on his lips. After what seemed to Ted to be a very long and enjoyable time, she released him, stepped back, and let the towel drop to the floor. "Am I still do-able?" she asked playfully.