It took him a moment to recognize what had disturbed him.
It was the sound of his name being called. Soft, like a whisper. "Ted."
He blinked and looked around the darkened room.
It was just another hotel room, in another town he had been called to for work.
Nothing special. But the voice came again. "Ted."
Who could it be? Except for his boss and coworkers, his wife, no one knew he was here.
He looked closer, there was no one in the room with him.
Where was the noise coming from? It was so quiet but it sounded vaguely familiar.
"Ted." The voice seemed to come closer.
"Who is it?"
"Have you ever wondered how different your life would be if we were still together?"
"Constance?"
He turned the light on the nightstand on.
There was no one there. He searched the room. The bathroom. The closet. Looked out into the hall. Checked the phone and his cellphone. It was 3:06 in the morning.
It was quiet. There were no sounds from his neighbors' rooms.
He looked out the window. Senseless, as he was on the 7th floor, but he did it anyway.
Nothing. He must be losing his mind.
He turned the light off and climbed back into bed. The alarm went off at 5:30.
The next day, checking for damage left by the storm, he thought about Constance.
They had been together while she was in college, a little, and for some time while she was in graduate school.
They had gone to the same high school, and he knew her then. But she was a year ahead and dating a college guy and he was dating one of her friends from the track team. There had also been some stolen moments then.
But, she was at school several states away and a long distance relationship, besides not knowing where she'd find a job when she finished, brought them to a decision to part company. That was over twenty years ago.
He had found and married his wife, Carol, and they'd had a couple of kids. He was happy.
She ended up with a guy she met in school. They had never married. He hoped she was happy.
He'd seen her a couple of times over the years when she'd come home to visit her family.
She was unlike any of the other women he had dated. She seemed as much of a friend as she was a lover.
She had a figure that could stop traffic. Curvy, a small waist. Breasts that were big, but not huge. They fit her. And, even the fact that it was just noticeable that one was a little bit larger than the other did not detract from her looks. She wore her hair long. Really long. It reached her butt for most of the time he knew her. She'd cut it on a couple of occasions, but always went back to wearing it long. Her eyes were brown, like his.
He'd missed her while she was in the hospital in high school. She'd missed almost 3 months and still came out at the top of the class.
He had been dating one of her friends. That's how they met. She wouldn't have been on his radar otherwise.
She was smart, funny, sexy. Even though she never really wore anything too revealing back then. She had been a little self conscious and unsure of herself.
They laughed and talked for brief periods numerous times when they were still in high school. He had talked her into the darkroom one day. Although she had been friendly, she seemed much more interested in the chemicals and the process than him.
He was torn between his current girlfriend and her. He broke up with Elaine and tried to see more of her. She wasn't really happy with her college guy.
It was harder to get together when she was in college. By that time she had dumped the college guy and was dating someone who wasn't in college. She would never be alone for long. That was just the way she was.
And he had gone into the service.
He'd called her, from overseas, when the non-college guy dumped her toward the end of her senior year.
She made a last minute decision to go to graduate school.
Now he was overseas and she was a few states away.
He continued to think of her and hoped that she was thinking of him.
What little relationship they had blossomed in her first few years at grad school.
She concentrated on her studies and he came home, got a job, and started his life.
They got together when she came home for breaks.
She wasn't so timid anymore.
She had no problem walking around his apartment in next to nothing and slept naked next to him.
He was glad that she didn't shave her bush. The hair peeked out around her bikini bottom and it turned him on just realizing what was there.
She had pretty much jumped him one night while they were out and they made love in a sleeping bag on the outskirts of a cemetery.
One incident stood out in his mind. He was helping her out with her car so she had come for a visit.
They were in bed and she was straddling him.
What a sight! That body sitting above him, where his eyes could take in all of her, and his hands could too. Her long hair tickled his thighs. She was warm and wet around him.
She was sitting on her heels, using her leg muscles to move up and down on him. Her breasts bouncing up and down with her movements.
He stopped her and put his thumb under those brown curls, on her clit. And started to rub.
And he watched.
Her eyes closed and she got this weird little smile on her face.
Then she opened her eyes again and watched him. He kept going.
"Wetter and wetter and wetter."
She smiled at him and began to squirm.
"Hold still."
"I can't."
He smiled and continued a bit longer but she kept squirming on top of him. So, he stopped and helped her ride him until he came inside her. They then curled up together for a while, happily.
One of the guys nudged him, "Hey, you done with that one yet?"
Back to reality, he realizes he's been standing there in a daze. And, now, he had a hard on.
Shit. OK, back to work, and hope nobody noticed.
The work ended and he went back to the hotel.
He slept fitfully, but nothing woke him like the night before.
He woke to the alarm. One more day here, and he would go home.
But, before he went to work, his curiosity got the better of him. He checked her Facebook page. It was gone.
OK, she'd never been a frequent user, but still..
He looked at his page, his list of friends. As you might expect, she was gone from there, too.
What the hell had happened?
He checked his phone. Nothing unusual there. Another voicemail from his wife, one from his daughter, and another from his boss.
OK, he really needed to get to work.
He was distracted again today, and John kept looking at him.
"What's going on, Ted? You're not your usual self."
"Sorry. I just.. Well, I'm not sure."
"Maybe you're coming down with the flu or something. We can finish up here. There isn't much left. Why don't you go back to the hotel and see about getting home earlier?"
"Yeah, OK, maybe I'll do that."
"OK. See you at the airport or back at the office."