Second Chances

CHAPTER ONE



Two hours later he was still going over the meeting in his head. The anger had long since passed and been replaced with embarrassed regret. Nathan King came to a sudden stop in the middle of the concourse and got hit in the shin by a rolling suitcase.

"Walk much, pal?" muttered a fat man in a hideous Hawaiian shirt as he jerked the suitcase around Nathan.

Nathan ignored the man, hadn't even heard him completely, but he did move out of the main flow of traffic. He walked over to the railing by the window and looked out. A 737 rolled slowly into view. He briefly wondered if it was coming or going.

He glanced at his watch. He had plenty of time to catch his flight. Not that it actually mattered if he missed it. There would always be another one. It wasn't as if he needed to be anywhere anytime soon. He had no pressing engagements. No one was anxiously anticipating his arrival. Only an empty house that had long ceased being a home awaited his return.

His mind drifted back to the meeting and more specifically his behavior. He shook his head and muttered to himself that he was a fool for flying off the handle as he had. He'd probably screwed the entire deal, not that he honestly much cared about that. He simply knew that she'd have been disappointed in him for acting as he had and that was what bothered him. He put down his carry-on and adjusted the strap of his laptop bag on his shoulder before slipping his cell phone from his jacket pocket.

He chewed on his lower lip for a moment while he tried to recall the number. He punched it in, glancing around the concourse as he did. So many people with places to be and people to see. He'd been like them once.

"Hello?" came a slightly nasal male voice.

"Douglas, it's Nathan."

"Yes?"

Well he couldn't have expected a warm greeting. At least the man hadn't just hung up on him immediately.

"Umm, yeah. I'm sorry. I just called to apologize. I was a little out of line. No, strike that. I was way out of line."

"Well I won't argue that. I had been under the impression from our previous discussions that you were interested in..."

"I was. I mean, I am. I did not mean to fly off the handle like that. It wasn't even that I didn't like your ideas. I actually think many of them will work fine. I'm probably not the best person to be handling all this right now. I'll have Toby call you and he can take over the proceedings, if that is all right with you. That is, if you are still even interested in doing business together."

"Yeah, yes I am still interested." The man sounded relieved. "Damn, I thought I'd queered the deal there. I've been going over the meeting in my head for the last hour or so trying to figure out just how I managed to insult you."

"You didn't, Douglas. It was, without question, all me. I should have sent someone else to handle this from the start. I just thought...never mind."

"Are you okay?" The question was asked in a soft, almost timid voice. Douglas knew it wasn't really his place to ask. He was more or less a total stranger. Besides, he already knew the real answer, just as he knew that he'd receive a lie in response.

"I'm fine," Nathan replied right on cue. It had become an automatic line over the last year. People asked, he responded. He would receive the occasional are you sure follow-up. To which he would invariably nod his head and say yeah, just fine.

Of course everyone knew it was a lie and Nathan knew that they knew it, but everyone pretended otherwise. It was a good arrangement and seemed to work fine for all involved. For the most part, people had simply stopped asking. Not that he spent much time around people he knew these days. One or two people still asked, but that was done more out of habit than concern for his wellbeing. Nathan believed he could likely respond with pure gibberish and no one would notice, they'd simply assume he'd given the standard just fine response. He didn't resent people for their apathy towards him, he had, after all, more or less cultivated it. The initial outpouring of concern and sympathy had been tremendous and genuine. He had been the one that had pushed everyone away.

"Nathan? Mr. King? Hello?"

Nathan shook his head, realizing he had drifted off into his own thoughts of the past. It was something he seemed to do a lot of these days. His favorite hobby.

"Yes, I hear you. Sorry, Douglas, it must be a bad connection." Yet another lie, the call was crystal clear, but he was certain Douglas wouldn't point that out. People were more than willing to allow others their private delusions. It was more or less standard practice these days. You allow me my delusions and I'll allow you yours.

"Damn cell phones. They charge you up the wazoo and then you can only hear every other word." Douglas chimed in quickly, almost too quickly.