The Maze The Lost Labyrinth

CHAPTER 2



My lunch meeting was with Frank Kennedy, the owner of a local manufacturing plant who was interested in offering insurance to his employees. He liked the barbecue at Adam's Ribs, so that's where we met.

The lunch crowd was brutal, and I was glad to see that Frank had already gotten a table. He waved me over, and I headed toward him, lugging my briefcase along. We shook hands, talked baseball for a few minutes, and were about to go over some business details when our waitress arrived.

“Jamie? Is that you?” At first I didn’t recognize her.

“Oh, my goodness! I can’t believe it! Jamie Burroughs!”

I forced a smile and then genuinely grinned as I realized who stood there in front of me.

“Karen? Wow! What a surprise! Is that really you?”

“Of course it’s me, silly. I haven’t changed that much!”

Although it had been twenty years since I last saw her, my heart started beating in an old, familiar way. I had dated Karen back in high school; she was the first girl I had ever loved. She moved away when her father‘s job forced them to relocate to Georgia. I was heartbroken at the time and spent many a teenage afternoon wondering what things might have been like if she hadn’t gone away.

“Earth to Jamie.” Karen waved her hand in front of my face. I snapped out of my trance and focused on her again.

Karen was just as beautiful as I remembered, and time had done nothing to diminish her smile. The years had been extremely generous. “It’s been ages since I’ve seen you!”

“How’ve you been? You look great.”

“I’m good.” Her smile hypnotized me now like it did twenty years ago. “ I decided to go back to school and become a nurse. I’m working part-time here at the restaurant to help pay the tuition.”

“Good for you.”

“So what have you done with your life?”

“The usual. Got married. Became a father. Selling insurance to pay the bills.”

“That’s great.” It seemed like some of the sparkle left her eyes when I mentioned that I was married.

Frank grunted to show his impatience. He was here to talk business, not to listen to me stroll down memory lane with an old girlfriend. Karen took the hint.

“Well, it was great to see you again, Jamie. I won’t hold you guys up any longer. Let me just take your orders, and I’ll be out of your hair.”

I nodded, not really caring about the insurance deal or the lunch anymore. Frank and I ordered, ate our barbecue, and worked out all the details. The deal went off without a hitch.

Frank headed to the Men’s room after we finished eating, and I took that opportunity to watch Karen from afar. She was beautiful, and I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. I know, I know. Add that to the list of secrets I was keeping from Amy. I couldn’t help it. I kept reminding myself that I loved Amy and that I was married and faithful, but my eyes never left Karen. It was ironic given the conversation we'd had earlier that morning about Tara and Ethan's problems.

“Pretty girl.” Frank wore a Cheshire grin as he sat back down at the table. “Quite the looker!”

I nodded. “She was the first girl I ever loved. I haven’t seen her in forever. Small world I guess.”

“Be careful. Take it from a man who is on his third marriage. Situations like these can be costly. I should know.”

Unwilling to discuss my personal life any further, I diverted the conversation back to politics, even though it meant listening to Frank launch into a speech on the decline of the U.S. Economy. Hearing his opinions on tax laws and small business was a welcome reprieve from stories about Ex-Wife Number One, or The Harpy as he‘d nicknamed her. He had just started ranting about the Chinese manufacturing sector and how it impacted jobs in the United States when Karen brought our bill. I motioned for her to give it to me. She had planned to anyway- I saw her phone number and address written on the receipt.

“Call me.” She whispered in my ear before disappearing like a beautiful mermaid back into a sea of hungry diners. “Your wife never has to know.”