The Ones That Got Away

by Lou Mindar

  “I want to know anything you can find out, if they’re married, who they’re married to, do they have kids, any personal problems, health concerns, financial issues, anything like that.”

  “Got it. What are the names?

  The first is Kathy Fitzgerald. Last I knew, she was living in Naperville, Illinois. Then there’s Holly James. She used to work in a hospital in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Maybe she still does. Finally, there’s Elizabeth Mancini. I think you’ll find her in DeForest or Madison, Wisconsin.”

  Hal said he’d get right on it and be back in touch in a couple of weeks.

  Chapter 27

  August 1995

  A week after his dad’s funeral, Scott flew to Los Angeles. His company owned a tract of land on Wilshire Boulevard, and they had received an offer from a California development company to buy it.

  During the three days he had been home before flying to LA, Melanie didn’t say more than a few words to him. That was fine. Two could play that game.

  As soon as Scott got to his hotel—the Sheraton on South Hope—he took a nap. He lay down at about 3:00 in the afternoon and didn’t wake up until after 10:00 that night.

  When Scott woke, he was hungry. He thought about ordering room service, but he wanted to get out of the room, so he went down to the bar and ordered an appetizer and a beer. He was sitting at the bar when a woman walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder.

  “Hi, I hate to bother you, but I think I might know you. Are you Scott Thompson?”

  The woman was thin with long blond hair. She wore a pink headband in her hair. Scott didn’t recognize her at first. When the woman realized he didn’t know who she was, she smiled. Her name came a millisecond later.

  “Ashley Drake,” Scott said. “How are you?”

  Ashley said she was doing well and was in town for a concert. She opened that night for Sarah McLachlan.

  “Wow, Sarah McLachlan,” he said.

  “Well, don’t be too impressed. There are two warm up acts. I’m the first, meaning the least important, and the only reason I’m here is because the singer that was supposed to open is sick.”

  “Still, I think it’s pretty good.”

  Ashley looked over Scott’s shoulder and waved. “My friends are about to leave.”

  “Do you have to go?” Scott asked. “Let me buy you a drink.”

  Ashley said goodbye to her friends and then rejoined Scott. He shared his appetizer with her, and they reminisced about college.

  “God, those days seem like a hundred years ago,” Ashley said. “We were full of promise, and we had our whole lives ahead of us.”

  A few years after college, Ashley came out with an album and had a minor hit with her song “Living in My Dreams.” A second album wasn’t nearly as successful, and her record label dropped her.

  “I wasn’t country enough to be marketed to a country audience, and I wasn’t pop enough to be marketed that way. So, they just didn’t market me at all.”

  Scott swirled the beer around in his glass. “Are you married?”

  Ashley shook her head. “Used to be. Paul, the drummer. We met when I started touring, after my first album,” she said. “We were constantly together on the road, one thing led to another, and after six months, we were married. But it didn’t last.” Ashley laughed.

  “What went wrong?” Scott asked.

  “When the tour was done, the record label sent Paul out on another tour and he met a backup singer he liked better than me. We were married for a total of four months, but aside from my tour, we spent fewer than 10 nights together.” Ashley sipped her beer. “What about you? What’s happened in your life?”

  Scott told her about his company, but he avoided talking about his marriage. He didn’t think Ashley, or anyone else, wanted to hear about it.

  “It sounds like you’ve done pretty well for yourself, but what about your private life?”

  Scott took a long swallow of his beer and motioned for the bartender to bring him another. “Would you like another one?”

  “No thanks.”

  The bartender brought a fresh beer and Scott took a long pull. “Okay, what were we talking about?”

  “I thought you were about to tell me about your marriage,” she said.

  “Yeah, I guess I was,” Scott said. He took another drink of the beer, then looked at Ashley.

  “I want to tell you that I’m married to a great woman and that we have two great kids and a happy home life, but other than the part about the two great kids, the rest is bullshit. And since I don’t want to lie to you, I’m trying to figure out exactly what to say.” Scott took another long drink.

  “Why not just tell me the truth?” she asked.

  “Because it’s ugly and painful, and I don’t want to subject you to that.”

  “It’s okay,” she said. “I can handle it. Besides, maybe there’s a song somewhere in that ugliness and pain.”

  Scott laughed. “Just change the names, okay?”

  Ashley agreed. “Now, your marriage.”

  “I met Melanie in college. In fact, she’s the woman who slapped me that night at the bonfire when I was talking to you. Remember that?”

  “Not what she looks like, but I remember the slap,” Ashley said.

  He told her about Melanie’s drinking. “We both drank a lot in college, but that was just a college thing, you know. It wasn’t supposed to last forever.”

  Ashley nodded. “I know what you mean.”

  “The truth is, our marriage is a mess, and it keeps getting messier.”

  “Maybe leaving would be best for the kids,” she said.

  “Maybe, but what if it’s not?”

  Scott finished what was left of his beer and paid the tab. The bar was about empty, and Scott felt talked out. “It was really great seeing you again, Ashley,” he said. “But I think I’m going to have to call it a night.”

  “Me too,” she said. They walked out of the bar together and waited for an elevator.

  “Scott, I don’t mean to be overly forward, but would you like to come up to my room?”

  The elevator door opened, and they got in. “What floor?” Scott asked.

  “Ten,” she said.

  He pushed the button for ten. “You’re not being too forward.” He pushed the button for his floor. “But I’m still married.”

  Chapter 28

  August 1995

  On the flight back from Los Angeles, Scott thought about Ashley. Had it been a mistake not going up to her room? Maybe Ashley was the reason he had a second chance at life.

  He could have done anything with his do-over. The options were endless. And that led him to believe that his second chance wasn’t for a specific purpose. It was a second chance for him to make a decision and live with the consequences.

  When Scott got home, Melanie was on the patio with a drink in her hand. He didn’t mention the drink and neither did she.

  “You’re home early,” she said.

  “I caught an early flight, and I’ve got a busy day ahead of me. I’m going to take a quick shower and head to the office.”

  Melanie waved her hand as if to say, “Go, do whatever you have to do. I don’t care.” She took a drink and turned her attention elsewhere.

  When Scott got to work, he went right to his office and closed the door. He spent the next few hours on the telephone. He had a plan to help his wife, and he needed to make the necessary arrangements. When he was done on the telephone, he asked Randy to come into his office. Randy and Carla had a role to play in the plan.

  When he got home, Scott got the kids ready and told them they were going to spend the night at Randy and Carla’s. They were excited to see James and Jonathan, the twin boys Randy and Carla had adopted, so he didn’t have to ask them twice. Melanie didn’t react.

  At 6:00 pm, Melanie’s parents knocked on the door. Randy and Carla were a couple minutes behind.

  Melanie was upstairs and didn’t realize they had visitors. Scot
t got their guests settled into the living room and then went upstairs to get Melanie.

  “I’m busy.”

  “We have company and I want you to come down to say hello.”

  “Who is it,” she asked.

  “Just come downstairs.”

  She finally agreed to come downstairs and found her guests in the living room. “Mom? Dad? What are you doing here?”

  “We’re here to see you,” her mom said.

  “Come and sit down.” Scott pointed to a chair in the corner. “We want to talk to you.”

  “Talk to me about what?” Melanie sat, a look of confusion and dread on her face.

  “Melanie, your parents and Randy and Carla are here tonight to talk to you about your drinking. We all love you and we’re all concerned about how your drinking has gotten out of control.”

  “Did you put them up to this?” Melanie looked at Scott and pointed at her parents. The anger was thick in her voice.

  “No, Melanie,” Scott said. “We all agreed it was time you got some help.”

  “Help?” Melanie said. “I don’t need any help.”

  “Yes, you do,” Bob said. “You’ve needed help for quite a long time, but your mother and I were too afraid to say anything to you about it.”

  Melanie shook her head. “No, Dad. That’s not right.” She sounded more hurt than angry.

  “I’m afraid it is,” Melanie’s mom, Rita, said. “You have a drinking problem. There’s no shame in that. The only shame is in not recognizing the problem and getting the help you need.”

  “You all misunderstand,” Melanie said with a little laugh. “I can control my drinking. I don’t have a problem and I don’t need any help.” Melanie was trying to sound calm and reasonable, but she was panicking.

  Everyone spoke. Bob. Rita. Randy. Carla. They stayed calm. They told Melanie that they loved her, but that she needed help.

  “And I’m not an alcoholic. I can control my drinking. I’m not…”

  Melanie’s dad cut her off. “Melanie, we’re here to help you, not debate you. Scott has arranged to take you to a treatment facility in Arizona. If you agree, the two of you will be flying out in the morning. Otherwise, we’re going to need you to pack some things and come home with your mother and me. With the way you’re drinking, it’s best that you’re not around your kids.”

  “Who’ll take care of them if we go to Arizona?” Melanie asked.

  “We’ll take care of the kids while you’re gone,” Rita said.

  “The choice is yours, Melanie,” Scott said. “We all love you and will do anything for you. But we can’t allow you to continue to hurt yourself and the people you love anymore. Let me take you to Arizona.”

  “I don’t want to go,” Melanie said.

  “But you need to go,” Rita said. “It’s for the best. It will make everything better.”

  Through her tears, Melanie looked around the room for an ally, someone who would agree with her that she didn’t need any help. She didn’t find one. She wiped tears from her eyes. “I guess I don’t have much of a choice,” she said. “What do I need to do?”

  Chapter 29

  August 1995

  Scott tried to talk to Melanie on the way to the airport, but she wouldn’t respond. By the time they boarded the plane, he’d given up. They sat silently, reading their magazines. As they neared Phoenix, Melanie’s hands shook a little.

  At the treatment facility in Scottsdale, about a twenty-minute ride from the airport, Melanie tore up Kleenexes and fanned herself with her airline ticket. She finally spoke.

  “I don’t want to go through with this.”

  “I know,” Scott said. “I know.”

  “What if I can’t do it? What if it doesn’t work for me?” The defiant, strong-willed Melanie that Scott had known for so many years was gone. She now seemed small and weak.

  “You’ll be fine,” Scott said. “All you have to do is want to get clean and it will work. Just think about how good things will be when you’re sober and you’re back home with the kids.”

  Melanie turned her head and cried.

  “I’m sorry, Mel” he said.

  She covered her face with her hands and continued to sob. Her eyes were red and swollen, but she stopped crying when her name was called. Scott followed her into a small office where they met Sheila, who addressed her questions and comments to Melanie. She barely acknowledged Scott as she detailed what would happen at the facility.

  Sheila described the program to Melanie. She said it was based on the classic twelve-step program pioneered by Alcoholics Anonymous.

  “Everyone in the facility is here to help you get clean, but the hard work is up to you,” Sheila said. “Understand?”

  Melanie nodded.

  “The first two weeks will be the hardest. That’s when you go through the process of detoxification. You can expect to experience anxiety, loss of sleep, and maybe even uncontrollable shaking, panic attacks, spasms and hallucinations. What we call the DTs.”

  Scott wanted to hold his wife’s hand, to reassure her that she would be fine, but he resisted the urge. Sheila excluded him from the conversation, and he thought it best to stay in the background.

  Sheila turned her attention to Scott.

  “You’re not allowed to see Melanie for the next four weeks. You can’t see her or talk to her on the phone. Her time here is all about getting sober. If you want, you can send a letter to the facility, and we’ll see that Melanie gets it. Otherwise, you should plan on being here in four weeks to take your wife home.” Sheila exhaled and placed both hands on her desk. “Do either of you have any questions?”

  “Were you an alcoholic?” Melanie asked.

  Sheila smiled. “I am an alcoholic. I’ve been sober for almost eight years.”

  Sheila led them down a hall to a room that would be Melanie’s home for the next four weeks. On the way to the room, Sheila and Melanie walked arm-in-arm, in front of Scott, who was proud of his wife for the first time in years.

  Chapter 30

  August 1995

  It had only been a few days, but he missed her. He wasn’t sure how their marriage had devolved into such chaos. Certainly, Melanie’s drinking was at least partially to blame. But that didn’t stop him from feeling guilty. His marriage to Kathy had been a mess, and now his marriage to Melanie was a mess. The common denominator in those messy marriages was him.

  Scott sat at his desk and felt sorry for himself. His business was doing great. His employees were working hard, and the company was making lots of money. But he didn’t feel like part of the team. All he could think about was Melanie.

  When the phone rang, Scott was surprised to find his cheeks were wet. Not a good look for the leader of the company to be sitting at his desk crying. He wiped his eyes and cleared his throat. It was time to get back to business.

  “It’s Hal Ridley. How are you?”

  “I’m good, Hal. I’m glad to hear your voice. Did you find that information I requested?”

  “I did. Would you like me to fax it to you?”

  “No, don’t fax it.” Scott was worried his employees would get to the fax before he did. “It would be better if you mailed it to me. But for now, can you tell me what you found?”

  There was a scratching sound on the line, like Hal adjusted the phone and it rubbed against his beard. Hal shuffled papers.

  “Here we go. First, let’s talk about Kathy Fitzgerald. There’s not a lot to tell about her. She was killed in a car accident in Naperville, Illinois in November 1989. She was on her way home from work when a guy ran a red light and broadsided her. When she died, she was single with no children. At the time, she worked at The United Way on Jefferson Street in Naperville. Not much else to tell you about her.”

  “What day in November?” Scott asked.

  “The eleventh.”

  Scott was silent for a moment. He knew Kathy had died in a car accident, but hearing more details made him nauseous and light-headed. He
drew in a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. “Okay, who’s next?”

  There was the sound of papers shuffling again. “Next up is Holly James, who goes by Holly Conrad now. She lives in Orlando. She’s a hospital administrator and is married to a doctor, a Benjamin Conrad. He’s a cardiologist. Holly has two kids, a girl from her first marriage and a boy from her second.”

  “What happened to her first marriage?”

  “Divorce. They were only married a few years when the marriage ended. They were divorced in 1991. Is there anything more you’d like to know about Holly?”

  “No, I can’t think of anything.”

  “Okay, so moving on to. . .”

  “Actually, what do you know about her first marriage?”

  “Let’s see,” Hal said. There was a moment of silence while Hal found the information. “Holly’s first marriage was to a guy named Paul Crowder. They met in Cocoa Beach. At the time, she was working at a hospital in Cape Canaveral and he was managing a restaurant in Cocoa Beach. The divorce papers don’t tell much of a story. Each accused the other of mental and emotional abuse, infidelity, and irreconcilable differences. Pretty standard stuff.”

  “Okay, how about Liz?”

  “The former Elizabeth Mancini, now Elizabeth Hubbard, is a high school principal in Madison, Wisconsin. She’s married to Ronald Hubbard, a professor at the University of Wisconsin. They have two children, both boys. Liz and Ron are avid runners. In fact, they’ve both competed in marathons. They live in Madison and have a cabin on a lake in Rhinelander.”

  “Anything else?”

  “Those are the highlights. I’ve included financial and health information in the packet I’ll be sending you. But honestly, there’s nothing out of the ordinary. After you read the reports, if you have any questions or need me to do more digging, just let me know.”

  Scott thanked Hal, then hung up. Now that he had the information, he wasn’t sure what to do with it. He’d read Hal’s report when he got it, but for now, Melanie was the only one who needed his help.

  Chapter 31