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His Fateful Decision

By Tom Di Roma

Born 1947, M, from Oceanside, United States

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His Fateful Decision
It’s been almost a decade since that fateful night. In the years that followed, his career as an author took off. By publishing several novels, he acquired enough monies to allow him to move out of his condo and into the huge house by the lake he’d always dreamt about.
Then came the lawsuit. Another author claimed he had plagiarized her work. Even with all his notes as evidence, he still lost most of his wealth. In the end, he moved out of the house and into a cottage by the sea.
Then came the phone call. Hearing her voice made his heart race and his stomach jump.
“It’s great hearing from you,” he told her. “But why are you calling, now?”
She hesitated. “It’s kind of a sad little story,” she said. Then went on to tell him about the circumstances leading up to her phoning him.
“You remember Allen?” How could he forget the man she had married after he refused to wed her? “Our life together was great for the first three years.” He really didn’t want to hear that. “But then Allen got cancer and died.” Now, he felt embarrassed for having experienced even the slightest bit of resentment toward her one-time husband.
She went on. “It took me a couple of years to stop grieving. That’s about the time I left advertising and went into real estate. That’s where I met Philip.” He wondered who the heck was Philip? “He got me out of California for a while. We ended up living with his rich parents in Arizona. But then Philip turned out to be a not very nice person, which is why I’m back in California.”
Before she could continue, he asked, “You in Fallbrook?” It was the small rural town in northern San Diego County where she had grown up.
“No, I’m in Carlsbad.” His thrill-factor went up several notches. His cottage was in Oceanside, close to Carlsbad.
“When did you get back?”
“About a month ago.”
Immediately, his mind went into overdrive. “Would you like to get together for a cup of coffee or something?” He feared she’d say no. Instead . . .
“That would be great!”
They ended up meeting in one of the many coffee shops in Carlsbad. For the next three hours, they talked about everything. At one point she asked, “Do you still think marrying me would have been detrimental to your writing career?”
Embarrassed, he shook his head. “Not anymore. As strange as it may sound, the lawsuit convinced me that, married or not, I still could have been successful.”
“I’m glad,” she said, reaching across the table and lovingly cupping her hand around his.
As you might have guessed, they eventually married, produced twins, and even collaborated on a movie script based on one of his most recent novels.
Like his marriage, the movie was a success.

His Fateful Decision(Tom Di Roma) His Fateful Decision
It’s been almost a decade since that fateful night. In the years that followed, his career as an author took off. By publishing several novels, he acquired enough monies to allow him to move out of his condo and into the huge house by the lake he’d always dreamt about.
Then came the lawsuit. Another author claimed he had plagiarized her work. Even with all his notes as evidence, he still lost most of his wealth. In the end, he moved out of the house and into a cottage by the sea.
Then came the phone call. Hearing her voice made his heart race and his stomach jump.
“It’s great hearing from you,” he told her. “But why are you calling, now?”
She hesitated. “It’s kind of a sad little story,” she said. Then went on to tell him about the circumstances leading up to her phoning him.
“You remember Allen?” How could he forget the man she had married after he refused to wed her? “Our life together was great for the first three years.” He really didn’t want to hear that. “But then Allen got cancer and died.” Now, he felt embarrassed for having experienced even the slightest bit of resentment toward her one-time husband.
She went on. “It took me a couple of years to stop grieving. That’s about the time I left advertising and went into real estate. That’s where I met Philip.” He wondered who the heck was Philip? “He got me out of California for a while. We ended up living with his rich parents in Arizona. But then Philip turned out to be a not very nice person, which is why I’m back in California.”
Before she could continue, he asked, “You in Fallbrook?” It was the small rural town in northern San Diego County where she had grown up.
“No, I’m in Carlsbad.” His thrill-factor went up several notches. His cottage was in Oceanside, close to Carlsbad.
“When did you get back?”
“About a month ago.”
Immediately, his mind went into overdrive. “Would you like to get together for a cup of coffee or something?” He feared she’d say no. Instead . . .
“That would be great!”
They ended up meeting in one of the many coffee shops in Carlsbad. For the next three hours, they talked about everything. At one point she asked, “Do you still think marrying me would have been detrimental to your writing career?”
Embarrassed, he shook his head. “Not anymore. As strange as it may sound, the lawsuit convinced me that, married or not, I still could have been successful.”
“I’m glad,” she said, reaching across the table and lovingly cupping her hand around his.
As you might have guessed, they eventually married, produced twins, and even collaborated on a movie script based on one of his most recent novels.
Like his marriage, the movie was a success.

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COMMENTS (1)

Denise Arnault

10/01/2024

A good story. I wish it had had a little more detail, but all the important points were there. I like it very much.

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Congratulations !

His Fateful Decision

COMMENTS (1)

Denise Arnault