Love IV: Our Story

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As I remember, the latter part of 1990 I went to work for a company that provided electrical repair and services to residential and commercial customers. I was hired as a paralegal to address any non payment of services rendered. Any accounts ninety days or more outstanding landed in my department for processing into small claims court. On my first day I was shown around and introduced to the other departments: Customer service, collections and accounting to name a few. As we cruised through each department, I was introduced to the employees that happened to be at their desks or in the area. Ric was in the accounting department and was at his desk. I remember thinking he was nice looking, but almost at the same time saw a very formal family picture he had on this desk. Him, wife, toddler son and baby girl. So, thinking he was nice looking is where it stopped for me.

Some time went by as I was getting situated in my new job and shortly after I was hired a person that became a very dear friend was hired. Her name was Rosie. Rosie and I became friends almost instantly. She was a very sharp and funny person that said it like it was. I was attracted to her strength and I don’t give a shit attitude. She was a few years older than me and was a force to be reckoned with.  I have always been drawn towards older strong women. Rosie and I would lunch together when we could and became very good friends on a personal level. Rosie was married for several years, had a preteen daughter and they owned a dirt moving business. The business had fallen on hard times, thus why Rosie took a job outside the business.

After I successfully completed my 90 day trial period, I took the kids to adopt a dog. It is something we had been wanting to do for a while. I had been raised with Dobermans so that is the breed I was comfortable with. We found our puppy, a male red Doberman. He was so full of life and really liked the kids. We named him after the Sesame Street character Count Sherlock Hemlock. Sherlock was a great addition to our family and was very protective of the kids. The kids loved him as well.

One day I left work early to pick Sherlock up from the vet before they closed. With Sherlock in tow I had to go back to the job to get my paycheck. Luckily as I approached the office I saw Ric sitting outside taking a break. I had intended to walk in with Sherlock to get my paycheck, but Ric seemed to like Sherlock and Sherlock liked the attention. Yea, literally the first time Ric spoke to me on his own was all about Sherlock. I was fine with that and asked if he would watch Sherlock while I grabbed my paycheck. After getting my paycheck, I returned to get Sherlock, Ric and I exchanged a few words, I thanked him and then went my merry way. The following week Rosie and I joined some other office employees for lunch at a local pub. I do not recall who invited us, but we liked getting out of the office when we could. There was about eight of us and Ric was one of the other people there. Rosie and I pretty much joined this group and we had some fun lunches. During this time the conversation between me and Ric was casual and here and there.

Eventually, Ric became friends with Rosie and I and our families met.  The kids were adorable and the boys only being two years apart became friends. Yvonne liked doting over Kaity because she was a baby baby. My kids were in sports so Ric and his family would go to their games and we would barbeque together afterwards. Ric would watch the kids or let them stay the night at his house if I had plans or a date. Yep, he even met a couple of the guys I dated. Almost like he was checking them out as my big brother. That is how I thought of it, as he had become my friend and was married. So he was married and in the friend zone.

I was fine with the relationship and accepted it for what it was, but then Ric did my laundry. Yes he did and that was a soft spot for me. I did laundry but was not good at it. I would forget about it all the time. The routine for the kids and I had was we would decide what we were going to wear the next day and in the wash they would go and that is when I would not forget about them. It worked for us, but we did have a pile of dirty clothes in the laundry room that some would have found intimidating, lol. Not Ric, doing laundry is actually relaxing for him. At the time I did not know this about him. It was a day that I believe only Yvonne had a sporting event, so Ric elected to watch RJ at my house. He had brought Daniel and Kaity with him, so the kids could entertain each other for the most part. While Yvonne and I were gone, Ric did every bit of laundry in the laundry room at that time. When I first got home and noticed what he did, I was a bit embarrassed, but appreciation overruled. In all my life I never new a man to do laundry. On my list of what I wanted in a partner in life, was someone that would help with EVERYTHING around the house.

By this time Ric and I had been friends for nearly a year and had become very good friends. I had also come to know that he was not happy in his marriage and had not been for some time. Ric made mention of us becoming more intimate. Knowing him for some time I had grown to really like and care for him, but I respected that he was married. I was very honest and told him that if he was not happy he needed to address that with his wife and/or get a divorce before I would entertain the idea of US.

Long story short, not long after that conversation, Ric did get divorced. So, Ric, I, Yvonne, RJ, Daniel, Kaity and Sherlock became US, then came Virginia in 1993 and there you have it, the Sudberry family still going strong nearly 30 years later.

Moral of this story, the person you choose to marry and spend the rest of your life with should be your best friend. We need to see the friend zone as a beginning to the ultimate partnership. With that I am going to conclude this blog. Have wonderful week and remember to Keep it Simple (KiS)!