Oliver sat in the coffee shop watching the world go by. The coffee had considerably cooled since it was delivered to his table and the cheesecake resting by its side was untouched. He was not really interested in these two items, waiting for him to reach out and consume them hastily before making a painful attempt to stand and shuffle off to the newsagent for his daily paper.

Most people now get their news on demand from the internet and that has impacted the cost of a daily paper from the good old days when everyone trekked out to the front door early in the morning to retrieve their daily newspaper. Economies of scale had made that newspaper cheap at the time with mass production, but the price of that same paper reduced in size was scandalous now in Oliver’s opinion as deliveries continued to decline with declining subscriptions in favor of the internet version.

In Oliver’s childhood days mother would bustle around the breakfast table feeding children and placing food in front of father who buried himself behind that wide curtain of paper while children ate hastily demanding father give them the centerfold containing comics before mother pushed them out the house to run to school for the day.

Father would neatly fold the paper and place it on the mantlepiece after breakfast to be retrieved when he returned home from work so he could get into the minor news items and advertisements listening languidly to the radio or working on class teaching notes for the next day.

After they’d all gone Susy Grant would then attack housework for the day before sinking gratefully into a chair for a brief rest at which time she’s also check out the paper for the latest scuttlebutt around town before refolding and placing it on the mantlepiece where her husband Jim Grant had placed it that morning. Jim liked routine and order.

Then it would be a quick lunch for Susy and off to town to buy household needs neatly listed on the notes stuck to the refrigerator door. Afternoons would be taken up sewing and preparing the evening meal and snacks for when her children arrived home from school demanding food before going outside to play with the neighbors’ kids.

Oliver’s childhood memories played as a video in his mind as he followed this daily morning routine at the coffee shop. He was an exact copy of his father in his mannerisms and slavery to routine. Routine made Oliver feel comfortable and anything that happened to surprise him was unwelcome. He’d enjoyed the predictability of his home environment as he grew up and thought about how this had shaped his life afterward.

Like his father Jim and elder sister Alice he’d naturally chosen education as a profession. In childhood Oliver and his siblings had enjoyed interaction with their community and Susan or Suzy as everyone knew her was an outgoing personality very much involved in organizing events that bought neighbors into her orbit and was involved in charity work through church and community.

But Oliver’s interest in learning became powerful in his early teens and he began to miss out on the afternoon sports events at school and his interaction with the neighborhood kids. He’d bury himself in his room after school immersed in dictionaries and encyclopedias and anything of learning value. What he lacked in brilliance he made up for by immersing himself in learning and it paid off as his grades maintained a high standard.

His elder sister Alice had a brilliant mind and devoured the same kind of brain food in the library but continued to be active at sports and was very popular with the opposite sex as she developed into womanhood and learned to manipulate boys constantly seeking her favour. She’d developed into a stunning beauty, but her brilliant mind was a threat to those boys who were shallow in outlook, and they fell by the wayside in competing for her favour. After graduating with the highest honours in college it was not surprising, she was snapped up by a similar high achiever who saw in her the ideal partner as they contemplated an educational career together. As the lucky young man was from a rich family a comfortable future was well assured for Alice.

Oliver’s younger brother Barry gravitated to a career in engineering, and this took him first to the major cities where the best engineering consultants had their offices and eventually overseas. It was only on rare occasions the family saw Barry after that at their Thanksgiving and Christmas family celebrations.

Younger sister Olivia had been Oliver’s close confidant during their childhood years, and she was the one who kept in regular contact with her brother in his retirement now both parents had died. Olivia had married into a family with real estate interests and she and her husband had eventually inherited the corporation that managed their assets and still exercised a controlling interest through their children who were all involved in corporate affairs even in their own retirement.

Oliver had not had a happy introduction to his education career on his graduation from college. He’d intended to pursue a master’s degree so sought a teaching placement in the city so he could do that, but his first placement was in a remote one teacher school among rural folk and his accommodation was with farmers close to the rural school. Their desperate daughter did her best to gain his attention with the encouragement of parents. Oliver found this a difficult situation to negotiate and was appalled at the idea of being married to someone who did not share his interests in learning. This young woman was good looking, but her interest was farming and having observed this kind of life firsthand Oliver could not think of anything worse for a city person than having a wife who came home at the end of the day covered in sweat and dirt and smelling of stale milk and he didn’t know how long he’d be assigned to this school before he could escape back to the city where life was familiar.

Oliver was even more distraught when his requests to the educational authorities for a transfer resulted in a transfer to an even more remote area on the fringes of the desert region where his classes would consist of ranch kids who had to travel miles to attend school in this small settlement and tribal children who attended when they felt like it despite government regulations specifying the minimum age when children could leave school to pursue a career. Most of the learning in this remote area was on the ranches where they learned a surprising mix of useful skills. Now in Oliver’s retirement years these ranch kids not adults were flying helicopters and planes and operating sophisticated satellite and computer networks to manage ranch affairs. Book learning was important to ranchers now but only when it advanced their interests in running a successful ranch.

There’d been multiple transfers for Oliver over his productive life sometimes into substantial towns that had facilities to advance his ambition to get that master’s degree and with that under his belt he eventually found his way back to the city and climbed the ladder steadily until he oversaw a major school in the capital city.

It was back in the city where he found teaching professional women who’d dedicated their lives as spinsters to an educational career suddenly realizing in their middle age, they’d someday approach retirement without someone to share their final years with. They’d been satisfied with the fact they had multiple children to mother over the years without responsibility to feed and clothe them and this had satisfied their maternal instincts but what about when through mandatory government retirement they had no outlet for their need of association in those last years on an intimate basis and no children to look after them in their old age.

Oliver enjoyed interaction with fellow teachers he gave leadership to and association with fellow teachers from other schools in professional associations. He could mingle with people from all walks of life after a lifetime of serving communities in which he enjoyed responsibilities outside his educational career. But teachers spoke their own language and delighted in mingling together and Oliver developed fond relationships with female teachers who he admired professionally. There was no thought of romance. After all these years of bachelorhood he had his own routines in his home environment which he didn’t want to share with anyone else.

During vacation times Oliver, who’d now reached the pinnacle of his career began to look for other goals to satisfy him. He decided to travel and joined tour groups of teachers who were similarly looking for something to keep their inquiring minds alive and improve their knowledge of other cultures.

During those frequent travel experiences, Oliver formed a particular interest in Pam Bothing. Pam was a no-nonsense woman with a great sense of humor which appealed to Oliver. They managed different schools in proximity. Oliver managed the largest mixed enrollment school in that area and Pam an up-market government girls’ school. They became inseparable on those tours, alternatively enjoying each other’s company and sometimes at war when they did not see eye to eye on something. But those wars did not destroy their friendship. It was obvious neither wanted to develop their budding friendship into a romance as they valued their privacy at home which they didn’t want to share with a partner. But the two of them had such a close friendship the rest of the teachers were sure they’d someday marry.

But eventually that day came when the government sent a letter to each declaring the cut-off time when they’d be replaced in retirement. First it was Pam who received the letter, and she shrugged it off picking up her certificate of merit for years in the teaching service at the government ceremony scheduled and immediately looking at opportunities in the private school sector where she was quickly placed. No retirement for her.

Oliver was contacted the following year. He was over the normal retirement age, but the education department had retained his services to revamp curriculum due to his experience in that area and with that project now finished they gave him his certificate of appreciation and he was retired at the next arranged ceremony for retirees.

Having seen Pam make a successful transition to the private sector Oliver followed her example and found himself as the head of a respected private school for those who could afford their services. He and Pam continued their relationship, being seen together at the opera, plays and musical presentations as well as travelling abroad together. But eventually health issues caught up with both and first Pam left employment and devoted all her time to crisis call center management. Oliver sold his waterfront mansion and headed north to a retirement resort now that responsibility for his aged parents had come to an end after their death. His doctor had advised him to make the transition for health reasons, getting away from the smog of the city. But contacts between Pam and Oliver continued, each taking time to make the long journey to be with their long-term friend living in separate locations now to share brief encounters remembering those days of travel together.

Oliver missed the almost daily contacts with his close friend Pam now and it was her turn to make the journey to where he lived, and she’d be arriving later in the morning. They’d have lunch together at a favorite restaurant up in the mountains and she’d stay the night with him before returning home to her duties at the crisis call center.

He glanced at the uneaten cheesecake and tested the coffee to see if it was still hot enough to be enjoyed. Oliver wanted Pam to stay with him permanently as he longed for the times they’d spent together in their active years. But he realized they were both very independent and needed time apart to recover when they clashed over conflicting routines.

He quickly finished the coffee and cake and headed for the news agency to get his morning paper. He could have it delivered but that was not his routine, and routines need to be followed to be happy.

Later that evening after a satisfying reconnection they watched TV together and recalled the travels they’d made with much laughter and satisfaction. Oliver jestingly suggested they should be living together to enjoy each other’s company each day now they were aging. But it was bluff as he was testing to see how Pam would respond.

Pam turned from the TV and studied him for a few moments. Women are insightful and can somehow see through men’s bluff. She nodded, then reached over and kissed Oliver on the forehead holding him at arm’s length studying him again. She spoke.

“Oliver that is a very happy thought I’ve given considerable attention to over the years of us travelling and enjoying each other’s company, and I’d love it to continue. But the reality is we are different. We have much in common to enjoy time together and I do but we’ve been living so long without a partner that our routines are different and living together long term would be a disaster for both of us. Remember how we’ve fought over things that irritated us on occasions. I do love you but living together would slowly erode that love and I don’t want to lose it. Does that make sense to you?”

Oliver thought about it then nodded.

“As usual Pam you’re right. I love you too and have for a long time and want that to continue so suppose we’ll just have to grow old separately. It’s sad as I crave your company.”

Next morning Pam returned to the city making sure Oliver had recorded their next meeting at her place in the city the following month and had placed a reminder on his cell phone.

He was sad to see Pam leave and went inside to find something to take his mind off the disappointment in coming face to face with reality he and Pam could never be compatible living together. He needed someone to talk to so picked up his cell phone and dialed his sister Olivia. She always managed to cheer him up.

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