He limited his sleep to one-hour intervals, three or
sometimes four times a day, ever since all the women in his life began entering
his dreams and tormenting him with lies.
He never dreamed during the years he toiled at the factory,
working long hours on projects that never succeeded nor gained him the respect
and recognition that he expected and craved. His silent determination was
viewed as detachment by his wife and arrogant incompetence by his co-workers.
Increased efforts to prove himself confirmed these impressions of him until his
wife found, in their pastor, a man to listen to her and his boss found small
comfort in the eroding economy by dismissing William during the first layoff.
The pastor grew to share more than his ear with his wife. So, with
characteristic diligence, William quietly and secretly researched his options.
He removed what little he needed from his house and just
enough cash from the bank account to cover the freighter passage to this
Caribbean island and enough living expenses to last him a couple of months. He
completed, signed, and had notarized divorce papers he bought in a packet at
the nearest newsstand. He left them by the lathe in his workshop where his wife
would be certain to first look for a note, once she acknowledged his absence.
He also took with him the unfulfilled dreams that he promised her.