So after grade 12 was finished at the end of June in 1973, Charlie went to work for a year to September, 1974. He would be starting university then after he completed
a full year of working and saving up. Charlie's parents offered to match whatever he could save up to help him cover the costs. His parents wanted to see him do the
best that he could and that Charlie would have to contribute at least 50%. After saving up Charlie planned on working part time evenings and on weekends to fund the
continuing education costs trying to avoid having to take on a student loan. Charlie was pretty good with creating a goal, a budget and a cash flow system. One day I
will try and get Charlie to do a video on his strategies.
We have to flashback to the last chapter where Charlie had met the nice church girl. She took a liking to Charlie and they started to spend some time together.
As she fell in love with Charlie, she ditched the boyfriend who she was engaged to. So basically Charlie had stolen her away from him. Bad move, why? Well, as
Charlie looked back in hindsight, Charlie says karma will get you at some point. Do not try and steal someone from another guy whatever you do! Guess what happened
to Charlie a little over two decades later? We'll come to that later, but back to where we are at this point. Charlie eventually married this childhood sweetheart as
all he wanted was to get married and live happily ever after. He described her as having all of the good qualities of everyone that he had met up to now which was
what he was looking for. Charlie proposed to her, she said yes and all hell broke loose. Remember her parents from the last chapter? Well, they were not impressed of
the two of them to wanting to tie the knot. Now what do you do? Elope and get married? What else can you do? Then to do that under the parent's noses and to face
the future being part of the family. Oh yes, when you marry someone, you get the family too! Charlie says to make sure that you are okay with that. Both Charlie and
his bride to be were determined to make this happen one way or another. I guess the parents saw the strong determination within the two and finally decided a small
wedding would be much nicer than them eloping. They were married in 1974. They rented a low cost apartment and she went off to work to help get them through the four
years of university. All seemed to be going well now with the married life. They worked, saved up a small downpayment and bought a small starter home as quick as they
could which did take a few years to aquire. Isn't that the American dream? You get married, get a house, have kids and a pet and everything is a rose garden. Oh yes,
after about five years, the question of having kids became the discussion of the day. Time waits for no one they say says retired Charlie wondering where the time all
went so quickly.
Well, in my opinion, little did Charlie know at the time that perhaps all she just really wanted to get out of the house as she was always under the gun of her parent's
strict house rules. The parents seemed to be quite controlling from what I gathered as I talked to Charlie. Charlie was only 19 years old and she was just out of
school. They were pretty young, but they had the drive to make it work. Charlie did the best that he could to make it a happy marriage.
Things were moving right along as Charlie had completed university and now secured a full time teaching job right off the hop. One day Charlie had to run home and pick
up some material for the afternoon class he was teaching. He caught his wife having an affair with the neighbor several doors down and somehow they managed to stay
together although Charlie stated that he never was the same person after that. When you lose the trust, part of your relationship forever disappears. I had to ask
Charlie why he stayed. It was time to say goodbye and start over. Charlie said it was a real shock as now they were at the point of trying to have kids. Whose kid
would this really belong to? How long was the affair going on? Were there other affairs prior? Communication stopped and she refused to talk of the affair. Charlie
was taught to work out the problems and move forward, but he had lost trust now and when you lose trust, your relationship is toast. Well as I see it, if you have no
trust, you really have nothing. I would have made this my exit point and begin to pick up the pieces to move on, but I am not Charlie. Charlie wanted to keep moving
forward regardless. Charlie was tempted to have an affair himself, but he remained faithful. The temptations did arrive...
A gal that he met on bus had just broken up from her boyfriend and gave Charlie her name and phone number to call her. Well, Charlie took the number, but he did not
call as he felt that she would be only having a rebound type of relationship and Charlie knew that he could not he could not proceed in that direction anyways. Charlie
was in a committed relationship, end of story. A rebound relationship is quickly replacing something you lost, but the rebound relationship would more than likely
just be something temporary. Why mess up your future for some short term pleasure? Well, in spite of Charlie's marriage already being messed up, he was very determined
to continue on. One thing that Charlie and I talked about reflecting back on this time was that he never had any lady before his wife so he had nothing to compare her
to. If Charlie had a few lovers before his wife, things may have went off in a different direction for sure. Charlie said that because he did not know better, he just
thought that all women were like his wife so he would just accept it as such.
Charlie usually rode the bus at the same time each day as this one gal and they struck up a conversation. Charlie thought that she was pretty hot stuff as well.
She had said that she had a kid at home that was being looked after by her mother until she got home. She whispered to Charlie one day that she had a small tight vagina
and then gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek and handed him a piece of paper with her name and number on it. Charlie thought to himself that it was quite the most
direct offer that he had ever received, but he was going to stay true to his wife. I remember asking Charlie that age old question, "What do you want?" Well, Charlie
did not hesitate for even a split second to say that he wanted to be married and live happily ever after, but this marriage now had turned into a big struggle. Charlie
was tempted once again, but kept the faith and stayed true to his wife. I really have to commend Charlie for staying the course through it all.
Two sons came along within a 4 year span. Was the first child really Charlie's? That question would plague him for the rest of his life. They also had different ideas
on how to raise the boys. The next step was to buy a bigger house so as the kids arrived, there would be enough bedrooms waiting for them to enjoy. They were able to
sell their current house in 1986 and purchase a new and bigger home. Maybe being in a new surrounding would help in getting past that first affair. No no Charlie, the
underlying problem is still going to be there even if you try and mask it. And that was exactly what happened. The year on the calendar now was 1988 and Charlie had been
toying with relocating to Denver, Colorado as he had envisioned being near the mountains. Maybe a move out west would be the answer by having a fresh start? His wife
and family liked the idea and the newer house was sold in June of 1988. Charlie and he wife had made a quick trip to Denver where Charlie had secured a new position as
a professor and his wife found work as well. A suitable house was located so it all was coming together very quickly like it was meant to be.
Onto The Move to Denver!
The First Affair - The Beginning of the End!
Charlie Gets Tempted to Have an Affair
A Second Temptation Comes Along
The Next Step - Moving Forward?
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