A Crossing of Paths

Chapter Six

After passing him his drink, Melissa returned to the kitchen to slice up the bread she had brought him, and then it occurred to her......"Sir, you know my name, now I thinks it's time to tell me yours!" She tossed out to the living room. She was beginning to think this was one who didn't volunteer ANYTHING easily.
She heard a chuckle from his chair as he replied, "Why, my dear, you have been calling me by name since you first spoke! Come in here and let me show you something I think you'll find rather humorous." Melissa gathered some slices of the warm banana bread on plates and rushed back to the living room to find him standing by the fireplace, looking at a document he had framed and hanging on the wall. He motioned her over, and she stood beside him, handing him his plate. As he took a slice and savored it, she was astonished to see that it was a birth certificate, and sure enough, on the line indicating his first name, was typed SUR. She turned and stared at him......."You GOT to be kidding me, that's really your name......SUR?"
It was obvious he really enjoyed peoples' first reaction to this odd fact. "Well", he said, "I guess I better tell you the whole sordid tale. See, Dad saw even before the sixties came along that it was going to be harder for men to get the basic respect he felt was owed them. Women were emboldened by a new sense of self worth beyond being wives and mothers, and that once expected courtesy of being addressed as "Sir" by ladies and young people could no longer be taken for granted. So, being the diabolical son-of-a-bitch that he was, he decided to name his first born "Sur", so that no matter what, he would be respected, one way or another, or at least in his way of thinking. All I know is I paid a pretty hefty price for it growing up, but I can tell you one thing, I really think it taught me not to take myself to seriously. Lord knows not a hell of a lot of women do!" He told the tale in such a self-depreciating way that Melissa could not help to see the sincerity in it.
"Well, "Sir", I think it's a well deserved name, and I will have no problem calling you that!" She smiled, and took the empty plate from his hand and returned to the kitchen. There she straightened up the mess she'd made on his counter top and returned to the living room to find him back in his chair. Melissa found a seat on the couch opposite him and motioned towards the artwork and sculpture scattered about. "Admiring your taste in art, Sir, I can't help wondering what you do, or at least did, for a living. You don't strike me as the conventional type."
"Oh:, he said softly, "I guess I've done about everything at one time or another. Never stood well with one particular prison or another, as all my jobs felt like to me, until I decided to pare back my ambitions and started worrying more about being happy then being rich. I guess the best job I had was cataloging native american artifacts for the National Park Service, and I put in a good fifteen years doing that before I retired with enough of a pension to keep my head above water while I practiced my greatest joy......a "different" sort of dime store counseling that I happen to be somewhat good at."
Melissa was tempted to ask what that was, but the decor suggested what he was hinting at. Much to her relief, he changed the subject. "So, Melissa, I take it you are pleased with your new house?" She lit up at his question, "Yes, Sir, it is just PERFECT, and I love not having to worry about power outages or paying an electric bill. Whoever designed and built the house was a genius, and I can't believe I got such a good deal on it! I'm no expert in real estate values, but I think it's worth twice the price, especially with the beautiful property that goes with it. There's allot to be said about the peace and quiet of elbow room." Sur listened to her gush about her new home and seemed to have expected it. "Yes", he agreed with her, "The place is certainly a gem. I'd be living in it myself except......oh well, what's done is done.....", He trailed off with a bit of sadness in his voice.
Melissa blinked, staring at him, for this was news to her, that he had owned the place. "Sur, you mean to tell me YOU built my house?! My God, Sir, they didn't tell me you were the owner, I had no idea! Gosh, then, maybe you can answer some questions I have.....oh, wow, this is so cool!" She was thinking of the mysterious hidden doorway she had encountered in the pantry; well, here was the man who put it there, she assumed. Only, before she could ask about it, Sur stood up, gently led her towards the door, and thanked her for the visit. "It's getting on in the day, a bit, my dear, so if you will please excuse me, I have some things to catch up on before tomorrow. It was so nice for you to stop by, and yes, the bread was excellent, thank you. She could hardly get a word out before he had her out the door and was closing it on her. Melissa knew then that she had somehow struck a nerve, and stood there looking at the door, flustered. Oh well, she'd just have to find another excuse to intrude on him, and hopefully she'd find a way to ask him about the door. She headed back down the road, and halfway back, she broke out in a wicked grin when it occurred to her that she'd left her basket in his kitchen. Oh yes, Mr Sur, Sir, I will Indeed see you soon!