With an anchor of logic, reasoning and few absolutes, Philip found himself investing considerable time and energy pursuing the mysteries of life, exposing himself to a wide variety of philosophical concepts from East to West, and everything in between. He read all kinds of related texts. He compared traditions and precepts of all the great religions. He attended psychic fairs. He studied astrology. He was awe-struck by more than one example of trance-channeling. He explored a variety of forms of meditation. He read of ancient civilizations that accomplished amazing feats, like the pyramids and Stonehenge. Philip was not only stretching himself, which he instinctively knew to be a sound course of living, but also being a bit bold after many years spent as more or less invisible. It was from this exploration that Philip matured.
This quest helped Philip to come to terms with his personal struggles and find a workable ground for his life, somewhere between confusion and blind faith. He did not have many answers yet, but being on the path was making sense to him. Philip needed a model that he could understand and embrace. He fully intended to become a thoughtful and valued contributor to the highly speculative world around him, taking in ideals and philosophies that encouraged life, and working around or through the kind of forces that tread the opposite side of this formula. And when stalled, Philips approach would simply be to do his best and try to make the world around him a little bit better.
A lack of prospects after college brought him home. Despite good intentions and coaching from his family, Philip floundered for a while until he ran into Susan one day. She had gone away to school as well and was now ready to contribute to the world as a teacher at the local Christian school. She sent Philip to see her father about possible employment with the family business, Davenport Transportation. Her referral paid off and Philip found a job there and a new life chapter was soon underway.
Philip and Susan had grown apart for many reasons, but seeing her again brought him back to the infatuation he had carried for her years before. Susan was, to Philips way of thinking, the essence of goodness, purity and happiness. Her warm and sincere attentions made him feel less invisible and more like a man. She was beautiful. And she glowed. In fact, she glowed in everything she did. When in her presence, it rubbed off on him. Philip felt like the person he wished himself to bethoughtful, productive and useful. He liked that.
Theirs was an old-fashioned courtship. The relationship became an old-fashioned marriage. Philip was glad to be in a life that was settling down after so many years in limbo. He looked to Susan for family structure and deferred to her preferences in most matters. His private quest for knowledge and perspective continued, but he conformed to Susans priorities in practice. After all, her beliefs were concrete, while Philip still considered himself an explorer on a long journey of discovery.
He anticipated no necessary showdown in this part of their relationship; he saw no reason why they could not hold differing beliefs and have a dynamic life together. What mattered most were the things they had in common. The differences would simply make life more interesting from time to time, or so he believed.
After Joey, their first child, was born, Susan quit her job to become a full-time homemaker and mother. By this time Philip had moved up in her fathers company and the couple could afford to do this. Even if finances had been less stable, such an arrangement was the way Susan wanted it to be.
Over the years the family became ensconced in their sprawling renovated farmhouse on the outskirts of their modest Midwestern town, which was an hour and a half or so away from the urban excitement of downtown Chicago. Philip rose through his father-in-laws company to the position of Controller. He enjoyed a warm, encompassing relationship with Susans dad, whom Philip had always called by his first name, Chester.
Years before, Chester had been humorously tolerant of the awkward and unsure young man his daughter had dated throughout most of high school. The years of working for Chester and being married to Susan had seen the two men become quite close. Chester treated Philip like a son. Several times a year, the two would escape their routine and spend a day together. There were fishing trips, sporting events, car shows and church activities. And they enjoyed frequent long talks. Philip and Chester had wide and differing views on much of life, but they respected each other enough to enjoy these exchanges without prejudice or regret. Philip had never gotten over the loss of his father, but Chester was a reasonably good-natured stand-in. This was a wonderful example, Philip realized, of how life has a way of working out.
Chester Davenport. Father. Friend. Neighbor. Businessman. Community leader. Church deacon.
Adulterer. Embezzler. Chesters double life only came to light after he had run off to South America with his secretary and enough money to force the closure of his company. It was a classic soap opera plot/modern-day business scandal brought to life. The finances that Philip had been managing had turned out to be nothing less than a sham. While these events shamed and stunned him, they absolutely devastated Susan.
The ferocity of this early April storm fed Philips mood as he sat on the side of the road, down a ways from his house, wishing, hoping and praying for a way out.
From the other direction, a big yellow-orange bus pulled up in front of his mailbox. Philip watched his son and daughter emerge in their rain slickers. The children ran toward the house, splashing each other with an unusual viciousness until a mighty crack of thunder hastened their retreat indoors. It was only then that Philip completed this journey, entering the house only a few moments later as the sky continued to pour down on everything in sight.
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