The Wolf Man

I was able to spend some time with work acquaintances last night. The Virginia Wireless Association held an event, and my coworker invited me to join. It was fun. I got to see some people I haven’t seen in a while, and more importantly, I got out of my pajamas and socialized.

As usual, when I think of my career in the wireless industry, I think back on my first couple years at Insite where I met Bryan Wolf. I got to know him as a boss when he would score my lease drafts with a red check or if I did a great job, a check plus.  There weren’t many checks without the plus after the first one.  During that time, we became great friends.  Then I got married and had a couple kids.  We still hung out, but not as often.

When the marriage was falling apart, Bryan called me out of the blue and asked if I needed some part time work. He didn’t know I was heading into divorce and the job I had at the ex’s company would soon be over. (Side note: I remember my resignation letter from that job. “I quit. The owner, my husband, is cheating on me and I feel it is a hostile work environment.”)  Bryan hooked me up doing Title reviews and offering reports on how to cure Title. He took 10% off the top and gave me the remainder. I made a lot of money for about six months while the contract lasted.

After that, we saw each other more often. We’d grab a beer on a random Tuesday evening (the one night during the week I didn’t have the kids) or we’d meet up with my neighbors on a weekend night I didn’t have the kids. We laughed. A lot. When you meet a decent human being who is fundamentally good and kind, you tend to gravitate toward them.  That was Bryan.

He died last August. It was a complete shock to all of us, and my heart broke in another place. I spent three sleepless nights crying and asking why.

Last night I met with my coworker, and she said she had run into another friend of mine who was very close with Bryan. He told her to say hello to me. I told her he was also a great human being and that we had a mutual friend who had passed recently.  Of course, I got somewhat emotional – swallowing back the tears that threatened to escape.  She nodded and said, yes, he mentioned it. He had to swallow back the tears as well.

I thought of a title for a story: The Wolf Man. I’m not sure where I’ll go with it or if I’ll even write it, but the protagonist is going to be this very tall, very kind, always smiling man. A man who loved his children beyond measure. A man who helped everyone and formed a social group that met once a week for years on Fridays for Happy Hour. I wasn’t part of the group, but I was always invited.

The last time I saw Bryan was in late June. We met up for a beer and made plans to see each other more regularly. He had invited me to his yearly summer fest and I regularly attended but had to miss this year – I was in Boone with Paige for college.

If I had known…

The Wolf Man.

I miss you, Bryan.