After paying for his meal, John went to the Concierge to see if he could help him change his train reservation also. After changing his train reservation, he went back to his room to pack and relax until it was time to go. After he packed his suitcase he walked over to the window and looked out onto the canal below. There was only one gondola in view, it looked just like the one that Jennifer and he had ridden in last night. In fact for a moment he pictured Jennifer and himself as they had been last night. He snapped back to reality. He suddenly felt very lonely again. He had known from the start that she was the un-gettable girl, but he couldn't help falling in love with her. His heart ached as he suddenly realized that he had done just that, he had fallen in love with her. His stomach was tight and his head pounded. He looked down at his watch and walked over to the nightstand and picked up his cell phone as he sat down on the side of the bed. After pressing a speed dial, he waited for the call to connect and ring through. Ron's voice answered, sounding as if he had just woken up.
After Ron answered, John hesitated for a few seconds, Ron said hello a second time. "Hello Ron, did I wake you up? Isn't it only midnight back there?"
"John, I should have known it was my long distance friend calling. Yeah, it's only midnight here but I was so tired I turned into bed at nine-thirty tonight not my usual one a.m. What's up? Still having a great time in Italy?"
For the next few minutes John filled Ron in on his trip to Venice and the new revelation with Jennifer and Michael. After John was done, Ron waited a moment before responding. "John, I can hear the hurt in your voice. But I did warn you about getting involved with a woman who's engaged, and especially one engaged to your boss. I did warn you about him, I knew he couldn't go anywhere without having an affair, the man is terrible. I'm not sure why he's engaged to anyone in the first place. Maybe he needs the excitement of cheating on her all the time."
John sat there thinking about that. "I think you're right. That's why he's stayed engaged to her for five years but never gotten serious about marrying her. You were also right about him not having to buy the milk. Now she's going back to him to try and work it out. What could be worse for me?"