Member-only story
The Tree Ghost
Visits from My Unusual Friend
The Background
A number of years ago, my wife and I lived in two different cities. She was in the position of being a new grandmother and wanted nothing more than to be where the grandchildren were. To that end, we rented an apartment that was conveniently located near where the grandchildren lived. Seeing the grandchildren grow, and to be a part of it, was something she did not want to miss.
I, on the other hand, had a different set of circumstances with which to contend. I was too young to retire and collect my pension or other retirement funds, and too old to find a position comparable to the one I had in terms of income and workload. Teaching is an odd occupation where everyone hiring wants experience, and none of them want to pay for it. An old colleague of mine once said that teaching is the only occupation where you take a 50% pay cut if you move. He was right.
For the interim, we were in something of a pickle and forced to maintain two separate households. The added cost of a second apartment required that I take on a second job as well, something I did gladly so that my wife could be with the grandchildren, and the grandchildren could be with her.
The agreement was that I would maintain the apartment near my job, and would travel 4 hours on most…
