Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: TRUST (07/21/16)
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TITLE: Reconstruction | Previous Challenge Entry
By Donna Powers
07/27/16 -
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Her steps were stiff. I could tell she wasn’t happy to be here. When she sat down, I could see she’d been crying.
My fault, I knew.
I greeted her: “Thank you for coming, sweetheart.”
She paled. “Please don’t call me that. I almost didn’t come.”
I sighed. “Sorry: Kathy. I’m glad you came.” I pointed to a cup on the table. “I got you a chai latte.”
She glanced at it. “Thank you.”
She was so beautiful. In my eyes, she was still the beautiful young woman I’d married. How could I have hurt her? How had I been so foolish?
She looked ready to bolt for the door, so I spoke the words I’d so carefully planned. “I’m so sorry, Kathy. What I did was foolish, and I know it hurt you. I promise it won’t happen again.”
Her hands trembled as she gripped the tea. I could see her fighting to hold back tears. She shook her head. “How can I believe that, Dan? After all, she … that woman … works with you.” Her voice was full of pain.
I wanted so badly to convince her. “I promise I won’t see her again. She got a transfer, and she moved to another state.”
She shook her head again. “I don’t know, Dan.”
“I’m so sorry, Kathy. I’d do anything to take it back.”
She was crying, now. “It’s too late for that.”
I hung my head. She was right, and I told her so.
She sipped the tea. “What if the boss asks you to travel to that office?”
I tried to meet her eyes, but she wouldn’t. “I promise you. If I have any out of town trips, I’ll take you with me.”
Her blue eyes flashed with anger. “Who says I’ll want to go with you?”
I had to smile. That was my Kathy: feisty as ever. “I just pray you will,” I pleaded.
We sat in silence for a few minutes. Then, she finally met my eyes. “Oh, Dan… it just hurts so much. All those nights I thought you were working on some big construction project, and you were…”
“To be fair, Kathy, a lot of that time I was working on the project.”
“There’s noting fair about this, Dan. I mean…how could you?”
The weight of my shame felt like a boulder on my soul. “I’m so sorry, Kathy. Please forgive me. I know it’s a lot to ask, but I want to come home.”
Her tears were flowing, now, and her hands trembled. Then, she said, “I’ve forgiven you, Dan. But I just don’t know if I’m ready for that.
“Please, sweetheart… I mean: Kathy.” I reached across the table and tried to grasp one of her trembling hands. “Please. We’ll go to counseling. I’ll talk to the pastor. I’ll do whatever you say. Just … please.”
She met my eyes, then. “Dan, one of the things I admire about you is how hard you work; when you’re on a construction project.”
I nodded. Where was she going with this?
“Think carefully: are you willing to work that hard on our marriage?”
That was an easy question, and I didn’t need to think about it. “Absolutely, Kathy; I’ll make it my top priority.”
She nodded, but didn’t look convinced - although I thought I saw a ghost of tenderness behind her tears. Then she stood, gripped her tea, and said, “I need a few days, Dan. Come to supper on Friday night and we’ll talk again. I’ll be praying.”
As she walked away, the evening sunset glinted off her wedding ring, and I knew I’d be praying every spare minute until Friday night.
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Thank you so much for avoiding a "And then they skipped off happily together" ending. :)