If I Were the Last Man Alive
Copyright© 2014 by Number 7
Chapter 27: Lori
Kevin never asked me to marry him. We went out for a nice Italian dinner one night and simply decided to set a date. No preliminaries, no bended knee, no build up. It was just something that needed to be planned and done. I was so happy to be joining my girl friends with wedding dates I never examined how passionless it all was.
After the decision, there were too many things to plan for me to worry about our lack of passion. We were just Kevin and Lori, another suburban couple preparing a wedding.
After our engagement, we saw less of each other than before. That should have tipped me off that something was wrong. I ignored all the warning signs up until the moment he said there would no wedding.
My shock turned to hurt rapidly. I blamed myself for being such a jerk. Kevin gave every warning sign imaginable. He had "leaving" written all over him. I was so stupid. My blindness caused the hurt, not Kevin.
In the few minutes since we left the house by the river Jamie told me his deepest and most painful story. He shared his fear of getting hurt, found the courage to tell me he loved me and then asked me to marry him.
I was operating on overload. It was all I could do not to burst into tears and run like a scared fourteen year old. The tears were right there. If I tried very hard, I could hold them inside. But why?
That's when it hit me.
My grandmother told a story about her older sister and their mom. My great aunt had to say goodbye to her beau when World War II started and he shipped out.
The whole family walked him to the pier. After tearful goodbyes and too many hugs and promises of loyalty, faithfulness and undying love, he climbed the gangplank to board the troop ship.
Grandmother said that my great aunt cried like a baby until their mother put her arm around her and said, "Hush, my little one. A woman should never let her man see her cry. He loves you. I heard his words and saw his face when he said it.
He is a man who will come home to you and make you his wife. Be his woman now, and send your man off with your best smile. It's the picture he'll carry until he comes home."
Her advice was still important. Jamie loved me. He loved me enough to show me what hurt him and did it because he was confident that I wouldn't turn it against him. He loved me and my grandmother's wisdom was just what I needed right then.
To read the complete story you need to be logged in:
Log In or
Register for a Free account
(Why register?)
* Allows you 3 stories to read in 24 hours.