Tick tock 2

Tick tock 2 (Priscilla’s story)

It was getting late. The alcohol was long gone and I was too tired to go out and buy another bottle. I was more than just physically tired, I was emotionally and mentally drained. My marriage had taken its toll on me.

I had lost interest in everything and my mood was persistently low. The doctor said I was clinically depressed and had prescribed some medications. But how do you treat the symptoms when the root cause was eating into me daily like a cancer.

I was tired of trying; tired of trying to fix something that could not be fixed. It had gone from bad to worse and when the sex, the last thing that held us together, stopped, I employed the services of a divorce lawyer. I did not intend to be caught off guard.

I had been having recurring dreams of George asking me for a divorce. I always woke up just before signing the papers. Biola told me that that was a sign that my marriage would not end in divorce. I knew better than to take advice from my superstitious probably slightly mad friend. My lawyer was ready; I was only waiting for George to make the first move.

The shrill sound of the doorbell interrupted my thoughts.

I bristled from the unexpected sound and for a brief moment the crazy thought that my nightmare would come true today - that the visitor was sent by George to serve me with divorce papers - crossed my mind.

No. Not today. George would not be that heartless.

The visitor was from George alright.

I smiled when I opened the parcel.

It was a green dress. Emerald green. The exact shade I love. The exact shade my bridesmaids had worn 10 years earlier.

I was speechless but I dared not dream.

This must be a coincidence

He had probably told Ellen to order a dress online for me. Heck, his receptionist had probably even been the one to remind him of the anniversary.

There was a note attached.

"Happy anniversary. Please wear this for dinner tonight. It's an important night. Sorry for the trouble."

That brought me quickly back to my senses. I had been fantasising about his motives and it was all because of an important night. Oh I knew what an important night was: a boring night of forced laughter, acting and pretentious dining with his bosses and their spouses or dates. Somehow, George and I were able to present the image of a happily married crazily in love couple at these dinners. I deserved an Oscar. Why, only a week before, the skinny twenty-four year old fifth wife of the company's CEO had asked me for marriage tips. I was going to suggest that she should never grow old since Mark had never been married to anyone above 26 but I wisely kept quiet. If there was going to be a divorce, I wanted to be able to keep the house. If that meant that I had to be nice to all the trophy wives and suffer through countless dinners, I was going to do it. 

Tick tock

The dress was very pretty and fit like a glove. It brought back many happy memories of the wedding. I decided to wear a bracelet of the same exact colour that was bought during the honeymoon. I had been taking an evening stroll with George when we passed by the jewellery store. I was drawn to the trinket but had to look away because we were already over budget. Two days later, I had woken up to find the bracelet on the pillow.

I wondered if he would remember.

Tick tock

We met at the Conch. He was waiting for me at a table set for two people. I was bewildered.

“Where are the others?” I asked.

“What others?” He replied.

“You said it was an important night, I thought Mark and the rest...”

He did not let me finish.

“You thought I would take you to dinner with my work colleagues on our anniversary night?” He asked.

There was an edge to his voice. I could not make out what it was: anger? frustration? sadness?

I took a closer look at him. My husband looked like he had not slept in days; he had not shaved, his eyes were red and his shirt looked rumpled.

For a moment, I felt a pang of guilt. We had slept in the same house the night before. There was obviously something wrong. How could I have missed that? Had I been so absorbed in my own misery that I could not see that my husband was going through some challenges also? I wondered if he was ill. Was he dying? Was that the reason for the dress and dinner?

I don’t know exactly what changed when I really looked at George that night, but I know that was the moment I realised that I did not want to lose him.

Not today. Not ever.

I was going to fight for him. I was going to fight for our marriage.

“We are not broken, just bent and we can learn to love again” P!nk ~ Just give me a reason