Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong." ~ M. Gandhi
DF was already at the office when I arrived. Rather unusual, in retrospect, since he was living with KMC some 7 miles away and I am, traditionally, an early-bird. What was more unusual was the greeting I received. As I passed to get my first cup of coffee for the day, he brush my back gently and his hand rolled down my arm and grasped my hand ever so slightly. I turned. Our eyes met. His surprisingly warm and inviting. We lingered for a moment and then I moved away a little afraid that I would get lost in his glance.
For the following couple of weeks the contact increased and he'd make certain to ask how I was feeling and offer compliments on how I was dressed, or my hair or perfume. And, of course, there was the phone call he made to my cell in the late morning of New Year's Day. I'd spent New Year's Eve at the office attempting to tackle to backlog of work that had piled up while I was systematically keeping guard at my home and pulling shifts in his absence from the jointly-owned enterprise he was managing. At the midnight hour, I left the office and placed a call to my parents to wish them the best for 2003.
The following morning I slept in a little later than usual, had just stepped out of the shower when I heard my cell phone ringing. "Hi, it's me. Happy New Year, what are you doing?" he asked. I told him I had just finished showering and wasn't sure what I would be doing later. "Will you meet me there in a couple of hours? I'd like to see you and talk" he asked. I agreed and we made plans to meet in 2 hours.
When I pulled up to the building, he was already busy counting inventory (a project I'd thought would be left to me, given his penchant for spending all possible free time with his girlfriend in the past 3 months and neglecting our business terribly). As I took off my coat he dropped what he was doing to make a latté for me and asked that we sit and chat.
"I want to come home. I miss you. I miss us" he said. I was happy to hear those words, but it had all happened so quickly. One week he was taunting me and flaunting affections with his lover in my presence, and now he wants to come home. Carefully, I answered that it'd be nice, but I thought we needed more time. Time to work on the breach of trust, and time for him to sort out if this was really what he wanted and to make sure that he did, indeed, wish to repair the marriage. Learning that he wanted to divorce and witnessing the open display of his adultery had hurt me terribly and I couldn't endure another half-hearted attempt or something done on a whim, that might not be long-term. Nor could I rule out the possibility that he may have had a row with KMC and was simply looking for a place to stay.
The visit lasted only a couple of hours, but before leaving he lead me to one of the remote offices of the building, and kissed me as he used to when saying good-bye after a visit while he was still living in Europe and I here in America. It was a incredibly passionate embrace, and one that melted me. It wasn't long before he was unbuttoning my blouse and caressing my shoulders and I wasn't able to resist what happened next..... on the credenza.
No comments:
Post a Comment