her eyes. After a few moments of suffocating silence, Ethan finally broke the ice.
“We didn’t used to be this way,” he said softly. “Once upon a time, my wife and I were crazy about one another. She laughed all the time, and her laughter was all it took to make me smile. We couldn’t keep our hands off each other, and nothing was more important than making the other person happy.”
Melanie opened her eyes and glanced over at the handsome man.
“That sounds nice.”
“It was.”
“What happened?”
It was the same question he asked himself every single day.
Ethan shrugged. “Life. Money. Heartbreak. At some point, appearing to have the perfect marriage became more important than actually having one.”
Melanie knew all about keeping up appearances. She and her husband attended social functions all the time. They held hands and smiled for the cameras, and everyone assumed their marriage was picture-perfect.
If they only knew . . .
“My wife buries her nose in a book or volunteers at the hospital while I camp out at the office. By the time I get home, she’s asleep.”
“Or she’s faking it,” Melanie whispered guiltily. How many nights had her husband walked into their bedroom, only to find her supposedly sleeping?
“Faking it? Why would she do that?”
“Maybe because when the two of you talk, it always ends in an argument.”
Ethan sighed deeply and leaned his head back against the wall. It was true. All he and his wife had done was bicker for the past six months. He was hoping this Christmas could be a new start, and the last-minute gift in the bag was symbolic of that wish.
“I love my wife. She has no idea how much. We’ve been together ten years, and still, I’ve never met anyone so beautiful and so. . . good . She’s kind and compassionate. Always the first to volunteer for anything. Especially for children’s charities . . .”
His voice trailed off, and Melanie heard the sadness in his voice.
“Do you tell her?”
Ethan tilted his head. “Tell her what?”
“All the things you just told me.”
He tried to recall how long it had been since he told his wife how much he loved her. They used to say it every day. Each morning. Each night. At the end of every phone call. How long had it been? Granted, it was hard to talk to a brick wall, and when the wall was asleep by the time he found the courage to drag himself home from work . . .
“No, I don’t tell her.” His voice was filled with shame.
“I bet she’d love to hear it.”
Ethan noticed her wistful tone, and it made his heart ache.
“She probably would. You . . . sound as if you have some experience with this.”
Melanie twirled the platinum band on her finger. It was a nervous habit that had come along within the past few months. Her psychiatrist found it interesting, spewing some nonsense about how Melanie obviously found a sense of peace in the diamond on her hand. That perhaps the ring served as a reminder of a happier time.
Melanie hated her shrink.
“Our situations are similar,” she said quietly. “My husband isn’t a bad man. We avoid each other like the plague, because that’s what our marriage has become. We barely talk, and when we do, it always ends in a fight. We don’t touch. Kiss. Hug.”
Ethan nodded grimly. He didn’t even bother to ask about sex. He knew.
It was nonexistent.
“I love my husband. We’ve just . . . lost our way, I guess. And I don’t know that we can ever get back on track.”
“But you were happy?”
“At one time, yes.”
Ethan sighed heavily and gazed at the woman.
“I was happy, too,” he said. “I can still remember the first time I saw her. She was wearing a bulky college sweatshirt. Hair in a ponytail. Chewing on the end of her pen while listening intently to the professor. And all I could do was stare, because she was so pretty. She still is. She is still the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.”
Melanie couldn’t help but smile.
“I was
“We didn’t used to be this way,” he said softly. “Once upon a time, my wife and I were crazy about one another. She laughed all the time, and her laughter was all it took to make me smile. We couldn’t keep our hands off each other, and nothing was more important than making the other person happy.”
Melanie opened her eyes and glanced over at the handsome man.
“That sounds nice.”
“It was.”
“What happened?”
It was the same question he asked himself every single day.
Ethan shrugged. “Life. Money. Heartbreak. At some point, appearing to have the perfect marriage became more important than actually having one.”
Melanie knew all about keeping up appearances. She and her husband attended social functions all the time. They held hands and smiled for the cameras, and everyone assumed their marriage was picture-perfect.
If they only knew . . .
“My wife buries her nose in a book or volunteers at the hospital while I camp out at the office. By the time I get home, she’s asleep.”
“Or she’s faking it,” Melanie whispered guiltily. How many nights had her husband walked into their bedroom, only to find her supposedly sleeping?
“Faking it? Why would she do that?”
“Maybe because when the two of you talk, it always ends in an argument.”
Ethan sighed deeply and leaned his head back against the wall. It was true. All he and his wife had done was bicker for the past six months. He was hoping this Christmas could be a new start, and the last-minute gift in the bag was symbolic of that wish.
“I love my wife. She has no idea how much. We’ve been together ten years, and still, I’ve never met anyone so beautiful and so. . . good . She’s kind and compassionate. Always the first to volunteer for anything. Especially for children’s charities . . .”
His voice trailed off, and Melanie heard the sadness in his voice.
“Do you tell her?”
Ethan tilted his head. “Tell her what?”
“All the things you just told me.”
He tried to recall how long it had been since he told his wife how much he loved her. They used to say it every day. Each morning. Each night. At the end of every phone call. How long had it been? Granted, it was hard to talk to a brick wall, and when the wall was asleep by the time he found the courage to drag himself home from work . . .
“No, I don’t tell her.” His voice was filled with shame.
“I bet she’d love to hear it.”
Ethan noticed her wistful tone, and it made his heart ache.
“She probably would. You . . . sound as if you have some experience with this.”
Melanie twirled the platinum band on her finger. It was a nervous habit that had come along within the past few months. Her psychiatrist found it interesting, spewing some nonsense about how Melanie obviously found a sense of peace in the diamond on her hand. That perhaps the ring served as a reminder of a happier time.
Melanie hated her shrink.
“Our situations are similar,” she said quietly. “My husband isn’t a bad man. We avoid each other like the plague, because that’s what our marriage has become. We barely talk, and when we do, it always ends in a fight. We don’t touch. Kiss. Hug.”
Ethan nodded grimly. He didn’t even bother to ask about sex. He knew.
It was nonexistent.
“I love my husband. We’ve just . . . lost our way, I guess. And I don’t know that we can ever get back on track.”
“But you were happy?”
“At one time, yes.”
Ethan sighed heavily and gazed at the woman.
“I was happy, too,” he said. “I can still remember the first time I saw her. She was wearing a bulky college sweatshirt. Hair in a ponytail. Chewing on the end of her pen while listening intently to the professor. And all I could do was stare, because she was so pretty. She still is. She is still the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.”
Melanie couldn’t help but smile.
“I was
Similar Books
