Ten years ago, on my wedding day, I carried my wife in my arms. The bridal car stopped in front of our one-room flat. I carried her out of the car in my arms into our home. She was plump and shy, and I was a strong and happy bridegroom.
We had a kid; I went into business. As our assets increased, the affection between us ebbed. She was a civil servant. Every morning we left home together and got home almost at the same time.
Then gorgeous Dew came into my life!
It was a sunny day. I stood on a spacious balcony. Dew hugged me from behind. My heart once again I was immersed in her stream of love. This was the apartment I had just bought for her, I had furnished it into a paradise! Dew said, you are the kind of man who best draws girls' eyeballs. Her words suddenly reminded me of my wife. When we were just married, my wife said, Men like you, once successful, will be very attractive to girls. I was very happy, and the idea of divorce became clear in my mind.
She was a good wife. Every evening she was busy preparing dinner. I was sitting in front of the TV. The dinner was ready soon. Then we watched TV together. Alternatively, I was lounging before the computer, visualizing Dew's body. This was my means of entertainment.
One day I said to her in a slightly joking way, suppose we divorce, what will you do? She stared at me for a few seconds without a word. She had lived in a crucible believing that divorce was something far away from her. I could not imagine how she would react once she has to know I was serious.
Once my wife came to my office, Dew had just stepped out. All the staff looked at my wife with sympathetic eyes because they all knew she was living a lie. She seemed to have a hint. She gently smiled at my subordinates. However, I read hurt in her eyes.
Dew encouraged me to divorce my wife, so that we could live happily together. She was getting impatient at being the other woman in my life. I nodded. I knew I could not postpone the divorce any longer Dew was too tempting to resist.
When I got home that night as my wife served dinner, I held her hand and said, I have something to tell you. She sat down and ate quietly. Again, I observed the hurt in her eyes. Suddenly I did not know how to open my mouth. However, I had to let her know what I was thinking. I want a divorce. I raised the topic calmly.
She didn't seem to be annoyed by my words, instead she asked me softly, why? I avoided her question. This made her angry. She threw away the chopsticks and shouted at me, you are not a man! That night, we didn't talk to each other. She was weeping. I knew she wanted to find out what had happened to our marriage. But I could hardly give her a satisfactory answer, she had lost my heart to Dew. I didn’t love her anymore. I just pitied her!
With a deep sense of guilt, I drafted a divorce agreement, which stated that she could own our house, our car, and 30% stake of my company. She glanced at it and then tore it into pieces. The woman who had spent ten years of her life with me had become a stranger. I felt sorry for her wasted time, resources and energy but I could not take back what I had said for I loved Dew so dearly. Finally, she cried loudly in front of me, which was what I had expected to see. To me her cry was actually a kind of release. The idea of divorce, which had obsessed me for several weeks, seemed to be firmer and clearer now.
The next day, I came back home very late and found her writing something at the table. I did not have supper but went straight to sleep and fell asleep very fast because I was tired after an eventful day with Dew. When I woke up, she was still there at the table writing. I just did not care so I turned over and was asleep again.
In the morning, she presented her divorce conditions: she did not want anything from me, but needed a month's notice before the divorce. She requested that in that one month we both struggle to live as normal a life as possible. Her reasons were simple: our son had his exams in a month’s time and she did not want to disrupt him with our broken marriage. This was agreeable to me. However, she had something more, she asked me to recall how I had carried her into out bridal room on our wedding day. She requested that everyday for the month's duration I carry her out of our bedroom to the front door ever morning. I thought she was going crazy. Just to make our last days together bearable I accepted her odd request.
I told Dew about my wife s divorce conditions. She laughed loudly and thought it was absurd. No matter what tricks she applies, she has to face the divorce, she said scornfully.
My wife and I had not had any body contact since my divorce intention was explicitly expressed. So, when I carried her out on the first day, we both appeared clumsy. Our son clapped behind us, daddy is holding mummy in his arms. His words brought me a sense of pain. From the bedroom to the sitting room, then to the door, I walked over ten meters with her in my arms. She closed her eyes and said softly; do not tell our son about the divorce. I nodded, feeling somewhat upset. I put her down outside the door. She went to wait for the bus to work. I drove alone to the office.
On the second day, both of us acted much more easily. She leaned on my chest. I could smell the fragrance of her blouse. I realized that I had not looked at this woman carefully for a long time. I realised she was not young any more. There were fine wrinkles on her face, her hair was greying! Our marriage had taken its toll on her. For a minute, I wondered what I had done to her.
On the fourth day, when I lifted her up, I felt a sense of intimacy returning. This woman had given ten years of her life to me. On the fifth and sixth day, I realized that our sense of intimacy was growing again. I did not tell Dew about this. It became easier to carry her as the month slipped by. Perhaps the everyday workout made me stronger.
She was choosing what to wear one morning. She tried on quite a few dresses but could not find a suitable one. Then she sighed, all my dresses have grown bigger. I suddenly realized that she had grown so thin, that was the reason why I could carry her more easily. Suddenly it hit me. She had buried so much pain and bitterness in her heart. Subconsciously I reached out and touched her head.
Our son came in at that moment and said. Dad, it is time to carry mum out. To him, seeing his father carrying his mother out had become an essential part of his life. My wife gestured to our son to come closer and hugged him tightly. I turned my face away because I was afraid I might change my mind at this last minute. I then held her in my arms, walking from the bedroom, through the sitting room, to the hallway. Her hand surrounded my neck softly and naturally. I held her body tightly; it was just like our wedding day. However, her much lighter weight made me sad. On the last day, when I held her in my arms I could hardly move a step. Our son had gone to school. I held her tightly and said, I had not noticed that our life lacked intimacy.
I drove to office, jumped out of the car swiftly without locking the door. I was afraid any delay would make me change my mind. I walked upstairs. Dew opened the door and I said to her: Sorry, Dew, I do not want the divorce anymore.
She looked at me, astonished, then touched my forehead. Do you have a fever? She said. I moved her hand off my head. Sorry, Dew, I said, I will not divorce. My marriage life was boring probably because she and I did not value the details of our lives, not because we didn't love each other any more. Now I realise that since I carried her into my home on our wedding day I am supposed to hold her until death do us apart. Dew seemed to wake up suddenly. She gave me a loud slap and then slammed the door and burst into tears. I walked downstairs and drove away.
At the floral shop on the way, I ordered a bouquet of flowers for my wife. The sales clerk asked me what to write on the card. I smiled and wrote, I will carry you out every morning until death does us apart.
The small details of your lives are what really matter in a relationship. It is not the mansion, the car, property, the money in the bank, blah,..blah, blah. These create an environment conducive for happiness but cannot give happiness in themselves. So, find time to be your spouse's friend and do those little things for each other that build intimacy. Do have a real happy marriage!
- Author unknown -