THE CHOICE
My wife, Linda, and I were physically separated in contemplation of divorce. Linda was having an affair with Paul, a married man with two children. Almost immediately after Linda had expressed her definitive intent to separate and we agreed upon terms, Sharon wandered into my life and we began a relationship.
{The events leading to this situation are described beginning here:}
Unexpectedly, after our physical separation, Linda did not separate from me emotionally, or legally. She gradually began spending more time with me. Eventually, she was staying at my apartment most of the time. When her lease was about to expire, she terminated her affair and proposed that she move into my apartment and restore our marital relationship.
I had prayed for our marriage to be restored, but when the time came, I wasn’t sure. I had grown fond of Sharon. I seriously considered following through with a divorce from Linda in favor of continuing a relationship with Sharon.
Ultimately, I decided to reconcile with Linda and remain married. We had a history together. We had been married for ten years and made fond memories together. We had a nine-year-old daughter, Mary Ann. We were a family. My heart was torn, but my head knew that the right thing to do was to resume our marriage- to honor our vows, even though Linda had not taken them as seriously as she should have.
I had prepared Sharon. When I realized that Linda was showing signs of continuing her emotional involvement with me I explained to Sharon that I suspected that Linda might eventually want to restore our marriage. I told Sharon that if Linda was willing to terminate her affair with Paul, I was going to give our marriage another chance. I forewarned Sharon that we would have to stop seeing each other if that happened.
Sharon agreed, “That would be the right thing to do.” she said.
It Was Time to Have That Conversation.
We sat next to each other on Sharon’s bed, the only comfortable place to sit in her room.
“As I suspected she would, Linda has asked to move back in with me and resume our marriage. She has ended her affair.” I told Sharon.
We were looking directly into each other’s eyes. “As I explained before, we will have to stop seeing each other.”
Sharon just nodded.
We sat silently for what seemed to be many minutes but was probably just a few seconds. Then, with nothing left for us to say, I rose from the bed and walked to the doorway. I did not turn; I did not look back. Sharon did not see the tear that was rolling down my cheek.
I never saw her again.
One year later
Linda, Mary Ann, and I moved into our recently purchased home. It was a large, five-bedroom house on an acre of land. It was located in a rural area on the outskirts of our small town. We were surrounded by fields, forests, and dairy farms.
Mary Ann entered sixth grade in her new school. We were living a comfortable, seemingly idyllic life. It would be tempting to add the cliche ending: We lived happily ever after. But the story doesn’t end here.
