Everyone loves a good love story. There is not much to compare to the bounty of romance, and how that can trigger a life of abundance. For, if one lives in a vibration of love, then there is not much that we cannot conquer. Our story today is of a love once shared, and love long lost…. Or so it was thought. Is divorce the end of this story? Or, is it love?
Richard and Helen were one of those couples that had been together for a lifetime. They met at the young age of 16, and those were the sweet days. They discovered a friendship between them before anything else, they were neighbors so it was hard not to form such a relationship. Helen’s family had moved down from Ohio to Florida, where Richard’s family lived. When Richard saw Helen helping her parents unpack the moving van, he could not help but stare.
Richard asked around about this beautiful girl next door, and he was so excited when he realized she would be attending the same school. On her first day, Helen was very quiet, this was a whole new environment for her. When Richard walked up to her, she felt a rush of relief because she knew one person at least. They spent almost every lunch together, and their friendship blossomed into something unbreakable. Something nobody thought would end in a divorce or any sort of poor ending.
Tying the Knot
When they graduated from high school, They were both elated when they managed to get into the same college. When they were settled, they always found time for each other, and the friendship developed into something more. They found a romantic element that had always been there, burning in a way they had mistaken for mere friendship. They were always laughing, and when they had study dates, you can only imagine the distractions between them that they hardly ever managed to resist.
When their college years were over, they decided they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together, they had come so far, but how much further could their love take them? There was a lot of excitement between them, their love burning stronger than before.
Their wedding was a beautiful affair. It was every bride and groom’s dream, the perfect flowers, lace, the perfect band playing all of their favorite songs, and all of their college friends were there to celebrate their union. There was loud cheers as they said “I do”, and they were pelted by rice as they made their exit and man and wife, maybe a little too ecstatically.
The Next Chapter
They decided to make their home in Florida, here, their love blossomed. Of course, divorce was never on anyone’s mind. They got themselves a quaint but beautiful house and they were ready to begin their lives as a married couple. Helen and Richard had a dream of raising a family, but like many couples in today’s world, they struggled to conceive.
After years of trying with no avail, Helen and Richard decided they could give up on those dreams that were beginning to seem like false hopes. They started focusing more on their careers as a way to distract them from their yearning for children of their own. This was more the case for Richard because Helen was only working part-time. She had much more time on her hands, so she focused it on making their home a wondrous and comfortable place to live in.
She would wake up in the morning and make breakfast for the two of them, in the early years of their marriage, they were always making jokes and laughing at each other. Richard would never give up a chance to show affection, squeezing some part of her body as he walked past. They would chatter as they ate, and in the evenings they would sit by the fire playing card games, or scrabble – sometimes until the early hours of the morning.
Read: Man Learns Grandma Owned a $1.3M Mansion While Living in Tiny House and He Is Not Its Inheritor — a Short Story
Things Started Changing
As the years went by, their fun and jovial evenings became quieter and quieter. Helen did not notice how things were changing at first, she was so comfortable in their marriage that silence did not bother her. So, each evening, she would settle down with a book, or they would watch the T.V, but there was minimal chatter between the two of them.
A few years went by, Helen and Richard had been married for 53 years. Helen had become extremely aware of the distance between them that was growing further and further. Richard, on the other hand, showed no sign of the same awareness, nor any remorse at her disappointment when she put a little more effort in in the hopes to catch his attention. At the time, neither had considered divorce.
Helen started putting on her pretty dresses, like the floral gown that Richard always used to complement her wearing. But, alas, he barely seemed to notice. Helen was distraught. The idea that their love was fading was absolutely heartbreaking to her because she was still deeply in love with him. He kept wondering to herself how on earth they allowed their marriage to get to this point of no talking.
The Final Straw and a Divorce
One evening, Helen tried her best to get Richard into a conversation. She so desperately wanted to rekindle the passion they shared in their early years. Helen wondered if a divorce was the only answer. She asked him if he remembered the restaurant they went to on their first date, he mumbled an answer that somewhat resembled recognition. She took the chance and suggested they maybe went out for dinner that night. It would be nice to spend some time together, after all, it had been some time since their last night out.
Richard was disinterested, he claimed that Helen was a great cook and that it was a waste to spend money when they have decent food at home. Helen was gutted. This disappointment quickly raged into anger, and she stormed to their room and slammed the door behind her. Richard kept scrolling through his phone, unphased. This was her chance to show him how serious she was. She packed her bags and left that night.
Regret After Divorce
Richard was not bothered by Helen’s departure. In fact, he felt relieved that he no longer felt pressured to put effort into a relationship that had died so long ago. This sense of freedom quickly dissolved into forlorn loneliness. He had not realized all the effort that Helen put in, and now he was starting to miss it.
One day we went out to his local coffee shop, the one where he and Helen had frequently visited many years back. As he was about to go in, he stopped dead in his tracks, for there was Helen, sitting at a table with a coffee cup in front of him, and another man next to her. They were holding hands! Richard’s heart sank – he had not expected this to happen, and so soon after their separation!
He decided he could and would not stand for this. He turned around and went to the flower shop down the road to buy /Helen’s favorite flowers, he was going to win her back. When he came back to the restaurant, she left, and so had the other man. Richard felt a pang of sadness envelope his heart, this was all his fault. If only he pulled up his socks when Helen had asked.
Love and Resolution
A week went by, and Richard went every day to the same coffee shop, with the same flowers in hand, hoping against all odds that he would find her there and he could win her back. Two weeks went by, and he got a call from his local hospital saying that Helen had been admitted because she was in an accident.
|
Richard rushed over immediately, but he spared some time to buy her the biggest bunch of her favorite flowers. When he walked into the room where she was admitted to, he could not believe how stupid he had been all these years, there lay the most beautiful woman in the world, and he ahead risked having her in his life because of his own stubborn nature. Richard learned that Helen had run after him that day he saw her in the coffee shop, and she got hit by a car. While she healed from her injuries, Ricard took the greatest care of her. He made her breakfast and attempted making dinner, but they ordered food a lot because they were talking so much they barely had time for cooking.
A Glorious Time, Divorce or not!
The next few months were the most glorious time of their marriage. It was like they were young adults again, and their marriage had only just begun.
Sadly, about one year after Helen’s accident, she suffered a heart attack and she passed away. Richard’s effort to show his love did not waver lasted forever. He visited her grave every day, with a flask of hot tea, and two mugs. He would pour her a cup, just the way she liked it. And, he would tell her all the news of the neighborhood,. He would tell her how the sky looked each evening and morning. Also, he told her how much he missed her each day, and that his love was only growing stronger. He could not wait to be with her again one day.
This story was inspired by an original piece of fiction that first appeared on AmoMama. Any similarities between this story and actual people is purely coincidental
Keep Reading: Every Day Old Lady Sees Lonely Triplets Playing All Day Long on the Beach and Follows Them — a Short Story