He paused, saying, “But I knew that you
hadn’t changed, and that you must have gone
through something. I wanted to wait for you
to tell me.”
I told him about the things that had happened over the last fifteen years. He listened
intently, and when I told him about Jake’s
humiliation, his eyes grew cold.
He was afraid that my throat would hurt the
next day, so he poured me some water.
At the end, he cried: “We weren’t by your
side. You must have been so tired.”
He felt bad for me, and what I had gone
through.
I don’t know when I fell asleep, I just
remember lying in Chris‘ arms, feeling warm
and safe.
That night, I had a long dream.
I went back to the tenth anniversary of Jake’s
company from fifteen years from now. Alex
called me and said that he had left his speech
at home.
Г
When I got there, the banquet had started.
Jake and Sarah were standing on the stage,
under the spotlight. I didn’t fit in.
Alex came over to me, telling me, “Dad should
be with someone as shiny as Sarah. Don’t try
to trap him with me anymore.
The crowd laughed at me, and Jake and
Sarah laughed at me too.
At that moment, the door opened, and Chris
walked over to me with my son. They took my
hand.
“Mom!”
“Honey, let’s go home!”
I suddenly woke up from my dream, smelling
toast in the air.
I pushed open the kitchen door, and Chris
was drawing on the toast with salad dressing.
I grabbed his eyes from behind.
He put his arm around my waist, and lifted
me up with one arm.
He looked focused and sincere.
I hid my face in his arms, but my heart felt
clean.
Everything was good, everything had passed.
My husband and son were here, and that was
worth it.
く
After that, Chris was worried about my safety,
so he always dropped me off and picked me
- up.
On the weekend, I took my son to the park.
Even though it was the afternoon, the sun
was still strong.
An umbrella suddenly covered the sun, and I
smiled, turning around, saying, “Chris,
you’re…”
I couldn’t say anything else because of what I
saw.
The man had a tall figure, and his hand
looked like it was cut from bone. As time had
passed, he had gotten a different kind of
maturity.
Jake followed my gaze, saw my son, and
laughed: “I know you like kids. That boy looks
pretty cute. I saw you looking at him.”
│…..
He kept saying, “I knew that you might have
been betting on me, but let’s just say that for
what happened. Let’s get back together, my
son and I miss you.”
Right then, my son happily ran over to me:
“Mom.”
Jake was shocked, turning into stone.
I grabbed my son’s hand and left: “I’m sorry,
but that’s my son.”
<
Pausing, I said, “He looks like his dad, he’s
cute, you’ve seen him.”
Jake looked shocked. “You really have a
husband and son?”
I seriously said, “To be honest, they’re the
most important thing in my life. You were just
a passerby.”
“Going back fifteen years was for you, and
for me too. I hope that you keep your promise
and don’t mess with my life.”
|
After that meeting, I thought I wouldn’t see
Jake anymore.
He wasn’t the type of person who would still
cling to something after finding out he was
lied to.
<
But I ran into him at my job.
I thought there was someone with the same
name when I heard Jake’s name.
But he pushed open the door and it was really
him.
He didn’t look confident like before. Instead,
he was begging me: “My son is really smart,
so he can definitely make a time machine.
Then we can go back.
We were together for fifteen years, and
you’ve only been with him for six, how can
you leave?”
I furrowed my brow: “I’m in general surgery,
not psychiatry so I can’t help you with that
Г
Also, I don’t like to measure things with time.
I was your wife for fifteen years, but I love my
Chris.”
He grabbed his fist, trying to stay calm: “Then
what about my son? You don’t want him?”
“Your son is smart, so you should get him a
good school. If he needs any help, he can.
come find me.”
His voice shook: “What about me? You don’t
want me anymore?”
I looked at his regretful face and thought
about how he looked down at me and said
that he only wanted Sarah.
“We both just needed something. You needed
<
a wife to help take care of your son, and I
needed the title of being Jake’s wife. This
isn’t something about me wanting you.”
“Leave. You’re annoying me.”
Jake finally broke down, running out with his
ego.
Later, I heard that he wasn’t doing well. He
kept yelling about how he wanted to go back,
that he wanted to do everything again.
He lost big contracts because of his mental
health.
My husband’s business got better and better.
He wanted to avoid being too busy, so he
hired people to help him manage it, and we
had a happy life.
Another fifteen years passed, and the people
in a banquet hall in an awards center were
applauding.
A straight–backed man wearing a black suit
had the wind blowing through his hair, making
him seem really impressive.
A reporter asked: “Dr. Alex, who do you want
to thank?”
The bright light fell on his face, and his dark
eyes were deeper, looking into the camera.
“I want to thank my mother. She told me that
the world is big, the world is beautiful, and life is short, so I shouldn’t trap myself.
She also told me to appreciate what you
have, and not to use kids as a means of
investment and not to make decisions based
on feelings.”
That night, the topic of Jake’s son’s mom went to the top of the trending topics.
I didn’t know about that, because I was with my husband and son, eating cookies and
celebrating Thanksgiving.
We had a happy and fulfilling life.
