I wanted her to give up her own happiness and success, for me.

~

It was now after eleven and I stood in the hallway staring at the door to our apartment, trying to prepare for what might be waiting behind that it. Would we yell? Would we be civilized? Would I get her to stay? These questions raced through my mind as I finally gained the fortitude to put the key in the lock. I pushed the door open softly and what I saw horrified me. There were five large brown boxes stacked in the kitchen and two suitcases. Was she leaving already? Had she made up her mind? I stood there hyperventilating.

“This isn’t happening, this isn’t happening, this isn’t happening.” It was a long time before I was able to control my breathing. I set out to find her. I didn’t know what to say or do. She was leaving.

I found her asleep on the couch that she had set up to sleep on instead of our bed. The television was casting enough light on her that I could see all of her beautiful features. My attention quickly focused on her bare ring finger. She had taken off the ring I had given her. In the two years she had had it, she had never taken it off. It was over. I was going to have to say ‘goodbye’ to her and I didn’t know how. I walked over to the couch and sat next to her. She was so beautiful in that position. Her right arm rested on her forehead and her left across her stomach; she slept so peacefully. I picked up her left hand and rubbed the place that my ring should have been. I brought it to my mouth and kissed the empty finger. This awakened her and she looked around, confused at the situation. She saw that I had noticed that the ring was gone.