LOVE ON THE EDGE

THE MISTAKE

There was Jacklyn, in all her glory, standing in front of a kiosk, with a signboard that read, "Jacklyn's drink depot." It also had the logos of all soft drink companies in that area, and there was a truck offloading supplies into the shop. Marilyn could not believe her eyes, she rang the bell to indicate that she will be dropping at the next bus stop.

After she had alighted, she sat at a park nearby and held her head in her hands, confused, lost.

Then she took out her phone, and dialed her husband's number. "Are you okay baby?" Tom asked when he heard her voice. She just told him where she was and asked him to come meet her immediately.

On arrival, Tom could tell something was really wrong with his wife, he walked up to her and asked what was bothering her and she told him what she had seen.

"O my God," he exclaimed, "how could she do this to me, after discouraging me from going ahead with the plan?"

Marilyn was so upset, she just got up and left him there, walked up to the bus station, took the available bus and headed home. She was so sad. She recalled similar occurrences that had happened in the past and could not believe that Tom had not learnt his lesson. What baffled her most was how low he thought of her that her words and ideas carried no weight, and were nothing to him. She thought of all the sacrifices she had made for the family in past years and how he always found a way to ruin their plans just when a glimmer of hope was nigh. She laid in bed and cried herself to sleep.

Tom was confused, sitting in that park. He thought of confronting Jacklyn but considered the damage that will do to their friendship. He pictured his wife's face, how sad she looked, and wondered what she will be doing now or where she even went. He felt bad that he had trusted Jack for the upteenth time and even let her belittle his wife.

He got up, and took a stroll to the location Marilyn had seen Jacklyn's shop. As soon as she saw him, she looked away and continued chatting with bystanders who had come to the shop's opening brunch. Tom realized that he was not even invited and this made him sad.

All the people Jacklyn invited were people from their childhood who she had complained about to Tom, people she vowed that she would have nothing to do with and yet here they were. Meanwhile he that had stayed faithful to her all these years, comforted her when she was down and was an open ear to all her whining and complains, did not make the guest list. "Truly, life is fickle," he thought to himself. "The person you carry like a bag of cement can carry you like a pinch of salt, and spit in your face while at it.

Tom turned around to leave, he decided to walk home so he could have a long conversation with himself. Truly, in the years past, he had not been fair to his wife, Marilyn. He had thought very little of her and always felt she was not as smart as other women, he always compared her to people like Jacklyn who he thought were street smart and could achieve anything. Somehow, he admired their cunning nature, calling it cleverness but did not appreciate the meekness, humility and other virtues his wife had. Truly, this time around, he had really hurt her, and for the first time, he felt its impact. The big question now is, "how can he make it up to her, how can he show her that this will never repeat itself again and that he has turned a new leaf? How can he show his beloved wife that the love he professes is not just in words but in action and that he is ready to put in the work to make their marriage a paradise? How can he assure her that his promises are true and that he is ready to partner with her to establish another source of income that will improve their finances as a family and promise financial stability in the future? All these ran through his mind as he walked home. He was not sure how to communicate these to her but he knew that once he was standing before her, the words will come.

"Baby," he called out as he shut the front door behind him. "Where are you?" he asked again but no response. So he checked the kitchen, then went upstairs to their bedroom.

"Marilyn," he called out again. Still no response.

So he opened the bathroom door and let out a scream, then he brought out his ph

one and dialed 911.