"James, what are you doing up here? Go away or I'll jump now!"
"You're my wife, Jill. Where else would I be when you're hurting? Why would you jump off a building when you have so much to live for?"
"I'm jumping because of all the pain I have caused you and the kids. You'll all be better off with me gone. All I have to do is jump and God and gravity will take care of the rest."
"What have you done that's so bad you need to commit suicide?"
"You know good and well what I've done. I cheated on you with Stan Underhill! And in our bedroom! I fucked up our marriage."
"I admit that having sex with Stan is a reason to question your sense of good taste but jumping from a 30-story building seems to be quite an overreaction."
"Overreaction? I betrayed our wedding vows. I have brought shame on the whole family including our children. I probably got Stan kicked out of his house and into divorce. Now, don't you see that everyone would be better off with me dead?"
"I don't agree at all that your death would make me or our children better off. Yes, you screwed up, but what you did isn't worth you dying for. Jill, we can deal with your affair in some other way."
"Like divorce."
"I've never said anything about divorce to you."
"Are you saying you haven't thought about divorce?"
"Of course, I've thought about it. But I concluded that it would not help our family heal. That's the most important thing to me."
"But my death will help you heal. You and the kids would no longer have a cheating wife and mother to embarrass you when we're around other people. Don't tell me you won't wonder if I would cheat again. If I die, you would have all our financial assets instead of half from a divorce. With my death, you would get my life insurance."
"Jill, your death would deepen our wounds, not heal us. The kids and I would feel guilty that we didn't do enough to convince you how important you are to our family - alive. By the way, you're wrong about the life insurance. There is no payment for suicide in your policy. We would be trying to live on less income because your salary was gone, and we would have the depression from being part of the reason for your death. Everyday we would be reminded of you when one of us had to perform a chore you normally did."
"James, you could find a woman to replace me easily. You are a caring, intelligent and handsome man and the kids are wonderful. You all deserve a better wife and mother. After what I did to you, why aren't you madder at me? Scream, yell, hit me -- I deserve it!"
"I am mad. I am mad that you have ASSUMED things that I and the kids feel. Why don't you ask US how we feel? The kids asked me just before I came up here, "Why does Mommy want to leave us? Did we do something bad?" If you kill yourself, they are going to blame themselves and not you. And you won't be here to explain to them. That will be dumped on me.
