When Bill woke on Saturday morning he was surprised to find Sally up and working at her small desk in the kitchen. She was making notes and talking on the phone.
Coffee was brewing and Sally pointed to it as she finished her phone call. She looked very tired to Bill. But she looked very determined. She had a just scrubbed look about her. Her hair was damp and she wore a crisp white blouse and a pair of blue jeans.
Into the phone she said, "Ok, thank you. I'll see you then."
Bill poured himself a cup of coffee and turned to face her just as she said, "Goodbye" and hung up the phone.
Bill was depressed, and he took a long sip of coffee to give himself some energy for the discussion he knew he must have with his wife.
"No reason to drag this out," he thought.
"Sally we need to talk," he said quietly.
Silence hung in the air for a long moment.
Sally looked hard at him. "Your right Bill and we are going to talk."
"Sally look, this is killing both of us. Something has got to change."
"Bill, I agree. But listen to ........"
"Sally," Bill interrupted. "You know that family is everything to me. But this family is being torn apart. Before any damage is done to our son, and any more damage is done to us, I need to leave."
Sally felt her stomach fall. She got dizzy and Bill stepped forward to steady her before she fainted.
In a moment after she composed herself Sally stood straight once again and with a ferocity in her voice that Bill had rarely if ever heard Sally answered.
"Bill, I love you more than anything in my life except our son. We are a family and I am going to do whatever is necessary to make us a family."
"Sally.."
"Quiet Bill," Sally said firmly. "You said what you had to now I am going to say what I have to."
"I know how hard it was for you to decide to walk away from us. I know that because I know the kind of man you are. And you would do anything rather than walk away or give up on your family. That's one of the reasons I love you so much."
"I am going to fight for you Bill. A month ago I did something entirely out of my normal mousy life style."
"Sally your not mousy..."
"Hush Bill. I know what kind of person I am. I am very much like you. I am steady family oriented, and boring. We have a great family, and I blew it by not talking with you before... before....you know. I blew it by trying to 'make amends' for you. I did it by doing something so outrageous, so out of character for me that it got out of control. And now our whole family is paying the price. You most of all Bill."
Sally looked deeply into Bill's eyes. "I didn't know how to fix it before now. So I went back to my introverted mousy behavior. Hoping that we could get back to the way we were before. But I have figured something out over the past month. You want to know what that is?"
"Oh Sally, I didn't realize how hurt you are. I have been..."
"I'm going to tell you Bill. We can't go back to the way we were before!"
"I know that's why I have to leave."
"Listen to me, my one true love. We can never get back to where we were before. Its impossible. Me acting like I have never acted before in my life is what got us to this point. This crazy point where you are ready to do the hardest thing for you to do, leave your family."
"Sally...."
"Bill, I thought going back to being the dull, boring wife would fix things. But in the last few days I have realized that I was wrong. Crazy out of character behavior on my part is what got us into this mess and I believe that that kind of behavior is the only way for us to get past it. That's what I was trying to do last night when I came into your room. But it wasn't enough, you still saw me as that wife and mother who had betrayed you. It made you literally sick. It made me sick to. So I am going to get past the sickness."
"I don't understand."
"Bill, I want you to do four things for me today. When you are done, if you still think leaving is the right thing to do then I will cry and kiss you goodbye and make the best life I can for me, my son and even you when I see you. But before you go and leave your family, give me today! Just give me one more day."
"Sally I just don't know what good anymore time...."
"For the love you used to have for me. For the love of your son, for the family you cherished before I threw it away, please do this. It is only one more day. Do these four things for me."
With tears welling up in his eyes, realizing that Sally was going to fight for them, for him Bill softly said, "OK Sally. I'll do whatever you want today. Then I'll go."
Sally hugged him tightly. After several minutes of just holding him Sally said, "The first one is easy. Just get our son out of bed, feed him breakfast and take him to Janet's house. She will keep him until tomorrow."
"Ok, but I don't see how that will help us."
That's only number one. There are three more things you promised to do for me. Stay at Janet's until noon. Then come home. That's when you will find out about my second request.
Sally stayed busy on the phone as I got my boy ready to leave. She spoke in hushed tones and I never could catch what she was saying, but she made several calls.
I said a simple "goodbye" as we left. Sally gave me what I would call a worried, but hopeful smile, then she waved us out the door. The phone was still against her ear.
At precisely noon I pulled back into our driveway. Sally's car was at the house, but she wasn't there. That puzzled and worried me a bit. Who had she gone off with? Maybe she was leaving me.
Inside the house propped on the kitchen table was a large manila envelope.
"Oh God," he thought, "she is leaving and this is her 'Dear John" letter to me. I have driven her away."
Inside the envelope was one page written in Sally loopy writing style and a plastic card. There also was a business envelope. I looked at the familiar business envelope. It was from my old company, and it had Jim's personalized stationary.
"Oh God," I thought "she gone to him. That bastard!"
My mind flashed back to Jim's comments about how Sally would want more of him, and he would never turn her down because she was a 'great piece of ass'."
My hand was shaking so hard that I could barely read what Sally had written.