I froze. My father had died only a few months before our wedding. He had always liked George, but I had never imagined the
two of them had shared some private conversation about me.
“What does it say?”
George handed me the letter. But when I tried to open it, he gently stopped me.
“Listen to me first.”
He sat beside me.
“When your father became ill, he called me to see him one day. He already knew he did not have much time left. He told me that you always looked strong, but that you had a habit of keeping everything inside. He was afraid that after he died, you would be left alone and convince everyone you were fine.”
I said nothing. George continued.
“Then he asked me if I loved you.”
“What did you say?”
George smiled faintly.
“I said yes.”
“And then?”
He paused.
“He said, ‘Then don’t wait. Marry her. But don’t marry her out of pity. Don’t promise me anything unless you are willing to choose her every single day.’”
Marriage advice book
Tears filled my eyes. But I still did not understand why George had been so afraid to tell me.
“So what is the secret?”
He looked down at his hands.
“The secret is that I had already decided to leave town.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
“I had been offered a job in another state. I was supposed to leave a week later. We had only been together for eight months.uvr I loved you, but I was afraid of marriage. I told myself we were young and that maybe the distance would help us figure out what we really wanted.”
My chest tightened.
“So if my father had never called you…”
“I probably would have left.”
The room went completely silent.
That one sentence hurt more than I expected.
For fifty-four years, I had believed George had chosen me without hesitation.
And now I was learning that he had once been ready to walk away.
He saw the change in my expression.
“That’s why I never told you. I was afraid you would think I married you only because your father asked me to.”
Marriage advice book
I stayed silent.
“Did you?”
George suddenly smiled.
“No.”
