I think I went to my in-laws house that day to reminisce about the way my life used to be. As I sat outside in my car looking at the house my wife had grown up in, I began to wonder what had gone wrong. Why did Debbie and I grow apart? Today was our anniversary and my wife didn’t seem to care that much. That morning when I wished her happy anniversary, she just smiled. Just another day.
I watched as the digits on the clock changed to one o’clock. Two years ago Debbie and I exchanged vows; it had been the best day of my life and I don’t think there was ever a day in my life since that I didn’t feel the same way I did then. But somehow over the past several months my wife and I drifted apart. She’s gone back to college; I’ve graduated and started a promising career in finance and we just don’t move in the same circles these days.
As I sat watching the Treble’s house, my mother-in-law’s car pulled into the drive. I nearly put mine in gear and sped off but I reached for the key instead. There was no way I could leave without speaking to Jane, so I opened the door and stepped out of my car. I hadn’t meant for her to catch me loitering outside her home but it was a sure bet that she saw me.
“Hi, Terry,” she said as she stood by the Lincoln with one hand shading her eyes. “Come help me with the groceries.”
“Sure, Jane.”
There weren’t more than half a dozen plastic sacks and I was able to get them inside without making a second trip. Jane placed two glasses of ice tea on the table, and then put away the perishables before she sat down at the table next to me.
“I didn’t expect to find you here this early in the day,” she said as she reached for her glass. “You don’t get off work until five.”
“Well…I, ah, decided to take the afternoon off and drive around.”
“Trouble at work?” She must have seen something in my face and when I hesitated she arched a brow. “Are you and Debbie having trouble?”
“Well, no…that is…I…” My mouth stumbled about trying to turn this one around but I hadn’t expected to see her. And I wasn’t prepared for Jane’s questions, either.
“I thought she might be a little too young when you two married,” Jane said after an awkward moment. “She was twenty and not responsible enough for marriage. I don’t think she had the ‘rambling disease’ out of her system when she said, “I do.”
I sat there for a couple of minutes without speaking. I didn’t want to unburden myself in front of my mother-in-law – especially about her daughter. But what she said about Debbie sounded as though she understood my dilemma, had noticed her daughter’s behavior long ago. So, I spilled my guts and told Jane about how her daughter and I have been getting along over the last several months. She listened to every word without interruption. I told her that Debbie and I have grown apart, that we no longer seem to share the same dreams.
“So, I take it that your sex life hasn’t been all that great lately, either.”
“Well, no…”
“That’s a shame.” Jane’s voice had become softer, less audible. Then, suddenly, she laid a hand on my left thigh.
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