Her Choice(conclusion)

The normal morning chaos greeted Karen as her husband and kids rushed throughout the house getting ready for work and school. By 7:45 she had given her last hug and finally had some time to herself. She walked to her bedroom closet and reached under the pile of blankets lying on the top shelf. She found the old shoebox and peered inside. Underneath the pictures of various relatives, some of whose names she couldn’t recall, she found what she was looking for. It was the only picture that she had of her and Bobby. She was sitting on the trunk of his car with him leaning against her. Her arms were wrapped tightly around him and her smile beamed brilliantly. She looked so happy. It was hard to believe that she was the same person as the girl in the picture. She put the picture in her purse and went to shower.

Bobby sat in the booth looking out of the large window at the passing traffic. He had picked this diner for them to meet at partly because of its discreet location, but mainly because a motel was across the street. He watched as the cars came and went and then he spotted Karen’s four-door sedan pulling into a parking space. As she got out of the car Bobby was surprised at how good Karen looked. She wore a clingy summer dress that suggested a firm body beneath. If he hadn’t already known, he would have never guessed that she was the mother of three kids. He smiled at his luck.

Karen stood at the counter, nervously looking over the lunch crowd. She silently prayed that her face did not reveal the turmoil that churned inside of her. She jumped when she felt a pair of hands slip around her waist from behind. She whirled around and found herself staring into Bobby’s deep blue eyes. He flashed her his devastating grin and said hello. Karen managed a weak hello back before Bobby pulled her close and gave her a loving embrace. Karen responded instinctively by tightly hugging him back. The feel of her arms around him sent her mind somersaulting. Bobby broke the hug and taking her hand, led her through the crowd to the booth.

“Well, so how have you been?” Bobby started.

“Good…and yourself?”

“I’m getting along, you know how it goes.”

They entertained light talk for a few minutes until the waitress interrupted them to take their order. Karen was thankful for the excuse to break contact with Bobby’s eyes. They were even more haunting than she had remembered.

Bobby knew that he still had a commanding effect on Karen. As they ate and chatted his confidence grew. When he felt that the right moment had presented itself, he went in for the easy kill.

“Karen, do you ever think about us, about what we used to have?”

“I’ve thought about it…from time to time.” She answered, hoping that her trembling voice didn’t betray the truth to his question. In her mind she screamed, “Of course I have thought about us! I can’t get that memory out of my head. Yes, I think about it and it has slowly killed me over the years!”

But, Bobby could tell. He knew that she was still vulnerable to the power of his memory. It was time to play his final card. He reached across the table, taking her hands into his and looked directly into her eyes.

“I have missed you more than I can ever say. My life has been so empty without you. No one has come close to giving me the happiness that you did. I want us to be together again.”

The words rolled off of his tongue, flowing as smooth as golden honey. He knew they would work because he had used them on many other women. It always worked. Just tell them something sweet and they always gave in.

Karen was silent for several moments, thinking hard about what was being offered to her. Before she could answer, the waitress made her last appearance. “Can I get you anything else?” she asked.

Karen looked at her wedding band, then at Bobby. She gave him a mischievous wink and replied, “No, I finally have everything that I need.”

She had made her decision and there was no turning back. Years of emotional warfare were now on the verge of being quelled. Karen was surprised at how easily she had made her choice. Other than a slight fluttering in her stomach, she felt extremely calm.

Bobby told her to wait while he went across the street to get a room. Karen watched him and smiled to see that he still had that same cocky way of walking that she had always admired.

It had taken a little over ten minutes, but Bobby was a happy man as he sauntered back into the diner. When he reached the booth he found that four business men had replaced Karen at the table. While he stood staring, trying to comprehend what he saw, the waitress tapped him on the shoulder and told him that the lady had left something at the register for him.

“You mean she’s gone?” he asked stunned.

“Yeah, you owe us $12.75 for the lunch” the waitress answered, then added, “Plus the tip.” She handed Bobby the tab along with the picture Karen had saved for all of those years. Wrapped around the picture was a note.

‘Dearest Bobby, here is a reminder of what you had, but threw away. I loved you with a heart that most men would die for, but I guess it wasn’t good enough for you. Too bad you weren’t man enough to hold on to a woman who could have loved you with the passion of a lifetime. I now give that gift completely to my husband. Seeing you again has made me realize that I am where I need to be…where I want to be…in my life. Don’t try to contact me again or you’ll find out how viscously I will fight to keep the life that I now have. No longer yours for eternity, Karen.’

‘P.S. I left you the tab…it’s the least that you owe me.’

The note was sealed with a lipstick kiss.

The drive home was glorious for Karen. She felt stronger than she had ever felt. Energy raced throughout her body. Her mind was clear and sharp. A new woman had been born when she declared her freedom from Bobby.

As she pulled up to the stop sign that sat at the top of the hill of her street, she looked down to the end where her house sat. From that distance it wasn’t hard to imagine that she was looking over a deep blue sea. With a smile and tears of happiness, she accelerated the car toward her home.

Karen was finally going to reach her island.

Take care.