A Touching Story

"Marriage"
When I got home that night as my wife served dinner, I held her hand
and said, I've got something to tell you. She sat down and ate
quietly. Again I observed the hurt in her eyes. Suddenly I didn't
know how to open my mouth. But I had to let her know what I was
thinking. I want a divorce. I raised the topic calmly. She didn't
seem to be annoyed by my words, instead she asked me softly, why? I
avoided her question. This made her angry. She threw away the
chopsticks and shouted at me, you are not a man! That night, we
didn't talk to each other. She was weeping. I knew she wanted to find
out what had happened to our marriage. But I could hardly give her a
satisfactory answer; she had lost my heart to a lovely girl called
Dew. I didn't love her anymore.

I just pitied her! With a deep sense of guilt, I drafted a divorce
agreement which stated that she could own our house, our car, and 30%
stake of my company. She glanced at it and then tore it into pieces.
The woman who had spent ten years of her life with me had become a
stranger. I felt sorry for her wasted time, resources and energy but
I could not take back what I had said for I loved Dew so dearly.
Finally she cried loudly in front of me, which was what I had
expected to see. To me her cry was actually a kind of release. The
idea of divorce which had obsessed me for several weeks seemed to be
firmer and clearer now.

The next day, I came back home very late and found her writing
something at the table. I didn't have supper but went straight to
sleep and fell asleep very fast because I was tired after an eventful
day with Dew. When I woke up, she was still there at the table
writing. I just did not care so I turned over and was asleep again.
In the morning she presented her divorce conditions: she didn't want
anything from me, but needed a month's notice before the divorce. She
requested that in that one month we both struggle to live as normal a
life as possible. Her reasons were simple: our son had his exams in a
month's time and she didn't want to disrupt him with our broken
marriage. This was agreeable to me. But she had something more, she
asked me to recall how I had carried her into out bridal room on our
wedding day. She requested that everyday for the month's duration I
carry her out of our bedroom to the front door ever morning. I
thought she was going crazy. Just to make our last days together
bearable I accepted her odd request. I told Dew about my wife s
divorce conditions. She laughed loudly and thought it was absurd. No
matter what tricks she applies, she has to face the divorce, she said
scornfully.

My wife and I hadn't had any body contact since my divorce intention
was explicitly expressed. So when I carried her out on the first day,
we both appeared clumsy. Our son clapped behind us, daddy is holding
mummy in his arms. His words brought me a sense of pain. From the
bedroom to the Sitting room, then to the door, I walked over ten
meters with her in my arms. She closed her eyes and said softly;
don't tell our son about the divorce. I nodded, feeling somewhat
upset. I put her down outside the door. She went to wait for the bus
to work. I drove alone to the office.

On the second day, both of us acted much more easily. She leaned on
my chest. I could smell the fragrance of her blouse. I realized that
I hadn't looked at this woman carefully for a long time. I realised
she was not young any more. There were fine wrinkles on her face, her
hair was greying! Our marriage had taken its toll on her. For a
minute I wondered what I had done to her. On the fourth day, when I
lifted her up, I felt a sense of intimacy returning. This was the
woman who had given ten years of her life to me.

On the fifth and sixth day, I realized that our sense of intimacy was
growing again. I didn't tell Dew about this. It became easier to
carry her as the month slipped by. Perhaps the everyday workout made
me stronger. She was choosing what to wear one morning. She tried on
quite a few dresses but could not find a suitable one. Then she
sighed, all my dresses have grown bigger. I suddenly realized that
she had grown so thin, that was the reason why I could carry her more
easily. Suddenly it hit me; she had buried so much pain and
bitterness in her heart. Subconsciously I reached out and touched her
head. Our son came in at the moment and said, Dad, it's time to carry
mum out. To him, seeing his father carrying his mother out had become
an essential part of his life. My wife gestured to our son to come
closer and hugged him tightly. I turned my face away because I was
afraid I might change my mind at this last minute. I then held her in
my arms, walking from the bedroom, through the sitting room, to the
hallway. Her hand surrounded my neck softly and naturally. I held
her body tightly; it was just like our wedding day. But her much
lighter weight made me sad.

On the last day, when I held her in my arms I could hardly move a
step. Our son had gone to school. I held her tightly and said, I
hadn't noticed that our life lacked intimacy. I drove to office
jumped out of the car swiftly without locking the door. I was afraid
any delay would make me change my mind... I walked upstairs, Dew
opened the door and I said to her, Sorry Dew, I do not want the
divorce anymore. She looked at me, astonished and then touched my
forehead. Do you have a fever? She said. I moved her hand off my
head. Sorry, Dew, I said, I won't divorce. My marriage life as boring
probably because she and I didn't value the details of our lives, not
because we didn't love each other any more. Now I realise that since
I carried her into my home on our wedding day I am supposed to hold
her until death do us apart. Dew seemed to suddenly wake up. She gave
me a loud slap and then slammed the door and burst into tears.

I walked downstairs and drove away. At the floral shop on the way, I
ordered a bouquet of flowers for my wife. The salesgirl asked me what
to write on the card. I smiled and wrote, I'll carry you out every
morning until death do us apart.

The small details of your lives are what really matter in a
relationship. It is not the mansion, the car, property, the money in
the bank, blah, blah, blah. These create an environment conducive for
happiness but cannot give happiness in themselves. So find time to be
your spouse's friend and do those little things for each other that
build intimacy. Do have a real happy marriage!