After her first spouse passed away, Margaret rediscovered love ten years later. However, an unforeseen turn of events occurred just as she believed her troubles were over. Her four children rose up and voiced their opposition when the wedding officiant asked if anyone had any objections. With a sinking heart, Margaret questioned what had gone wrong and why her once-supportive kids were suddenly against her marriage. What had taken place?
Seated in my favorite armchair, the late afternoon sunlight flooded through the windows.
I traced the borders of an old photograph with my fingertips while I whispered, “Oh, James, I miss you every day.”
Opened, the picture album revealed memories of a past existence on my lap.
James’s smile was so real in the photo that I felt as though he was right here with me. Oh no! We were young and full of dreams when we met in college.
On our first date, we spent hours talking about nothing at all in a tiny café close to the university. He had a way of making me feel unique, as though I were the only person in the entire planet.
Every picture brought back a wave of memories as I turned the pages. That June day, a gorgeous sunny afternoon, was our wedding day.
I could still see the happiness in James’ eyes and hear our friends and family laughing as we exchanged vows. We had so much joy and hope for the future.
We experienced quite a few adventures while visiting destinations of our dreams. There was the vacation to Italy, when we ended up eating the best pizza of our lives after getting lost in Rome’s narrow streets.
Or the time James insisted on starting a campfire even though it was pouring rain when we went camping in the Rockies. That evening, bundled up under a homemade tent, we laughed so hard that we thought nothing could possibly go wrong.
However, life intervened.
James became ill when I was forty-two, and in spite of our best wishes and prayers, he died. The worst day of my life was the day I lost him. The place seemed deserted, and I was trapped in a loneliness that hurt my heart.
