Tragically in Love

When Kristen first met Paul, she didn’t think she would ever be able to love again. She was still madly in love with Marc. He had left her without warning. For three years, she cried on Paul’s shoulder. He was always there for her, no matter when she needed him. However, Paul fell in love with Kristen. He got tired of seeing her so miserable over someone who discarded her as if she were no more important than last week’s leftovers, but it was obvious that she didn’t feel the same. She had been hung up on her ex for years.

One night, Paul finally convinced Kristen to go to a party and let loose. They were both relatively intoxicated. Paul didn’t notice that Kristen had snuck off to a bedroom, and when he finally ran into her again, she was sitting on the bed, crying. She told him she didn’t know how she could ever enjoy herself or make new friends without feeling like she wasn’t good enough. After all, why else would Marcus have left her? Paul couldn’t take it anymore. He kissed Kristen and told her over and over again, “You are enough. You are enough.” He never expected her to kiss him back, but life is full of surprises, and now they’ve been married for eight years with a six-year-old named Scarlett. Kristen loves Paul, but she knows she’ll never love him as greatly as she loved Marc, and Marc is the one she thinks about at night. 

As Kristen reminisces about the past, she enjoys the cool fall breeze. Fall has just begun, and it is a balmy 67 degrees. Scarlett’s wispy blonde hair flows behind her as she chases Bella, the family dog. Bella is a black lab. She looks enormous next to tiny Scarlett, but Scarlett has never been scared of her. 

Scarlett always loved climbing and exploring things. She was walking by the time she was eight months old, and Paul and Kristen loved taking her to the park to watch her climb and run around. Scarlett was especially bright, too. She always got A’s on her spelling tests, and she always paid attention. In addition to Scarlett’s intelligence and athleticism, she was beautiful. She had mostly taken from Kristen with her flawless pale complexion, soft blond locks, and naturally rouge cheeks, but everyone could see that she had Paul’s uniquely magnificent grey eyes. She was sure to grow up to be a beautiful young lady. 

Eventually, the sun started to set, and it got to be quite chilly outside, so Kristen went inside with Scarlett and Bella. They ate dinner just as they always did, and Kristen put Scarlett to bed, fed Bella, and finally had some time to herself. Just as she always did, she thought about Marc. Despite what Paul thought, Marc had never so much as directed a negative word at her. His kindness and compassion were part of the reason she was so upset by him leaving. She drifted off to sleep still thinking about his turquoise eyes and jet black hair.

The next morning, Kristen got angry at Paul for something that seems so insignificant now, neither of them remembers. All either of them can think about is Scarlett; Sweet, beautiful Scarlett, who moments ago had been happily singing and climbing the tree in the backyard. They never let her go too high. She couldn’t have been more than six feet above the ground, but they all heard the scream, and the God awful crunch when she fell. She was dead by the time the ambulance got there, and in a matter of five minutes, Paul and Kristen’s lives had been shattered. Never again could they hold their little girl and sing her to sleep, or hear her sweet voice as she rambled on and on about her school day. Despite Paul, for the second time in her life, Kristen felt completely alone. 

For the first time in weeks, Kristen left the house. She and Paul had drifted apart, and she feared she would suffocate if she stayed in the house one more day. She assumed the library would be a quiet place she could sit for a while just to be somewhere other than her house. She must have sat there for hours, trying to read the same pages over and over. She was so distracted she didn’t notice him standing there. She finally looked up when someone touched her shoulder. “Hi, Kristen. It’s been a while,” Marcus said. Kristen didn’t say anything, just looked at him incredulously. “How’ve you been?”

“Where have you been,” Kristen said, collecting herself. Marcus looked down, nodding. “I don’t think I should talk about that yet, but maybe I could take you to get a coffee sometime and I’ll tell you everything.” 

“I’m married now, Marcus. Did you expect me to wait around forever? Well, while you were off God knows where I was moving on with my life and my family, and I buried my daughter two months ago!”

For a moment, Marc was silent. He handed her his business card. “If you ever want to know what happened, give me a call,” he said and walked away. Kristen wiped away the tears she didn’t know she had cried and went home. 

All through the week, she thought about Marc, even more than usual, and she finally called him to ask for an explanation. He told her to meet him at the coffee house, and he would explain everything. Kristen didn’t know how to feel. She still loved him and now he was here, apparently single, just as her marriage was falling apart. Paul had laid the divorce papers on her nightstand just before she went to the library last week. He told her that he would never stop loving her, but it was obvious that she would never love him, and it was true. She had always been in love with Marcus, and she always would be. 

“I left,” Marcus started, “because I had to. As you know, my mother had serious problems with depression.” He paused. “My father was in denial. He was schizophrenic which, along with the obstinacy made him believe psych doctors are- I don’t know- evil I guess?” He took a deep breath. “Well, he was shocked when my mother killed herself. It made him go crazy,” He laughed. “Crazier. Anyway, dead Mom, crazier Dad. My dad didn’t want people to find out about her death, so he told me we had to move. He told me I couldn’t even tell you or he would pin some terrible crime on your family. Obviously, now I know he had no way to do that, but I was seventeen. Once I figured it out, I had to stay and take care of him, not to mention I was broke and had no way to come back.” 

He met her eyes, expecting an answer. “I’m sorry,” Kristen said, “I don’t know what to say.” Marc stood up. 

“Well,” he said, “I’m still single, so if you ever change your mind about your husband-” Kristen interrupted him. 

“Actually, we’re getting divorced, and I should probably wait until it’s official, but I haven’t spent one day of the past twelve years that I haven’t wanted to do this.”

Kristen stepped forward and kissed Marc. It was even better than she remembered. She held him close.

“I love you.”