Christy: A Journey Tale Read Online Free PDF Page B

with the things that annoyed me for a few
days. After he was gone the house was all mine and I could do as I
please. Looking back on it now it was really the best of both
worlds. I had all the joys of marriage, but I also got to live my
life the way I wanted to without having to make any accommodations
for anyone else.
    “It still sounds lonely to me.”
    “In some ways it was, but like all things it
didn’t last forever.”
    “So what happened?”
    “Well, you happened.”
    “What?” Jennifer asked a little confused.
    “I got pregnant and Jack didn’t think it was
right for me to be alone for such long stretches. He switched jobs
so that he could be home every night. He had to take a pay cut
though and that didn’t make me very happy. I appreciated the
gesture, I guess, but I could take care of myself if it was all the
same to him.”
    “So what happened next?” Jennifer asked in
anticipation of the good stuff.
    “That’s it. That’s what happened. One of the
hardest times I have ever had in my life was when your father came
home every night. The truth is we had to face reality and get down
to the business of being married. See, that’s the thing that made
it so tough. There was no single thing that you could point out and
say, “Stop doing this because you’re driving me crazy.” It was a
thousand little things that I didn’t realize bothered me. All I
knew was that I was constantly annoyed by him.”
    “Did you fight?” Jennifer asked as she fished
for the juicy details.
    “Oh my goodness did we fight, and what made
it worse is that we fought over absolutely nothing. It’s like we
were constantly mad at each other and it was just easier to yell
than it was to talk about what was really bothering us. Then again
when we did try to talk we had no idea why we were so edgy and we
would just go back to fussing at each other. Looking back on it now
I just might have killed him if I thought I could have gotten away
with it. Then again it didn’t help matters that I was so stubborn.
I had my routine and my way of doing things, and I was going to
stick to it no matter what. When I put my foot down, that of course
only encouraged him to do the same and you know I wasn’t going to
have any of that,” Mary Beth said with a laugh.
    “So what happened? I mean obviously you
stayed with him.”
    “I did stay with him, but for a long time it
was only out of sheer will. Even though it hurts me to think that
there might have been times when he thought I didn’t want him. I
have a lot of regrets, but there was no way I was going to let him
go. I think that confused him because I acted like I didn’t want
him around, but at the same time I wouldn’t let him go. I guess it
didn’t make any sense to him, but then again it made perfect sense
to me. That’s why you’ve got to be the one to make it work. Men,
just don’t get it and if they’re worth holding on to, you have to
hold on with both hands. Listen to your heart, Jennifer, and let
your intuition guide you. Men are instinctual. You know you can
take the man out of the cave, but you can’t take the cave out of
the man.” She said with a smile.
    “I couldn’t agree with you more.” Jennifer
laughed.
    “See, that’s why you have to understand the
cave to understand the man. He wants rules and boundaries and
absolutes.”
    “Is that what you did with dad?”
    “Well, eventually I suppose, but it took me a
little while to figure that out. Fortunately, for us we both came
to our senses at the same time.” Mary Beth said as she tried to
keep herself from laughing as she thought about it. “Of course,
it’s funny now, but back then…yeah it was funny then too, but it
took some time for us to appreciate the moment.” Mary Beth paused
letting the anticipation build.
    “You are killing me. Are you going to tell me
already?”
    “Shhh, I know I’m getting to it. So your dad
and I are eating dinner one night and he got up from the table to
get