The Unforgiving Minute Read Online Free PDF

I was now, and I thought of our last
    night together.
    ***
    Julie was an education freak and was forever taking night
    courses at local colleges. The last year that Laura and I were
    together, Julie spent her evenings at C.W. Post University
    taking a three-hour course in contemporary American literature,
    taught by a practicing psychologist, who analyzed the characters
    and the writer. I chose whatever night Julie was out to contrive
    an excuse to be with Laura. On that particular night, Laura
    asked me to take her to the restaurant where it all started. As
    I thought back on it now, I realized that it was almost exactly a
    year since our breakup. We started off, as usual, by having sex
    in my office. I had my own shower and steam bath and a lush
    office where my couches and chairs were more comfortable than
    most beds. Laura especially loved my bathroom which had one wall
    entirely mirrored. She loved to observe her own body in the
    mirror and I loved needling her about her narcissism. On that
    night, her sexual moaning and panting was even louder and more
    urgent than ever. She constantly professed her love for me
    during the act and showered me with affection. I had absolutely
    no clue that this was our last night.
    She lingered in the bathroom for a long time. I was fully
    dressed and ready to go when she walked out of the bathroom. She
    was fully made up, her hair was combed, and earrings hung from
    her ears. She was totally nude and the smell of her cologne
    permeated the air. She knelt before me, unzipped my fly and gave
    me what was to be her farewell gift. I couldn’t believe I could
    be hard again so soon, and that I could come again with such
    intensity.
    We sat at a table overlooking the East River. It was a
    beautiful night, so reminiscent of the night it all started. In
    my mind, Laura had led me here to celebrate an anniversary of
    sorts another year of an intense love affair that would never
    end. We made small talk over our drinks and touched hands,
    looking into each other’s eyes with great affection. We ate a
    wonderful meal and strolled out to the steel pier where it all
    began. I put my arms around her and drew her to me. “Wait,” she
    said. “We have to talk.”
    “We do?” I said. “About what?”
    “You’re never going to leave Julie, are you?”
    I was absolutely taken aback. “When in the hell did we
    ever discuss such a thing? I keep asking you if you’re happy in
    this relationship and you keep telling me you’re deliriously
    happy and that you’re the luckiest woman in the world.”
    Tears ran down her cheeks and she turned away and looked
    at the river.
    “Do you know what it is to sit home every Friday and
    Saturday night while you’re leading a normal life at your country
    club, the theater, and God knows where else?”
    My blood ran cold as I realized she was dead serious. I
    hadn’t even contemplated what life would be like without her and
    all of a sudden my world was crashing in around me.
    “Laura, honey, you know what you mean to me. I don’t
    think I can live without you, but you know what my kids, my
    family, my home mean to me. How would you like to be forced to
    live without your children? Are you giving me an ultimatum?
    Must I decide now whether to leave my wife and family? Let’s
    give it some time. Let me digest this and in a few weeks I can
    make a decision.”
    She seemed to stare at the river for an interminable
    amount of time before she spoke. “I’ve given it a lot of
    thought. I don’t want you to leave your wife. If you did, you’d
    feel guilty in a week and take it out on me. I know you. You’re
    much too sensitive a man to do this to your wife and children. I
    don’t think I could take the stigma of being the other woman. It
    was done to me once and I really don’t want to do it to someone
    else. I’ve got to build a new life for myself that doesn’t
    include you.”
    I pulled her toward me and kissed her. The kiss she gave
    me was like a