After fifty years of marriage, an elderly lady requests a divorce. After a while, she gets a letter saying something that she hasn’t heard in 50 years.
Rose was fed up. She was 75 years old and had been married for 50 years to Charles. Charles was ten years older than her, however, they were together since college. This meant that they had spent most of their lives together. They believed that they would never be apart, and they did.
Rose and her husband had two beautiful children, who later went on to start families. Rose felt trapped despite their happy marital life. Rose felt like she was not allowed to live life to its fullest and that manifested itself in her attitude towards Charles.
He loved her almost to his core and was always there to protect her. But he became confused when she began throwing tantrums and picking fights. He saw that she was closing her eyes towards him so he tried to speak with her to get the truth. The next day, he saw her grumbling to herself.
“What’s the matter honey?”He asked. “You’re talking to yourself again.”
“And it’s all thanks to you, Charles,” She snapped. “You’re slowly driving me insane.”
“Come now Rose, don’t say things like that to me, they break my heart.”
“You’re always playing the victim,” Rose shot back before she fled the room.
Charles was unable to end the arguments that became so frequent, Rose requested a divorce. They were both older, so the emotional turmoil was difficult for them.
Their lawyer, Mr. Frank Evans tried to discourage them from implementing their plan because he believed they were great together.
Rose refused to budge on Rose’s decision and Charles didn’t want to see Rose lose her life so he agreed to the divorce.
On the day they signed the papers, Frank offered them both a meal at their favorite restaurant. “What could it hurt?”He said.
Rose was reluctant to agree, but Charles accepted it immediately.
“We wouldn’t mind, Frank, “He said. “We’re parting ways amicably, this could be our last supper.”
Rose agreed to go with Frank and they set off for the restaurant. Frank ordered his food and informed Rose that he would be paying for their meal.
Charles took over when the waiter came to take their order. He requested that the light around their booth be dimmed because of his ex-wife and ordered a salad for her while he got steak.
Rose cried inwardly, unable to believe Charles had ordered her food as if she were not there and couldn’t make the decisions. Rose was even angrier at the dim lighting, which she heard from others around her booth.
She was shy and didn’t like being the center of attention. She was angry at Charles, and she left Frank and Frank staring after the retreating form.
“Women, am I right?” Frank spoke with a knowing smile.
“Tell me about it, “Charles smiled with a sad face.
Rose had vanished from the home when he returned. He was devastated, not knowing what caused her to change.
They both fell asleep peacefully that night. Charles decided to give up on sleep later, and he wrote a letter to his ex-wife in a last-ditch effort to save their marriage.
He wrote the letter with all his emotions and wept because he knew that life wouldn’t be the same without Rose.
He realized that he did not know her whereabouts and could not send the letter to her when he woke up in the morning. Rose needed to take the pills every day, so he left it on his mantelpiece.
He knew she would use it so he called her. She didn’t answer his calls and thought he was trying to make her return to him.
We had spent decades together and raised kids but he hardly knows me, she thought to herself as the phone rang. He tries to control me, but that’s all he does. I’m done with him. I will now live free and do what I want.
Charles felt bitterness when he didn’t hear back from anyone. He felt a weak heart and began to feel symptoms of a heart attack.
He dialed quickly for an ambulance but he was too late. Frank was notified by the police, and he called Rose to let Rose know.
Her heart stopped when she heard the bad news. Charles was unconscious in the hospital. She couldn’t bear to think of him going. It made her realize how much he was loved.
She went to their house to find some items she could deliver to him. It broke her heart as she read it.
“Dear Rose, “It all began. “First I’d like you to know I’ve loved you all these years and I’ll love you till I leave this earth. I don’t know why you’ve decided to close your heart to me but I wish you would open it again because I can’t imagine a world where we’re apart.”
Rose began to cry while she read.
“I’m sorry about what happened at the restaurant. I was only trying to look out for you as I’ve always done. I know you hate the glare of bright lights because they hurt your eyes so I asked that they be dimmed. I’m also well aware of your health issues which is why I ordered you salad. I’m sorry for taking such liberties and I promise to do better if you return to me.”
Rose was horrified by the rest of Rose’s letter and immediately resolved to be a better spouse to her husband.
She fled to the hospital where she was reunited with him and begged to nullify the divorce. She suddenly realized how attentive he was and decided to return the favor every single day until she couldn’t draw breath.
What can we learn from this story?
- It’s not okay to ignore your loved one. Rose ignored Charles’s call because she was mad about him. However, she realized how much he would be missed when she got close to losing him.
- Avoid making decisions when emotions run high. Rose decided she wanted a divorce while she was angry with Charles, and it started the sequence of events that almost cost him his life. He lived long enough to see her error and correct it.
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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a woman who left her husband, but he found a disgusting way to win her back.
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