The Mistake

She looks so peaceful, George thinks as he’s sitting in the hospital room, staring at his wife. She has been in a coma for a week now, with no signs of waking up. She is still able to hear what is happening around her, so from time to time George will inform her about the weather or what’s on the news. He wants her here with him and awake; it has been too long. However, George has a lot on his mind. Do I tell her? Do I tell her what I did?
~~
It’s the fall of 1991. George is walking around the college campus, searching for his class. He is focusing on the map in front of him that he runs into someone in front of him.
“Oh my gosh, I am so sorry,” he says
“Don’t even worry about it.” It is a girl speaking. George looks at her for the first time, and his heart stops beating. He can’t believe who he just met. She is perfect, with gorgeous blonde hair and radiant green eyes.
She takes a long look at him. His brown hair and blue eyes causes her heart to melt.
This is the day that George and Marie fall in love.
In the summer of 1997, George and Marie say their vows. George knows from that day forward, he will be faithful to her, and nothing will tear them apart. Marie loves him so much, even two minutes not spent with him is too long. Everything she had been searching for is right in front of her.
About eighteen years go by since the wedding, and they are content. George is a history professor at the college nearby, and Marie is a journalist for their local newspaper. Marie is a gifted writer. She always has the right stories to tell and her creativity is astounding. However, writing for a local newspaper on current events is not what she wants to do for the rest of her life. She wants to work on Broadway, and produce shows. This was her passion, and George knows that.
One night, George walks through the door after a long day at work. The moment he looks up from the door, he sees Marie standing there with the facial expression of a child who just received a new bike.
“Guess what?! I was offered a job!” she exclaims
“Oh my gosh honey! That’s fantastic! Where is it?” George asks
“Well…that’s the problem. It’s in New York.” Marie looks at him with gleaming eyes. She wants this so bad and George knows it. But New York is far away from their little town in Louisiana, and he doesn’t want to leave it behind. Plus, he has a job. George wants to tell her no, but he can’t resist those green eyes.
Although Marie will be gone for over a year, George decides to let her go for a while and let her follow her dreams. He will miss her, but he decides it’s for the best.
Nine months go by, but to George it feels like two years. He’s lonely, and misses Marie. She calls every night, but it’s not enough for him. His loneliness gets the best of him, and he wakes up the next morning with a stranger in his bed.
He jumps up, ashamed of himself and what he has done. He runs downstairs and calls Marie. He tells her how much he loves her, but Marie surprises him by saying she is going to come home for the weekend. His heart jumps, but the shame of what he has done burns inside of him. He knows that he must tell her.
A few days go by and Marie still doesn’t come home. George grows more and more anxious and he finally calls the police. . The police tell him that Marie was discovered in her car yesterday in a ditch off the side of the road. They have her stationed in a hospital. George drops his phone and drives to the hospital without a second thought.
~~

George’s thoughts scramble inside his brain. He has to tell her, but what good would that do? George can’t live with this lie, but he doesn’t want the last thing she hears to be this secret he is keeping. George knows what they had was real. His love for her was passionate and surreal. What he did does not change the fact that he is still in love with her. George walks up to Marie and grabs her hand.
He whispers in her ear, “I love you.”
The next morning, Marie dies.