“And that’s just how I feel,” John said, rubbing the back of his head and avoiding eye contact like it was the plague.

Sharon opened her mouth to say something but nothing came. Memories of the past ten years came rushing back in startling clarity. She could see them meeting at the bowling alley, going on their first date, buying a dog and getting married.

It wasn’t all good though and the bad memories started hitting her like a freight train. Their fights could be nasty, him saying awful things and her trying to cut him to the core with personal attacks. They’d always made up after but in retrospect, she could see that those fights had gradually chipped away at their relationship. Like a great slab of marble, every fight has formed and shaped them into a statue of misery.

She smiled a mirthless grin. “I guess I knew this was coming. I maybe didn’t want to but I think I knew.”

They paused there together for a long time. John still couldn’t make eye contact with her yet but he since moved on from rubbing his head to wringing his hands together. He was always a fidgety guy, never one to be able to sit still for long periods of time. The uncomfortableness of the situation surely wasn’t helping his restlessness.

She gently reached out and grabbed his hands, steadying them in her own. He finally looked up at her at this and she could see his eyes were misting. He was on the verge of tears...

“It’s ok,” she said, forcing another broken smile. “We fought so hard for so long. Some things...”

Sharon paused here, not sure if she could finish her sentence. She knew saying it out loud was the rubicon but she also knew she had to cross it. To move forward.

“...aren’t able to be fixed.”

John nodded at this, the sudden weight of their conversation finally landing on him. A sudden urge to hug her came over him and he acquiesced to it.

They sat their for a long time. It wasn’t happy but they cherished those last few moments. The last time they would truly think of themselves as husband and wife before the next stage came.

Eventually, they broke apart and John stood up. He slowly put his house key down on the table and locked eyes with Sharon one more time.

She saw him open his mouth to say one more thing but then quickly close it and turn away. He walked out they door. She didn’t know it but this was the last time she’d see John alive. And that fact would haunt her for the rest of her life.