Short Story

Love’s Goodbye (Part 1)

By: Nanju Francisco

Jackie was sitting on one side of the huge bed. Tears were now starting to form in her eyes. She glanced at the old wall clock and her eyes flickered. It was 5 a.m.

Beside her lay a man, sleeping peacefully and looking so handsome even in his sleep. He was in his early 30s and she was just three years younger than him. She touched his face lovingly and stared at it for a few minutes. He looked like a baby, sleeping soundly and totally unaware of what was going on around him. Everything was quiet around them.

Outside, it was still dark and there were only a few cars running along the highway. She wanted to stay for a little while and savor those last moments with the man lying on the bed—her husband—and the father of her two little children. Unfortunately, she did not have the luxury of time.

Jackie was wearing a long coat and her handbag was lying on the floor. For one instant, she wanted to break down and cry but at the same time, she was conscious that time was running out for her. She had to leave before six o’clock in the morning, otherwise, everything would be wasted.

She bent down and kissed her husband on the forehead one last time. She stood up quickly, picked up her bag, and left the room quietly.  Without her knowledge, her husband opened his eyes and left the bed hastily. He went beside the window and watched his wife get into the car and drove away from the place quickly.

David wasn’t sure why he did not do anything to stop her. After all, she was his wife, he was her husband and they belonged to each other. But at the same time, Rick was hovering around his wife. He was totally aware that Rick was her “first love” and the man she almost married but simply “got away.” Then, fate interfered and brought him and Jackie together. He did not let the opportunity pass him by, so he immediately proposed to her, and supposed to be, they lived happily ever after. But did they?

David knew that Rick occupied a very special place in Jackie’s heart that no man—including him—could ever take away or replace. And it hurt him so much. These past few days, Jackie had been so cold and distant and when he tried to talk to her last night, she shoved him away. And now, she left very early in the morning, without telling him where she was going and what she was planning to do.

David felt so sorry for their two children. He shook his head and went back to bed. He then covered his face with his hands and shouted something indiscernible—letting out all his pain and frustration.

Why Jackie? Why? He thought to himself.

David beat himself for letting Jackie go. He loved her so much—so much so that he would even sacrifice his own happiness, just to make her happy. He felt he wasn’t man enough to stop her from going back to the arms of her former lover. But could you stop a river from flowing? Could you stop someone from seeking happiness even to the point of forsaking all his or her loved ones?

For the first time in his life, David felt totally helpless. He cried out, only louder this time and called Jackie’s name repeatedly. But she couldn’t hear him anymore. She was gone.

At the airport, Jackie was looking nervously at the flight schedule. She was on the right track and right on schedule. She glanced at her wristwatch. Her eyes moved back and forth around the place and she was becoming very impatient. Where was he? What was keeping him so long?

Rick should be here any moment now. She took a deep sigh and breathed freely this time. Everything would be over soon. And that was what she truly wanted.

Jackie was suddenly transported to the time when she met Rick again, after being “absent” from her life for ten years. She accidentally bumped into him a month ago, during a conference wherein both of them were participants. It was he who greeted her first and she was totally disappointed to find out that she was still “in love with him,” after leaving her for another woman.

She hated him for the pain he had caused her and wished that she would never set eyes on him again. But when she did, she forgot everything he had done to break her heart and she was totally under his feet. She loved him like no other man.

(To be continued)