Another Love: Fallout

"We love you, Rob," they said when I ended the call.

I threw myself into my work, and found it to be very therapeutic. I heard from Karen periodically, and she always ended the call by telling me she loved me.

In mid-January, I was curious to know how their exhibition went, so I did a search. The reviews I read were somewhat mixed, with most critics calling it, "lackluster." Something told me that didn't sit too well with Avril.

By the end of April, I had received my final divorce decree. "Congratulations," my lawyer wrote on a sticky-note. "You're a free man." Yahoo, I thought to myself sarcastically as I popped open a beer. My life consisted of work and a one-bedroom apartment. Despite Kirk's best efforts, I just wasn't up to dating or going out much. The phone calls from Karen and Avril also stopped, something I deeply appreciated.

One Thursday in mid-August, almost a year after Avril appeared on my doorstep with that nude portrait of Karen, I received a frantic call from Kevin.

"Dad," he said. "You need to get back to Albany."

"Why?" I asked. "What's going on?"

"It's Mom, Dad," he said. "She's in the hospital and they don't think she'll make it through the weekend."

"What?" I asked. "What happened?"

"She was diagnosed with a very aggressive cancer a few months back," Kevin said. "They've done everything they can, but nothing is working. She's asking for you, Dad. She wants to see you before she dies." I thanked him for letting me know, and called Kirk, who gave me the time off and said he would take care of things with HR. I packed a few things in my truck and headed out.

When I got to the hospital, I saw Kevin and Oscar outside. They took me up to their mother's room.

"Thanks for coming, Dad," Oscar said. "Avril is with her, but she keeps asking for you."

"No problem, son," I said. "What are the doctors saying?"

"They say she has maybe a couple hours left at most," Oscar said. "She's lucid for now, but that won't last long." When we got to the room, I was shocked. The beautiful woman I saw just last year was gone. She looked tired and haggard, her eyes red and sunken. She had lost almost all of her hair and was wearing a gray turban on her head. She looked up when I came in.

"Rob?" she asked weakly. "Is that really you? You came to see me?"

"Of course, Karen," I said, sitting next to her. I noticed she still wore her wedding and engagement rings. She reached out to me, tears in her eyes. I held her as close as her IV would allow.

"Oh, Rob," she cried, tears falling down her cheeks. "I'm so, so sorry for what I did. I was wrong and I hurt you so bad. Can you please forgive me?" I thought about what Georges told me last year and realized this was the first time she ever admitted any wrongdoing. I knew I had to forgive her, even though it would be the hardest thing I had ever done. "See, I still my wedding ring on. I told you I would love you until I die."

"I love you, too, Karen," I said, my eyes watering. "And I forgive you." She started sobbing and I cried with her. Avril pulled out a Kleenex and wiped her eyes. Karen took Avril's hand and placed it in mine.

"Please, Rob, promise me you'll let Avril heal your heart," she begged. I looked at Avril, who smiled and nodded her head. "It's okay. We're not married anymore," Karen said softly. I nodded my head.

"Okay," I said. "I promise." Karen managed a weak smile before turning to Avril.

"Please, Avril," she said. "Treat my husband better than I did. Will you do that for me?" Avril wiped a tear before responding.

"I will, Karen," she said. "I promise." We all hugged and shed tears and I could hear the boys sniffling as they watched.

"He's a one-woman man and he doesn't like to share," Karen told Avril. Avril smiled and looked at me.

"So I've heard," she said. "Maybe he can teach me something about loyalty and fidelity." Karen smiled for a few seconds. Her smile faded and her eyes glazed over. I could hear the change in her breathing and knew she wouldn't last much longer. I leaned in to her ear.

"It's okay, Karen," I said. "We love you." She gave a few more breaths and was silent. I looked and saw her eyes were fully dilated. Alarms went off as the monitors flat-lined and the room quickly filled up with medical types who examined her before declaring her dead.

Avril, the boys and I gathered in one corner of the room and mourned her death. Soon, they were wheeling her body out of the room. A doctor came over to us.

"I'm sorry for your loss," he said. "I understand Ms. McDonald wanted her body donated for cancer research. The hospital will make all the arrangements for her transfer." We thanked him and left the room, still in a state of shock.

We went back to the house Karen and I once shared and sat in the living room, drinking coffee. I never thought I would be back to this place.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Karen became very depressed after you left," Avril said. "I did everything I could, but nothing worked. We went to Montreal for the holidays, but that didn't even work. She threw herself into the exhibition but got even more depressed when it didn't go off as well as we had hoped. The only time she was ever happy was when she talked to you."

"Did she go out with anyone?" I asked. Avril shook her head.

"No," she said. "She refused to do that, even though I suggested it to her several times. About a month before the divorce became final, she began to get sick. I suggested she go to see her doctor, but she refused. She only went when she was far too sick to work. By then, it was too late. She was diagnosed with a very aggressive cancer. They tried chemotherapy and radiation, but it was too late."

"Dammit," I said. "She should've told me something."

"There was nothing you could do, Rob," Avril said. "They talked about surgery, but by then, the cancer had spread throughout her body. The only thing they could do was minimize her pain."

"What's this about donating her body for research?" I asked.

"She made that decision once they realized she was terminal," Kevin said. "She talked it over with us and said that's what she wanted done. She didn't want her death to be a burden on the family and she thought it might help someone else in her situation."

"Are you boys okay with that?" I asked. They nodded their heads.

"That's what she wanted done," Oscar said. "I support her decision." I nodded my head.

"Anything else I should know?" I asked.

"Karen deeded the house back to you," Avril said. "She also left everything to you in her will."

"Me?" I asked. She nodded her head.

"Yes," Avril said. "In her mind, you were still her husband, even after the divorce." She opened a drawer in the coffee table, pulled out an envelope and handed it to me. "She wrote this for you shortly before going into the hospital for the last time."

I opened the envelope and pulled out the paper with Karen's handwritten note.

"My dearest Rob," it began. "If you are reading this, then that mean I have passed away. I have had a lot of time to process everything you said last year and I've come to the conclusion that you were right and I was wrong -- about everything.

"For starters, I should never have opened myself up to Phillipe the way I did. I should have confided in you first, instead of him. But I didn't. I don't really know why and I've never been able to find a way to explain it that you would understand or accept. And I should never have brought him into our house and into our marital bed. I understand now that was totally unacceptable.

"I now realize the fallout from what I did to you, including your relationship to our children (and yes, they ARE your children). I know now that I am the one who betrayed you and broke your heart. There are no words to fully express how sorry I am for everything I did to you.

"I did promise to love you until I die, and I at least kept that promise. I only hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me for everything I have done.

"I have deeded the house back to you and I decided to donate my body to medical science. I did that for two reasons. First, I do not want my death to be a burden to you. Second, my hope is that they can find a cure for this cancer so that no one else has to suffer what I have these past few months.

"I also want you to find love with another woman, someone who can love you the way you deserve to be loved. Avril has very strong feelings for you, and I truly hope the two of you can make it work.

"I am getting very tired now, so I must go, but please remember, Rob, that I really do love you with all my heart, and I'm sorry for all the hurt and pain I've caused you."

She signed it, "Your loving wife, Karen." I folded the note back and placed it back in the envelope. I looked at Avril, who was wiping tears from her eyes.

"Did you read this?" I asked her. She shook her head.

"No," she said. "I know she wanted to express her regrets to you, though. She was wracked with guilt the last few months of her life."

"Was she really serious about the two of us getting together?" I asked. She nodded her head.

"Oui," she said. "She was very serious."

"How do you feel about that?" I asked.

"I would love to try," she said. "We have both lost much. Perhaps together, we can ease each other's pain." She had a point there. I considered the possibility of a potential relationship with Avril. She was very beautiful, and it had been about a year since I had been with a woman. I also realized that I now had the opportunity to have sex with the wife of the man who took Karen. Poetic justice, perhaps? I looked back at Avril before speaking.

"I have a question and then just one condition," I said.

"Oh?" she asked. "And what would you like to ask?"

"I'm strictly a one-woman man," I said. "I was a virgin when Karen and I married and I've never been with another woman. Ever. I'm not one to share. Can you live with that?" She smiled as she nodded her head.

"Oui," she said. "I can most certainly live with that. Karen and I talked about that as well. I promise that if we are to be together, I will remain faithful to you."

"Well, then, I just have one condition," I said.

"What's that?" she asked.

"We replace the bed in the master bedroom," I said.

Epilogue:

March 2020

I just finished filling out my taxes for the year and took a hard look at my finances. The last six and a half years had been quite exciting, to say the least.

After explaining the situation, Kirk was able to arrange for me to telecommute three weeks out of the month from my home in Albany. I had to spend one week a month at the company headquarters to work with the designers on my teams.

Avril lived up to her promise and even stayed with me in my one-bedroom apartment in Cincinnati during the weeks I was required to be there. After what I experienced with Karen, I adopted the old rule of "trust, but verify." Avril understood my reasons and bent over backward to earn my trust.

Over the last few years, she had done much more than love away the pain of Karen's betrayal -- she had replaced my first wife as my soul mate. Her family approved of our relationship and accepted me as Avril's mate. Even her children had started calling me, "Papa Rob," and thought of my two sons as their step-siblings. We spent many holidays in Montreal with the family and they had come to Albany to share some holidays with us. They were wise enough to not mention the topic of Karen and Phillipe, at least not in my presence.

Not only did Avril teach me how to love her, she taught me enough French to hold an intelligent conversation. Nicer still, I no longer need a French-English dictionary to translate her cries of ecstasy when we make love.

Sitting there, looking at my finances, I recalled once telling Karen I wanted to retire at 60 and take her on a cruise around the world. Looking at my portfolio, I realized I could do that now, and after some analysis, determined that I had more than enough to not only enjoy that cruise, but live comfortably for the rest of my life.

I just didn't have a wife to share it with. At least, not yet. I picked up the small box sitting on my desk and wondered if what I was considering was the right thing. How would it impact my job? Would she accept my proposal? After a while, I realized I was over-analyzing the situation, and decided to throw caution to the wind. Fuck it, I thought. It's time to stop analyzing and time to start living.

I put the box in my pocket, grabbed the bucket holding the bottle of champagne I bought earlier and two flutes. "Showtime," I said to myself as I headed up the stairs. Avril's squeals of delight when I produced the ring were music to my ears.