Was I First?

"I could give you many more examples, but why waste my voice? I know and you know who was and is your number-one choice. We both know who topped me in every case. It was Charlie Nestle, that's who.

"I hereby remove myself as an impediment to your heartfelt desire. I accept my number two status and bow out of your life. I wish the two of you the best.

"Starting today, my quest is to find someone that will never put me second."

She moaned, "Oh, Rollie, I did some things that appeared to put you second, but I can assure you that you were always my number one. I never once said that you were number two. I know that you always put me first and I want to assure you that I put you first too. Please accept my words and drop this foolish divorce stuff.

"There's another thing that you need to consider. Remember when we were both working? We both missed some special days because of work-related issues.

"I remember several times when you were on the offshore oil rig and missed an occasion. It happened to me a few times when I was attending a training course or participating in a convention. What I'm stressing here is that quite a few times, work came first. Out of necessity, we put work first.

"The reason I am mentioning these things has to do with something my attorney had me do a few days ago. He had me talk to a psychologist about our situation. After much probing and analyzing, the conclusion was that I saw my relationship with Charlie in a boss-to-employee light.

"Since Charlie was my boss, and since work had always been my first consideration, I continued to do that. I was putting work first, not Charlie. It just so happened that in our particular situation, Charlie represented work since he was paying me to be his accompanist.

"I hope you can see the reasoning here and realize that I didn't put Charlie above you, I put work in that position just like both of us had in the past. It just so happened that I recognized Charlie as my boss. In my mind, he was my boss, not my lover or even my friend. I hope this insight will resonate with you, Rollie."

"I see where you're going with your analogy, but let me ask you a couple of questions. When you were working before retirement, was your boss ever introduced as your husband? If that had happened, would your boss have let it go or would he have corrected that misassumption at once? Also, how many times did you and your boss register as husband and wife and occupy the same room in a hotel or perhaps a cabin? I think when you answer these questions, you will see your analogy fall apart.

"Ann, as usual, your words are impressive, but where is the truth? It's the truth that we need to identify above all else. Do you happen to know the truth that is above all other truths? Let me enlighten you. It goes like this, 'ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS!'

"Ponder that pinnacle of truth as you watch your husband and your marriage disappear into the darkness that is known as 'The Realm of Second Best.' Always remember, it was you that put both me and your marriage there! Not with words, but with actions."

The End