2 minute read
Good bye in the Park
from Unfinished Stories
by James Morris
They stood there in the middle of the park holding hands, facing each other. "When will you return?" she asked him. Stan took some time to think. "I don't know." Lisa looked down in disappointment. "I can't keep coming back just for these few days" he continued. "It's not fair to you. It is not fair to me. And it's definitelynot fair to the kids." Lisa knew he was right. "Yeah, I know," she said as a tear ran down her cheek. Stan and Lisa still loved each other. But Stan's career took him five states away over a year ago. He had been returning every weekend and continued to try to convince Lisa to move with
him. But her career was just as demanding. No matter who moved where someone was going to be jeopardizing the other one’s career. Lisa had already thought that Stan made the choice of his career over the family when he took the job. And she sure did not feel right about leaving her career and clients just so he could chase his, so-called, "dream job." Stan was still confused about why Lisa would not follow him. She can always find a new job, he thought. But he did not want to force her to go. He also thought it was unfair for him to even ask. He also had doubts wondering if he made the right decision to take the job, but he knew it was a once in a lifetime chance that he just did not want to pass up. So now, because of his choice, they stood there in the middle of the park and he was thinking this could be the end of the marriage. It could be the end of the high-school romance.
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He lifted Lisa's chin with his right hand, "Hey," he said in a whisper, "you can still join me." He knew as soon as he said that, he was going to regret it. It sounded like the beginning of a hundred other conversations that had already taken place between the two of them. "And you can always come back," Lisa said back. "We both love our careers too much. And because of it, we are going to throw this away. Neither of us want to give up our career. And because of that, we are both willing to see our family fall apart." Lisa dropped her head again as the tears came back. (Your turn... Finish the story.)
