Till Death Do Us Part

“No!”
            Will woke up trembling and wiped the cold sweat off his mouth. Diane put her hand on his shoulder.
            “That same dream again, baby?”
            Will nodded affirmatively, unable to speak.
            “This is the fifth time this week. You can’t go on like this; I can’t go on like this.”
            “I know,” he sighed. “I’m sorry, but I just can’t help thinking that something bad is going to happen.”
            “Look,” Diane said, framing his face with her hands. “You just have to let it go or it will eat you alive.”
            “I know...I know you’re right.” He turned away and placed his feet on the floor. “I’m being foolish.”
            “No,” she said, consoling him. “You just let things get to you too much. Now why don’t you come back to bed and get some sleep.”
            “I don’t know what I’d do without you,” he mused aloud.
            Will kissed her and stood up.
            “Aren’t you coming back to bed?”
            “In a minute,” he replied, walking to the bathroom to splash some water on his face.
            Standing over the sink, he looked in the mirror and realized how thin his face was and how much older he looked. He opened the medicine cabinet and pulled out a bottle of pills. He took a couple, washed them down with a handful of water, and returned to the bedroom.
            He stood at the foot of the bed looking at Diane, naked, lying face down, the sheets coming up just over her hips. He picked up the pack of Camels he had bought earlier, peeled away the cellophane wrapper, and removed a cigarette as he pondered her beauty. It was then that he realized he loved her.

After the wedding and the coming of fall, Will had forgotten the nightmares that plagued him during those sweltering August nights. He was as happy as he had ever been. He was totally rejuvenated, and it was of no small credit to Diane that he was once again a healthy and robust man.

Diane heard the door slam and she sat up. It was Will. She had fallen asleep on the couch in an effort to wait up for him, and now he was finally home. She heard his keys fall heavily on the table with a clink. Yawning, she rose to her feet and walked languidly to the kitchen. Will was loosening his collar.
            “You could have called,” she chided.
            “Sorry, but it was very busy today.”
            “Too busy to call?”
            “I’ve got deadlines to meet. I’m working on a very important account. You know how demanding Mr. Bennett can be.”
            Diane glared at him.
            “You still could have called. A few minutes, that’s all. A few minutes—is that too much to ask for? I burned the chicken waiting for you. I waited up for you all night, and now I’m exhausted.”
            “Oh, baby,” he said, squeezing her arms. “I’m—”
            “Don’t touch me!”
            “...sorry.”
            She turned her back to him.
            “You’re always coming home late now...and when you come home you’re too tired to spend any time with me.”
            “I’m sorry, but I told you that I was going to be busy for a while, until—”
            “Is there another woman?” she said, water welling up in her eyes.
            “No. God no! Jesus. We just got married. You know how much I adore you.” He placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her body toward his. “You know how much I love you.”
            She crumbled into his arms in an embrace, releasing a few stray tears into the fabric of his shirt.
            “Just a little longer. It’ll just be a little while longer, and then we could spend all the time in the world together, okay?” Diane nodded in agreement as she sniffled, and Will wiped the tears off her cheeks.
            “Come on,” he said. “Let’s go to bed.” They walked into the bedroom, and the lights went out.

Just after the beginning of the new year, he received the check. The newlyweds celebrated with champagne and caviar at a beach-side house in the Bahamas.
            “This is it,” Will said, as they got drunk in the Jacuzzi. “We’ll never have to work another day in our lives. From now on it’s only the best for me and my bride.”
            “I love you,” she said in between a shower of kisses. “I love you, I love you, I love you.”
            They laughed and loved, wrestling between the fiery jets of bubbling water. By dawn they were exhausted and languished with sleep in each other’s arms.

“Wake up, sleepy head,” Diane said. “Do you want to sleep the day away?” She jumped into the bed and kissed him.
            “What time is it?” he groaned, squinting from the bright sunlight.
            “Two-thirty.”
            “Oh, my head.”
            “Aw, poor baby. Did little Willy have too much to drink last night,” she quipped. Will just grunted as he stood up and walked to the bathroom.
            “I’ll be out in a few minutes.”
            Meanwhile, she decided to finish unpacking their bags. While hanging up one of Will’s sports jackets, an envelope fell out. She picked it up, and wouldn’t have thought to open it if she hadn’t seen the return address. After reading its contents, she put it back in the jacket and, choking back her tears, finished unpacking. She remained silent about the letter until later that evening at dinner.

“I could get used to this,” Will said between mouthfuls of steak.
            “Yes, it’s very beautiful here.”
            “It is, but I mean the food. It’s delicious. And the wine...the wine...” he gasped, staring in horror at the blood-red liquid in his glass.
            “The wine is good, isn’t it, my love? I do believe you are becoming quite the epicurean, my dear. I hope you don’t get too spoiled. There’s only so much that this life has to offer.”
            Will’s face was turning red.
            “Oh, darling, what’s the matter? Don’t you feel well?”
            “You...uhh...” Will hissed, clutching his chest.
            “You know, honey, when the trust has gone out of a marriage it’s just not worth a damn.”
            Will fell to the floor, gripping the table cloth, pulling the table on top of himself. Diane sat there calmly sipping her wine as she looked on.
            “And just imagine my dismay when I found out that you’d betrayed me. You just used me, didn’t you? Didn’t you!”
            “No...no...” he said, while his vision began to fade.
            “I loved you, and you were going to get rid of me just like that other bitch, weren’t you? Weren’t you!” she screamed as her anger waxed.

“No!”
            Will woke up trembling and wiped the cold sweat off his mouth. Diane put her hand on his shoulder.
            “That same dream again baby?”
            Will nodded affirmatively, unable to speak.

The End