1. Taking Chances Pt. 2


    Date: 3/23/2016, Categories: Mature, Author: Sisyphus, Rating: 10, Source: LushStories

    she dressed and some of her friends and choices she made when what she wanted from him was to feel accepted and not judged. One night, she and Tom were in bed, cuddling, kissing and things were heating up, when the phone rang and it was Melissa telling her that Martin had a heart attack and was in critical condition at Jefferson Hospital. Melissa was at the hospital with him. “I’ll be right there,” Catherine said and hung up before she turned to Tom. “I have to go,” she said. “Martin’s in critical condition.” He reached over and hugged her. “Go. You should go.” Catherine appreciated how generous Tom was, not at all jealous; however, just before she left, the phone rang again and it was Melissa telling her, “He died, don’t come.” Catherine heard her daughter’s words, heard her crying, and then burst into hysterical tears, crying, sobbing, gripping the phone. “Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!” she screamed, white with shock and gasping. “I saw this coming, Mom,” Melissa said. “He hadn’t been taking care of himself. He looked terrible.” “This is my fault. I did this,” Catherine said, shaking her head. “No you didn’t. Mom, it’s not your fault. You did what you had to.” When Catherine hung up, she started sobbing again, crying hysterically. Tom held her, rubbing her back, kissing her head, doing all he could to comfort her but didn’t say anything. He just let her cry and feel safe in his arms. “I broke his heart. This is my fault,” Catherine said, trying to control her crying. “I did this ...
    to him. I broke his heart.” Tom didn’t say anything except, “It’s not your fault. You had nothing to do with his heart attack.” He just held her, knowing this was not the time to analyze what happened, or tell her that Martin had to take charge of his life, get his act together, accept reality. He just wanted to hold and soothe her, but Catherine believed that without her, Martin had nothing to live for, that she took away his happiness. When she said that to Tom the next day, after a restless attempt at sleeping, he again tried to convince her it wasn’t her fault. “Catherine, you’re not responsible for how he lived after you left him. You weren’t responsible for his happiness.” “Maybe you’re right. I don’t know,” she responded, still feeling grief for the loss of Martin in her life, disappointed that he had remained angry and unforgiving. At the funeral, dressed in black, standing next to Melissa, holding each other’s hands, they listened to the minister then watched the coffin being lowered into the grave. They were surrounded by their neighbors and friends while Tom stood in back of the small crowd rather than next to Catherine. She was crying, reflecting on their life together, but knew that Tom was right. She was not responsible for Martin’s happiness, or what he did after she left him. She turned and saw Tom standing next to a tree, thirty or so feet in back of the crowd. Their eyes met and she could feel his love for her, his sadness for her, his understanding of the ...
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