Three weeks before my wedding, I started noticing that Lindsey was talking about David again. Not constantly. That would have been easier to confront. It was the small things. A name mentioned during dinner, a memory brought up while we were driving, a comment about how much David had changed since they broke up.
I noticed because Lindsey and I had been together for 3 years, engaged for 8 months, and our wedding was already paid for. I ran a logistics company that handled freight for several regional businesses. My schedule was demanding, but I had built the company from the ground up, and Lindsey had always respected that. At least I thought she did. One Thursday evening, she was sitting across from me at the kitchen table, scrolling through her phone.
"David contacted me," she said. I put my fork down. "When? " "Yesterday. " "What did he want? " She hesitated. "To talk. " "About what? " "Us, the past, everything that happened. " I watched her for a moment. "Are you planning to meet him? " She locked her phone.
"I think I should. " "No. " Her eyebrows lifted. "No? " "You're getting married in 3 weeks. You don't meet an ex behind my back because he suddenly wants to discuss the past. " "He isn't asking me to get back together with him. " "That isn't the point. " She leaned back. "You don't trust me. " "I trust what you've shown me. That's different. " Her expression hardened.
"I need closure, Charlie. " "You don't need closure from another man. You need boundaries. " She stood and carried her plate to the sink. "You're making this bigger than it is. " "Then tell him no. " She turned around. "I can't just erase 12 years of my life because I'm marrying you. " That sentence stayed with me. 12 years.
David had been part of her life long before I was. I stood up. "Fine. Meet him if you're determined to, but understand something. I won't marry a woman who needs to sleepwalk through her past before choosing me.
Her face changed. I never said I don't choose you. Then don't give me a reason to question it. She didn't answer. That night, I went to bed first.
Around midnight, I woke up and saw the bathroom light under the door. Lindsay was inside speaking quietly on the phone. I couldn't hear everything, but I heard one sentence clearly. I'll see you tomorrow. Then silence.
I didn't ask who she was talking to. I already knew. Lindsay left the next afternoon around 6:00. She told me she was meeting David at a restaurant near the harbor. I looked up from my laptop.
How long? I don't know. An hour? Maybe two. Fine.
She paused. You're really not going to say anything? I already said what I had to say. She grabbed her purse. I'll be back tonight.
I nodded. Drive carefully. She left without another word. I didn't call her. I didn't text her.
I didn't sit around waiting. I finished the work I had planned, went to the gym, grabbed dinner, and came home. At 11:40, she still wasn't there. At 12:15, I went to bed. She came through the front door at 7:18 the next morning.
I was already dressed and standing in the kitchen. Lindsay stopped when she saw me. You're awake. I've been awake. She dropped her purse onto the counter.
We need to talk. I agree. She looked exhausted. Her makeup was gone and her hair was tied back. For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then she took a breath. I met David. I know. We talked for hours. About?