Let's get started with today's story. My name is Harry and three weeks before my wedding, my fiancée told me she had said yes to another man. His name was John. The strange part was that I didn't shout when Marilyn told me. I just looked at her and said, "Okay.
" She had been standing across from me in our kitchen, still wearing the black dress she'd worn to dinner with her sister. She kept twisting her engagement ring around her finger. That was the first thing I noticed. The second was that she wouldn't look at me. Marilyn and I had been together for 4 years.
We'd been engaged for 8 months and our wedding was scheduled for the following month. The venue was booked. The photographer was paid. Her dress had already been altered twice. My suit was hanging in the spare bedroom.
We lived together in a townhouse outside Seattle. For the last few weeks, though, something had changed. Marilyn started keeping her phone face down. She began taking calls outside. She had also started coming home later than usual and giving me short explanations that didn't quite fit.
I didn't accuse her of anything. I watched. Then on a Thursday night, she came home early, put her purse on the counter, and asked me to sit down. I stayed standing. What happened?
She took a breath. My ex contacted me. I already knew who she meant. John had been Marilyn's boyfriend before me. They had dated for almost three years before breaking up.
She hadn't spoken about him much, but whenever his name came up, there was always something unfinished in the way she described their relationship. "What did he want? " I asked. She looked at the floor. "He proposed, I waited.
" "3 days ago, " she added. I stared at her and her eyes finally met mine. I said, "Yes. " There it was. No long explanation, no hesitation, just four words that changed everything.
I nodded once. Okay. Marilyn looked confused. That's it. What do you want me to say?
I don't know. You said yes to him. It wasn't that simple. It sounds pretty simple. She stepped closer.
Harry, I was confused. John came back into my life and there were things between us that I never really dealt with. So, you accepted his proposal while you were still engaged to me? She flinched. I didn't know how to handle it.
You handled it. She was quiet. Then she said, "I still care about you. " I almost laughed, but I didn't. You just told me you're engaged to another man, and our wedding is in 3 weeks.
I know. I walked to the kitchen counter and picked up my phone. Marilyn watched me. What are you doing? Cancelling the wedding.
Her face changed immediately. Harry, wait. No, you don't have to do this tonight. Yes, I do. I opened the venue's contact information.
She grabbed my arm. Can we at least talk about this? I looked directly at her. You already made the decision. I'm just dealing with the consequences.
She released my arm. I called the venue. While the phone rang, Marilyn stood completely still. And for the first time since she had told me about John, I saw something I hadn't expected. She looked afraid.
Not because she'd lost me, because she was finally realizing that I wasn't going to wait around while she figured out which man she wanted. The venue coordinator answered after the third ring. I explained that the wedding was cancelled and gave her the reservation number. There was a pause. I'm sorry.
Are you certain? I'm certain. Marilyn stood a few feet away watching me. The coordinator explained the cancellation policy, the deposit we would lose, and the paperwork she needed from both of us. I wrote everything down.