"What?" I heard Cathy scream into my headset.
"Look, I know that sounds bad, but if you think about it…" I said.
"It's actually much worse?" Cathy interrupted me.
"That wasn't what I was going to say, actually. I mean, it's better that I leave now instead of in four years or something?" I said.
"Gee, you couldn't have thought about that before our wedding?" Cathy asked.
"Look, Cathy, I just really need to talk to someone about Linda," I said.
"How am I the right person to talk to about this? I don't even know Linda!" Cathy said. "Why not talk to Jake?"
"Jake?" I asked in confusion.
"Jake, your editor?" Cathy said, obviously not hearing about the big fight.
"Yeah, uh, Jake and I had a, err, falling out. He's not my editor anymore. Kevin is, and he is amazing," I said.
"Well then talk to Kevin, but not to me, I really don't have time and, oh great!" Cathy said. I heard wailing in the background. "No, no, no, it's okay. Shush, shush, shush."
"What is that noise?" I asked.
"That 'noise' is my five-month old baby Morgan," Cathy told me.
"You have a child?" I asked surprised.
"Yes, you think I would be married for this long and not have a baby at my age?" Cathy said as if it were obvious that a) she had a child and b) she was married. I knew neither of these facts.
"You're married? To whom?" I asked.
"Ethan, why?" Cathy asked.
"You married Ethan?" I asked.
"Do you have a hearing problem?" Cathy asked annoyed.
"No, it's just that, I- I didn't know that." I said lamely.
"Well, when you don't see someone for two or three years, it kind of makes sense," Cathy said. "What doesn't make sense is when you call them out of the blue to talk to them as you run away from your wedding. I mean, we didn't even exchange holiday cards, Jamie."
"I'm not in love with Linda," I explained. "I thought I was, but driving over to the church, I thought about our future and it didn't look good."
"Jamie, did you think about our future as you drove to our wedding?" Cathy asked me.
"Yes, I did," I said.
"Was it filled with happiness and joy?" Cathy asked.
"Yeah, I saw us together forever, and…" I said trailing off, just getting her point.
"Maybe you shouldn't worry about the future, maybe you should think about the present and how Linda is at the church waiting for you because she obviously cares for you," Cathy said wisely. "So go get married."
"Thanks Cathy," I said.
"Sure, Jamie," Cathy said. "I've got to go though, it's time for Morgan's dinner."
"Sure, uh, but Cathy?" I said.
"Yeah?" Cathy said.
"Can I ask you a question?" I asked curiously.
"Of course," Cathy responded.
"Why did you marry Ethan?" I asked.
"Because he loves me and he would make me happy," Cathy responded without hesitation.
"Do you love him?" I asked.
"What do you mean?" Cathy asked.
"Well, you said you married him because he loves you, but do you love him?" I asked my ex-wife.
"He's not my knight in shining armor," Cathy said, "And if you told me ten years ago I would marry a pharmacist one day, I would have called you crazy, but yes, I do love him."
"Do you love me?" I asked without thinking.
"Jamie, please, I'm married, you're about to get married…"Cathy said without ending her sentence.
"Just tell me," I said. "Do you love me?"
"I'll always love you Jamie, but it's a different kind of love," Cathy said slowly. "The love I have for you is a confusing love, losing everything else for just a little bit of joy. The love I have for Ethan is a stable love, but still exciting."
"I love you, too," Jamie said, "In the same way, I mean."
"I hope you have many years of happiness in your marriage," Cathy said.
"I hope the same for you," I told her.
"Jamie," Cathy said and together we said, "Good-bye."
Jamie married Linda and they moved to Connecticut where they lived for the rest of their lives. They had two children, Sam, and Catherine. Jamie wrote his series, The Apocalypse, and it made enough to keep the family living comfortably, and then some. Linda and Jamie stayed married until the day they died.
Ethan and Cathy stayed in Pelham with their three children, Morgan, Danielle and Jamie. Ethan's job at the pharmacy wasn't enough for him, so he started his own little store, which made a comfortable living for the family. Cathy was mainly a housewife, but auditioned for a show at the community theatre one day and has been performing there ever since. Ethan and Cathy stayed married until the day they died.
Jamie sent Cathy a holiday card that season to show his love for her. When Cathy returned a holiday card for him, he knew that she still loved him. They exchanged holiday cards until the day they died.
(Thanks for your reviews! And here is where our story ends. I know most of you wanted Cathy and Jamie to end up together, but I like the way the story shows there is never a completely happy ending. Please read my new story The Apocalypse, which is the story Jamie started writing in this story. Thank you for reading this story, I loved writing it! Please Review!)