Later that night, Jed and Abbey were getting ready for bed and the inevitable question was asked.
"Jed, I have to know why neither Sister Margaret nor you could give me the answer I needed for my question tonight."
Jed shrugged his shoulders, trying to throw Abbey off this line of questioning.
"It's nothing, Abbey. Now, come to bed."
"NO! Not until you answer that question."
That made Jed angry. "I don't want to answer the question. Okay! Just know that some secrets are better kept secret!"
"But I'm your wife. I need to know everything that affects our relationship and right now the secret you're hiding is affecting that relationship."
Jed looked deep into her emerald green eyes and knew how to interpret what he saw.
'
'Don't mess with me tonight' was coming through loud and clear.
He quickly realized he had no choice. He had to share this with Abbey. Maybe that was God's way of saying the burden he had carried all these years was about to be shared.
"Come over here. It's time I shared this with someone. It's been a long time since it happened and I guess its time for the burden to be lifted."
Jed and Abbey sat down on the sofa. Her head was nestled in his neck, trying to give support to his trembling body. She couldn't meet his eyes, fearful of her reaction if she saw the fear in them that she knew would be there.
She quietly listened to the story.
"Sister Margaret was a first year teacher the year I transferred to All Saints. In the spring, just before graduation, I was working on an extra credit project after school. Sister Margaret had been so helpful to me the whole year and I just wanted to please her. So she asked my assistance with cataloguing all of her newspaper clips of world events she had saved over the past year. I left her room to get some more supplies. I had been gone only a few minutes when I opened the door and saw….."
Abbey looked at her husband when he paused. His skin was chalky white and his eyes had a far away glaze. Tiny beads of sweat were appearing on his brow and she could feel his trembling.
"Jed, its alright." Abbey turned away from looking into his eyes. Her fear of what she would find prevented that. But she could stroke his arms, trying to calm whatever he was thinking.
"Please continue. But only if you want to."
After a few minutes that Jed used to calm himself, he continued his story.
"I stood at the door and watched as Dan Hill, he was a defensive football player, was touching Sister Margaret in the wrong places. I found out later, much later, that Dan was flunking the class and needed a C in World History to pass and graduate. I have no clue why he thought doing what he was doing would get the grade changed. I guess he was trying to intimidate Sister."
Abbey now looked up at him. Tears were rolling down his face.
"Jed, what happened?"
He took a deep breath.
"Nothing. I mean, I stood at the door and watched it happen. I did nothing. It was like I was frozen to the spot. But eventually I ran over and punched him. As hard as I could. Now mind you, I was all of 150 pounds and he was like a hundred pounds heavier and much more muscle. But I fought with all my might to get him off Sister. He did eventually move away and leave the room.
"God, Abbey, what would have happened if I had stayed in the door? I should have immediately run to her assistance. I told her later that I had entered the room just before I got to Dan. But I hadn't. Don't you see? If I would have moved sooner, maybe I could have prevented some of that awful stuff."
Abbey sat up and hugged her husband. Just as hard as she could. He had been living with guilt for fifty years. Fifty years of thinking he could have prevented the attack on Sister Margaret. Fifty years of second guessing what should have been.
"Come on to bed. You need some hugging tonight. And some forgiveness. You need to forgive yourself. You prevented more of the attack. You might have even prevented a much more serious situation. You did okay, Jed."
She led a reluctant partner to their bed. Only hugging would help his pain tonight. Only the warmth of her special love could begin to heal the festering emotional wounds that had been so long suppressed. Shoved down into the darkest hole he had, only to surface fifty long years later.
Healing had to begin. And only Abbey could help to initiate that process.