When Lucy decided to divorce her husband, it was a shock to everyone. They had spent 63 years together and had never been with anyone else. Caleb wrote a sincere letter to Lucy in the days leading up to his death that made Lucy realize everything she couldn’t see for many years.
Caleb and Lucy were high school sweethearts. They began dating in their junior year and married when they turned 21. Lucy worked as a school teacher before staying home with the children. Caleb worked as an engineer, and the family lived in Texas. Their marriage was healthy and prosperous.
Lucy first mentioned divorce 10 years into her marriage with Caleb. She felt that he paid too much attention to his work and didn’t spend enough time with her and the children. The mention of divorce stressed Caleb out. He didn’t know how to balance his work and family life, and he was afraid of losing his wife.
“Please tell me what I need to do to fix this. I want to stay married to you for the rest of my life,” Caleb begged.
“I need you to spend more time with us,” Lucy said. I don’t understand how you don’t delegate your work to more junior employees.”
Lucy also demanded that Caleb not work at all on weekends. Caleb agreed to all of her demands. He spent less time at work and paid more attention to the children. This change kept Lucy happy, but only for a short time.
The following year, Lucy told Caleb she was dissatisfied with the money he brought home. “The children are growing up, and their activities need more money than ever,” Lucy said. This confused Caleb, who tried to explain that he would naturally make less money because he worked fewer hours in a week.
“So you want us to be destitute?” Lucy asked.
“That’s not what I’m saying, but you need to understand this from my perspective as well,” Caleb said. “You can’t expect me to spend less time at work and bring in more money.”
“Then find another job! You’ve been working for that company for over a decade now. They clearly don’t appreciate your expertise, so move elsewhere,” she said.
This disappointed Caleb. He enjoyed his work environment and was comfortable with all his colleagues. The thought of changing jobs just for more money seemed risky. But he agreed to find another job. Three months later, Caleb began working for a different company that offered more money. But the work environment was toxic.
“I’m thinking of going back to the old company. That new work is frustrating me,” Caleb told his wife.
“Suck it up, Caleb!” Lucy shouted. “This family needs the money, and there’s no other way.”
Caleb suggested that Lucy go back to work since the children were old enough to care for themselves. “They can ride the bus, and we’ll pick them up from school during emergencies. It might even help us save money,” Caleb said.
But Lucy was not having it. She refused to go back to work and wanted to spend as much time with the children as possible. “They will think that we’re abandoning them for money,” Lucy argued. “They deserve a childhood where at least one parent can pay attention to them.”
Caleb felt he had no choice and stayed at the new job. He developed migraines from the hostile work environment but didn’t tell Lucy about it. He didn’t want to stress her out or argue with her. Lucy remained stubborn about not going back to work.
63 years into their marriage, Caleb and Lucy shocked their family when they decided to see a divorce lawyer. “Why get divorced after such a long and successful marriage?” their friends asked. They tried to talk them out of it, but they stuck to their decision. Lucy felt that there was no way to save the marriage.
None of them could give a good reason for the divorce, but they went ahead and set an appointment with the divorce lawyer. While at the lawyer’s office, Michael, the lawyer, asked the same question that all their children asked them. “Why would you get divorced after such a long marriage?” he asked.
Once again, they both could not give a good reason but insisted that Michael draw up the divorce papers. After they signed the papers, Michael asked if they wanted to have a celebratory dinner since they were both free people. Caleb and Lucy reluctantly agreed. Michael promised to process the divorce papers quickly and sent them on their way.
Later that night, the recently divorced coupled met at their favorite French restaurant. They sat in awkward silence for most of their time there. When the waitress approached them to take their order, Caleb asked her if they could turn the lights a little lower. “My wife doesn’t like lights that are too bright,” Caleb explained.
“Of course, sir, you’re both regulars. I’d be happy to oblige,” she replied.
“Honey, will you have the salad like always?” Caleb asked Lucy.
Lucy unexpectedly snapped. “I don’t know why you think you know everything about me! I hate dimly lit areas, and I especially hate salad!” she shouted. “This is why I’m divorcing you, you’re selfish, and you only think about yourself!”
She stood up and marched out of the restaurant before Caleb could say anything. Caleb was heartbroken at Lucy’s reaction. He had never seen her act so aggressively before, and he didn’t know how to handle it. He had dinner by himself and left quickly after that.
When he got home, he realized that Lucy was packing all her belongings. He tried to talk her out of it and asked if they could have one more conversation before she moved out. “Nothing you say is going to change my mind,” Lucy said.
“Please think about all the times we spent together. We built a whole life together,” Caleb begged.
“I stayed with you for the sake of the kids Caleb,” Lucy said.
She walked out of the house, and Caleb never saw her again. Later that night, Caleb called Lucy to try and apologize for not realizing that she wasn’t happy. He planned to tell her that he couldn’t live without her. But Lucy didn’t pick up the call. She was still angry at Caleb and refused to speak to him.
Three days later, Lucy received a call from the hospital. “Ma’am, Caleb passed away from a heart attack,” the nurse said. Lucy asked if she should come to the hospital, but the nurse advised against it. She told Lucy to go to the hospital when she had calmed down and preferably with someone to support her.
Lucy couldn’t believe that Caleb was gone. She made her way to his apartment to begin organizing his funeral. When she arrived, she spotted a letter Caleb wrote before his death. “Dear Lucy, you may think I’m selfish, and I don’t know you anymore, but I’ve never loved anyone more than I love you.”
Lucy started crying again but continued reading. “I always asked the restaurants to turn their lights down because you have sensitive eyes, and bright lights give you headaches. I always order salads for you because I worry about your diabetes. I care for you, and it breaks my heart that we’re no longer together.”
The letter continued to say that Caleb left all he had to Lucy. Even though they were no longer together, he still wanted her to have everything he worked hard for and never have to suffer financially. Lucy could not stop crying. She regretted not giving Caleb a chance to explain himself.
Her children helped her plan Caleb’s funeral. They didn’t know about their parents’ divorce and were shocked to find out that they had split up. “But you and Dad loved each other so much,” their firstborn, Adam said. “What was so bad that you couldn’t resolve it? Why didn’t you try therapy?” he asked.
“Please stop berating mom! You can see how distraught she is,” Cassie, his younger sister, said. Lucy felt too ashamed to answer her son. She had spent years building up resentment against Caleb for all his mistakes. She refused to see how hard Caleb worked to keep her happy.
To cheer her up, Cassie asked her mother to retell the story of their wedding day. Lucy smiled a little when she thought back to that day. “I was wearing his mother’s wedding dress. It was a long-sleeved lace dress, and it fit me perfectly. Your father was so happy to see me walk down the aisle,” Lucy said.
Caleb and Lucy spent the entire wedding night dancing. They were so happy to be finally married and couldn’t wait to spend the rest of their lives together. Lucy started crying again when she thought back to how happy they were when they married. “We had such big dreams for our lives,” Lucy said.
“You were amazing parents, mom,” Adam said. “I know how hard you both worked to keep our family happy.”
“Those were excellent times,” Lucy said.
On the day of the funeral, Lucy stood up to pay her last respects to Caleb. “This man spent his entire life working to make me and the children happy,” Lucy said. “He was diligent and compassionate with everybody he met. I lost sight of how good he was to me my entire life. I chose to be selfish, and I will always regret how our relationship ended. I’m despondent he’s gone.”