Lawrence and Paige had the perfect marriage for 60 years and never fought. But one day, he saw her having coffee with another man. He followed her the next day, and the same thing occurred. When she showed up in their home with a bouquet, he called her out, and something shocking happened.
Lawrence was trying to hurry through the streets of their hometown in Maryland. He was meeting a few friends at a restaurant bar near their home. They were all over 80 years old, but they still enjoyed some brandy and talked about life. His friends wanted to spend as much time together before it was too late.
He was late for their meeting, and walking with a cane didn’t help. But something made him stop. He stood right outside a coffee shop, and his wife was inside. However, that was not the issue. The problem was that Paige was sitting with another man, and Lawrence couldn’t believe it.
Their marriage never had any issues. For years, their children and grandchildren had bragged about their relationship and hoped to emulate them. But now, Lawrence thought that everything had been a lie. She was cheating on him.
Paige flinched at his scream. Her eyes were wide with shock because her husband had never done something like that, but then his words registered, and her mouth dropped open.
Some kids nowadays think that friendships between men and women are possible, but Lawrence was from a different generation. This was utterly unacceptable, especially because Paige had lied about it. She said she was going to the supermarket, and here she was having coffee with a stranger as if it didn’t matter.
Lawrence decided to return home and called his friends to tell them he had the flu. He couldn’t meet them in his current state. He was too angry. But hopefully, his wife had a decent explanation for what she had done.
Of course. Of course. She would explain everything. It was probably a misunderstanding. Everything would be perfect, Lawrence told himself all afternoon and waited for her to come home.
However, when his wife arrived, she greeted him as if nothing had happened. When he asked what she had done all day, she frowned and told him she was at the market and got caught up talking to their neighbor, Mrs. Crawley.
Lawrence couldn’t believe it. She had lied to him. It was the first time she had ever done it. Or was it? Was their whole marriage a fraud? Had she cheated on him before? What should he do now? Should he call her out?
But Paige started cooking as if nothing had happened, and Lawrence was stumped. He decided to let it go for the night and acted as if nothing was amiss. But he was planning on following her the next day.
***
He followed Paige for a week, and the same thing happened. She was meeting the same man, and he didn’t know how to approach it. But his patience was wearing thin, especially because she kept lying about it.
“Where are you going, darling?” he asked Paige when she was almost out of the door. It was Sunday, and she normally wouldn’t have anything to do that day.
She turned and gave him a huge smile. “I’m going to see Lydia,” she replied, talking about their daughter. “We have so much to catch up on. See you later!”
Lawrence waited for a while after she left then he walked to the café slowly. As always, he hoped that she wouldn’t be there, but he was wrong. Paige was sitting at the same spot, talking to the same stranger as yesterday.
He wanted to storm in, but he had never been a confrontational person. Therefore, he returned home just like the other days and decided to talk to Paige finally that night.
However, Paige entered their house later in the afternoon with a bouquet in her hands, and something in Lawrence’s head exploded.
“WHAT WERE YOU DOING IN THE CAFÉ WITH A RANDOM MAN?” he shouted at his wife for the first time in almost six decades.
Paige flinched at his scream. Her eyes were wide with shock because her husband had never done something like that, but his words registered, and her mouth dropped open.
“What are you talking about? Have you been following me?” she demanded, placing the bouquet on a nearby table and putting her hands on her waist.
“Don’t change the subject, Paige! Have you been cheating on me? For how long?” Lawrence insisted. His voice was lower, but he was still angry and red-faced.
“For God’s sake, Lawrence! I would never do that!”
“WHO IS THAT MAN?”
“YOUR BROTHER!”
“What?” Lawrence breathed in surprise. My brother? That’s impossible! Claude disappeared from his life after the Vietnam war.
“Yes, that was your brother! I’ve been trying to locate him for years! I finally did, and I’ve been trying to convince him to come back and see you again. I finally did. We were going to surprise you tonight, you spoiled sport!” Paige spat at him. She was also red-faced, but only because her husband thought she was capable of cheating. “Oh, and I bought the flowers so our house would look pretty for him!”
Lawrence asked her to explain more, and she did. Then he asked for forgiveness, acting cute so she would smile. “I’m so sorry, my sweet. It was the first time I had caught you in a lie. I must admit I didn’t see the man properly. Will you forgive this fool of a husband?”
Paige didn’t want to stay mad at her husband. She loved him too much. “I forgive you but only because your brother is coming in a few hours. I have to get dinner ready, and you are helping me!”
“Of course!” he agreed immediately, and they got to work. He couldn’t wait to reconnect with Claude and ask him everything about his life. But most of all, he couldn’t believe his wonderful wife had managed something he thought impossible.