I huddled my husband for warmth but then Jake knew exactly what I wanted. He looked me in the eyes and grinned. Then he responded with a deep smooching.
“I love you…Lovey” that was what he affectionately called me.
As he got up to prepare himself as usual, I seized him violently and launched into a deeper snuggle. He pushed me away lightly
“Hey,” he giggled “what are you doing? Let me get prepared, ok?”
“No…” I muffled on his neck. But then he managed to get his way out of the bed and fixed himself. Then he joined me again on the bed. He was about to launch out when he asked
“Hey, are you fixed up?”
“No…” I said, launching out my kisses.
“What! Is this intentional?” he was surprised.
“Mmm…” I moaned silently “sometimes I want to…”
“You want to what?!” I saw the upset in his face. Was he really afraid?
“We’ve talked about this, Sylva…” he only called me by my first name when he was grave about something unfavorable. “Until…”
“Until next year June! I know…” I said softly and touched his cheek with my palm and gave him a reassuring smile. He smiled.
“That’s my girl!” Now, he was elated.
~~~~~~~~~~
Jake was a man who deeply loved me, treated me like a queen and worshipped the very ground I stepped on. I was the envy of every woman who knew Jake and me. Not only was he truly a gentleman, but, man, he was just fine! He had no problem when it came to good looks. It was impossible for me to disrespect and not to submit to this son of Adam. For almost two years that we’ve been married, it has been so easy to love him – and yes I’d come to love him more. He was a perfect example of the ‘…husbands, love your wife as Christ loved the church…’ and I was submitting so graciously. He was such a near-perfect man so much that sometimes I used to wonder if he was real. Yet, in all, I just thanked my God for this gift of love.
Until eight months ago, when I started seeing changes in my dear Jake! He wasn’t the all-loving, nice-talking and boisterous confident man I knew him to be. He had become a narcissist – he was unnecessarily jealous but won’t admit it. He was getting angry at the least thing I did wrong. He was carping all the time. He saw something wrong with everything I did that he used to be happy about. His church attendance diminished. He had become passive and sometimes he wouldn’t make love to me until I forced him to. The working-hours calls seized. The love-notes were not forth coming. I convinced myself he had only lost his passion to write. He started spending long hours in the Study. He was acting as if I didn’t exist anymore! I was getting tired of his negative behavior and several times, I had wanted to put in a divorce.
Then I vent my upset on my God – ‘God didn’t you say he is the one? Or did I hear a wrong voice? Why didn’t you tell me who he really was?’ I blamed God for this mess of a marriage. Eventually, I thought it wasn’t from Him.
I wanted Jake to do everything I wanted like he used to, but he stubbornly didn’t seem to care! He wouldn’t do most of the simple things as opening the car door for me when we went out together. He acted as if he forgot. He virtually stopped the breakfast-in-bed treat, and all he used to do without me asking. When I uncommonly asked politely if he could prepare me something to eat, he would tell me, “I’m busy. Why don’t you do it?” He had become cheeky and disrespectful.
I had gotten it to my neck and I also started to act up. I intentionally stayed long hours outside home knowing I had to be home and do my duty as a wife. Maybe, at least, if he saw no food on the dining table, he would miss me and call me. But he didn’t. I didn’t care either whatever he did with his life. I didn’t care to check him up in the study anymore when he spent unusually long hours there. Woe to him if he felt like he was thirsty for me and asked for it! He just wouldn’t get it! That would make him thirsty more and he will start to treat me nice if he were to be quenched! I thought. If his presentational work was not typed, I didn’t care! I was no more his ‘private’ secretary…!
There were times I confronted him and it made matters worse.
“We need to talk, Jake!” I would snap. He would give me his patience and listen “You have changed, why?” and I would list to his face all that he did wrong. Sometimes he would exhibit an outward patience and stay until I finished but he wouldn’t say a word. That silence killed me more inside and made me angrier. Sometimes, he would walk away “You walk over me?! You have such a nerve, Jake…” and I will nag till he disappeared.
This devastating marriage life went on for almost eight months. I still can’t make it out how I was able to stay in the marriage all that while, for many times, I had wanted to leave. In fact, I had threatened Jake I was leaving, and I realized those times when he came back home early, it was nervously to check if I was still in the house but he wouldn’t show. Suddenly, three months ago, Jake was back to himself! He was coming around and had come far indeed. How it happened, I didn’t know. All I cared was I was happy to get my man back. Our love grew more. Who said challenges in marriage don’t grow your love? I had experienced it!
************************
TO BE CONTINUED...
BY: LILLY MORGAN
NB: Kindly access the rest of the parts at the links below:
(Part 2 @ : http://tinyurl.com/8jyle8u)
(Part 3 @ : http://tinyurl.com/bswtejw)
(Part 4 @ : http://tinyurl.com/9k745bd)
(Part 5 @ : http://tinyurl.com/9ytwe5b)
(Part 6 @ : http://tinyurl.com/93y6ds9)
(Part 7 @ : http://tinyurl.com/8rtswfq)
(Part 8 @ : http://tinyurl.com/9zad9xa)http://tinyurl.com/9sr5let
