"The man was all smiles as he slipped the envelope into his breast pocket. He made me promise that I would come to a service Sunday morning before we ...eft for home. Beth captured the priest's attention by mentioning that we would soon be touring the Vatican again. They wandered off as I watched all of the people enjoying themselves.Julie had joined me as the dance music had begun. The bride and groom had danced the first dance and now the other people were getting onto the dance floor. Julie. ‘A romance, I said I liked them,’ was Stan’s comment. Anne was pleased as well. That evening Anne called round to pick up Stan in her blue sports car. Stan wore a simple but clean pair of jeans and a t-shirt, with a light woollen sweater in case it was colder when they came out of the cinema later. Anne honked the horn outside his house, and Stan hurried out the door to get to her car before his neighbours complained. As he climbed into the car Stan looked over at the blonde in the driving. I sucked in a lungful of air, to expel it with the next swoosh and Whack!, which made me jerk back, almost to my feet. The pain was intense, even through the lycra. My knuckles were white as I gripped the end of the table, tensed for the next blow. I felt a light tap on my burning backside, then Swoosh/Crack!, harder than ever. I cried out, and my hips bucked against the table. Two more swoosh/cracks in quick succession didn't allow me to draw breath, and then the loudest Swoosh! and hardest. I felt the only way to redeem myself was to remarry you, to show you and your mother that I can be faithful. Maybe someday in the far off future we might consider counseling. But more probably, we’ll never have a chance at each other again. I have passed through the guilt stage. We tried, it didn’t work, and trying to put the pieces together again is almost impossible. I am certainly not going to chase after you or continue to beat my head against the wall. I’ve shed enough blood. Anyway, I.