A Kiss is NOT Just a Kiss

Since we were back together, Tim immediately called up the ex and informed her that he had made a terrible mistake and would not be able to take her to the prom because he could not imagine spending that night apart from the woman he truly loved. That is how it would have played out if it had been up to me. Tim, on the other hand, couldn’t seem to find the resolve necessary to cancel the date so close to the event. Yes, the boy had basically pledged the rest of his life to me but the next twenty four hours? Not so much. So, despite being overwhelmed with jealousy, I dealt with it and we moved past it. Well, almost. Here’s what actually happened.

I tried to keep myself busy that Saturday but it was impossible not to imagine where they were and what they were doing. I trusted Tim. Completely. It was the “funny” girl I had no confidence in. I had always gotten the vibe that she would gladly rekindle their old flame if given the right opportunity. Now, here they were spending twelve uninterrupted hours together.

After tossing and turning all night, I showered and headed to church. When the service ended, I made my way back to the car and there on the hood was a bouquet of flowers and a card from Tim. He told me that he had missed me and thought of me the whole night; how it just wasn’t the same without me. Picturing him miserably “going through the motions” of the night brought me a great deal of satisfaction. Idiot.

Just for a second, let’s fast forward this story oh, about 6 years. Tim and I are living in Milledgeville, GA where he is a Music/Youth minister and we are nearing our 4th wedding anniversary. While visiting with his parents one afternoon, we begin rummaging through drawers of old photos; laughing and reminiscing. Then, I stumbled across a pack of pictures with no label. I opened it up and there staring back at me was a picture of Tim and that girl kissing square on the lips. I was stunned followed immediately by ticked off.

“What is this?” I hissed while shoving the picture in his face.

“What? It was the prom…like…forever ago. Why are you so mad?” he asked in dismay over my reaction.

“Because all these years you had me believing that you were miserable. That you hardly had any fun all night because you missed me so much. Were you missing me when this shot was taken? I don’t think so.” I knew how ridiculous it was but I felt totally betrayed. “You didn’t leave flowers on my car because you loved me. You did it because you felt guilty!”

He tried to bring me back to reality. “In my own defense, can I just state the obvious? I married YOU!”

Sigh. I can laugh about it now but seriously, it took me several hours to get over the shock of it all. And the fact that we were married in some ways made it even harder. I wasn’t just looking at my high school sweetheart kissing his ex-girlfriend. I was seeing my husband kissing another woman. Convoluted as it was, it broke my heart.

But don’t worry; I’m not still bitter about it. ;-)