A Love Story: Parts 3 & 4

[JohnR]

Hello sisters and brothers,

Here are chapters 3 & 4. I have no explanation for why", but I felt like I was inspired when I put my little story together. Inspired, except for when I wrote Part 3. I did not feel inspired at all when I wrote that. Maybe because the subject is such a dismal one, I don't know...

Note to readers at 1111angels: The individual named Stan is my brother. This was not pointed out in the story because all of the people at Facebook who read this already know that. I haven't edited any part of this. It appears just the way it has always been.



PART THREE: THE INTERIM

Note 1: PART THREE of my story is open only to friends at FB.

Note 2: The purpose of PART THREE is not to defame anyone, but to point out that Laurie deserved the best life had to offer, and that for most of her lifetime she did not receive that.

Note 3: PART THREE has grown so large that I can now see there are two more parts to this narrative: PART FOUR: THE END and PART FIVE: THE REST OF THE STORY. The big question several of you have regarding the very odd thing that happened the day Laurie passed on is what PART FIVE: THE REST OF THE STORY is all about. Hang in there readers. It has changed my focus and understanding of the world, and we'll get there.

My baby was married in 1974 during her first year of college. Her father passed on in 1975 or 1977, I can't remember the year clearly. It happened on her birthday. I get tears in my eyes just thinking about that. Laurie loved her father dearly, as did I. He never talked down to me when Laurie and I were kids, but treated me with the respect he would give to another adult.

My baby told me she had only married her husband because she was pregnant. Her closest friend told me that many years ago she had been told the same thing. When I asked Laurie what happened to the idea that marriage is a requirement before going all the way she replied she felt pressured, especially after what happened with me, and I can understand that completely. I asked her if she regretted marrying the husband and she did not answer that question directly. Sometimes silence speaks volumes. Her answer to that was that she was fulfilled by raising her 3 children. Incidentally, she was only one semester away from a 4-year degree in English when she quit college to stay home and be a mother to them.

My baby was married for 36 years until she finally divorced the husband in 2011, right before she contacted me. Laurie couldn't say exactly how long the marriage had been sour- it had been that long. This was also related to me by her lifelong friends whom I became acquainted with. I have photos of Laurie with her family and the only ones that she looks truly happy in are the ones where she is holding her grandchildren.

My baby said she had tried everything she could think of to reconcile things with the husband, to no avail. She told me if the husband would happen to brush against her in bed he would recoil and quickly move to the other side of the bed. I asked how long that had been going on and she said "For years". Laurie's friends had already been urging her to get a divorce for 5 years before it actually was carried out! At that point the two could not even interact with each other without a problem arising immediately. Laurie said she was not physically abused, (thank-you Lord).

My baby related that the husband would not take charge of anything, that she ran the household, including taking care of the kids, paying the bills, managing the money, and making all of the decisions that affected the family. When I asked why, she said "You are the only man I ever let tell me what to do". I still can't figure out how that answers my question, but it's the only answer I ever got. She kept telling me, after we got back together, that she wanted me to be the "boss". That was the word she used. Boss. She said she didn't want to be the boss any more.

The husband was, in Laurie's own words, "insanely jealous". When I asked her "When did that start?" she replied "He was always that way". Considering how she and I were, I find this aspect of their relationship to be very sad. If I have ever known one woman in this world who would never, EVER cheat on her man, it is Laurie. Nor did she flaunt her stuff. She was very outgoing with people and made friends wherever she went. I can see how someone with a narrow mind might resent this, but that attitude is not giving or loving! It is selfish and wrong!

My baby stated her mother-in-law was a mean spiteful person and when she would attack Laurie the husband would never defend her. This, to me, is heartbreaking. Laurie's closest friends tell me the husband was always "Momma's boy". I'm left wondering why. I'm going to guess he didn't want to do anything to irritate momma which might preclude him from inheriting her large estate some day. I wish I could have been there all of those years, on her side, supportive and proud of her. And just for the record: my mom loved Laurie like a daughter.

During the years that Laurie and I were apart I had been married twice. The first time was merely an infatuation and only lasted a year. I married the girl because she was pregnant and I wanted to give the child a name. The second marriage was pretty good for about 10 years. Then, 15 years ago we went our separate ways, mainly because she notified me one day, unexpectedly, that she didn't want to live with me any more. OK, uh huh...no discussion?...end of story. This is not sad, this is pathetic. But it is fortunate for Laurie and I because it set the stage for us to get back together, even if it did take another 15 years for that to happen.

I think it's regrettable the events of my baby's life played out the way they did. The men in her life let her down, and this includes me. She did not deserve that. If I had known my baby was unhappy for all those years I would have been at her side in a heartbeat and married her fifteen years ago! In 38 years I never once suspected or thought she might not be happy and I never would have contacted her. How could I have been so stupid?

"Life without love is like a ship without a sail, wandering aimlessly, lost". -Anne Murray


PART FOUR: THE REUNION

Fast forward 38 years to July 11, 2011. I receive an email from Facebook stating that Laurie (married last name purposely withheld all throughout this story) wanted me for a friend. I don't know how to describe how I felt when I saw that email. I guess I would have to say it seemed like my heart stopped or skipped a beat- many people can identify with that kind of shock. I INSTANTLY knew there was a big empty place in my heart that Laurie could fill. I also knew in that instant my life had changed completely. Strange how a person's life can totally change in a split second when you least expect it!

I was joyous, I knew something was up. I got up from my desk and started dancing to the music I had playing! Laurie was asking me to be her friend! Too much!

At this point I didn't know anything about Facebook. Only a few days earlier I had been urged by Stan to sign up when I was trying to locate an old friend. I signed up by creating a name and password. That's all I put in there. No info about me, nothing else, just an entry in the FB computer. I clicked a few links, didn't really understand Facebook and left the website. I never would have gone back if not for the fact that Facebook sends emails to your email account whenever there is activity on the website which relates to you.

Okay, so Stan urges me to sign up on Facebook and only a few days later Laurie is urged by one of her friends to sign up there also to look for me. What are the odds of this happening after 38 years of no contact between us? Really big odds maybe. Her divorce wasn't even final yet, bless her heart. Oddly, I had been thinking about her almost every day for about two months prior to this happening. Why? What is going on here? I have no idea, only that I started thinking of how much I missed her.

The first thing I thought when I got the email from FB was this is some kind of a scam. I recalled her married last name and wondered if this could really be her. So, I went to FB, accepted the friend request, and opened up the message she had sent me. Right below her married name it said "Laurie Hillyard" (her maiden name), and then I knew it was really her. Her message stated she was recently divorced after 36 years and to let her know if I wanted to visit sometime. The first thing I did was send an email to Stan with the subject line "WOW!".

Did I want to visit sometime? Is the sky blue? Is the earth round? (Later I learned that she didn't know anything about me- for all she knew I was happily married, etc). My reply to her was something like "Puleeeze! Gimme a break! We need to talk on the phone!" Less than two hours later she called me!

I imagine some people might not believe the following, but it is all God's truth! The first day we talked on the phone for 8 hours straight. For the next 4 or 5 days we talked every day on the phone for anywhere from 7 to 9 hours straight. Crazy! Sound like two people who miss each other and have a lot of catching up to do? Yeah. I was like a kid again, walking around in that daze you get the first time you fall head over heels in love. I did not know this can happen twice, but then again, it was the same person both times.

It was on about the sixth day that I found myself in Lewiston ringing the doorbell of her apartment. I felt like I was in a dream, like this was going to end at any minute. She opens the door, we're all smiles saying "Hi", and what a gigantic hug we gave each other! Oh, the bliss of the moment!! We sat down on her couch and started talking. My brother had told me not to get my hopes up because people change a lot in 38 years. But apparently we didn't. It was as if we had seen each other only yesterday. There was no period of uneasiness or of feeling each other out. It was just the two of us together again, nothing more. The way she waved her hands and arms in the air when she talked, the way she moved, the sound of her voice, it was all the same as I remembered it. What a joyous experience! The magic we had shared as kids was still there right from the first minute.

[inawe]

Yep! Definitely twin Flame... This reminds me of my story so much , only less of a time span..... So far.... Thanks for sharing this....

[sammy]

Anxiously waiting for part 5!

LOVE!!!!
Sammy

[11light11]

Me too! So beautiful, at a loss for words! Thank you for sharing this incredible story!

[JohnR]

Inawe, Sammy, and Michele,

I'm glad you like my story, thank-you!