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Click here"I will, momma."
I walked up the aisle, hanging on dad's arm and with mom close beside me. Everyone was looking at me. Everyone was welcoming - smiling, clapping quietly, or nodding in approval. As I got to the front, the boys ran over and hugged me, tightly. Carl was as tall as I was and well on his way to matching his father.
"We, love you mom!"
"Welcome back mom!"
"We missed you, mom!"
How could I ever have done anything to jeopardize this!
Finally they let go and hurried back to their seats. Thomas grinned at me and said, "Hurry up and marry dad, mom, and we can get to the party. There's going to be cake!" I laughed and nodded. Mom leaned close and said, "I made the cake." I whispered back, "Thank you," and gave her a hug.
Dad finished walking me up to the front, and mom pinned the hanging lace up so I was not peering at the world through thread. They both kissed me, and I looked up.
I handed the bouquet to Annie, and she gave me a huge wink. I managed to mouth back, 'Thank you,' and then added, 'Best sister, ever'.
I faced Dave, lost my heart in those kind, loving eyes, and I knelt down.
"What are you doing?" he asked, perplexed.
"I promised myself that if I ever managed to face you again, I would get down on my knees and tell you how very, very sorry I am for hurting you. For betraying you and my vows. And for giving away what was only yours. And for running away rather than face the music."
Dave smiled, and knelt down in front of me. He took my hands, a touch I had never hoped to feel ever again, and said, "And I thought you should have a new engagement ring, since you had to pawn the first one." He slid a small diamond onto my finger, set on a slender, elegant band. He winked. "The wedding rings are identical in design, but brand new. We are starting over. We cannot go back to what we had, but I believe we can make something brand new that can be better. Deal?"
"Deal."
"Now I think our first task is helping each other up, since neither of us is as young as we once were."
We managed to get up, holding tightly to each other, as the audience, our friends and family, chuckled, and then burst into cheers and applause.
Father Ambrose entered from behind the vine covered trellis and stood in front of us. He looked at me sternly, but melted a little at my contrite, teary smile. "Have you been to confession recently?" he whispered to me. I nodded slightly, "Last week, Father, and my penance is complete." He nodded and then looked over our shoulders at the assembly. "In the eyes of the church, this couple are still husband and wife, so I am officiating, not as an official
Church witness, but as a Justice of the Peace for the state of Pennsylvania to renew their civil marriage. Given the unusual circumstances, I am giving this couple," he glanced at his watch, "five minutes to talk to each other and convince me that they are sincere." He looked at us expectantly.
"Dave, you are the most thoughtful and wonderful husband any woman could have. I am truly, deeply, terribly sorry for what I did. And I thank you for your forgiveness - and trust. I promise you, and God, it is not misplaced."
"Melissa, I never want to experience pain like that again, but try as I could, I couldn't hate you. You were the victim of a very skilled and very successful serial seducer. I said on my sign that we have a lot of work ahead of us, and we do, but I think you, I think all of us, have been punished enough. I forgive you. Let's work on love, now."
"And I guess I have to forgive Ann for giving me away," I glanced over at Annie, who lifted an eyebrow and shook her head.
"She didn't give you away. I heard not one word from her lips - I heard them all from you."
"Me?"
Dave nodded. "I had been shopping and was dropping off a bag of groceries and checking in on Ann. She invited me to have a cup of coffee. We were sitting, chatting, when you called. She put her phone on speaker. The pencil scratchings you heard was us passing notes back and forth. When you arrived yesterday, Ann's phone was on and I was listening to you. There were so many times I just wanted to reach through and hug you. I heard how remorseful you were and I believed, deep in my heart, we could make it work. I was the one who texted Ann and let her know I had heard enough, and the wedding was a 'Go'." He looked a bit sheepish. "Keeping you in the dark until the very last minute, well, was kind of getting payback for you standing all of us up at our intervention session. And I'm - half - sorry about that." And he gave me his signature lopsided, quirky smile again that told me that everything would be alright.
"And," he added, "We'll be honeymooning in the South Pacific for two weeks." Then came another 'Dave' grin at the ironies of life. "We may be the only couple going off on a honeymoon who have counselling already set up for the day after we get back." There were a few chuckles from the crowd.
"How are we affording another South Seas trip?"
"Courtesy of Ann. She set aside some of Peter's insurance money and told me that it was to return the favor if I ever got married again."
I turned around and hugged my wonderful, wonderful sister, and whispered, "Thank you," in her ear as I felt her tears on my neck. I turned back to my once and future husband and whispered, "I have a lot of serious ass-kissing to do, and we should get started as soon as possible." We grinned at each other and turned back to Father Ambrose.
"Okay, I'm convinced. So I will say, dearly beloved we are gathered today to RE-join this man and this woman in marriage..."
And all we heard, as we tearfully smiled at each other, were our whispered 'I do's', and whether we heard Father or not, we were kissing right afterwards, because it was long, long overdue.
THE END
Thank you for fighting your way to the bitter end, and I hope that even if you are firmly in the BTB camp, that I managed to set up a reconciliation which is reasonably believable within the story parameters.
- COMMENTS
I love both versions, First was 4.6 stars... the second 5,00 stars!
I felt like it was a test who was marring Dave? At first it could be Matt's widow, Nah, Maybe Ann? Nah, Then the lace on the hat and Ann's being the Matron of Honor I got it! It was a surprise re marriage!
Too bad it wasn't in Texas the husband who took out Matt, would have gotten a reduced sentence!
I makes me wonder I wonder if I am still married to my first wife? You have given me an Idea for a new reconciliation story!
She WAS punished, psychologically
ok, this is my 3rd time reading this through and I know I have to be the only one with this opinion, especially after story 2. I DID like both endings. Its the middle i have issues with. She was not punished. She was in a self-imposed exile. Well too bad for another one of her bad decisions. Dave should have, at the least, been dating another eligible woman and not pining for an ex wife that couldnt even do the right thing in the end and just upped an vanished, on all things, her own children because she had been caught. Welllll F you lady. She should have had some major "punishment" for her crap. Just saying.
I think the second rendition of the story was better than the first, although the first wasn't that bad either. I actually thought it was kind of a fresh take on a reconciliation story to be honest and you took an idea that I've been toying with and made it work - basically being Catholic myself, I know that while I may be civilly divorced, unless I get an annulment from the Church, I'm still married. It may be hard for non-observant Catholics to understand and honestly, a lot of Catholics struggle with it as well because we have to live in civil society, but if you have belief and faith, then it's very clear that there is no way to divorce yourself from your spouse.
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That being said, it doesn't really preclude you from not living with them or ever talking to them again, etc, but it does preclude you from ever getting married again.
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Anyway, I actually liked the angle a lot. I felt it was unique and offered a very plausible reason why someone might be able to forgive a long term affair (and indeed, the subsequent mistakes that Mellissa made). That being said, the wedding was a bit over the top at the end, but I think after all of the angst it was a good payoff.
Stopped at page 3, 4 years of cheating and he takes her back and also tells her to have more sex with him? This is a truly pathetic husband, no woman would ever be attracted to a malleable wuss like this.
When I saw THE CHILDREN INVOLVED, I started to read with an eye toward protecting them against the insanity both parents were spewing. Talk about not giving two damns about your kids. Shattered innocence, tension-filled moments with their parents, hateful and angry rhetoric... OP is an idiot for writing the story like this. Just freaking awful.
I heard once that testosterone has been decreasing in men for years. You certainly make this believable. Good writing. Shit story.
Crazy at face value. Seems impossible. Bit somehow works, especially the first ending. Swcond ending comes off as highly unrealistic bit is technically not a RAAC, since while they reconcile there also, she pays a high price.
In what world do you see a guy reconciling with the wife? She did things with her lover she denied her husband, cheated on him for four years. I can only see the reconciliation happening only if the husband secretly likes to be a cuckold. Geez don't read this people, the original was better.
I liked the first ending.
In the second version, when Annie said Dave was getting married, I almost quit reading.
I skimmed toward the bottom to rate the story and saw the line about her dad walking her down the aisle, so I went back and picked up where I left off.
I'm glad I did.
Great story and great twist in the second ending!
So I read the original to get a feel for the story and then read this with its two versions. I have to say I'm impressed with the quality of writing and how the characters and their emotions and motivations were portrayed. The idea of how to make the storyline work is original and well thought out. I really enjoyed these and feel that the first version is more believable than the second but I can see the second working too. I'd have liked more background on the husband detailing the journey he took to get there which must have been incredibly painful. I can appreciate a BTB when told well and also a good reconciliation story as well. This is a top drawer story and should be celebrated as such. Well done. BardnotBard
No self-respecting person would take back their spouse if said spouse was cheating x amount of YEARS, Jesus years holy hell.
I don't know. Excellent writing and I get on the second one she suffered... though hard to believe she'd abandon her children like that. forgiveness is great, but in neither sorry was there any real emotion by the husband or children. I know it happened off page supposedly but the first time you see her in both cases... One after another 4 years... you just say yeah all is good let's get back together without consequences.
And im the first one... the guy is taking responsibility for being tempted and NOT cheating and making that somehow equivalent to her 4 years fucking someone regularly and doing things with and for him she wouldn't do for her husband AND not giving her husband emotional or physical intimacy? No... not ready to get over...
I also always find it hard to believe that the a guy can tempt a faithful wife stray... Or husband. Certainly not getting then to stray weekly or so for 4 years. That's already in them .... and that's something that would be really hard to forgive, which these stories just gloss over... all that pain and heartache.
The second story is even worse.... she planned to abandon her children by fuckimg her way across country and got lucky that only one ride wanted it and accepted a hand job. Who would want that back. The kids are just fine with being abandoned for 4 years? I like a good reconciloation but this really just made it all too easy. T stretches the imagination to breaking. I know you say the second one she had to suffer but did she really? Not from her family they just said yeah you should have come home it was all good... You pit yourself through hell for nothing.
She'll cheat again. This was truly a get out of jail free card in both cases. No significant consequences except what she gave herself. In the first one they even got to track each other. What gives her the right to mistrust him?
Liked the writing and enjoyed the story as a fantasy but just didn't feel believable in any way.
This is outstanding writing. You have created two very real people finding their way to each other through patience, compassion. and a healthy dose of mercy. All of these spring only from love. I look forward to your wonderful stories.
So....The first story, well, it was a little unbelievable in the way he let her come back with no consequences, but you did kind of explain that most of the emotional turmoil on the husband's part happened off-page - not great for a story, but whatever - but I could still get behind it, ultimately.
The 2nd version was just an absolute shitshow.
In what world would a man take back a wife who was cheating on him for 4 years with no consequences? She did over TEN things with her lover that she didn't or refused to do with her husband. That is utterly evil. No human who respects themself would ever take back a spouse who did that. What kind of example is taking her back setting for those young kids? Taking her back is disrespectful to them as well. He is being a weak role model, and letting unacceptable behavior pass. Dave needs to learn to respect himself, and his children.
And she has the balls to demand he have sex with no other woman? She is an evil heinous person. Self-centered and selfish.
Not a forgiveness kind of guy but I preferred the second. At least the cheater actually had to face consequences and work on herself before the reconciliation.
I enjoyed the story both versions. Some reader must be stone hearted. To forgive is divine, Isn’t that what everyone wants on their death bed?
Yeah, lovely story, but four years and her conscience never woke up? She's giving away her pussy and ass and another magical set of things she never did with her husband (got me curious there, gotta be honest) for four years; betraying her husband day after day after day. In days she wasn't actually physically cheating, she was lying. Yeah, That's too much. Maybe if it was four months... I did enjoy the attempt.
i have read some of your stories and they where good but this one sorry does nothing for me sorry
The second part was not necessary. The first part was decent but the rest was lame. After 4 years the guy surely would have moved on by now? Also the timing was way off... How could they plan a wedding even though the slut had called and then she agreed to come back without notice to organize the wedding.
Partway into page two and I can't stomach the ridiculous fluffy bullshit.
It's a stupid old whore's wet dream.
You are a talented writer, and appreciate the time you take to write your stories. As for this story, there is no RAAC after that B.S. No one would forgive a person who had been cheating for 4 yrs, having been sexually and emotionaly absent for 4 yrs due to their cheating. She didn't care for 4 yrs, it was all about her "spicing" up here life, damn the families she effected, why would she care now? The only reason for remorse is because she got caught. IF there was forgiveness/reconciliation there would never be ANY trust by Dave and he would always be looking out to see if she was cheating again. On this level, once a cheating slut always a cheating slut. His life and the life of his kids would be miserable for an indefinite time or until he couldn't take it anymore and filed for divorce again. However, in the real world, the bitch would have been able throw all 3 options back at Dave and gave him option 4, she gets the house, kids, alimony and child support until the kids are through college and gets to fuck whoever she wants and tells Dave to fuck off and go cry to the Priest about what a little bitch he really is. That is reality.
Version 2 was … sweet and romantic, I guess, but completely unrealistic. I’m not sure even an idiot would marry her again after only a couple of overheard conversations. Version 1 at least addressed issues that needed attention before renewing commitments. My two cents.
By the middle of page 1, I hated this cuck shit and came to the end to tell you. She cheated FOR 4 YEARS???!!! And he forgives her? What the actual fuck?
Very much liked it. But the wedding at the end was kind of telegraphed as soon as it was mentioned that the husband was getting married again!
While I am not against reconciliation, I don't think she did anything to deserve it. Being gone for 4 years after cheating, lying and betraying for 4 years, I don't get how he could possibly trust her again. She's done nothing to deserve it.
You write well, but I struggle with the overall plot. But THANK YOU!!!
Very good story I just re-read. I would say it was too improbable to be believed but I have been trying to understand quantum entanglement. God, a soul, the Astros winning an honest World Series, are more probable than QE and so is this reconciliation. And yet QE exists. So 5 stars!
Honestly I think reconciliation can only be accomplished with a once or twice sexual meeting not more than that. Sorry but more than that deserves a divorce even with children living at home. I highly doubt in real life a spouse would take someone back after all that time.
Well written but completely ridiculous ending. Who would remarry a long time cheater without even meeting her for 4 years. Also what’s her problem that her lover has other lovers, if it truly is just sex why would she care?
Both parts were good, however I really enjoyed the ending of the second part. Just an old romantic. Thanks for your writing.
I'm not sure about 100% believable, but that hardly matters, but I thoroughly enjoyed both versions and as a 'reconciliation where possible' believer (& it's certainly not always possible nor desireable) it was very emotional writing for which I thank you.
You pulled it off. Made me cry at the thought of that much forgiveness. I wish I had it.
Highly entertaining for both stories. Well written. Good characterizations and plot element. Made some much better out of a tough and bitniffy original base story. Now why she would just flee in thr second story is odd. Just leave her kids. 4 more wasted years 8 years overall. What a tragedy.
The first one was too simple as everything gets resolved in thr back of a van and the hotel room in like 4 hours. It has some clever discussion points but it doesn't lend itself that well to reconciliation. Of course the author took a story meant for BTB and worked to make a reconciliation out of it. Tough gig. The second one was much more emotional. Her betrayal is magnified by her abandonment of her family. She would not have been that hard to trace given that she did not change her identity and had to register with the casino board to get a dealer job. A good PI firm would have found her (eventually) but maybe hubby did not have the inclination or money to look (at least at first after he learned of her leaving the family behind). But that is an aside. Her remorse and owning what she did really comes through. But then again her betrayal of 4 years of twice a month, and then 4 years of disappearance, is really massive. So with the caveat that reconciliation is basically implausible no matter what clever author plot, I will say that the second version is a really clever plot. The phone on speaker with the note passing and the reveals is amazing. Also David woukd learn a lot about hoe Matt the predator operated via the murder trial and testimony of the other women. Her reactions to Annie's questions and statements came off as very genuine. While I still don't see a reconciliation, time and her contriteness might allow reconnection to her family and kids and cordial, co-parent relations with David. Her willingness to help pay for her kids' college despite practically living in a box was touching and a good reason to reach out to Annie. Annie was superb. Melissa's reaction to the news that she would have been forgiven was emotionally taut. The wedding scene makes for a touch (though unrealistic Hallmark moment. I was almost waiting for us to be told that she was on the throes of a fever dream or a drug overdose and dying on a hospital bed, but hey the author was serious about their intent for reconciliation. So yeah given that the second ending was powerful and impressive and creative. Still not realistic. Hard to imagine a wife woukd have zero emotional feeling about Matt (she was after all pissed he had eight other women) and that she would just do it out of habit for thr better part of 4 years, once the allure of illicitness and having a secret, wore off in a few months. But then why did her sex life go to shit, and why not make love to her husband for 4 months? She had no guilt it appears until discovery as she compartmentalized her work self from her home self. Except that failed as she reduced her interactions and intimacy with her husband until was pretty bad at the end. Would have been better fit to the intended story (though not the original base plot), if she had sustained a reasonable sex life with her husband. After all wasn't the picture to spice things up? By the end of her tawdry affair, it did not appear to spice their lives up just hers. So lose the sexual and emotional disconnect, because the is a big deal. See how David goes on a valid tirade when he learns she fled and disappeared, when he was set via intervention of his family and the counselors + priest, to offer her the three options. Again given what she did and the severity of what she denied her husband: time, intimacy, sex, emotional connection, and new sexual experiences, that is a huge obstacle to reconciliation. None of which was dealt with on the second story (yes discussed in first but answers are too simple and not revisited). But again the second one was an entertaining read once the reader gets past the fact it would not happen in the real world.
Very touching story.
The second had much more emotional weight. But I liked the first more.
I think the second could have been my favorite, if the time she was gone was shortened to like, a month, or less. She gets to Vegas, gets set up. A couple weeks later she calls her sister. It's less time robbed, and I don't think most people could go four years without knowing how their loved ones are doing.
Seriously?????Writer seems totally deluded to offer the wife redemtion... that too after four years of cheating. For the cheating to have gone on for so long..it could not have been a hoodwinked wife... no she had to have been in love but not enough to run off..but to satisfy her needs... that is long term betrayal. And RAC is stupid for this type of betrayal...shows a husband with no self respect..absolutly none!,,
Interestingly after having read a lot of different categories on this site, LW section seems to attract it's own subsection of readers.
Having said that, I found this story very good. If warranted redemption is available for everyone.
Phenomenal pair of endings to a very inventive and interesting story. Masterful in my opinion, and thank you for it. Well done.