Ping
I'd been married to Cecil Smith for eight years. He was the youngest wedding planner in the country, yet our own wedding had been thrown together in a rush.
I'd asked him about it many times. Each time, he'd take my hand and say the same thing.
"Nora, once I make it into the Best of Weddings Hall of Fame, I'll give you a wedding the whole city will talk about.
"I'll make sure everyone knows you're the wife I'd do anything for."
He said it like he meant it, so I believed him.
I gladly stayed up late rewriting proposals with him and worked alongside him on-site. When he needed cash to keep the business going, I sold the house my mother had left me.
My coworkers would see how worn out I was and smile at me with a hint of mockery.
"Mrs. Smith is so lucky. With a husband like Mr. Smith, who knows how spectacular that wedding is going to be."
"Once the photos are up, we're all going to be very jealous of you."
Then, on the day Cecil finally made the Hall of Fame, everyone crowded around a phone and gasped.
He'd posted a photo on Instagram from a snow-covered mountain. It showed two passports and a wedding gown.
Everyone assumed he'd finally taken me abroad for our bridal photo shoot.
That was when I walked into the office with my suitcase.
They stared for a few seconds. Then the questions came, their voices oddly hesitant.
"Mrs. Smith, what are you still doing here?"
"Don't tell me you weren't the woman Mr. Smith took with him."