A woman awakes during the night to find that her

husband is not in bed. She puts on her robe and

goes downstairs to look for him. She finds him

sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee in

front of him. He appears to be in deep thought,

just staring at the wall. She watches as he wipes a

tear from his eye and takes a sip of his coffee.

“What’s the matter, dear?”, she whispers as she

steps into the room, “Why are you down here at this

time of night?”.

The husband looks up from his coffee, “Do you

remember 20 years ago when we were dating, and you

were only 16?” he asks solemnly.

“Yes I do” she replies.

The husband pauses. The words are not coming easily.

“Do you remember when your father caught us in the

back seat of my car making love?”

“Yes, I remember” says the wife, lowering herself

into a chair beside him. The husband continues. “Do

you remember when he shoved the shotgun in my face and

said, either you marry my daughter, or I’ll send you to

jail for 20 years?”

“I remember that too” she replies softly.

He wipes another tear from his cheek and says,
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“I would have gotten out today…”