by Unknown
At first, he didn’t sputter a word, and sat on a white, padded chair in the room. “Well, not exactly. I was the boyfriend that your wife had been seeing while you were in your coma. When she told me you came out of the coma, I was very happy for you. We had a long talk, and she wants to come back to you. As a former Navy Seal, a gentleman, and a caring person, I graciously broke it off and told your wife to come back to you.”
Douglas looked at him and jerked his head back as he was stunned about what he heard. Then, he looked at his wife and grit his teeth in anger. He pulled his head back and slammed it against the hospital bed. “Huh!”
She stood up and leaned over him, and held his hand tightly as she sobbed, for the second time in two days. “Sweetie, I am so sorry! There is no excuse for what I did. I thought you were dead, and that I would never be able to see you again. I thought it was over. Please forgive me!”
When he heard the word “forgive”, the pain and feelings of being betrayed, slowly dissipated – somewhat. He knew one thing – he would forever stay with his wife and be faithful and loyal to her, even if she betrayed him. He loved her so much, that he was willing to forgive her and give her a second chance.
He looked up at her, and gave her hand an affirmative squeeze. “I will forgive you, but I need some time. Baby steps. Okay?”
She smiled and panted as she lovingly took in the words. “You take as much time as you need. I will forever be your loving wife. I will love you no matter how long it takes.”
She reached into her black, leather purse and pulled out a legal document that was typeset on plain, white paper. The top of the paper said: “Motion For Divorce”. She tore it in half and threw it in the trash can beside his bed.
THE END
Game of Love
Chapter 1
“Isaac, ISAAC!” a sweet female voice called out in the middle of his dream. Isaac Miller turned around in his sleep, wondering who the owner of that sweet voice was. All of a sudden something came battering down on his head and all his dreams went flying through the window.
“Uh, what…what happened?” he asked, sitting up weary-eyed in bed.
“Wake up, you are late! Don’t you want to attend classes for the day?” the female voice said. Isaac looked up to her. Katie Fischer looked prettier than ever, though he could not point out what it was that seemed to be making all the difference.
“Hmm, class…right,” he mumbled as he slowly dragged himself out of bed. “Wait outside, let me change and get ready.”
Katie loitered on the lawn outside as Isaac got dressed and readied himself for school. Soon, he came jumping along.
“Alright then let’s go!” he called. The two of them walked along the road on their way to school. It was not a far way off from their home and did not take them more than fifteen minutes to reach the Amish Education Society School. This was how the two of them commuted to and from the place, since cars and motored vehicles were something largely shunned by the community.
“Why were you sleeping so late today? You knew we had classes to attend!” Katie could not stop complaining. Isaac kept quiet. She gave him a friendly shove, nearly pushing him off the seat. “You were out watching the Cleveland Browns game last night again, weren’t you?” she asked, almost angrily.
“Alright yes, I was at Ron’s place last night. So what? I thought I could get up on time. Sorry about that, now can you please stop making a big deal out of it?” Isaac said in protest. Katie didn't say anything but simply looked ahead down the road, continuing to walk with a sulking expression on her face.
When they had reached school, they found some of their friends were waiting for them near the main gate.
“Isaac, Katie, hey you guys are late again,” one of the boys said as they appeared. “What took you all so long? You nearly missed classes.”
“Sorry but this one overslept once again!” Katie said in a comical tone, pointing towards Isaac. They did not waste any more time in exchanging pleasantries with one another for there was enough time during the rest of the day for discussions.
For the moment, they could not think of anything else but concentrating on their classes.
Chapter 2
Isaac Miller and Katie Fischer were both teenagers from Holmes County, Ohio in the United States, and they were part of the large Amish community who had made the region their home. Isaac was twenty-one years old and Katie was one year his junior. The two of them lived on the same street in the city and had known each another since the day that they had been born. From their very first day, the two of them had been inseparable, with Katie clinging on to Isaac like a shadow. They had become good friends over time and had gradually come to accept the fact that one was incomplete without the other person.
The story of their friendship had started – or it was thought to have started – long back, since the time their mothers had become friends. As part of a community that always prided in keeping itself apart from the rest, it was always bound to be something of the kind that brought them together. The two women had met at a community festival and became good friends with that friendship continuing down the years. When their kids were born, they too developed an undying spirit of friendship that had lasted so long.
Though they were part of a community that led an unconventional lifestyle compared to what the norm was in the present civilization, the fact that most of the people who were part of the student community in the college were Amish helped prevent the two of them from feeling out of place. Their unerring friendship also created a feeling in the minds of their elders that the two of them were made for each other. Some of them went so far as to proclaim that once they were through with their period of Rumspringa they would tie the knot.
Rumspringa is the name used by the Amish community for referring to the period of adolescence in an individual. Otherwise a very conservative community, it is during these years that some of the restrictions are lifted on them and the teenagers are allowed to mix with “modern” people so that they could get a feel for the conventional way of life.
When Katie was old enough to understand all of this talk about marriage, she too realized that maybe there was some kind of truth in what the community elders said about her and Isaac. Mentally, she started preparing for that glorious moment when he would propose to her.
“What a moment that would be,” she would wonder while all alone. The young girl had even imagined some of the things that she would say to him at that very moment.
Little did she know that it would be a long while before that opportunity would present itself!
Chapter 3
When he was a young boy, Isaac’s father had tried helping his son develop a keen interest in all that was happening around them in the world. Though they did not have a television at home, he would never chide his son for wanting to go over to a friend’s house for a cartoon show or movie. He would also make young Isaac sit down with the newspaper and go through the pages in order to determine the areas where he took an interest. Though he did not pay much attention to things later on, Isaac felt a certain touch of attraction towards the sports pages, especially the football news.
Every day when the newspaper came in and his father was finished with reading it, Isaac would sneak into his room and take away only the sports pages. He would sit and sift through everything that had to do with football and it wasn't long before he had turned into a huge fan of the Cleveland Browns. Things took such a crazy turn that he would visit his friends every time there was a football game and even stay back at their house when possible to catch the action. Katie would often wonder what had gotten into her friend but there was never any objection from his parents, simply because they were not aware of what he was up to.
There wasn't much opportunity in the place where they lived that could help Isaac develop his football skills. However, he was never willing to give up. He had been watching the games ever since he was a little boy and knew enough about the game to manage a bit of practice
on his own. He had crafted his very own football and would take it out into the farm fields in the wee hours of the morning for some touchdowns and practice. Though it wasn't much, he would continue with the practice just so he could keep fit and continue living in the dream that maybe someday he would play football with the Cleveland Browns.
During the period of their Rumspringa, Isaac would often take Katie out to town on dates. This was allowed by the elders in the community so that the two youngsters would get to know each other better, They were open to the idea that they would be legally, religiously, and spiritually bound as a couple. It was on one such date that he realized where his real sense of interest lay.
It was a cool spring evening and a mild breeze was blowing all around. Isaac and Katie were in town, dining together at a small downtown restaurant. His college days were nearing their end and the two of them were busy discussing what he would do for a future living.
“Any plans yet?” she asked.
Isaac dug into a piece of cold salami. “None thus far! I am still wondering what I am going to do by way of a job somewhere.”
“As far as I am aware, there are no jobs near here. You will probably have to travel down to Columbus or Cleveland in order to find employment.”
“I don’t mind doing that!” he replied. “I’ll do whatever it takes to find a job.”
“Even if that means leaving me behind to move away to another city?” she asked with a quizzical look in her eyes. He looked up at her without replying, and continued savoring his food. Katie was not going to give in so easily. She was determined to find an answer. She thrust out a hand and put it on his hand across the table. “Tell me, will you do that?”
“Maybe I will,” he replied, very casually.
“Are you serious?” Katie let out a startled gasp, not sure she had heard him correctly.
“Try me,” he replied, a mischievous look on his face.
The two of them had a good laugh before he suddenly asked, “What about you? Will you be able to survive without me once I am out of this place, when the time comes?”
A pall of gloom descended on her face. She was about to say something but held back her thoughts. Katie looked down at her plate and didn't move for a while. Isaac wondered what was wrong with her when he noticed that she was in tears. Little droplets were streaming down her eyes and falling down on to the plateful of vegetables.
“Hey you silly girl! Why are you crying,” he said, a faint smile appearing on his face. He had not meant to hurt her but he felt bad for his unintentional unkindness.
“I don't want you bringing up that topic ever again do you understand?” she said, through incessant sniffs and sobs.
Isaac gave a smile. He reached out across the table and put his hand over hers. “Alright, I promise I won’t say something like that ever again. Happy now?”
Katie smiled and nodded.
“The next time I’ll simply pack up and leave without giving you any kind of information,” he added, teasing her.
“Not fair!”
He smiled one of his crooked smiles. “Everything is fair in love and war, and for the time being we are definitely at war!”
At that very moment, he felt like reaching out across the table and giving her a hug. She, on the other hand, wanted to put a knife across his throat. However, deep down inside their hearts both of them knew that there was nothing but loads of love for the other person. They knew that life without each other would be extremely tough, but then again both of them knew that they needed some arrangement to ensure they could handle it when the events took shape.
“Would you like to have something more?” Isaac asked when they had finished their food.
“No I think I’ll give dessert a pass. Would you like to have some?” she asked.
“Nope, I think I’ll say no there as well. Waiter, could you please get our check?” he called. The waiter presented them with the check, Isaac paid it, and soon they were out on the street walking back to catch the bus home.
They were chatting about a number of things while walking along the road. There was a television shop along the way and Isaac just happened to glance at it. What he saw caught his attention and dominated his thoughts for the coming days and would eventually prove to have a telling effect on how his future would eventually plan out.
Chapter 4
Isaac’s attention fell on a television store along the way. While usually there was nothing special about coming across such a store in a town, what was particularly attractive for him in this case was the fact that they were showing a Cleveland Browns game on TV.
Isaac and Katie discussed their life on their respective farms. She was going on about how she had had a tremendously tough time a few days back while moving a stack of hay around the barn.
“I was holding the bale of hay on my head when all of a sudden the rope that tied it together gave way and I was covered from head to toe in yellow straw. Now isn’t that funny?” she asked and broke into a helpless fit of laughter.
“Gosh, that girl must be crazy!” someone said nearby as a group of youngsters walked past. Katie was taken by surprise when she noticed that all of them were staring at her. The young girl was unable to figure out what was going on. That was when she realized Isaac wasn't with her and she had been laughing all on her own for so long.
Katie felt panicky. She was not used to being all alone in town and that it was late in the evening. She looked around, wondering how Isaac could have possibly wandered off in some other direction. He was not the absent-minded type and it was so uncharacteristic of him to leave her all by herself in the middle of town..
She decided to retrace her steps back up the way she had come. Katie had gone only a few blocks when she came across a television shop in front of which a small crowd had gathered. There was Isaac, eyes fixed on the screen as images from a Cleveland Browns game played out. Thanks to his madness about the team, she too had grown accustomed to some of the basic aspects of the game and there was no mistaking the orange stripes the team was wearing.
Isaac let out a hoot along with some of the others who had gathered around as their wing receiver Taylor Gabriel received a long ball from the defense and made a dash for the byline with the move culminating in a touchdown. The men cheered for their team, delighted at the strong performance.
“Isaac!” Katie called him from behind. He turned around, surprised to find her standing there with a furious look in her eyes.
“What?” he asked, still not able to figure out the reason behind her anger.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, still fuming.
“I was just watching the game for a few minutes,” he replied. “Where were you?”
She did not say anything but simply grabbed him by the arm and pulled him away from the crowd. “Do you even realize that you left me all alone in the middle of the road and suddenly disappeared? I could have been lost!”
The look of surprise on his face continued to grow. “But I thought you were standing right next to me!” he said in protest.
Katie aimed a slap at his hands. “It’s quite alright that you enjoy watching football games but that does not give you the right to lose focus of what is around you, does it?” she shouted.
“But…I thought that you were right there next to me,” he said in an innocent protest.
“You thought! For once, could you not stop thinking and just turn around to see if I was really there or not? How could you be so inattentive, Isaac? Does football mean more to you than me?” she said, tears starting to well up in her eyes.
“No, now my dear, I don’t think there is any need for you to cry,” he said, and tried to put an arm around her. She pushed him aside.
“Don’t do that,” she said and started walking away. Isaac knew that he had goofed up big time and followed her at a distance. After some time, she stopped and turned around, linking her arm into his before continuing to walk. Her anger had dissipated, he realized, but she was ve
ry upset. On the way home, they didn't say a word to one another. He made sure that she reached her home safely before returning to his own house.
Isaac went up to his room, freshened up, and then lay down in bed. Thoughts about the events of the day flooded his mind. No, these were not the thoughts about his strange and unnecessary quarrel with Katie – it had happened, he knew not how and he didn't spend too much time thinking about it. What intrigued him more was the Cleveland Browns NFL game that he had managed to catch live on television.
It was nothing new for him to catch a live game on the TV – he had done so many times in the past at a friend’s house. The thing that was so different this time around was the feeling it left him with. Never before had he faced such extreme difficulty in getting a game out of his head. He tried to sleep but the memories of the game simply refused to fade away. He twisted and turned the whole night. Flashbacks of the game appeared in front of his closed eyes almost as if he were watching it all over again.
The next morning, at around the break of dawn, Isaac finally managed to catch some sleep. When he woke up, Isaac thought that it was all over, like it had all been a disastrous nightmare. But when it started all over again while he was taking a nap in the cool shade of a tree, he realized that the time had come for him to make a very important decision.
He had to choose between living the simple life of the Amish, or aiming to become a superstar in the NFL. The incessant flashes of the Cleveland Browns game were almost like a signal of what he ought to do in life but he had no idea where to start. The moment could not have been more apt – it was almost the end of his Rumspringa season and the time when most Amish youth had to decide whether they wanted a Baptism in church, or a life that would allow them to escape the strong counter-cultural presence in the community.
Isaac knew that the decision had already been made on his behalf. He only had to make sure the steps were taken in the right direction and the rest would follow. For the time being though, he had no other option but to sit back and wait for the right opportunity to present itself.
