Chapter 256

• After the ceremony he took her to a nice restaurant. He had the plane tickets in his pocket and a lovely diamond bracelet he'd noticed her looking at. She was preoccupied and glanced at the entrance a few times while they waited for their order. He decided he'd waited long enough and reached into his pocket when he saw Derek LaRue, a classmate of Wendy's, step into the entrance of the restaurant looking for someone. Ben froze and Wendy noticed. She turned and saw Derek then looked back at her husband. The bitter smile was back and Ben felt his heart crack in two. Wendy's frequent late night 'study sessions with her classmates' suddenly took on a sick new meaning. He looked desperately at his wife and knew it was over but he wasn't ready. She took off her wedding rings and left them on the table. She got up and walked out with Derek. She didn't look back.
• Ben picked up the rings in shock then ran after her but they were already driving out of the parking lot. He never saw or heard from her again.
• The next five years were a blur for Ben. He was never much of a drinker so it didn't take much to get him tipsy. He'd drink just enough to dull the pain every day. He sat on a folding chair in his driveway watching his neighbor's kids play until the sun set behind the park grove. At first he'd watch the road hoping to see Wendy drive back but in time that hope died and his heart died with it. Some of the wives in the neighborhood looked in on him from time to time and he was polite but the raw sorrow in his eyes was painful to see. They were assured he wasn't a danger to himself or the kids he watched and gradually they stopped coming to speak with him. When he lost this human contact he stopped shaving and let his hair grow out once more. He overheard some of the kids calling him Hagrid but he had no idea what that meant.