Hope

It was a lovely, different day for Hope. She was optimistic as usual, but that day she was more optimistic than ever. That day she was expecting her ex- husband for lunch. She wore a red dress because he always loved that color on her. She stayed all day in her kitchen just to prepare his favorite recipes that he always liked. She didn't worry that much about cleaning the house or organizing the furniture since everything was the same since he left 15 years ago, the way he liked.

Although she spent the whole day cooking, she didn't feel tired at all. On the contrary she was singing loudly, smiling as she remembered when they first met, their first date, their wedding…., etc. When she also remembered the day he told her that he wanted divorce, she stopped smiling for a while, but that was it. She resumed smiling again as she was always sure that he would return back to her sooner or later. Even on the day he told her about his desire for divorce, she was frustrated for a couple of days but she comforted herself that he would ask one day for her forgiveness and that he would realize his mistakes. Even when she knew that he was going to get married, she always thought that he would realize the difference between herself and the other woman and that he would regret leaving her.

She never hated him not even for a second. When he left home she kept his picture everywhere and when her friends and relatives asked her about the reasons behind this, she told them that she didn't want her son to think that there was something missing in his life. "I want my son to have a natural normal childhood", Hope said every time to anyone asked her about the reason. When her mother advised her to get over Jack and move on with her life, Hope denied loving him anymore and said: " Oh, mom! Don't be silly". Everybody around her knew exactly what she was through, but couldn't do anything to help her. She wouldn't let them.

But the truth is that Hope was never over him. Every night before going to sleep, she looked at pictures of him and herself when he was truly in love with her. She even put her ring on every night, thinking that she would wake up and would find him beside her as in the old days. When she missed his voice, she called him in the middle of the night pretending that she needed money or that their son had problems at school or any other thing. For years, she couldn't find comfort with any other man except him. She ignored many men who showed lots of interest in such a beautiful and successful lady like her. For her, their compliments were nothing if compared to those he used to tell her a long time ago.

When her son told her that his father called and said that he would come the following week, she was over the moon. She was sure that time that her dreams during the last 15 years would at last come true. That day when he showed up he was alone and that even made her feel more comfortable. Jack had greatly changed. He had white hair, put on a lot of weight and looked much older. But she didn't see that. She only saw him as the young handsome Jack that she met about 20 years ago. She only saw Jack whom she always loved.

The first thing he said to her was: "Hope, you've changed a lot". She was embarrassed and she even blushed. She thought that she was always 30 years old, but she didn't care much about that comment. The important thing for her at that moment was the fact that she was with him again. Jack knew exactly what was going on in her mind. He knew that she still loved him which made him feel uncomfortable. He avoided looking at her that day as he got really nervous because of the way she treated him. When they sat to the table, she kept her eyes on him. "I've made your favorite jambalaya ", she told him waiting for his compliment.

"Well, I don't eat meat now. I'm vegetarian", Jack replied.

"What do you mean? Are you kidding me? Don't you remember how we used to make fun about those vegetarians? ", said Hope with an embarrassed smile.

"That was a long time ago, Hope. People change in case you don't know", he replied angrily. "Of course, this is always typical of you", he added.

Hope was speechless; she stared at him saying nothing at all. Their son felt the heat and tried to cool everything down. He wanted to change the subject. He turned to his father and asked him about his wife and why she didn't come with him. Jack replied that she was visiting one of her friends. That's when Hope was frustrated. Her dreams came to an end. She stayed quiet till the end of that evening. He was not the same man whom she loved 20 years ago, she thought.

When he left, she felt that the world had fallen apart. She locked herself in her room crying in silence. She regretted loving the wrong man. She regretted loving someone who had lost interest in her. She regretted hoping that the man who had forgot about her a long time ago, would come back to her. She regretted wasting her life. For her now, everything was in vain.