I Can Be That Woman

Björn and Agnetha had been married for seven years. Their band, ABBA, had been immensely successful and a year ago, they had welcomed their son Christian. Both of these things were marvelous; however, Björn and Agnetha's marriage was not going well.

Ever since Agnetha gave birth to Christian, all she wanted was to spend time with him, Linda, and Björn. However, though Björn loved his wife and children very much, he saw the success of ABBA as a high priority and therefore spent most of his time at the studio coming up with new songs. He expected Agnetha to be as invested in ABBA's success as well. Therefore Agnetha had even fewer opportunities to spend time with her family. On top of this, Agnetha dealt with terrible postpartum depression after giving birth to Christian, which caused her to push Björn away from her despite loving him very much. Björn could not deal with Agnetha's change in personality and began staying at the studio longer not just for ABBA's sake but also as an escape.

It had been forever since Björn and Agnetha had hugged, kissed, or made love. Neither could turn to the other to be held when they were upset anymore. They had been able to resolve their disagreements before; now they just argued to no end. Both of them felt like the love had left their marriage, until one day when it all changed.

Agnetha came downstairs; she had spent the night sleeping alone after she and Björn had gotten into yet another fight. Björn was asleep on the couch with their corgi, Tammy. Tammy looked straight up at Agnetha. Wow, even she looks upset with me, Agnetha thought. Then she shook her head. She's a dog, what does she know? But that doesn't make me any less upset. I still love Björn so much, why can't we be happy together like we once were?

Tammy jumped down, her short tail swishing like a feather under your nose. Björn then opened his bleary eyes and rubbed them. He's definitely been crying, Agnetha thought. And I hate to see him hurt. "I'm sorry," she told him.

Björn stood up, looking frail. "Fuck this!" he shouted, kicking a chair. Tammy jerked as she did every time Björn swore and licked Agnetha's fingers.

Bless her heart, Agnetha thought. No matter what her parents have gone through, she's always been so sweet and loving. I can't thank her enough for that. She felt sick to her stomach and her hands shook as she watched Björn; their fights always began this way.

Björn threw his hands up. "I've had it! Screw you!" he yelled.

A tear rolled down Agnetha's cheek. I never thought he would say such things to me, she thought. But I never thought I would treat him the way I've been treating him either. He hasn't been the man he should be, but I've let him down too. All I can do now is be the woman he fell in love with again.

"I love you," Agnetha said. And I mean it more than ever.

Björn turned to face Agnetha and looked at her as though he couldn't believe what he had just heard. This just shows how far gone I am, she thought. How could I hurt him to the point that he can't believe it when I tell him I love him?

Tammy wagged her tail; she was so happy to see that her parents' relationship was finally mending. Though Björn was on the verge of tears, there was a shimmer of hope in his eyes after hearing Agnetha's words. Agnetha wrapped her arms around Björn and held him tightly as tears rolled down his cheeks. "I'm so sorry for all the time I wasted hurting you when I should have been loving you," she said.

"Agnetha, I don't understand," Björn said through his tears. "Why are you doing this, are you drunk? You haven't said or done anything like this in so long."

Agnetha held Björn even more tightly and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Because I love you. So, so much. I'll never let you hurt because of me again."