A Wrinkle in Time

Chapter 1

The stewardess tapped my shoulder and informed me that I needed to bring my seat to an upright position as we were about to land.

My mind was too busy recalling the past. I was reliving the conversation I'd had with Lindsay 2 years ago on the night before I left. I was assigned to Kadena Air Force Base for a short overseas tour after two previous deployments to the Middle East. Saying my goodbye the night before didn't turn out as smoothly as I'd hoped.

Perhaps it was the accumulation of frustrations she'd held back for too long. Maybe I'd taken herpatience for granted once too often or perhaps it was just the added stress of my leaving. Whatever the case may be, the word divorce somehow got mentioned and highlighted a conversation that would haunt me for the next 2 years.

I recall I was in the middle of packing my bags and had temporarily misplaced all my paperwork when she said, " Joe, we need to talk."

These were words that usually never ended well for me in the past.

"We need to settle something before you leave! Stop packing and look at me will you?" she cried in frustration as I was rummaging through our closet.

"I'm sorry Lindsay but this is REALLY important! My passport, my ticket information its all missing! I'm supposed to check in early at the airport tomorrow. I need to find it now." I explained in a panic.

"More important than me and the kids?" she asked.

Startled I was jolted by the serious tone of her voice. She stood there with her arms crossed, lips pursed with her eyes staring at me over her thin framed glasses. Practically daring me to try to ignore her. I stopped to hear what she had to say.

"My colleagues at the University are all in agreement. They say the signs are all there. They're saying our marriage is headed for divorce. You need to give up drinking and finally settle down. I don't know if I can explain it any more plainly."

I'd been through this before, the all or nothing scenario her friends in the Psychology Department were so apt to apply to our marriage. I truly resented the interference of her friends. Somehow, I knew our well-being was not foremost in their minds. It never occurred to Lindsay that perhaps they just were jealous of her. I took a deep breath before replying, trying to choose my words carefully.

"I think they might be over analyzing your life. After all none of them are happily married. All of them are divorced if I remember right. Why criticize us when they're unable to make it work themselves?" I asked.

She shifted her weight to one leg and looked up at the ceiling trying not to make eye contact as she spoke.

"Ian says theres a pattern of neglect and that it's inevitable that you'll abandon me one day. He's seen it all before. It's classic actually."

In my mind I'd always suspected Ian had ulterior motives. He had always seemed attracted to Lindsay and seemed more than happy to belittle those outside of their closed circle of academic friends, which, in essence usually boiled down to me. 

"Well your colleagues are wrong. Our marriage is strong and I intend to prove it to you over the next 2 years. Just have a little faith."

"But Joe. I'm beginning to feel that they're right. I mean our worlds are so different. I love long philosophical discussions, classical music and documentaries whereas you prefer the backyard barbeques, malls and old TV reruns. What do we really have in common to bind us? Maybe Ian's right maybe our marriage was a mistake."

Stopping everything I walked over and gave her a long bear hug. I had no counter argument to offer. Everything she said was undeniable. All I had was heartfelt love and unfortunately an utter lack of words to convey it properly.