Maria's Misconceptions Ch. 02

"Maria, the first time I saw you and spoke with you at the party with Gary, I thought that he was one lucky guy. My wife was starting to pull away from me then, her boss wasn't the first guy she slept with from Cutlar, I believe there were several before him," he said.

"Then why would you want me, after knowing what I did to Gary and I did on those tapes?" she asked.

"I knew there was more to the story than what I was told. . . I don't know how to explain it, I just knew that something had to have happened to get you to act that way. . . I also went to high school with Debbie the slut. . . You know. . . Debbie Nolan, and I knew you hung with her for a bit while she was at Cutlar."

"How did you happen to see the tapes?" she asked.

"Maria, after Karen left me for her boss, I. . . I didn't date again, I wasn't interested. I let myself go, threw myself into my work. . . I rented your first tape. . . Just for self. . . Well you know what I mean."

Maria smiled and nodded.

"I picked that tape because the picture on the box looked like you, then after watching, I realized that it was you. . . But it wasn't. . . It was the shell of you. Sure you looked like you were enjoying it, but something in your eyes. . . Something made me think that you were crying for help."

He paused again for a few moments, then continued,

"I saw you in those commercials for Jace's office, Mr Ballard represented Karen in our divorce, and even though he was representing her, I didn't get railroaded. I could tell that he was a nice man. And I was glad that you had gotten away from that asshole James Wilkens," Kevin explained.

"Jace was. . . I don't know. . . Did I love him? Yes I did. Was it as strong as my love for Gary. . .? No, no it wasn't, I realized when Gary died that I still loved him. . . I think that's what drove me and Jace apart, and the fact that he found out about the tapes," Maria said.

"For twenty years I wasn't interested in anybody. . . What happens? I walk into a bar in Columbus. . . Just for a beer, and my life completely changed. . . I look up and I see you, just as beautiful as you always were. And you were headed towards me! I thought that you must have seen someone you knew. . . Then you sat down next to me! Now you're my wife, and I have to pinch myself to make sure that it's real. . . I love you so much, Maria. Forget your past, you're here with me now."

"Kevin. . . I don't want you to feel like I'm comparing you to Gary. . . But you remind me of him so much, I feel a contentment with you that I haven't felt since I was with him. . . I almost feel like he would approve of our relationship. I also had a dream about Gary last night," she said.

"Was it a good or bad dream?" asked Kevin.

"I've never told you this, but the night before Gary died, I had a very vivid dream about him, and in it, he told me that he loved me. . . It was so real. . . That. . . That when I woke up the next morning, I wasn't sure which was real, the dream or the twenty one years since I'd left him, I honestly wasn't sure. It was like we had a connection, somehow. . . I can't explain it," she said.

"I was out of town when my dad had his heart attack, me and him were always close, I had a dream in which he told me to hurry home. . . I headed home that next morning. . . I got home an hour before he died. So I believe what you're saying, Maria."

Taking a deep breath, he then asked,

"Did it feel like he was trying to reach out to you again?"

"Yes. . . Yes it sure seemed like it," she said, as a lone tear ran down her cheek.

"Let's just say that. . . I think he approves of you and leave it at that. I made a terrible mistake twenty four years ago and I've been struggling to make up for it. . . I thought that big houses and new cars and big bank accounts were the key to happiness. I'm ashamed of some of the things that I've done, but I think I've been given a second chance. . . And I'm not going to screw it up this time. . ."

She paused for a moment. . .

"And you'd better head out or you're going to be late for work, we'll talk more tonight. . ." she said, "And I love you Kevin Marshall."

They embraced, Kevin kissed her goodbye and walked out to his old truck to head for work. Maria watched out of the window as he backed out of the drive. She reached over and turned the radio on as he drove away,

"Funny the thing you thought you'd never miss, in a world gone crazy as this. . ." Maria took to heart every word of Tim Mcgraw's song as it echoed through the living room, "I miss being somebody everybody knows there everybody knows everybody. . ."

As soon as Kevin's truck disappeared into the distance, a bright red '69 Chevelle SS roared down the road past her and Kevin's house.

Maria smiled,

"Thank you Gary, I'll always love you," she whispered.