The Love She Took for Granted

My wife was an attending cardiovascular surgeon. When her first love’s father suffered a sudden brain hemorrhage, she spent thirteen hours pulling him back from the brink of death. After that, she cared for him day and night, barely sleeping, tending to his every need. The other patients kept telling the old man what a wonderful daughter-in-law he had. He even made a wish. “I hope you two give me a grandson.” My wife blushed. “We’ll do our best.” I gave a bitter laugh and pulled out the divorce papers. Hope you have your little bastard soon! “Oh, Dr. Bennett, bringing another meal for your father-in-law?” “You’re a lucky man, Frank. Your daughter-in-law is beautiful and capable.” “I heard Frank might not have made it if it weren’t for Dr. Bennett!” Emily Bennett set down the insulated food container. With practiced efficiency, she began wiping the old man down. “It’s nothing. It’s what I should be doing.” My heart lurched. Emily was my wife, and she had never lifted a finger at home. She was an attending cardiovascular surgeon. Her hands were meant to hold a scalpel. A man crouched beside her, handing her towels and occasionally brushing the hair away from her face. “Emily, thank God I have you.” “Don’t be silly.” The sight of them whispering into each other’s ears drew sighs from around the room. “If only my daughter-in-law were like her.” Standing outside the door, I stared coldly at the man. I knew him. His name was Jason Miller. He was Emily’s first love. They had dated for four years in college and broken up after graduation. Before we married, Emily had promised she would never see him again. Now she was practically his wife. Bang, bang, bang! I pounded on the door. “Dr. Bennett, you take such good care of your patients. If only you took care of yourself.” The smile froze on Emily’s face. She immediately pulled her hand away from Jason’s arm. “Ryan? W-what are you doing here?” “Well, I came to see whether my wife was taking care of herself, of course.” A cold smile curled my lips. “If I hadn’t, how would I have known you were capable of taking care of someone else?” Whispers immediately spread through the room. “What does he mean? Aren’t Dr. Bennett and Jason together?” “Then why does Emily come here every day to look after Frank?” Emily’s face stiffened. Jason stepped forward, putting himself between us. “If you have a problem, take it up with me. Leave Emily out of it.” I narrowed my eyes, my expression darkening. “Leave her out of it? What, did you threaten her into coming?” Before he could answer, a nurse who had heard the commotion hurried over and ushered me out. “Sir, please take this outside. The patients need their rest.” I gave Emily one long look. “I’ll be waiting in your office.” Sitting there, I smoked several cigarettes before I could get my anger under control. I had intended to let Emily explain when she arrived. As a doctor, this wasn’t part of her job. But if she had told me the nurses were too busy, I would have believed her. Even a lie would have been better than no explanation at all. Unfortunately, I waited three hours without seeing so much as a glimpse of her. Only then did I realize she didn’t care how I felt.Back home, I buried myself in a bottle of whiskey. Emily didn’t return until seven. The moment she walked in, she demanded, “Ryan, where’s dinner? You had time to make a scene at the hospital, but you couldn’t cook?” I lay on the couch without answering. Scowling, she went into the bedroom, changed, and headed for the door. “Since you didn’t cook, I might as well let Jason take me out to thank me. You’re on your own for dinner.” I couldn’t hold back any longer. “Drop the act. Even if I’d cooked, you would have found an excuse to leave. Do you really think I’m that stupid?” Emily looked down and put on her shoes, her expression cold. “Think whatever you want.” With that, she reached for the door. Bang! I slammed it shut and asked through clenched teeth, “Don’t you have anything to say to me?” Since we’d gotten married, I had never made her deal with a single household chore. When her parents were hospitalized, I took care of them. I had even handled everything when her younger brother got married. All because she was busy with work and didn’t have time. But what I had seen today made me realize she did have time. She just didn’t have any for me. “There’s nothing to say.” Emily swept a cold glance over me. “Move. I’m hungry, and I’m going out to eat.” “Emily!” My eyes burned, and my voice turned ice-cold. “You’re my wife. Do you really think this is appropriate?” She frowned, looking thoroughly annoyed. “Is it inappropriate for a doctor to help care for a patient?” “Is it inappropriate for a patient’s family to buy me dinner as a thank-you?” “Tell me, Ryan. What exactly have I done wrong?” I took a deep breath. “Everyone in that room thought you were Jason’s wife. Why didn’t you correct them?” “And I waited three hours in your office this afternoon. You never even showed up. Do I mean anything to you?” Emily folded her arms and scoffed. “What was there to correct? Does them saying it make it true? Can you stop being so childish?” “I had surgery this afternoon. I was operating. Is that a problem?” Looking at her, I was at a loss for words. Emily pushed past me and left. I stood alone in the living room like an idiot. Was I overthinking it? Was I being petty? Was I supposed to pretend I hadn’t seen anything and keep dinner ready for someone who might come home at any hour? Was I supposed to let her take the soup I made and play the devoted wife to another man? Let everyone at the hospital watch Dr. Bennett playing the perfect daughter-in-law at another man’s bedside? Her own parents were in their sixties, in poor health, and frequently admitted for treatment. Where was she then? I couldn’t understand how we had gotten here. It felt as though someone were cutting pieces out of my heart. Ever since our wedding, I had given in to her on almost everything. Whatever she wanted, I did my best to provide. My own parents had died young. Whenever hers so much as caught a cold or ran a fever, I went to check on them. Whenever her brother and his wife needed help, I never turned them down. I thought loving her meant doing a little more, carrying a little extra weight. I wanted her to be happy. I wanted to make life easy for her. But when had she started taking all of it for granted? Love was supposed to go both ways. Whenever something didn’t go her way, she would start working overtime and disappear for days. Unless I went to the hospital and begged her to come home, she wouldn’t even send me a message. Just like today. She knew I was upset, yet she left me waiting for three hours. Then she came home without a single explanation. Only now did I understand. Everything I had done meant absolutely nothing to her.Ding! A message came in. Still lying on the couch, I opened it. It was a video from my friend Chloe Parker, who worked at the hospital. Emily and Jason were drinking at a bar. Jason had his arm around her shoulders. Instead of pulling away, Emily leaned closer into him. She lifted her glass and held it to his lips. “Ryan, how can you put up with this? I want to walk over there and slap her myself!” Listening to Chloe’s voice message, I took a deep breath and typed a reply. “It’s fine. Emily helped take care of his father. He’s just buying her a drink.” “Stop lying to yourself. Look at them. Does that look like a woman who cares about her husband?” I lowered my head with a bitter laugh. She was right. Did Emily care about me at all anymore? After all these years, Jason had come back, and suddenly she was too busy to even come home. Was she really that busy with work? Deep down, I knew the answer. I just didn’t want to believe it. “If you don’t believe me, call her right now. See if you can get her to leave Jason!” Chloe’s message rekindled a little hope. Maybe I really could get her to come home. We were still husband and wife, after all. I quickly dialed Emily’s number. She rejected the call almost immediately. I refused to give up and called again. She finally answered on my third attempt. “Will you stop? What do you want?” “I… Emily, my stomach hurts. Could you bring me some medicine?” I had suffered from stomach trouble for years. In the past, whenever Emily heard I was in pain, she would bring medicine and make me soup. But now… “You’re a grown man. Why are you calling me over something like this?” Even the noise around her couldn’t drown out her anger. “Figure it out yourself. And stop calling me!” The line went dead. I held my phone, my eyes dull with disappointment. One little test had left me with nothing but crushing despair. Ding! Another message from Chloe. In the video, Jason was helping Emily out of the bar. “Ryan, I just heard them say they’re going to a hotel. Get over here!” “Forget it. Let them go.” I turned off my phone and took a beer out of the fridge. I lost count of how much I drank that night. When I opened my eyes again, empty bottles covered the floor, with cigarette butts scattered everywhere. I had just washed my face, clearing a little of the hangover from my head. Then the front door opened. Emily walked in, froze for a second, and immediately flew into a rage. “Ryan!” “Are you trying to drink yourself to death? Couldn’t you at least clean up afterward?” “And who said you could smoke in the house?” I came out of the bathroom, my expression blank. “Where were you last night?” A flicker of panic crossed her eyes, but she quickly glared at me. “You have the nerve to ask? I was working overtime at the hospital, and what were you doing? Getting wasted at home?”Looking at her, I felt as if I were staring at a stranger. “What’s with that look? You have ten minutes. Clean this up!” Emily stormed into the bedroom. I lit another cigarette and sat quietly on the couch, waiting. Twenty minutes later, she came out in fresh clothes. Seeing the living room still in chaos, she shouted: “I can’t live like this anymore!” I looked up numbly. “Emily, let’s get divorced.” Disbelief filled her face. “What did you say?” I blew a smoke ring. “Let’s get divorced. Today.” “I…” She started to speak, but I cut her off. I held my phone in front of her. On the screen were the videos Chloe had sent me the night before. The last one showed Emily and Jason checking into a hotel. I had only seen it when I turned my phone on that morning. “Jason was drunk last night, so I…” “No need to explain.” I put my phone away and went into the bedroom to get the paperwork we would need for the divorce. “Let’s go.” Emily lowered her head and stayed silent for a long time. “No. I’m not signing!” “Forget it, Ryan. It’s not happening!” I sighed. “That video won’t help your case. Agree to a settlement, and you can still walk away with some assets. Otherwise…” “Nothing happened between me and Jason!” Emily glared stubbornly at me. “Even if you file, you don’t have direct evidence. There’s no guarantee you’ll win. You’re not divorcing me!” Bang! She slammed the door behind her. I shook my head and started packing. Over the years, so she could focus on work without worrying about anything else, I had managed the house and written scripts in my spare time. None had become a huge hit, but I had made good money. Enough to live comfortably for the rest of my life. I had finished packing and was about to leave when Emily’s younger brother, Ethan Bennett, arrived. “Ryan, what’s all this?” I glanced at the suitcase in my hand. “Oh, I’m going home for a while.” “Home? Isn’t this your home?” Ethan sat on the couch, glanced at the empty bottles on the floor, and asked cautiously, “Did you and Emily have a fight?” I shook my head. “What do you need?” “Well, my wife and I want to take a trip. Mom and Dad have some treatments coming up. Could you look after them for a few days?” “Ask your sister. If she has time to care for someone else’s father, she should have time for her own.” I smiled and stood. “Oh, and you won’t have me as a brother-in-law much longer. She’s found you a replacement.”