Ashley sat on the edge of her bed frozen in utter disbelief, as she stared at the name displayed across the screen of her phone. It was as if time stood still for a moment.
DO NOT ANSWER.
It was him.
All the memories of their toxic affair started to flood her mind. The last time they spoke it was a war of words and things were said, out of anger, that there was no coming back from. The conversation and relationship ended when she hung up on him mid sentence.
Though she vowed never to speak to him again, deep down, she had been longing to hear his voice; secretly yearning for reconciliation.
Why would he be calling after 5 months? What does he want? Ashley questioned. In the midst of her anguish, she had to make a decision. She was fully aware that answering his call meant that she could risk undoing all the progress she made to heal and the work she put in with her therapist.
Therapy ain’t cheap, she reasoned as a means to justify ignoring his call.
The phone stopped ringing.
Relieved that the decision was made for her, she could finally exhale and have a much needed glass of wine.
As she rose to her feet, her phone began to ring, once again. The sound of the ringtone startled her and she lost her footing, tumbling to the ground. She scrambled to get up and retrieve her phone. DO NOT ANSWER flashed across the screen. Taking it as a sign, she took a deep breath in through her nose then exhaled through her mouth and answered the call.
He.. hello?
As soon as he heard her voice, he let out a sigh of relief. After his first call went unanswered, he was worried that Ashley was really done with him and would never give him the time of day.
Chris remembered their last conversation, too, and all the hurtful things he said to her. Although he didn’t mean a word of it, his pride and ego wouldn’t allow him to call back after Ashley hung up on him.
_______________________________
“Ash”, he finally responded in a deep raspy tone.
The sound of his voice reignited the love she once had for him and the anxiety she felt burned away. She realized just how much she missed him.
Before the last bit of her good sense melted away, too, she took a sip of wine and gathered her thoughts.
“How can I help you Christopher?”, she said, trying her best to sound annoyed.
“I know I’m probably the last person you want to talk to right now but I need you to hear me out”, he answered, ignoring her tone.
Without giving her a chance to agree or not, he began to speak.
“Listen Ashley, I love you. I’ve always loved you. Over the years with us being on and off, I realized it never worked with anyone else because I was looking for you in other women but they could never measure up to you. I always knew deep down that you were the one but a part of me feared that you were too good to be true. I was a fool for thinking that and I regret everything. I’m so sorry for the pain I caused and for hurting you. These last few months, I really had time to think about my life and future and honestly I can’t see my future without you. Ash, I want to spend the rest of my life with you”.
Ashley was speechless. She couldn’t believe what she just heard. Finally! Finally, he apologized for all the pain he’d caused her over the years. Finally, he admitted that she was good enough and had always been good enough.
With an empty glass of wine, Ashley sat on the floor trying her best to process everything Chris said. She waited so long to hear those words.
There was dead silence on the phone.
“Ashley?!”
“Ash?!”
“Hello?!”
“Are you there?”
“I’m here”, she finally answered.
“Please, say something”, he pleaded.
“Why now?”, Ashley asked, probing for a better understanding of this sudden revelation.
“Like I said, no one could ever measure up to you. You were always everything I could ever need in a woman; in a wife. I’m lost without you Babe”.
“I see”, she answered, her voice completely void of emotion.
“Is that all you have to say?”, Chris asked. He was baffled by her reaction to what he thought was a great profession of his love for her.
Chris began to grow impatient. In an effort to be more convincing of his willingness to commit, Chris decided to ask if they could meet up to talk things out in person.
“You know what? How about I come over so we can ta…”
“No!”, Ashley quickly interrupted.
“No?”, he asked genuinely confused.
“You heard me ”, she said sternly. She wanted it to be clear that a meet up would not be happening.
“ I thought this was what you’ve always wanted? I’m trying to give you that now and here you are being difficult,” he snapped.
It was no surprise to Ashley that the tone of his voice changed from soft and pathetic to that of the arrogant man she was familiar with. Ashley had half a second to decide if she would hang up or continue the conversation. She decided on the latter.
“I wanted you to recognize, appreciate and reciprocate the love I gave to you when you had it. How dare you call me difficult for not accepting your mediocre, self centered apology. Be honest with yourself, Chris. It wasn’t about other women not being able to “measure up” to me, you came back because the other women wouldn’t put up with what I did for the sake of “love”. Well, guess what? Five months was enough time for me to realize that I am worth so much more than what I chose to accept from you. With that being said, I decline your lackluster proposal and I want nothing to do with you. Be well."
Without a pause, she hung up on Chris for the last time and immediately updated his contact to BLOCKED!
Ashley decided to refill her glass of wine. Afterwards, she made herself comfortable on the sofa. Gleefully, she raised her glass in a pretend toast to honor her bravery. She felt so much relief after officially letting go of what no longer served her.
"Cheers to me", she said, proudly.
A week later, while scrolling through Facebook, Ashley came across a photo that Chris was tagged in by a mutual friend. Her jaw dropped and she couldn't believe her eyes. In complete shock, she stared at a photo of Chris, in what seemed to be a hospital room, holding a baby.
The caption read: Congratulations to my friend Chris on the birth of his son Ashton!
The End.