I Saw A Man And He Danced With His Wife

By Susan J.

The relationships I've had may not have been perfect but they were fun. When they ended, the romance may have been gone but the friendship still remained. I got involved with a man who I thought was the living end. He had deep brown eyes with long black lashes, a mouth that was totally kissable, a sense of humor that was great and a heart of gold.

I met Antonio one day in traffic when he couldn't stop quickly enough and his car rear-ended mine. He got out of his car to see if I was all right and from then on we began seeing each other.

I was so involved with the thought of him that I didn't even think to ask if he was married. I found out a few weeks into the relationship that he was married. I got to the point where, even though I loved this man; I began to hate the situation that I was in. He split his time between his wife and myself. One night when he was over at my place he noticed that something was wrong. We were sitting on the couch listening to music and drinking wine.

"Amore, what's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing. Why?"

"You look very preoccupied. What's on your mind?"

"I'm just tired, that's all."

"No, there is something else wrong. What is it?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"Yes."

I looked at his left hand and touched the wedding band that he wore.

"This is the problem."

"My ring?"

"Your wedding ring. A ring that I didn't buy for you. A ring that I didn't put on your finger. A ring that says that you belong to someone else oh, never mind," I got up and walked towards the window. He walked over to me and put his hands on my shoulders.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"Don't be. I should have asked you if you were married before we started the relationship."

"I should have told you that I was married. I do need to tell you something, though."

"What? That you are going to try and work things out with your wife?"

"Yes, I'm sorry. I didn't want to hurt you. You've never asked for anything and I feel guilty about doing this, but it's something that I have to do."

"I understand. Go back to your wife. I wish you the best of luck at working things out."

"Will you be all right?"

"I'll be just fine. It's been fun, Antonio."

"Yes, it has."

"Good-bye."

"Good-bye, mi amor."

As he walked out I kept looking out the window. When I heard the door close I felt my heart sink and the tears rolled down my face.

As the days passed, I learned to put on a face of 'I'm fine' for my friends, but as soon as I was alone I cried my eyes out. One night I went to a local dance club where I would go to have a drink now and then. As I sat at a table I took out a piece of paper and started drawing on it. One of the times when I looked up from my paper there was a surprise waiting for me, I saw Antonio walk in with a woman holding onto his arm. I then noticed that she was wearing a gold band like his and I knew that this had to be his wife. I watched then as they danced and talked. One of the times I made eye contact with Antonio, he looked at me and then continued dancing with his wife as if I didn't exist. I knew I had to leave; as I got my purse and got up from the chair, Antonio watched as I walked out the door. When I arrived home, I sat at my computer and started writing what I had experienced on this night.

I wrote:

'I was by myself drinking chilled lonely wine
Then he walked in with some woman whose place was once mine
And she wore his ring on her finger and the band began a song, I'd heard before
I saw a man and he danced with his wife, how I wished he was dancing with me
'Cause I remember before when we danced on this floor his eyes were always on me
Where did I go wrong they were playing our song while I was crying all night long
I kept watching as they danced slowly by
I kept on looking, kept on hoping but I couldn't catch his eye.
Then he got up and he saw me, but he just walked right on by, And danced with her

I saved my little poem in the computer and then I went to bed.

Over the next two weeks I started to feel much better and started going out. One night I decided to stay in and watch a movie and just relax. I got some munchies ready and I sat down on the couch waiting for the movie to begin. I heard someone knocking on the door.

"Shit! Now what?"

I got up and answered the door. I got the surprise of my life when I saw who was standing there.

"Antonio? What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you. Can I come in?"

"Sure. Come in."

We walked into the living room.

"Would you like to sit down?" I asked.

"Yes, thank you."

We sat on the couch.

"Antonio, is everything all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I just needed to talk to you in person."

"About what?"

"The night I saw you at the dance club."

"Oh."

"I didn't expect you to be there, it kind of took me by surprise."

"I know the feeling. So that was you wife that I saw you with."

"Yes. That's what I need to talk to you about."

He held my hand and looked into my eyes. He touched my cheek.

"I've missed you so much. I missed touching your face, running my fingers through your hair, kissing your lips."

"I've missed you too Antonio, but I can't live with the fact that I'm the other woman in your life and being the other woman means that I will always get the short end of the stick. I can't and I won't live like that again."

"I understand, that's why I stopped by. Carino, I left my wife."

I looked at him.

"You what?"

"I left her because I love you, so much more than I could have possibly known."

I opened my mouth to speak but he put his fingers against my lips to stop me.

"We both realized that it wasn't going to work and she filed for divorce and here is the proof."

He showed me the papers.

"I want you back in my life, baby. I need you back in my life. Will you take me back?"

We looked at each other.

"What does your heart tell you Antonio? Where is it now?"

"My heart has always been right here with you."

As I looked into his eyes I felt that he was telling me the truth.

"I'm scared, Antonio. What makes you so sure that your won't cheat on me?"

"I would die first before I would ever hurt you. I love you."

"I love you too."

"Will you take me back?"

I smiled.

"Yes, I will."

He hugged me so tight I thought he'd break me in half. His kisses were sweeter than ever. We made the most beautiful and passionate love I could only have imagined in my dreams. It was about three in the morning when I woke up and saw him sleeping so peacefully. I kissed his nose and got up from the bed. I put my robe on and walked into the living room. I sat down at the computer and turned it on. I pulled up the document that I started that night a few weeks back.

I wrote:

'Two weeks later I heard a knock on my door
He was back just like all those good times before.
Then he kissed me and he told me 'I left her cause I love you, so much, more than I knew'
I saw a man and he danced with his wife, but now he's dancing with me
Cause I remember before when we danced on this floor his eyes were always on me

I then saved the document and turned off the computer. When I turned around Antonio was standing there.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I was finishing a report. I'm all done."

He walked over to me and took my hand as I stood up.

"I love you so much."

"Do you really?"

"Yes, really."

We started laughing.

"Come on, let's go back to bed and I'll show you how much."

"Sounds like a good idea to me."

He held me in his arms as we walked back to the bedroom and I knew from this moment on this man was meant to be mine.