Free Second Chance Bride (Rapid Romance Short Stories) by Krystal Kelly Page A

providing a decent place for us to live or to worry about how safe your wife is living here. Your dinner’s in the oven, cold as usual. I’m off to bed now and don’t bother coming to the bedroom. You can sleep on the couch!”
     
    I went into our bedroom and locked the door but this didn’t stop Jason from raving on the other side of the door.
     
    “The reason I don’t come home earlier is because of your ranting and constant questioning and demands. It’s your fault that I can’t hold down a job and it’s your fault that I get drunk all the time because I can’t live up to your high expectations. If you weren’t such a bitch of a wife I wouldn’t be so miserable.”
     
    I ignored his taunts and curled up in bed and started crying into my pillow. For the first time ever I had stood up to Jason but all I had done was make things worse.
     
    It is strange how things pan out in life. Jason was the big man at school, popular and he could do no wrong. Neil was the opposite with very few friends, certainly not popular, and the boy most likely not to succeed. Now things were the opposite. Neil was famous and successful and Jason could hardly hold down a job and he was very unsuccessful.
     
    I couldn’t deny that I still loved Jason but now I was worried that he will go out even more. I decided that I needed to do something to win him back from the booze because I was sure that deep down Jason still loved me with all his heart.
     
    Part Two
     
    Despite my belief that Jason still loved me and the fact that I now had a job for the first time since College, Jason’s behaviour didn’t change. He still went out drinking whenever he wanted to and he never told me when he would be home.
     
    My job was really my only solace as it provided me a break from the four walls of our depressing apartment and I met people through work who were friendly and helpful. I had even started to brighten up our apartment a little to make it look halfway decent even though the money I was earning was only a basic wage.
    Because Jason was hardly ever home early the radio became my stay at home companion. Every night I had it tuned to Neil Finn and his music montage show. Knowing Neil from school made the show seem somehow more intimate and I pretended that Neil was putting the show on just for me. There’s another irony. At school there was no way I would have gone out with Neil and now I am fantasising that he is courting me!
     
    I know that my fantasising sounds pretty stupid and immature but for me it was the only form of escapism I had from my miserable married life. However despite my misery and the way Jason treated me I still wanted our relationship to work.
     
    One night while listening to Neil an opportunity presented itself which could help me to win back Jason.
     
    Neil had asked for song requests over the airwaves and this got me thinking.  In two days time it was our wedding anniversary so I decided to ring into the show and ask for a special favour.
     
    “Hello is this Mr Finn? It is oh great. Look I’m after a special request for this Wednesday at 7pm. Can you do that?”
     
    “Well I’m not sure ma’am, you’ll have to give me some details first Miss …?”
     
    “Sorry Mr Finn. My name is Theresa Preston and I …”
     
    Neil interrupted me in mid sentence.
     
    “This is not Theresa Jones who married JP, Renwick High’s all star quarterback, the Theresa who nerds like me called Mother Theresa because she always treated people so nicely no matter who they were?”
     
    “Umm yes I guess it is but I don’t know about that Mother Theresa stuff.”
     
    “Well Mother Theresa if your request is something I can do then I most certainly will do it. Now what is it?”
     
    “Well Mr Finn …”
     
    He interrupted me again.
     
    “Please Mrs Preston call me Neil and may I call you Theresa?”
     
    “Of course you can call me Theresa …” I hesitated for a second before continuing, “Neil, now my request