I Left My Husband To His Sixty-Year-Old Old Flame

“At my sixtieth birthday celebration, after I finished my speech, my usually serious husband suddenly burst into tears. Then my son, daughter-in-law, and grandson did the same. Everyone stood up, with tears in their eyes, and walked towards me. Their sudden emotional displays made me a bit uneasy. I wiped the sweat from my hands and raised my arms, hoping to offer a hug. But my husband brushed past me. Then my son, daughter-in-law, and grandson did the same. My husband held onto the hand of the person behind him with his incessantly trembling hands. My son cried out, "Nina!" My daughter-in-law and grandson eagerly suggested they catch up properly. For forty years, I had poured my heart and love into this family, only to be utterly defeated by someone returned who held a special place in my husband's heart. Nina Sanders, the one who had had a relationship with my husband, had developed Alzheimer's. Her memory now regressed to when she was eighteen. She stared at me and asked me who I was. Seeing the family act like they had their worst enemy here, I laughed, "Just an outsider."”