“There’s something I should have told you a long time ago.”
I didn’t move.
“A couple of years ago,” he continued, “I started having a health problem.”
He struggled even to say the words.
“It affected… that part of our marriage.”
Suddenly everything made sense.
The excuses.
The turning away.
The nights on the couch.
Robert rubbed his hands together nervously.
“The first few times, I thought it was temporary. Then it kept happening. And instead of telling you, I became embarrassed.”
“Embarrassed of me?”
“No.”
He looked up quickly.
“Embarrassed of myself.”
His eyes were wet.
“I thought you would look at me differently.”
I stared at him.
“For two years, Robert, I thought you were looking at me differently.”
He said nothing.
“I bought new clothes because of you.”
His expression changed.
“I changed my hair.”
“Linda…”
“I stood naked in front of a mirror wondering which part of me had become too old for my own husband.”
