[OK caught ending] Rescue his wife, someone has to before she falls beyond reach.

John cannot let his wife stay on this path, he just cannot. He knows she came from a rough background. She grew up in a poor little town, her dad was an alcoholic and her mom cheated on him and left them when she was young.

Jennifer was never very open about what happened at home, but she seemed to despise her father. She had never spoken of it, and John never pressed her on a very private and very sensitive subject.

But for how loving she was, for how much joy she brought to the world when she was happy, Jennifer had come from a terrible place.

And she had left that place and met a terrible man in Steve, a manipulative strip club manager and hall of fame asshole. That man had taken a small measure of authority and used it for much more than it was worth.

And she had a path to escape her past, a college degree in a marketable field, where she would be able to earn a very comfortable living. He understood why she was willing to dance without clothing on, to pay the dues to get to the better life.

And it was all gone for her, all of it.

She was nearing her twentieth birthday, and she had made a lot of money as an exotic dancer while paying her own way though two years of college. Now she had given up a lucrative job and left school for not being able to pay for it.

“Jennifer, you are going to be ok,” John told his young wife, and he saw her countenance rise, there was a slight smile.

“I was offered a job, out of town Jenn, a good job,” He continued, “And I have taken it. It represents a big improvement, a lot more money.”

Jennifer **** a smile, obviously one she did not really mean, “I’m glad for you John,” she said, her voice cracking. She wasn’t happy for it, she really wasn’t. It meant John was leaving her behind.

John had come here prepared to divorce his wife, but he could not. He couldn’t leave her like this.

To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till **** part us.

John had meant it, he still wore his ring, he had kept his vows, he had not dated, and the two strippers trying to distract him at the pool party had been the closest he had ever come to being unfaithful.

Well this is for worse, and he had also had the for better part, and they would one day have it again.

“Well, are you up for relocation Jennifer?” John asked Jennifer, “Most of my stuff is packed, and I have plenty of room for you babe.” He smiled warmly as he saw Jennifer take it in.

He saw the darkness fall from her, he watched as her tired eyes found some brightness. He saw the **** smile become a wide smile, a genuine smile.

He saw tears flow, and then he watched in slow motion as his young estranged wife almost leaped from her chair at him, smothering him in a powerful hug.

Their embrace lasted a long time, for Jennifer it seemed very brief, but right now she never wanted to let go of him, and she never would again.

She had borrowed a car to get to their lunch, so he followed her to her friend’s apartment where she returned the car, and she rushed to gather her belongings.

They put what she had in the back of his truck, and she saw a uHaul trailer waiting where John was staying. They put her stuff back among his, where it belonged, and then spent the rest of the day cuddling on the bed John was using.

They didn’t have sex, they just held each other.

A few days later they left, on a long drive to a new town, a new home, and a brand new start. Leaving a hard past behind them in the mirror.

The two of them learned a hard lesson, and neither had to be taught it again. Love is not to be taken for granted, and neither is the trust of your partner.

Jennifer had to go back and testify in the case against Steve, but when her part was finished she went back home to John, and closed the door on that part of her past. She never went back to the old town again, and didn’t even follow the outcome of the case.

She began taking classes again, but mostly online, and at a much less costly local college, but this didn’t last very long, and didn’t need to. John was doing well at work, and within six months had earned a promotion. He could pay the bills, they had time for her to finish her degree.

Jennifer got herself tested often for STDs, and to her surprise, she had never caught one. After a year, she talked to John and then stopped using condoms.

They didn’t want to “try for kids” like some couples did, instead they just kept having sex, but she stopped using birth control. They wanted to let fate decide what their family was going to look like.

A few months later they found out that Jennifer was pregnant, and early the next year they welcomed a daughter into the world.

All of their days were not the same kind of happy, but they loved each other and their daughter, and they spent the rest of their lives trying to be the best versions of themselves for each other and their daughter.

-The End