Still Getting to Know Him

It’s amazing, really, the things I’m still learning about my husband. It’s one of the hardest things about losing him–the fact that there are things I may never know.

Not long ago, I found a high school literary magazine belonging to Chuck. I took a glance just to see if recognized any of the names in it. To my surprise, Chuck’s name appeared as the author of a short story. It was a science fiction story.

I knew that he had been in plays (Brigadoon was the one he mentioned most often). I knew that he had been a runner. But I did not know that he had ever written fiction–ever. He had never mentioned. it. The writing–and reading for that matter–that I knew he did most was for work. He wrote proposals and contracts all the time. And he was pretty good at it. This was different. It wasn’t bad. But it was definitely the writing of a high school student. And one who was definitely interested in science and science fiction.

I had a high school friend’s mother once tell me that she was still learning interesting things about her husband (they had been married over 25 years). At the time, I thought she must not have been paying attention over those years. I thought that there couldn’t possibly be things that people didn’t know about each other after all that time. I now know how she felt, though. As well as I knew my husband, there was still more to know. We didn’t really have secrets between us–but there were still life stories to tell. And now there will be some stories I’ll only know through people who knew him. How grateful I am for those people and the stories they share with me.