She hit her head and now she can’t remember that she loves you so the doctor is telling you it’s up to you to make her fall in love with you again.
“No way,” tell him.
He’ll say he understands. He guesses that if he were in the same situation, he couldn’t be sure that he wouldn’t take the opportunity to start fresh and marry someone new.
“It’s not that,” tell him. “I got her to fall in love with me when we were both in our twenties, when we were both fucking gorgeous, and when we both had nothing but hope for our future. Now look at me. Look in my eyes. Do you see any hope in my eyes?”
The doctor will say he only sees exhaustion and cowardice, the result of having spent years giving up your dreams. But she’s your age, he’ll say. She must have given up some dreams of her own.
“Dreams she doesn’t even remember,” tell him. “I remember the man I wanted to be, and I watched him slip away. She has no memory of the woman she thought she’d be. She has no baggage. No memory of the moments when she chose to compromise and take the safer path. She’s going to come out of that hospital with a completely clean slate. Not only hasn’t she given up on her dreams, she hasn’t even started dreaming her dreams yet.”
Jesus, the doctor will say. He’ll turn around to look at your wife like he was keeping his eye on a dangerous animal.
“She’s basically living the life you only get to live when you’re granted a wish by a genie. How am I supposed to convince someone with that kind of mindset to fall in love with me?” ask him. “When all I feel is jealous of the chance she has.”
The doctor will point out that considering everything you’ve said, it’d be almost cruel to lure her back into your life. Like tricking someone who escaped from prison to get back into her cell.
You and the doctor will take one last look at your wife.
“You married, doc?” ask him.
The doctor will say yes.
“If you love her,” tell him. “Don’t ever let her hit her head. Don’t let her forget all the reasons that made her settle for a guy like you.”
The doctor will look like he’d like to get to a phone and call his wife. He won’t stop you when you turn away from your wife and walk out of the ward.
Happy Amnesiac Wife Day!
