Malevolent Metaphor

The sunset thawed into a puddle of orange, which was our personal covenant after our marriage vows. Fred looked me in the eye after the final, “till death us do part,” and promised me that there would be a blizzard at Gulf Shores before he’d ever quit loving me. God, I loved that man, and his eyes penetrating my soul told me he felt the same way. The gulls called to us, and the sea salt sealed our fate.
“Anne, you are the most beautiful woman that I’ve ever seen. I can’t believe God has given you to me. I love you more than mere words can express.”
“Fred, we have something so special. Let’s never take each other for granted or go to bed mad.”
“I’ve never loved any woman until I met you. I thought I knew what love was all about, but I was wrong. You’ve shown me what real love does to a man’s heart.”
We kissed, and then he slowly maneuvered my see-through Teddie off me. He kissed me again.
Since we both loved the beach but couldn’t afford the property, we moved to Robertsdale, Alabama. It was close enough to spend the day at the beach, and we could drive home for our nightly kiss. Robertsdale was a farming community where most people knew everyone in town. Although we were newcomers, we fit in because we joined the First Baptist Church and the Bar-B-Q Club. We were transplanted Westerners and found the South charming.
At first, we had a hard time understanding our friends and neighbors when their soft syllables rolled off their tongues as easily as butter melted on a good, hot biscuit. We had two children, Angie and Tom, and Fred joined the Volunteer Fire Department. I was homeroom mother and PTA president. We both felt that our roots found rich soil. Our love produced contentment and joy. Life was very good.

Since I was better at math, I’d always paid the bills. As a prudent spender, I’d set us up a savings account.
“Honey, I know you’re tired, so I figure I’d take over the bills, making one less thing you’d have to do.”
I was so appreciative of Fred. How did I end up with such a good man?

One day I drove out to the beach to walk and think. It was very cold. My intuition said something was wrong in our marriage. Snow started falling from the sky, and I knew the covenant had been broken. It took me six weeks to find the copies of the bills he had thrown away, just as he had thrown our marriage away.
I confronted him, and he lied. I watched the snow provide a covering of white in Robertsdale. It was almost as cold as his heart.