Turning back to the room, I stood outside and looked at Wanda. She felt familiar, yet at the same time, like a stranger. I said softly, "It's cold outside. Take the down jacket I gave you last year and don’t forget the thermal underwear."
She shook her head. " No, Luigi called earlier. He’s already bought everything I’ll need."
"Now that we’re divorced, you should let go of everything."
"I won’t wear the clothes you gave me to see Luigi."
"It wouldn’t be respectful to him."
A bitter laugh escaped my lips.
This was supposed to be about divorce, but it was as though I was sending her off on a trip.
From now on, someone else would love and care for her. So, why would she need an outsider to worry about her?
Before long, her packing was done.
The large suitcase was filled to the brim, most of it gifts she had carefully chosen for Luigi.
After she finished, she opened her jewelry box and pulled out a string of yellowed pearl necklaces from the bottom.
She put it on and it was as though her entire being lit up.
I realized then that I had never seen her wear that necklace in all the years of our marriage.
There was no need to guess who had given it to her.
Our decades of marriage had been calm. We rarely argued and we treated each other with distant respect as though we were guests in each other’s lives.
I loved her deeply, wholeheartedly.
She loved me, too, in her way, but I felt like there was an invisible wall between us.
Over the years, she kept her silence and never showed anything strange. It was not until I saw the will that I understood the truth.
I finally knew that the invisible wall was Wanda's first love, Luigi Collins.
I vaguely remembered when I helped her out of her wedding dress on our wedding night, she cried.
I had thought it was because of the bittersweet sadness and melancholy of a young bride.
Looking back now, I realized those tears must have been for Luigi Collins and the words he had left her with.
In her best years, she did not marry the man she truly loved. I had to say that this kind of regret was one of life’s greatest sorrows.
And now, as her life drew closer to its end, she refused to carry that regret to her grave. That was why she made the will, to ensure she could rest beside Luigi Collins in death.