We were sitting at the dining table. My husband, Martin Short, was looking at me in sorrow as he said, “I’m really sorry, Louise. I’ve been hiding something from you throughout our marriage. But now, I can no longer bear the weight of my conscience.”
My heart skipped a beat as I hastily looked around, only to confirm that I had indeed been reborn. I had gone back in time to the day Martin pretended to be a wanted fugitive!
As I looked at the insincere act he was putting on now, I felt nauseated.
Martin continued to bury his head and sob.
“To be honest with you, Louise, I’m a wanted fugitive. When I was still an 18-year-old teenager, I robbed someone for money, and the man died. He had a wife and a child. I have no idea how they survived without him. I feel the need to pay for my actions now.”
Sniffling through his tears, he grabbed my hand and continued, “As my wife, you’ll support me, right?”
My son, Daniel Short, and my mother-in-law, Patricia Oswald, were both seated at the dining table too. However, neither one seemed flustered by what was happening.
Honestly, I was tempted to laugh. It turned out that every single one of them knew the truth. I was the only one who was kept in the dark.
In my previous lifetime, to make up for Martin’s actions, I would head over to the supposed victim’s house and bow in apology to her every holiday.
I even used what little money I had left after feeding my own family to buy the victim’s family presents. To do so, I had to subsist on nothing but bread and water.
Just moments before I died, I found out that the woman to which Martin made me atone for his sins on his behalf was none other than Whitney Lewis, his true love.
The so-called widow and child left behind by his victim was in reality his mistress and the child that came from his affair.
The whole time, I felt glad I could do something on Martin’s behalf while he was in prison. Thus, the thought of them playing me for a fool the whole time while secretly making fun of how stupid I looked, infuriated me to no end.
Back at the dining table, Patricia began pounding her thighs.
She exclaimed, “You have ruined us all! What did we ever do to deserve this? Our family has always lived an honest, decent life. How did we end up with a rotten son like you? You even took a man’s life! Come! I’m taking you to the police station to turn yourself in!”
Patricia pulled Martin out of his chair and started heading for the door.
Martin took my hand and gazed at me affectionately. Then, he said, “I’m sorry, Louise. You’ll have to look after Danny on your own now.”
When he turned to leave, my heart missed a beat.
Feigning sorrow, I called out to Patricia, “No matter what he did, he’s still your son. Why don’t I take him to the police station instead? I have a friend who’s a lawyer. Maybe we can see if Martin can get a more lenient sentence.”
That was a lie, of course. Why would I know a lawyer? I was just trying to scare them.
“No!” Martin and Patricia cried out at the same time.
Patricia sported a rather awkward expression as she said, “Didn’t you say you’ve been suffering from a sore back lately? This won’t be an easy trip. I can take Martin myself.”
“Why don’t you guys want me to go? Could it be that Martin never committed any crime at all, and you’re just trying to fool me?” I asked doubtfully.
Upon hearing that, Daniel quickly lowered his head and averted his eyes. He was too afraid to say anything.
On the other hand, Patricia berated me for coming up with an excuse to abandon Martin.
Even Martin sported a hurt expression. He said, “I know it’ll be hard for you to raise Danny by yourself, Louise, but why would I lie about something like that?”
