Delta's Diary

Sharon's Husband's Deathbed Love Affair

Sharon's Husband's Deathbed Love Affair

A couple years ago, my mother told me a juicy story about this woman she used to know. This woman's name was Sharon and her husband was dying of cancer. It's not a sad story, I swear! Just think of it as gossip.

Sharon's husband had one of those insidious cancers where he knew he was definitely going to die. Terminal. That's the word for it.

This would probably be a better story if the guy made some kind of miraculous recovery, but that's not what happened. Sorry.

After he died, his wife—Sharon—found out he'd been cheating on her. Apparently he met some lady on a cancer support website, like in a forum or chatroom or something like that. They both had the same terminal cancer. That's what brought them together. They understood what the other was going through, and they were there for each other in a way nobody else could be.

My mother told me all this. I didn't get it straight from the horse's mouth (sorry, Sharon—I know you're not a horse), so I don't know exactly how she found out about her husband's affair. Maybe my mother told me, but I just plain forget.

It could be that Sharon found evidence of the affair when she looked through her husband's computer, or maybe she found physical things, like hotel receipts.

Oh, I just remembered: the other woman was married, too. So they were cheating on their spouses with each other.

This whole thing started out as an emotional affair, but it turned into something physical. Good thing they didn't live on opposite sides of the globe or they wouldn't have been able to meet up. I'm pretty sure they lived in different towns, but not too far away from each other. They could drive to a midpoint while their spouses were at work and have their affair then.

I don't know why I find Sharon's story so salacious. Is that the right word? Or is it moving? Or is it both? Is it a lot of things? I think it would make a good book or a good movie. There would be so many emotions involved, if someone took the time to tell it right.

At first, Sharon would be sad because her husband had died. I assume that's where the movie or the book would begin. Then, in the movie or book, the other woman would come to the funeral. As all the mourners are leaving the church and paying their respects to the widow, this stranger comes racing up to her, shouting, “He should have been mine! He should have been mine!”

Or something like that. I don't know what she would yell. This didn't happen in real life, but in a book or a movie, you'd want her to make a scene. You'd want drama.

Maybe the other woman would tell Sharon, “Your husband meant everything to me!” or flat out, “We had an affair,” but maybe not. Maybe the incident (a strange woman shouting at her after the funeral) would plant seeds of doubt in Sharon's mind. Maybe that's why she would go searching through her husband's things, which is ultimately how she discovered the affair in real life.

So many emotions at play: love, sadness, anger... I can't think of too many emotions, but there would be a lot of those nuanced ones. At first, Sharon would be mad that her husband didn't come to her with his true feelings about his impending mortality, but he probably didn't do that because he didn't want to upset his loving wife. This other lady was also dying, so they could face the reaper together.

Maybe, in time, Sharon would realize her husband was only human. The affair had helped him through hard times. Maybe it was even good that he had a little joy in his life before he died. She might begin to feel happy for him. It is possible to love someone dearly and also feel glad that they've experienced joy with someone else. In the poly world, we call this compersion.

The movie or book would end with a scene of Sharon at the other woman's funeral. Maybe they would make amends somehow, or maybe this shot or chapter (depending on whether it's a movie or a book) would show the viewer or reader that Sharon had come to terms with what happened, and she had forgiven them both.

Sharon might even shake the widower's hand on her way out the door and a spark passes between them and she gets this surprised smile. And then you can't tell whether the look on her face is impish or hopeful.

If Sharon hooks up with her husband's affair lady's widower, will they be getting back at their respective spouses for cheating? Or will it just make them happy? Not everything has to be about revenge, right? Sometimes you can do something just because it'll give you a small moment of pleasure in life.