I Went to the Theater Alone on My 63rd Anniversary… Then a Stranger Sat in My Wife’s Seat and Handed Me a Letter and Said, “Your Wife Asked Me to Pass Something on to You”

He shrugged slightly.

“I’m still here.”

Later, I asked for his birthday.

When he told me, something clicked.

Every year, on that exact date, Gloria used to leave for about an hour.

She always said she was going to church.

She’d come back quieter than usual.

I never asked questions.

Turns out… I only ever knew the edges of her silences.

“She remembered,” Daniel said.

“Every year.”

I asked him, “Did she think I would forgive her?”

He shook his head.