My dying wife asked me to find my first love as her final wish — when I learned why, my knees nearly gave out. The moment I knew why, my knees nearly gave out.

“What?”

“Carol was there that day.”

According to Anna, Carol had been in my mother’s house and heard the entire conversation. She knew why Anna had disappeared, and fifteen years earlier, she had even tracked Anna down and written to her.

I could barely speak.

“So Carol knew the truth?”

“Yes.”

That was when Carol’s final request finally began to make sense.

She had not asked me to forgive Anna. She had asked me to forgive her.

 
PART 3: THE SECRET CAROL TOOK TO HER GRAVE

Anna told me Carol had tracked her down about fifteen years earlier through her sister and sent a letter. Anna never replied, but the letter confirmed what I was only beginning to understand: Carol had known the truth about our separation for decades.

I struggled to reconcile that knowledge with the woman I had loved for thirty-six years. Carol had watched me believe Anna had abandoned me, married me while carrying that secret, and never corrected the story until she was dying.