It’s a Miracle My Wife Continues to Stand by Me Considering All I’ve Put Her Through

I’ll never be able to express my gratitude, but I try every single day.

When my now wife and I first met I somehow knew, just by reading the words of her Craigslist ad that I had met my forever. I could tell she was a lot smarter than I was, which should have scared the hell out of me, and it honestly did. But something about her right from the start drew me in. She was quirky, witty, and just as much of a smart ass as I am, and even as dumb as it may sound, I think I fell in love with her just from reading her words.

Don’t get me wrong, the fact that I think she’s the most beautiful woman on the planet didn’t hurt.

She didn’t respond to my email right away. Her life was kind of crazy at the time but who was I to judge? She ended up waiting a couple of days and took a moment to herself and got a motel room for the night for some peace and quiet. While watching “Counting Cars”, she sent a quick note and we ended up texting the entire night. She definitely got brownie points for her taste in television that night. We both love old cars, Elvis, walks on the beach (cheesy, I know), and apparently, talking into the night.

It all sounds like a rom-com, doesn’t it?

I guess it would, except for one small detail I neglected to mention, even to her. I was already in a relationship.

I’d recently lost my great-grandmother and was going through a really rough patch in my life in general. I’m not making excuses, though I’m sure it sounds like it. At 22, I wasn’t making excellent life choices nor had I been for a while. I was just struggling in general. Working three jobs, trying to make ends meet, and covering the bills for two households just wasn’t how I saw my life unfolding but there I was, doing it anyway.

I had a young daughter and her mother who I wasn’t in a relationship with, but who I was supporting since she was the mother of my child. Or was trying to, anyway. She took advantage of that and I was dumb enough to let her, but in the end, I wanted to do what was best for my daughter, so I worked myself into the ground trying.

K was my friend from high school. She was a sweet girl who’d always been there for me when I needed a friend. I think deep down, I always knew she had a crush on me, but I never had any feelings for her beyond friendship. Over time, working three jobs became impossible as there are only so many hours in a day and a person has to sleep at some point, your body eventually forces the issue.

I lost my house and became homeless.

Thankfully, I still had my car so I just lived in it and kept one job. I was a volunteer firefighter at the time, so I would shower at the fire station, I’m particular about being clean. I tried not to let anyone know I was living in my car, I’m a proud person. But eventually, K found out.

She told her parents and they agreed I could come stay at their house under one condition. They wanted us to start dating.

Where we live is a small conservative Christian area. It’s still stuck in a 1950s mindset. I considered their caveat and thought, why not? I probably shouldn’t have, but I did like K, I just wasn’t attracted to her. At the time, I wasn’t seeing anyone seriously.

K and I talked and I told her I really didn’t intend to be faithful, that had never been my style anyway. She said she didn’t expect me to, but she did want me to tell her if I ever thought I was becoming serious about anyone. I said I would.

I met my now wife about a year after I began living with her and her parents.

Although I kept my word about telling K about Demi, I didn’t come clean to my wife until I was caught, and there was a lot more going on before that happened. K’s parents were intent on us getting married. K’s grandmother had fallen ill and she was to inherit her house. I agreed to marriage so she could do so. I didn’t want her to lose that, she didn’t deserve to miss out on something just so I could be with someone else. She’d been good to me for years, as a friend.

Our love story isn’t one for the ages in a lot of people’s minds and that’s okay. I wasn’t always the best boyfriend, fiance, or even husband. Being less than truthful from the beginning of our relationship has caused a lot of trust issues for us and that is all on me. It has taken a lot of time, but most of all, a lot of internal work on my part, for us to get to where we are today.

Demi is a saint, I’ll say that until the day I last draw breath. She saw something in me that was worthwhile and has stood by me, not only in our relationship, but through this nightmare of being wrongfully accused and accepting a plea bargain so that I can serve a shorter time rather than potentially be here longer, and get back home and begin our lives again.

There are times in our lives when we just know someone or something will be worth it, even if we can’t explain why. Demeter tells me she knew that was the case with me and with us. And I will spend forever showing her that she was right.

Demeter’s Story:

Damian Delune is currently incarcerated. His wife, Demeter publishes his work. He doesn’t have access to the internet or computers within the prison. If you would like to help keep him in contact with those he loves, you can do so here or here. We use tips to help purchase books and canteen items for him.