Ethel sipped her coffee. She was amazed how much of a difference a spoonful of sugar made. Up until three months ago, she had always taken her coffee black – no sugar. It was just how she had learned to drink coffee. Her coffee drinking habits weren’t the only thing that had changed. It all started when Edward came into her life.

When she met Edward at work and was told she would have to train him, she complained. That’s how she responded to change. She’d have to train another in a long line of manager trainees and then he would leave. They always did.

There was nothing noticeable about his appearance when she met him. Although, she noted he was the opposite of her husband Norm. Edward was short and round. His head looked bigger than it was because of the few strands of hair he tried to cover his whole head with. She was a bit disgusted at his wrinkly shirt but the pit stains didn’t bother her. In the small community in East Texas, most men had them.

Norm, on the other hand, was almost a foot taller than her. He was thin as a rail and always wore a cowboy hat over his full head of dark wavy hair. He was the only man who had ever asked her out on a date. When Norm asked her to marry him, she agreed because of the advice of her family and friends. She wasn’t sure what love felt like, so she supposed she loved him because he didn’t repulse her. That, and his light blue eyes. She liked his blue eyes. Her mother had told her not to worry if she didn’t think she loved him. Soon enough, the house would be filled with little ones and it wouldn’t matter how she felt about her husband. The love for her children would fill the house with the love everyone seeks to find. That was fifteen years ago. The couple remained childless.

Everyday had blended into the day before. There was no hope for the next day, just a desire to survive. Until Ethel met Edward.

When she tried to show him how to use the scanner to keep track of inventory, he commented, “Why did your mom give you an old lady’s name?”

Ethel continued her demonstration of the scanner.

“Seriously, when she saw her newborn baby, did she think, ‘I’ll give her an old lady’s name because one day she’ll be old’?”

Ethel stopped what she was doing and looked at him. His words were still processing in her head.

He smiled. Despite his other physical attributes, he had a warm smile.

At first, Ethel thought his comments were rude and uncalled for. Over and over again, his comments came to mind. One day while doing laundry she realized, he was right. She did have an old lady’s name. Ethel laughed and that was something she rarely did. In fact, she started laughing and couldn’t stop for forty minutes.

That changed everything. It was like she was waking up from a deep sleep and instead of dreaming about life. She wanted to live life. Every decision she had taken for granted, she was questioning. Since Edward was her alarm clock, she found herself spending more and more time with him. The more time she spent with him, the less time she spent with Norm.

Until the fateful day when Edward found out he was being transferred to a bigger store. He asked her to come with him. She had made a lot of changes in her life, but she wasn’t sure if she was ready for that change. So, she sipped her sweetened coffee and thought about his offer. She had made a commitment to her husband. But it was a safe bet, with Norm she would never feel like she felt with Edward.   For the first time in her life, she was thankful she didn’t have any children to weigh her down. Her decision would be hers only and only affect her. That wasn’t true, it would affect Edward also. Would it affect Norm at all if she stayed or if she left? But what would her mother say if she got a divorce? With her bad heart, it could kill her. She shuddered at the thought.

Ethel glanced at the kitchen sink where a pile of dishes waited to be washed. She shrugged her shoulders and looked out the window and saw the afternoon sun was getting lower. If she waited much longer, the decision would be made for her. Edward had a five o’clock bus ticket and Norm would be home from work.

She nodded her head. “It’s time for action,” she said out loud and sighed. She had made her choice.

You finish the story.  What was her choice?