[Dave Mc]

A
woman awakes during the night to find that her husband is not in
bed. She puts on her robe and goes downstairs to look for him.
She finds him sitting at the kitchen table with a hot cup of cocoa in
front of him. He appears to be in deep thought, just staring at
the wall. She
watches as he wiped a tear from his eye and takes a sip of his hot
cocoa.

"What's the matter, dear?" she whispers as she steps into
the room. "Why are you down here at this time of night?"

The
husband looks up from his cocoa, "It's the 20th Anniversary of the day we
met." She can't believe he has remembered and starts to tear
up.

The husband continues, "Do you remember 20 years ago when we
started dating? I was 18 and you were only 16," he says
solemnly.

Once again, the wife is touched to tears thinking that
her husband is so caring and sensitive. "Yes, I do" she
replies.

The husband pauses. The words were not coming
easily. "Do you remember when your father caught us in the back seat
of my car?"

"Yes, I remember," said the wife, lowering herself into
a chair beside him.

The husband continued, "Do you remember when he
shoved the shotgun in my face and said, 'Either you marry my daughter or I
will send you to prison for 20 years?'"

"I remember that, too," she
replied softly.

He wiped another tear from his cheek and said, "I
would have gotten out today."