30 Seconds...

The other day, my husband had an awful experience...
It was a beautiful day so that morning I sent a text to my trainer and asked to take our workout outside.  On really nice days we walk/jog along the harbour and the sea front.  I'm in the process of re-designing his website and since I live on the harbour, I suggested he meet me here so we can go over the latest changes to his site and leave for our walk from here instead of the gym.
Dan parked in the driveway, came in the back door, put his keys on the kitchen table next to my gym bag and after going over his site, we left for our walk... Some time after we left, Wayne came home for some supplies he needed on site.  He came home to find Dan's car parked in his spot, walked in through the back door (which I forgot to lock when I left) and called in to the living room with his usual greeting 'Hi Babe' his call was unanswered and with the door unlocked, seeing my gym bag and Dan's keys on the table - his heart sank.  It appeared we were there, but Dan and I were no-where to be seen.  Wayne made his way upstairs to the bedroom with thoughts in his mind I'm sure he didn't expect to have when he drove up to our house.  The poor man.  It must have been a long walk up the stairs thinking his life as he knew it was ruined.  Of course, Dan and I were not in the bedroom.  We were walking somewhere on the seafront and Wayne found nothing but an empty bed.
He came home that night and said nothing of his experience for hours.  Finally, he said 'next time you and Dan go for your walk - make sure you lock the fucken' door when you leave.  I said I must have forgotten.  He told me about what happened.  My first reaction was - 'Oh Babe!' and I threw my arms around him.  I asked how he could doubt me, but quickly realized my reaction probably would have been the same.  I can't imagine how he must have felt walking up to our bedroom.  His heart must have been racing and the dread must have been horrible.  The thought of it made me hug him over and over throughout the night.  He kept telling me it wasn't that big of a deal - saying how long does it take to walk up stairs - 30 seconds?? I said yeah, but what a 30 seconds!  The truth of the matter is it must have taken him all day to get over those 30 seconds and the minutes it took to go through the experience.
Things like that happen to people every day but with much different results.  I've been through something similar and I can't imagine how I'd feel if it was me thinking my life with Wayne was a lie.  I really feel for those who have had to go through such a thing for real.  It's amazing how much your life can change in a matter of seconds.