Dear Steve and Shirley,
I'm 47 years old, and my husband is 74. I used to work for him, and we became close over the years, but we never had any romantic interest in each other. His wife passed in 2021 from pneumonia, and I was there for him. I made sure he ate and took his medicine. I got a few ladies from my church to assist me with cleaning out his wife's closet so he could move on. It was a process that took a full year. He told me he was used to seeing me every day, not just at work. He said he liked how I took care of him and he asked me to have sex. He said it just like that. After a few days of processing what he said, I decided to let him have a little taste because I felt like he needed it. After we made love, he was hooked, and he had to see me every day. I told him he had to make an honest woman out of me because rumors started to swirl around the office. We got married, and it wasn't the romantic wedding that I'd always dreamed about. He was financially stable, and he was great in bed for an old man.
The only thing I'm having trouble with is him calling me his deceased wife's name while we are having sex. If I had a dollar for every time it has happened, I'd be a millionaire. He loves to have sex, and at his age, I'm shocked at how much stamina he has. But every time he's about to finish, he says her name. He told me that he tries to say my name, but he can't help it. He said it's hard to erase 35 years of memories. He's more comfortable taking me out in public, and he's finally wearing his wedding ring, so it's starting to feel real.
Will my husband ever love me, or will this always be a marriage of convenience to him?