by Ronnie Egerton

Created on: July 18, 2011

Confusion? I should say so. And here's the reason why. I was married to my first husband, Billy, for nine years. Then I was single for nine years, becoming engaged to one Bill and dating several Bills along the way. I finally found the right Bill at the age of forty and we were happily married for twenty-nine years before he passed away. I guess I knew I was supposed to have a Bill. It just took me a while to find the right one.

To add a little spice to this mixed up recipe for confusion, add these facts. My last husband, Bill, was married  a total of four times, including me. His first wife was named Martha Sue. His second wife was named Sue, and his wife before me was named Suzie.  My name was not Sue, nor had anything that sounded like Sue connected with it. But for the first two or three years of our marriage, my husband repeatedly called Sue.

Occasionally, he would call me Sue out in public. I was often introduced to friends and acquaintances as"Meet my wife, Suzie," I tried to be understanding in the beginning. After all, he had been married to someone named Sue, for almost all of his adult life. I understood that It was force of habit, but by the two year mark, I thought he needed to be making a little more effort to correct his ongoing mistake.

Once or twice, over the years, I slipped and called him Billy, but basically, that was his name, or a derivation of it, so no harm, no fowl, in my book.

Finally, entering year three, we had decided to take our young son, and go to San Antonio for an extended weekend visit. Bill and his sister had  always been close and he had been like a brother to her husband, since they were all fifteen. All three of them were horse people and we spent the majority of our time each day at the riding stable. They were in their element and a good time was being had by every one but me. In the course of the three days, I had been addressed as Suzie at least three times by my husband and my patience was at an end.

That night, after dinner, we were all sitting around the fireplace , talking about the good old days, and Bill  called me Suzie once more. My  in-laws had a stricken look, as I  stood and left the room.

I went to our quarters and sat on the bed for awhile trying to decide what to do. I was plenty steamed and I could tell his relatives were embarrassed for me.

I gathered my thoughts and calmly walked back into the den, where they all still sat, quietly talking.

"Well," I said, in a loud clear voice. "Suzie is going to bed now, and tomorrow morning, Suzie is going to get up and load Suzie's car and drive it  back to Suzie's house, which is by the way, in Suzie's name."  I turned and walked out of the room and he never once called me Suzie again.

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