One lesson about marriage

Eraser

That's a rough story. It's hard to know in advance how these things will work out. At least you gave it a shot. Hopefully, you still have it in you to find a true companion.

Jonathan E. Lee

Your story has an interesting premise, and I appreciate how you introduce certain facts to aid in immersion. For instance the date at the beginning or the offhanded mention of "Charles" without needless explanation. (You trust the reader's intelligence rather than adding something a little inane like "My husband's name is Charles.")

That being said, since you asked for tips to improve, I would point out an old saying that's a bit cliche' perhaps but remains applicable nonetheless: Show, don't tell.

That's not to say one should *never* "tell." There's definitely a place for both at certain times, and if this was merely the beginning of a tale that was at least ten times longer, it might be perfectly okay. The point is that presently what you have written is more of a summary explanation, rather than a real narrative.

So there's two approaches you could take to turn this into a real proper "story"...

1. You could keep it as it is (with some bit removed from the end), and let it serve as the opening backdrop to a longer story, as I mentioned. Perhaps the real story is what happens after the funeral. Or maybe you end the opening summary at "he's now telling me love isn't important and he's over it." Your next sentence could be something like "So that's why I moved to Connecticut." And then you launch into a whole tale of adventure.

2. You expand out this summary itself to a proper short story with actual scenes an dialogue. You "show" the marriage breaking down through the depiction of actual fights and heartbreak. I thought "Marriage Story" was a really good film. It's certainly a subject that resonates and has a lot of potential for drama to be sure.

A pseudo-third option would be to make this a big long quote in an otherwise third person narrative. Perhaps it turns out she's talking to a therapist. Or perhaps something more ironic and surprising like a grocery store clerk. "Uh, sorry to interrupt, but did you want paper or plastic?"

Anyhow, your writing seems competent enough, and the subject matter is potentially engaging. I think if you wanted it could be turned into a proper engaging narrative with a lot of heart.