3/18/2024
1:49 am
After reading through one of the writings I did previously, there was a note stating that I had saved the rest in a word document. I opened up my hard drive and found that I had actually completed a full week of writing prompts.
It was actually a two week writing bootcamp and not the 30 days I thought from earlier.
This is day 2.
Day 2 – The One That Got Away
**You bump into an ex-lover on Valentine’s Day – The one whom you often call the “The One that got away.” What happens?
____________________________________________________________________________________
I ran into the man who I was certain was the “One” today as I was wandering up and down the aisle looking at the Valentine’s Day items. The one day of the year I dread.
He was just as surprised to see me as I was to see him. It had been several years since the day we broke up.
We exchanged pleasantries and started talking about where we were at that point in our lives. As I listened to him, my thoughts went back to all the reasons I was attracted to him in the first place.
He was still tall, good-looking with that boyish charm that always got others’ attention. Still witty coupled with his confidence made him attractive. He was smart but not overtly so which put others at ease around him. This was just a façade he portrayed to others and he was good at it. I knew the truth about him and despite all the pretty wrapping underneath was an empty box.
As he droned on about his current relationship which I only heard parts of because my thoughts continued as to why we broke up.
He was perfect on the outside and seemed to have it all together but on the inside, he was still a little boy afraid and demanding more attention than I could give.
We had met at a company picnic and were instantly attracted to each other which in turn became an instant relationship. We became inseparable. To others, we seemed like an awesome couple destined for greatness.
That began unraveling the day I got promoted and was now making more money with the added responsibility. He didn’t say he felt threatened but actions always speak louder than words.
He started to withdraw and arguments over insignificant things started. Then the quick jabs intended to break my self-confidence were aimed at my appearance, friends, family, and job. He was trying to break me down to build himself back up.
Then I got a call one day that changed everything. It was a woman that worked in his department and she told me that she had been seeing him on and off for a few weeks since the last business trip they had gone on together. She was calling to find out if we had broken up or was he lying to her.
I didn’t know how to react. I was standing there folding his laundry, carefully putting everything into his basket, and thinking about our dinner plans later that evening when the phone rang. Now everything had changed.
I started crying and she knew. She had the answer she wanted and started crying also. She apologized but I told her I was sorry. She hung up and I just continued to stand there crying. I finished putting away his laundry, sat his basket by the front door, threw on my running shoes, and went for a run.
He returned later that day and the look on his face told me he knew about that call.
At first, he denied anything had happened and called her a liar trying to get back at him for something that happened at work.
I knew it was a lie. He then tried to lay the blame on me. He started ranting about how I didn’t spend enough time with him and was always working.
I just continued to stare at him unaffected by the one-sided conversation that we were having. I had spent the whole afternoon crying and self-blaming by the time he got there I was done.
I knew in my mind that it was over and it was time to continue but my heart was fighting it. He had been perfect to me but I wasn’t what he wanted. He didn’t love me. If he had loved me then he wouldn’t have tried to hurt me intentionally or otherwise.
I looked him in the eye and said goodbye. I picked up his basket of laundry, handed it to him, and opened the front door. In an instant, it was over just as suddenly as it began. He knew that were was no way to make himself look better so he begrudgingly left.
I spent the next year diving into work projects, self-evaluating, self-discovery, and going to counseling to understand why I made the choices that I made when it came to relationships.
It wasn’t the first time a relationship had gone so badly and I had been broken down countless times before but I kept hoping that things would turn around until I eventually had to let them go. I was developing this same pattern over and over again that would not end until I was ready to end it. The “One” made me finally realize that.
I guess my inattentiveness to his talking finally registered because he was just standing there awkwardly holding the box of chocolates and stuffed animal for his new girlfriend waiting for me to respond.
I looked at him and apologized. I made up some excuses about work issues and being lost in thought on it. He looked relieved and said he had to go.
I said goodbye and wished him good luck on everything. I didn’t mean it but it was better than rehashing things from the past.
I watched him walk away toward the cash registers. I thought about the good times we had despite the bad ones and it made me smile. It made me smile to know that I was going to be okay.
*****************************************************
Thank you for stopping by.
Have a wonderful week!
Peace, love, happiness, and good vibes, always!
Suzanne
love to bake 