Happily Never After

Our story takes place in a small, rural Midwestern town. It was Fall, and the leaves were starting to change colors. I've always loved Fall. There's just something about the atmosphere and the vibrant red and gold colors of Fall that evoke a feeling of warm nostalgia.

I arrived home and was met at the door by my dogs wagging their tails and jumping on me with excitement. (Unrelated to the story, but I've always felt a closeness to dogs. They are so loving, so unconditionally loyal, and so utterly accepting of who you are. They truly are man's best friend). I prepared dinner, did some miscellaneous chores around the house, and settled in for the night. I watched a movie about two former lovers putting aside their differences to rekindle an old flame. The moral of the story was forgiveness and acceptance. A bit cliche, perhaps, but I was always a sucker for sappy romance stories like that.

It was 10pm and I was just getting ready to call it a night when I heard the doorbell ring unexpectedly. "Who could that be at this hour?" I thought to myself. I hurrily answered the door and was met with the visage of someone I knew: My ex; My first love. I thought that my eyes were playing tricks on me, but then I gazed into those striking blue eyes, and I knew that it was her. The person I loved more than anything, and the person who left me for my best friend. "Penelope... what are you doing here?" I asked with a confused expression on my face. "Hey, I wanted to see you. Can we talk?" It'd been years since we split apart; years since she broke my heart. Why now? After all this time?

I returned home from work one day and that's when I found her. She was lying in bed with my best friend whose name was Jeremy. We had known each since we were kids. We grew up together. To me, he wasn't just my best friend; he was family. The two people I loved and trusted the most in this world. The betrayal shook me to my core. I was speechless at first, and so were they. There was no hiding the truth, and they both knew it as well as I did. I had caught them in the act. The silence cut through the air, and it was as if time itself had frozen still. She then tried to speak, but I was in such a rattled state that I didn't even process what she was saying at first. The house was in her name, so it's not like I could just tell them to leave. I needed to get as far away from there as I could, so I started packing my belongings. As I did, the person who I thought was my best friend turned stranger then tried to speak, but I quickly cut him off. "How long?" He didn't respond; he just quietly held his head down in shame, refusing to make eye contact with me. People often say that silence speaks louder than words, and in this case, that old platitude was certainly true. Penelope started frantically crying as I continued packing my things, while Jeremy remained silent. I then turned to her with tears beginning to form in my eyes as I was about to leave. "I loved you more than anything." I said, as the tears began to stream down my face. We glanced at each other for a moment for what I thought would be the last time. "Goodbye, Penelope." I said, as I turned around and left. That was, and still is, the most traumatic event of my life, in a life already rife with trauma. I developed severe trust issues as a result of it. The emotional scars from that day still haven't fully healed; I don't know if they ever will, but I hope they do... someday.

I never expected to see Penelope again, but here she was, standing in front of me, wanting to talk. "I want to talk about what happened between us." "What is there to talk about," I asked her, with an indignant tone. "I've moved on with my life, and you've moved on with yours." "I never moved on from you. You were the best partner I ever had." "If that's true, then why did you cheat on me with my best friend?" "Because I was stupid, and I made a mistake. I wish I could undo what I did, but I know I can't." "I loved you, Penelope; I trusted you. I helped you get back on your feet when your family abandoned you! I helped you get your house! I was always there for you; I adored you. You were my world; my everything! And you cheated on me with my best friend." "I know. I was stupid and selfish. I'm sorry." "I'm sorry, too. I'm sorry I trusted you. I'm sorry I ever believed that you loved me the same way I loved you." I said, finally letting out years of pent-up of anger and frustration." I can see her eyes begin to well up in response to my words; the words cutting through her like knives. "I never stopped loving you! I regret what I did! Please, can you find it in your heart to forgive me? Can we start over? Can you give me one more chance to make it right?" Her tears now spilling out of her eyes like a broken dam. Even after everything that happened, I wanted to console her. I wanted to hold her in my arms, and wipe her tears away. I wanted to say yes, because deep down I still loved her. At one point, she was the star in the night sky, the light that shone into the darkness that was my life, the one person that made me feel whole. But I couldn't bring myself to trust her after what she did. "I'm sorry, Penelope... I can forgive you, but I can't ever be with you again." The room turned silent as we stared into each other's eyes, it felt like we were staring directly into each other's soul. She averted her gaze and began to wipe the tears from her eyes. Her head tilted back to me and she had this look of acceptance on her face. "I understand, she said in a soft voice. She then lurched her arms out around me and leaned in for a kiss, and I... embraced her. The kiss only lasted for a moment, but it felt like forever. She then whispered into my ear "I'm sorry. I want you to know that I will always love you, and thank you." before leaving. As I watched her leave, I realized that that was probably the last time I would ever see her.

In the end, I was finally able to forgive her, and I think, on some level, she was finally able to forgive herself. Forgiveness and acceptance.

And that is the story of our Happily Never After.