This ain't no picnic.

In movies the jilted lover always walks away wishing the other person good luck never to be seen or heard from again. That never happens. In reality, he moves into the first apartment he can find. He sits alone for a few weeks with no TV or internet service. His thoughts are all about her, what’s she doing, or more accurately, what are they doing? He stares at the blank walls or pictures of her and the kids knowing it will never be like that again. He thinks about what he should have done differently. He doesn’t eat. The only contact he has with the outside world is when he sits on the porch smoking. He goes back inside when all he see’s are happy couples walking hand in hand down the street.


He watches movies to keep his mind free of the thoughts of her. He dreads going to sleep because his mind races thinking about her. He turns the radio on so he can relax, but every song reminds him of her so he turns it off.

His thought turns to suicide. He can’t take anymore. He’s stuck in this shitty apartment with no furniture sleeping on the floor. He decides he doesn’t want to be alone so he adopts a cat. Something living is better then nothing at all. He starts to take walks around his new neighborhood. The happy couples don’t bother him as much as they did in the beginning. He see’s more weekend dads walking around with their own kids and starts to feel a little less alone. He starts a new hobby, writing. The internet finally gets turned on. The cable gets installed. He starts making new friends online. Some of which become friends in real life. He starts to think less and less of her. Sometimes he still gets sad or angry, but his friends pull him out of it. They greet him with open arms when he visits. He starts to feel wanted and liked again.

For the first time he starts to think about the future, the kids coming to visit, his friends he will see the places he will go. He starts going to a therapist. It feels good to let the problems and thoughts out. He starts thinking maybe this isn’t so bad. He starts thinking maybe I should start dating again. With the thought of suicide gone, he can’t help but feel hopeful about his own future. He has lost a lot of weight, quit smoking and started eating again. He’s still lonely, but it’s not as bad as before. He still thinks of her, but in a different way now. Not so much as his wife who left, but as someone he shares a special bond with that no matter what, will never be broken.

He starts smiling at girls he see’s on his walks through town or the beach. He asks someone out and is turned down and that doesn’t bother him at all. He wakes up with a smile every morning looking forward to the day to come. He starts to think that he is happy now, that the world is his and somewhere out there is that one special girl waiting just for him.