My name used to be Mrs. Vaughn, but my soon-to-be ex-husband changed all that. In fact, he has changed nearly every aspect of my life since he came home on a Friday night and announced that he wanted to separate. This blog will chronicle my "stages of grief" as well as the struggles I face as I become his "second ex-wife".
My story begins the same as anyone else, I suppose. I met a man and fell in love. Our love happened fast and we went from strangers to lovers before we truly got to know one another. Maybe that was part of our downfall. Looking back, it's hard to tell where it all started falling apart.
We met online on April 18, 2007. I was packing, getting ready to go on a road trip to visit a friend in Baltimore. In less than an hour, this strange man had not only told me his entire life story, he'd successfully freaked me out. He told me he'd just gotten out of prison where he'd spent nearly four years for forgery. He seemed repentant and I didn't think very much about it. We all make mistakes, right? He said he had a crazy ex-wife and two little girls that he was trying to get to know again. "Single father", I thought, "dunno about that one"...
By the end of the conversation, I was less than moved. I resumed my travel preparations and left shortly after. My trip was fairly uneventful. When the friend I'd went to visit, Steve, came to see me at my hotel, I had my laptop on the desk with messenger open. Steve had brought his guitar and was playing music for me. He used my laptop to look up guitar chords when a screen popped up. "Hello, honey!" it said. I looked at Steve and he asked if I needed to reply. "No", I said. "It's just some weird guy from back home who hit on me a few days ago."
After returning home, the mystery man continued to send messages. I replied now and then, but didn't truly have much to say. Somehow his persistence wore me down and I found myself willingly giving him my phone number and being amused and intrigued when I first heard his voice. He eventually asked me out and all kinds of warning bells went off in my head. I figured this guy had no idea what he was truly asking, so I sent him a picture of myself from head to toe thinking that the fact that I wasn't a twig would certainly change his tune. "Can I take you to dinner and a movie?" he asked after seeing the picture.
May 18, exactly a month after his first message, I nervously drove to a nearby city Wal-Mart and went inside. I had told him he'd have to find me and if he didn't like what he saw, he could leave and I'd never have to actually face him. It seemed like a good idea at the time. (I later learned he was not at all impressed with my brilliant plan.) I wandered around for less than fifteen minutes when my phone rang. "I see you!" he said. I stopped dead in my tracks and started frantically looking in every direction. "Nice pigtails."
Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye I saw a man on a cell phone. He started walking toward me and I did an about face and started walking in the general direction of the door. He walked right beside me. "Gonna look at me?" he asked. "CRAP!" I thought to myself. "He's friggin' cute!"
He led me to the truck he'd driven there. He had borrowed it from his dad. The truck, of course, was HUGE and I, being 5'2", had to have both the running board steppy-thing AND the hand grabber-thing to get myself up and into the cab. He tried to help me in and all I could think was, "My butt is going to be RIGHT IN HIS FACE!!!" We made it to the restaurant without me making any serious faux pas.
Dinner was... interesting. I had no idea what to say, but the conversation was light and easy. He made it uncomplicated to just chat and feel comfortable. At one point, I thought I'd be slick and take his picture with my cell phone. Sadly, I'd forgotten to turn off the flash and I was totally busted. I was SO embarrassed! He laughed at me and promised I could take his picture later to get approval from my girl friends. I was sure that after dinner, he'd be a big hurry to get me and my camera phone back to my car and far away from him, but when the check came, he sweetly asked if I cared to catch a movie.
This time, he didn't try to help me in the truck and I was eternally grateful. The drive to the theater was short. The movie began and turned out to be kind of lame, but things got very interesting when he reached for my hand. Butterflies, swoons and heart palpitations all set forth in a grand fashion and he just smiled at me as I squirmed in my seat. "You okay?" he asked. "Yes!" I answered a little too quickly. He just chuckled to himself and kept on holding my hand.
After the movie, he drove me back to my car and I wondered if he was going to kiss me. I was kind of disappointed when he didn't, but chocked it up to him being a gentleman. I got out of the truck and into my car and drove away wondering if I'd ever hear from him again. I wasn't ten miles down the road when my phone rang. "Miss me yet?" he asked. I couldn't wipe the grin from my face. I knew that from that moment on, this man was going to be part of my life... and I couldn't wait to see what happened next.
Part two to come.
My story begins the same as anyone else, I suppose. I met a man and fell in love. Our love happened fast and we went from strangers to lovers before we truly got to know one another. Maybe that was part of our downfall. Looking back, it's hard to tell where it all started falling apart.
We met online on April 18, 2007. I was packing, getting ready to go on a road trip to visit a friend in Baltimore. In less than an hour, this strange man had not only told me his entire life story, he'd successfully freaked me out. He told me he'd just gotten out of prison where he'd spent nearly four years for forgery. He seemed repentant and I didn't think very much about it. We all make mistakes, right? He said he had a crazy ex-wife and two little girls that he was trying to get to know again. "Single father", I thought, "dunno about that one"...
By the end of the conversation, I was less than moved. I resumed my travel preparations and left shortly after. My trip was fairly uneventful. When the friend I'd went to visit, Steve, came to see me at my hotel, I had my laptop on the desk with messenger open. Steve had brought his guitar and was playing music for me. He used my laptop to look up guitar chords when a screen popped up. "Hello, honey!" it said. I looked at Steve and he asked if I needed to reply. "No", I said. "It's just some weird guy from back home who hit on me a few days ago."
After returning home, the mystery man continued to send messages. I replied now and then, but didn't truly have much to say. Somehow his persistence wore me down and I found myself willingly giving him my phone number and being amused and intrigued when I first heard his voice. He eventually asked me out and all kinds of warning bells went off in my head. I figured this guy had no idea what he was truly asking, so I sent him a picture of myself from head to toe thinking that the fact that I wasn't a twig would certainly change his tune. "Can I take you to dinner and a movie?" he asked after seeing the picture.
May 18, exactly a month after his first message, I nervously drove to a nearby city Wal-Mart and went inside. I had told him he'd have to find me and if he didn't like what he saw, he could leave and I'd never have to actually face him. It seemed like a good idea at the time. (I later learned he was not at all impressed with my brilliant plan.) I wandered around for less than fifteen minutes when my phone rang. "I see you!" he said. I stopped dead in my tracks and started frantically looking in every direction. "Nice pigtails."
Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye I saw a man on a cell phone. He started walking toward me and I did an about face and started walking in the general direction of the door. He walked right beside me. "Gonna look at me?" he asked. "CRAP!" I thought to myself. "He's friggin' cute!"
He led me to the truck he'd driven there. He had borrowed it from his dad. The truck, of course, was HUGE and I, being 5'2", had to have both the running board steppy-thing AND the hand grabber-thing to get myself up and into the cab. He tried to help me in and all I could think was, "My butt is going to be RIGHT IN HIS FACE!!!" We made it to the restaurant without me making any serious faux pas.
Dinner was... interesting. I had no idea what to say, but the conversation was light and easy. He made it uncomplicated to just chat and feel comfortable. At one point, I thought I'd be slick and take his picture with my cell phone. Sadly, I'd forgotten to turn off the flash and I was totally busted. I was SO embarrassed! He laughed at me and promised I could take his picture later to get approval from my girl friends. I was sure that after dinner, he'd be a big hurry to get me and my camera phone back to my car and far away from him, but when the check came, he sweetly asked if I cared to catch a movie.
This time, he didn't try to help me in the truck and I was eternally grateful. The drive to the theater was short. The movie began and turned out to be kind of lame, but things got very interesting when he reached for my hand. Butterflies, swoons and heart palpitations all set forth in a grand fashion and he just smiled at me as I squirmed in my seat. "You okay?" he asked. "Yes!" I answered a little too quickly. He just chuckled to himself and kept on holding my hand.
After the movie, he drove me back to my car and I wondered if he was going to kiss me. I was kind of disappointed when he didn't, but chocked it up to him being a gentleman. I got out of the truck and into my car and drove away wondering if I'd ever hear from him again. I wasn't ten miles down the road when my phone rang. "Miss me yet?" he asked. I couldn't wipe the grin from my face. I knew that from that moment on, this man was going to be part of my life... and I couldn't wait to see what happened next.
Part two to come.
0 comments:
Post a Comment