Patty

Bad Choices Make Good Stories: Going to New York, Chapter 11

"I can sympathize with people's pains but not with their pleasures. There is something curiously boring about somebody else's happiness."

Aldous Huxley 

After the divorce, I moved into the mansion in the Poconos.

It was still not completed, but I explained to the building inspector that if he didn't issue a certificate of occupancy, I would lose a fortune in bank penalties, because the deadline for the construction loan had long expired.

Thankfully he agreed to let me live in the house even though it wasn't totally finished yet.

The house was way too big for just one person. When I walked around, I could hear the echo of my steps. The loneliness was soul-crushing.

I really missed Donna. I was so depressed, I spent hours just lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling, lost in thought. I was so used to having her around me at all times, that now there was a big gaping hole in my life.

But at the same time, I felt at peace for the first time in... ever?

Finally I didn't have someone constantly telling me that no matter what I did, it was wrong. I didn't feel like I was constantly walking on eggshells, because if I said or did the wrong thing, someone would punish me with some psychotic tantrum.

That feeling of inner peace and serenity was nice. If only I had someone in my life to share it with.