"ADDICTION'

Since my separation and divorce I've come to equate my marriage to Bill Connearney as an addiction. Although my head knows and accepts that I'm better off without him and his toxicity, my heart isn't always on board. I know one day when I think about him, a thought is all he'll be. That is when I will know I will finally be free of him and our past. After the final split I thought about our beginning. I came to some hard truths. In hindsight, I let myself get swept up in the fact that my long time secret wish was coming true. It was like a true life fairy tale. Although, I knew I should take things slow. I threw caution and common sense away too quickly. I'd developed a crush on Bill soon after the birth of my son. Of course I kept it to myself. As far as he or anyone else knew, we were just friends. About a year and half later he'd enlisted in the Navy and was gone. A few years passed, I was a single Mom. Busy with my life, raising a preschooler, working, etc... One day I happen to call his Moms looking for his sister and he picks up! I was thrilled and very surprised to hear his voice. I'd thought about him from time to time the past few years. Wondered how he was doing, etc... So we talked briefly and way to soon said our goodbyes. I thought about him a lot that night. The next afternoon I called his Mom's house under the pretext of once again seeking to speak wth his sister. Again he answered the phone and this time when we hung up, he would soon be stopping by my apartment. Long story shortened, we spent almost every moment of the next 2 weeks together. All too soon it was time for him to fly back to San Diego. It was the end of Sept,1987. We'd promised to stay in touch, write each other. Also discussed the possibility of me flying out to Ca in 2/1989 to visit when he returned from westpac. We'd also talked about kids. Bill had said that he didn't want kids until he was at least 30. At this time I thought we'd remain at friend level only and I was fine with that. I respected him for telling me. Of course, I was and always would be part of a package deal. Once he's back in SD, we talked all the time. One day in early Oct, he called and said that he's not going to hang up until he convinces me to move to SD and marry him! I started with, "I'm sorry, no". I reminded him about his statement re: children. He explains that he's given it a lot of thought. That he was wrong. That he was ready and wanted to be a family. So eventually, after a long time on the phone, I accepted his proposal. There's no rehab for this addiction of mine. Yes there's therapy. Been there, done that. Now, just the passage of time. It is easier with each passing day to divert my thoughts. Pull myself back into reality. An addiction as harmful as any other addiction. Unfortunately, there's no quick fix, no rehab, no 12 step program. Distance and time seem to be the only cure. Hmmm, rehab for one's heart, spirit, mind, and soul broken by divorce. Food for thought.

"THE BEGINNING"

Bill and I grew up in the same neighborhood. As kids we didn't get along. This was mainly because of an Incident that happened the year he was a 5th grader and our bus monitor. I was a year behind him and could be a smart ass like most kids that age. One day after school instead of sitting in my seat, I was up talking to friends. He asked me to take my seat and I mouthed off before eventually doing it. I got off at my usual stop and Bill who usually rode the final two stops, also left the bus. When the bus pulled away he slapped me in the face causing my glasses to fall off my face, into the street where they broke. My parent's filed a lawsuit for the cost of replacement. He had to do community service to pay for the glasses and proceeded to hate me for the next five years. I was actually best friends with his younger sister and liked his brother for a time. However, he couldn't see us together or there'd be grief! Soon after I turned fifteen I ran away from home and soon after that, things got names better between us. He stopped chasing me off, calling me names, basically he forgave and stopped being a bully. Bill worked with my sons Dad back then and his sister was Chris's godmother so we saw each other more often. One day, I was sitting in their living room nursing Chris. I heard the front door open and then, Bill's voice asking Nancy if the baby was there. He got really excited, came rushing into the living room. He was embarrassed to find me in the middle of feeding Chris. It was such a contrast to his normal persona, I thought it sweet to see a different side of him. It was while watching him talk baby talk to my son that, the seeds of a secret crush were planted. A crush I'd keep to myself for five years.