When Alicia met Parker, she felt life could finally have some meaning. She had always been in relationships where she was in control. She was in control of her feelings, in control of how they treated her, in control of the relationships basically. She knew what she wanted and would never settle for less; hence she also had so many break ups to her name. She didn’t think this was a problem cause she felt it was better to be alone than unhappy.
There were some good relationships but they all never lasted. She couldn’t stand laziness, deception, infidelity, immaturity and plain wickedness. She loved with all her heart and hated with the same intensity. This meant that when she decided that relationship was over it was so over.
Just before she met Parker though, she had been in an emotionally abusive relationship. Se knew it was all wrong, but didn’t have the courage to walk away. What a change. This was as a result of all her friends accusing her of being impatient, hence all the break ups.
Any way, she had been dating Peter, and apart from physically hitting her she had taken it all. He never spent any money on her, so she had to foot their bills all the time; she didn’t mind too much, she was a successful barrister. He also jokingly called her names, and explained why he felt the names applied. She took it all because she wanted to be patient and she was 33 so she wanted to get married too, and soon. They broke up after 5 months. And in an amazing twist of events, he broke up with her. She didn’t dwell on him for a second. She cried for a few hours over her stupidity and the fact that she was closer to 34 than when she actually met him, but Monday brought work and a channel for all her pent up tension.
She met Parker at a work luncheon. He was a journalist for the local paper, and they hit it off immediately. Alicia however wasn’t looking for a relationship, because she had just finished with Peter 2 months prior. They went out a lot after that, he paid (what a nice change). He was thoughtful, kind, considerate, complemented her, not patronizingly but in such a way that she actually believed him. She felt her heart go to him, but put it all in check; she wasn’t looking for a relationship.
Two months later, they were talking everyday, going on camping trips over the weekends, attending friends’ events together, everyone believed they were dating but she still wasn’t looking for a relationship. Se however had started to fall in love with him, and hoped she would meet someone like him, personality wise, that she could date. On her 34th birthday, he organized a surprise party for her and proposed. Imagine that! Even if she wanted to say no, she couldn’t have, all their friends were there. In any case she wanted to say yes, and she did. Her previous reluctance about the relationship concerned his age, he was 30, but he acted so maturely, she hardly thought about it.
Alicia went into lover mode. She showered parker with all her love and full attention, she neglected her friends. She lived for him. She figured it was aright seeing as they were to be married in 15 months. She gave him her all. For the first 3 months in to the engagement she was blissfully in cloud nine. He burst her bubble and brought her back to earth on his 31st birthday. Alicia had been planning a weekend away to St. Croix as a special surprise for him. She thought it would be wonderful. His actual birthday was on the Thursday, and she went over to his place and cooked a wonderful meal, invited 2 of their friends over, and proceeded to have lovely time. After dinner, they went into the den and they all watched the local news.
Alicia slipped into the kitchen after a while, and was nibbling on some of the casserole when Parker walked in. he hugged her and thanked her, then asked her why she had to eat so much. She thought he was joking and laughingly asked him, what he meant. A dark look crossed his face, and he hit the spoon out of her hand and screamed that she was beginning to look like a baboon. Alicia felt like she was having an out of body experience and started to cry. Parker icily told her not to embarrass him on his special day and walked out.
Part 2: He loves me; he loves me not – pt. 2
