Thursday, July 17, 2008

Jealousy

I have a friend I have know since middle school. She moved into my neighborhood when we were in 7th grade and we became fast friends. I was tall and geeky. She was short and full figured. She was a boy magnet. I wasn't. She went through boyfriends like most people change their socks. If I had a dollar for every time I had to be the negotiator in one of her romantic dramas...
In our first year of high school, we ended up dating two senior boys who happened to be best friends as well. (For the record, I met my guy first, which resulted in her hooking up with his friend. Oh, and "hooking up" didn't mean quite what does nowadays!) Anyway, me and my guy went our separate ways eventually after he graduated. However, their relationship was one for the ages. She dumped him, (with much drama), they both ended up married to other people and had kids.
Twenty years passed. They sort of kept tabs on each other and eventually started "hooking up" in hotels. He was divorced and once her hubby got a hold of her cell phone records, she was too. A year or so later, they were married on her birthday.
She and I had pretty much lost touch by then, but I did question her wisdom in marrying him after some of the things I had heard about him through the years (especially from HER). It didn't matter. It was destiny that the two of them were together. He adored her (even though though her figure was MUCH fuller than in the old days) and she adored him (and spent part of the proceeds from her divorce to buy him his dream car, an old Corvette.)
Two years passed. I found out that they were in the middle of a nasty divorce. I had no idea what had happened to interfere with "destiny", but even their children were getting into the fighting and name-calling.
Then last week, I found out that he died a few days earlier.
I don't know the circumstances. (No, she didn't kill him.) I do know that he was drinking heavily and perhaps doing drugs while they were married. I also know that he was very sad that his marriage broke up. (She wasn't.)
The funny thing is that this girl was someone that I envied when we were in school, because she got all of the attention from the boys. I, meanwhile was left to my studies and later to my work, where I met the fellow geek I would eventually marry. (No "bad boys" for me.)
She is now twice divorced and on her own at 42, raising a 17 year-old daughter who is her boy-crazy clone. I have a happy, stable 20 year marriage and seven great kids. She lives in a remodeled mill house on a dead-end gravel road. I have a million-dollar home. I just got back from a week long vacation in Asia. She has posted on her "My Space" page that she's going to Myrtle Beach and she is "so excited".
I'm not jealous anymore. I don't want her to be jealous of me. I just can't help feeling a little sad for her and the choices she made. (And feeling blessed for the choices I made.)

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