Was she sorry for what she did? A question that constantly roamed Joe’s mind and wouldn’t settle. Where could she be now? He hoped time will teach her a lesson. Time was a fertile ground on which character took root and bore fruits – some a hundred fold, some fifty.

He prayed her harvest will be a bumper one, filling up her barns with some spilling over.

From time to time, he carefully thought through all the incidents leading to the breakup. Something within him could not help but admit that he too had contributed in one way or the other to the breakup.

Joe heard stories of partners who fight and go through a lot  and yet still stick together. How do they do it? He couldn’t. Or maybe he should have forgiven her and simply find a way for reconciliation. Maybe, at her end she thought if truly he loved her like he claimed, after some point he should have reached out and checked up on her.

People change. Perhaps she had repented of her bad ways. Perhaps he should have been a little patient. Or maybe, it was just not meant to be? He wished there were a secret book somewhere with every detail of how his life was going to turn out on earth, a book he could consult for answers to many unanswered questions written all over his life.

Was he impatient? Perhaps. But which man will accept to be exploited and mocked the way Anita treated him? Wouldn’t he be encouraging disrespect? He’s been a doormat for far too long. It was time his walls went up.

If you met Anita for the first time, you would think you’ve met an angel. But wait till you get to know her.

Could the rumors be true? That Anita wanted a reunion. Why? After so many years. What couldn’t she get in other men? Or finally she’d realized no one can tolerate her attitude so she’s coming back to the only jerk that knows best how to live with her. After she had toured the home and globe of every man, she was finally coming home.  Football was coming home, to where it originated.

But Cecelia says after they broke up, Anita had never dated. Why? She that couldn’t go without sex for a week. What had changed her? Cecelia says Anita had changed. That now she was a different girl. Could it be true?

These days, when many girls live promiscuous lives and at some point they realize they’re aging and serious men have become scarce, they head to churches and claim they’re born again, living changed lives. Some unfortunate fellow will marry them only to discover their virgin mary is an illusion,  a tangible shameful past roaming in skirts. Rumors roam wild, wide and wind up in the ears of people who shouldn’t hear them. As hard as the repented girl tries to keep her dirty past, they keep popping up like popcorn.

But people do change. Joe was certain of that. But what if. What if they reunite only to find out the old bond is dead? Some things are best left buried. Not all the dead wish to be resurrected.

A lot has happened since they broke up. He’s met so many women. And his preferences have undergone a lot of updates.

Or, could it be that he and Anita were meant to be together, forever? Is that why things hadn’t worked out between him and others? Or there was something about his own personality he needed to work on?

Now that he was thinking about Anita, fond memories that had sunk to the bottom were now resurfacing. Anita was sometimes unreasonable and hard to understand. But she had her good side, a sweet soft side. That smile of hers, and that look of hers, they’re hard to forget.
But each time he thinks of those good times, from nowhere, that voice note that led to the painful breakup resurfaces too. He could hear it, loud and clear, playing in his ears, in his mind. The very things he admired about Anita, another man was describing them, after their lovemaking session. He thought he was the only man in her life. How could she do that to him after all the sacrifices he had made for her?

Like the spilling of blood on a cool, clean, quiet river, these bitter pictures come to spoil all the good thoughts and things he liked about Anita, poisoning every time and fun they had together, destroying cherished values they held dear, leaving nothing as it once was. Something had been shattered within him that seemed unmendable, ever again.

But Cecelia says she had changed. These days trusting women was a hard thing for Joe. It was easier teaching his dog Bravo Spanish than trusting women. Wasn’t his fault he doesn’t trust women. Factory settings. He’s looking up to the Manufacturer to fix the him. Until then, he wouldn’t put himself in a situation where his sanity and peace of mind, and money and dignity were going to be on the line. It was a lesson he was determined to pass on to his genes, down to the sperms yet to fertilize his unborn offsprings.

Maybe he shouldn’t have spread the news of the breakup, explaining to everyone exactly what happened. He had washed his dirty pants in public. And even if he claimed those he wore were clean, he would always be fondly remembered by the public as the owner of dirty pants.

If he had broken up quietly with her, perhaps a potential reunion wouldn’t have been so difficult if he really liked her and was convinced she had changed.

Tomorrow Cecelia will be here. That crazy girl wouldn’t hesitate to bring Anita along as a surprise package and suddenly lie about forgetting something at home just to leave him with her. What will be there to talk about?

Joe sighed heavily, tightening his fist and jaws. Something within him told him he would one day punch this crazy girl of a Cecelia. And that day didn’t seem far in coming.