"Did you pay the rent, Patrick?", she asked.
"Umm, no but I'll pay it in 2 weeks. Then I'll have enough money together.", I mumbled.
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME? We are already behind with 2 rents, you always do everything at the last moment, You are stressing me out so much! I can't do this anymore!", she yelled and turned around. "Do you know what a woman wants? At age 35? A baby! But you can't even take care of yourself, so maybe I have to find someone else. We've been together for 10 years and you're always causing problems!", and slammed the door shut.
"Babe, can we discuss this tonight? I have to go to work" I shouted through the closed door, annoyed.
We were always fighting.
So I went to work, and thought about our fight. She was right, we were short on money, but I work everyday from monday-friday and have a 2nd job on the weekends. What else am I supposed to do?! My salary is not that high as a waiter, so how else am I supposed to pay the rent?
After my shifted I worked a couple more extra hours, and then headed home. I wanted to surprise my wife, Britney, with merci chocolate and some flowers. (I know flowers from the gas station are not the classiest, but it's the effort that counts, right?)
I came home and unlocked the door.
"Babe, I'm home!" I shouted, while taking off my shoes. No answer.
She wasn't in the living room.
I went to the bathroom door and asked "Are you in there?" No answer.
So I called her, several times. No answer.
As I stepped into the Bedroom I saw a piece of paper laying on my pillow:
I felt like my heart stopped for a moment. My blood froze, only to then rush through my veins quicker than ever.
This can't be real ?!
I had been with Britney for 10 years, I couldn't imagine a life without her. She was the reason why I would do all those extra hours.
I called all our mutual friends, but no one knew where she went.
So, what could I do ?!
I checked the browser history of our computer, and then I found it - she had booked a flight to Chicago, back to where her Mom lives.
The plane left in 1 hour.
I didn't have a car, and I knew I couldn't make it to the airport on time if I would use public transport.
So I sighed, and although I couldn't actually afford it, I called a Taxi.
As I arrived at the airport, I was lucky enough to spot her just before going through security.
"Britney, Stop!" I shouted, running closer to her. "Look, I'm sorry. Please don't do this. I will work more or get another job. We can do this together!" I said insistently.
"What are you doing here?!" she yelled at me, tears streaming down her face. "It's already hard enough to leave, just go!" and she pushed me away, turned around and left.
So I stood there and watched her go away.
10 Steps.
30 Steps.
And then she was gone.
I was in total shock. I could not believe what just happened. Did we have to go this far?!
Slowly, I turned around and walked away in trance. I didn't even control my steps or looked where I was going. I went outside, and my taxi driver was still waiting for me.
So I just sat down, with a blank stare.
After a couple of minutes, the thoughts came back.
"Shit, shit, what do I do? What do I do now?!" I yelled at myself, and banged the back of my head against the car seat.
"Hey Mister. Please stop that, you're being too noisy", the driver said calmly.
I sighed. "Sorry, but I just had the worst day ever. I am in debt and now I just got dumped."
"So what's the problem there", the driver simply answered.
"The problem?!" I replied, "We are in debt and I already work every single day. I have no free time. The only thing I was looking forward to when coming home was my wife. And now she's gone too!"
"There are no problems. There are only solutions", my driver said with confidence in his voice.
"What would are your long-term goals?", he suddenly asked.
"Why are you asking me that now?!", I hissed back at him.
"Answer the question", the driver replied.
I sighed. "I haven't really thought about that much."
"Well, then you should", the driver said. "What would you see as your biggest passion in life?"
"Probably writing. I used to be main editor of my high school newspaper. I also used to write poems, stories and stuff."
"You stopped pursuing your passion because of your financial issues and debt.
That gives you no room to breathe, relax, and do things you enjoy. You told me you used to write, so why don't you become an author?"
"Well, you can't make a lot of money with writing", I laughed.
"You haven't even tried it!", the driver replied. "How can you say that something doesn't work if you haven't even tried it yet?! Many people leave a good idea behind without ever trying it. That's their biggest mistake."
I didn't know what to add to that. I looked outside and noticed that we were already in front of my house. I gave the driver my credit card, took the receipt, exited the car and he drove off.
I looked down at the credit card receipt in my hands and saw that the cost of the taxi drive was $0.00.
"Winraky" was the only thing that was printed underneath.
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1 year later.
Britney was window shopping in a mall on a regular saturday afternoon.
Forever 21, ANGL, Sephora, and then she passed by Barnes & Noble.
She didn't even look into the shop window at first, but her brain somehow subconsciously recognized something familiar and made her head turn to the right.
In the window, they had displayed a new book from this month's Best-Selling Author.
It was a book called "Winraky" that featured a white cover with a vivid photograph.
And for the Author's name, it said: "Patrick Miller".
Patrick ?!?!
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2 months later.
Today was the first day of my book signing tour.
I sat in the middle of the book store, with a desk and hundreds of my books around me, and people queuing up for an autograph in front of me.
"Hello, for what name should I sign your book?" I asked while looking down and opening up one of my books.
I had asked the same question a hundred times already today.
"Britney", I heard a familiar voice say.
I looked up, and there she was - Britney, standing in front of me, looking as beautiful as I had remembered. I could feel the nervous tension crawling up inside of me.
"What are you doing here?!", I asked, trying to keep my calm.
"You didn't even tell me you were writing stories again! I always knew you had talent! I wanted to congratulate you. You made it! I was worried about you! So I thought maybe.. we can talk.." she stuttered, and played with a front piece of her hair. She always does that when she's nervous.
I looked down on the desk, and sighed. I knew exactly what I needed to say.
"I'm sorry, but we can't do this." I said, looking her straight in the eyes. "You left me when I was most vulnerable, but you did the right thing back then. I turned my life around, and now I'm the one who needs a new beginning."
How would you answer Winraky's questions - what are your long term goals and what is your biggest passion in life?
© Sirwinchester