Relationships, well Sigmund… Relationships are so… Fragile, that it takes one thing, just one tiny little offense, and it can snowball. And if that snowball starts to pick up speed, God forbid, you better tuck and go, my friend. …And bam! The shine’s off the apple. And that’s when you find out that that pretty little girl you married isn’t a pretty little girl at all. No, she’s a man-eater. And I’m not talking about the “whoa-whoa, here she comes” kind of man-eater. I’m talking about the kind that uses your dignity as a dishtowel to wipe up any shreds of manhood that might be stuck inside the sink. Of course, I may have tormented her from time to time; but, honest to God, that’s what I thought marriage was all about. So much so that, by the end of that relationship, I honestly don’t know who I hated more - her or me? I used to sit around and wonder… why our friends weren’t trying to destroy each other, like we were. And here, it turns out, the answer’s pretty simple: They weren’t unhappy. We were. Relationships don’t work the way they do on television and in the movies: Will they, won’t they, and then they finally do and they’re happy forever — gimme a break. Nine out of ten of them end because they weren’t right for each other to begin with, and half the ones that get married get divorced, anyway. And I’m telling you right now, through all this stuff, I have not become a cynic, I haven’t. Yes, I do happen to believe that love is mainly about pushing chocolate-covered candies and, you know, in some cultures, a chicken. You can call me a sucker, I don’t care, ‘cause I do…believe in it. Bottom line…is the couples that are truly right for each other wade through the same crap as everybody else, but, the big difference is, they don’t let it take ‘em down. One of those two people will stand up and fight for that relationship every time, if it’s right and they’re real lucky. One of them will say something.

Relationships don’t work the way they do on television and in the movies: Will they, won’t they, and then they finally do and they’re happy forever — gimme a break. Nine out of ten of them end because they weren’t right for each other to begin with, and half the ones that get married get divorced, anyway. And I’m telling you right now, through all this stuff, I have not become a cynic, I haven’t. Yes, I do happen to believe that love is mainly about pushing chocolate-covered candies and, you know, in some cultures, a chicken. You can call me a sucker, I don’t care, ‘cause I do…believe in it. Bottom line…is the couples that are truly right for each other wade through the same crap as everybody else, but, the big difference is, they don’t let it take ‘em down.

Endings are never easy. I always build them up so much in my head, they can’t possibly live up to my expectations, and I just end up disappointed. I’m not even sure why it matters to me so much, how things end here. I guess it’s because we all want to believe that what we do here is very important. That people hang onto our every word. That they care what we think. The truth is, you should consider yourself lucky, if you even occasionally get to make someone, anyone feel a little better. After that, it’s all about the people that you let into your life. And as my mind drifted to faces, I’ve seen here before, I was taken to memories of family…of coworkers…of lost loves…even of those who’ve left us. And as I rounded that corner, they all came at me in a wave of shared experience. And though it felt warm and safe…I knew it had to end. It’s never good to live in the past, to long. As for the future, thanks to Dan it didn’t seem so scary anymore. It could be whatever I want it to be.
And who’s to say this isn’t what happens. Who can tell me that my fantasies won’t come true.

Just this once…