Alas, Robyn had caught the matzo ball return. George and Robyn were in love, it seemed. Yet the field had gotten muddy, and things eroded from not-quite-right to...
They sat at her kitchen table. {George had insisted that tables, not sofas, were where one must eat.} While he ranted, Robyn reminisced about the good old days -- several months ago, when they first met, George had said he hated to argue. Robyn believed him. Little did she know what spurred this word-vomit, or that she'd be sliced in two by it.
"A lot of the mentally ill are violent."
Blood rushed through her system. When her (ex) husband had expressed a similarly hateful, insensitive comment about mental illness years earlier, Robyn was certain that he couldn't have said anything more hurtful. And he'd said a lot of hurtful things.* But this hit too close to home, caused too much pain, was utterly dismissive of her and her family, meant she couldn't stay with him.
Reality is, Robyn likely could be in a relationship with a Republican, one who's nice and respectful. But she couldn't, under any circumstances, date a mule's tuchas.** Yet she didn't cut ties with George in that moment. We don't know why. Perhaps she's one of those co-dependent women who love too much.
"It really hurts to hear you say that." Robyn looked directly into George's eyes, maintaining calm. "I told you about my brother, and you know about my depression and my work on suicide prevention. Not all people with mental illness are violent."
"Well, some of them are!" George insisted.
"Yeah, and some people without a diagnosed mental illness are violent too."
--Silence--
Naively, lovingly, Robyn continued to pine for a more caring George, the one she'd thought she'd fallen in love with, one who never acted like a mule's tuchas.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*Read all about her marriage in Robyn's 5-star book. Hint, hint. Critics agree it's a page-turner, and Alex warns: "Hang on for the ride."
**Tuchas=Yiddish for rear, derriere, butt, or ass; but I was trying to be polite.
Stay tuned for George and Robyn's final finale.
First (in a few days): Thanksgiving Erotica.
Be well, my friends, and take good care.
