One Of Those Things- I Suppose

[poliphilo]

Joe had been home only a couple of minutes when Sara rang. She asked for Ailz- which was a little odd- but I told her Ailz was in bed and offered to put her onto Joe. "Oh don't tell him I rang," she said. "We've broken up."

Oh....

Joe's my son and of course I support him in anything he chooses to do ( he says this was his choice) but I'm not going to pretend it doesn't hurt. He and Sara were engaged and I liked her and had taken to thinking of her- and speaking of her- as my daughter-in-law. Lovely girl.

I wonder how her parents are taking it? Joe used to spend five nights a week at their house. He and Ron went drinking together. They went to the gym together.

So do I scrub all the photos of him and her off my computer in case one of them should shuffle into view when he's in the room? Seems a bit Stalinist really- this making of her into a non-person.

Maybe they'll get back together, but I doubt it. This is the third time they've split. The other times felt like spats, like mistakes, like blips. This time it feels final.

They've got a lot of shared property- things they've bought for their future home- and most of it is in our attic. There's going to have to be some sort of division of spoils. She was asking about this when she rang yesterday. I said- pretending to a competence I didn't feel- that we'd sort something out.

I didn't sleep well. And- would you Adam and Eve it?- this morning it's snowing.