Winnie had been a freelance songwriter for a little while before she met December.
Dessa, as she called her.
Suddenly, Dessa was everywhere.
Movie nights, Sunday board games, fancy dinners, sleepovers, holidays.
Jealousy crept into your mind.
The two of you started fighting.
You wanted to scream.
"She's my friend!"
"But I'm your girlfriend!"
"... Not anymore."
Silence.
______________________________
Her name is Ginny, and she's tiny and a brunette and she's a little rough around the edges.
She's not Winnie, and you've come to terms with it.
Winnie had flaws. You see that now.
She tended to victimize herself. She never stayed, she ran at the first sign of trouble. She made you feel like you could never be good enough.
Maybe that wasn't her fault.
But not everything was your fault.
You two were good. You just weren't good together.
So when Winnie left, as she tended to do when things got rough, you didn't chase her.
It was time to let her run.
________________________________
The next time you saw her after Link and Joey's wedding was in a grocery store in New York.
You'd moved to get away. You'd met Ginny during a story you were writing.
Ginny was different. She was wild and gruff, but she loved unlike anyone else.
She wasn't Winnie.
Somehow, you were okay with it.
Winnie is married now. Winnie has kids.
Winnie doesn't remember you anymore.
So this is how your story ends?
You look to Ginny in the seat next to you. You're driving home to cook dinner. You'll probably watch horror movies and discuss ways Ginny could kill off her characters in her next crime novel. You'll probably wake up and go to work while Ginny sleeps in because she is not a morning person, thank you very much.
Right now, Ginny is beautiful. She's singing along to the radio. Her voice is off key. She's perfect.
You and Winnie weren't meant to be.
You weren't meant to stay.
And that's okay, because that story is over.
It's time for something new.
"Hey Mel?"
"Yeah Gin?"
"We're forever, right?"
You smile. It's a change.
"Forever and always."
__________________________________
YOU ARE READING
s h e
RomanceYou're purple. A mixture of fire truck red- bright, bold, and demanding- and royal blue- serene and smooth. You're purple, a mixture of good and bad. Purple for your inner sass queen. You're beautiful and you're not afraid to own it (though sometime...
