A Christmas Good-Bye, A Christmas Welcome (Part I)

It was around this time nine Christmases ago that the woman I was seeing said to me that she was leaving for South America. South America! Straight out of the blue, I get this stunning news. I didn’t understand. What was in South America? “I don’t know,” was her reply. “I’m not really sure. All I know is that I need to be going.”

Up to this point in our relationship, I thought I had a pretty good idea of who she was and what she was all about but her announcement threw that belief out the window. Then again, she was the one who always enjoyed travelling and exploring different places and cultures. Maybe, I’ve had my blinders on all this time. I was the one who preferred to stay put in one place. Travel was such a hassle. I didn’t like being on the road for extended periods or staying in hostels or the idea that home was wherever one could lay one’s hat. It wasn’t me at all.

I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised. All this time, I had fooled myself into believing that I could settle her down into a cozy domestic relationship with a house and picket fence. And maybe start a family. But it was obvious that I had become an anchor around her neck.

I understood why she needed to move on. It hurt like hell, but there wasn’t anything left to do other than to say good-bye. She left a few days later. She promised to send me a postcard.

I was going to be alone for Christmas.