by Athena Brady

Created on: September 10, 2010

Harriet had always been a person with a glass half full. Whatever happened to her in life she would look at the bright side. She remembered when she fell and broke her arm, well at least I will have some time off work. Her always look on the bright side of life attitude in infuriated her friends. They would look at her angrily and say even you can't find something good about this.... but she always did.

Today she was struggling, big time, Tommy was leaving her today.

After never being apart for one single day, for the past 18 yrs he was going. The pain was unbearable she had not slept for a week dreading this day. As she watched him pack she noticed the deep brown curl at the nape of his neck and shuddered. He needs a haircut she thought silently to herself.

“Want any help” she asked bravely. Gulping back the torrent of tears that were behind her eyes.

“Can we work this out Tommy”

“It's decided now, no going back”

“but....”

“No buts it's happening and that's that !”

She ran from the room and locked herself in the bathroom. Wrenching heartbreaking sobs spilled into the bath towel she held against her face, to stifle the noise. How could he do this to her, after all she had done for him over the yrs. She had given him the money to start up his now successful internet business. She had paid for the courses he needed and helped him pass his exams. He cooked and cleaned for him tirelessly and this was how he repayed her.

How would she survive without seeing him every morning as she had over the last 18 yrs. Who would look after him now ?

Certainly not that flighty little piece of work Marcella. What kind of a name was that anyway. She was all legs and boobs, but that was the attraction wasn't it. Never mind the loyalty she had given him all these yrs, that counted for nothing obviously.

Yes, try as she might Harriet could not see anything good in this. She had tried to be more attentive to his needs when she realised that she had a rival for his affections. Pamper him a little, buy him little treats. She knew the signs, new clothes, hushed phone calls when she walked into the room. More and more time away from home and the eventual nights away on business.

She had tried to be everything he wanted her to be but none of it had worked. In fact, it just drove a deeper wedge between them. Finally, she had confronted him with the evidence and he had not even had the decency to deny it. She had kicked herself for that, thinking maybe it would have just fizzled out if she had kept quiet.

Marcella was clever, she had to give her that. She had played it cool for a long time before dropping the pregnancy bombshell. That was the deciding factor in him going and there was nothing she could do to persuade him otherwise. He was leaving and that was that. She would remember his last words to her until the day she died.

“Are you coming to the wedding mum ?”

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