An Untold Story Chapter 1 - The Woman

This story has been stewing inside of me for about a year. With the exception of a few trusted confidants, I haven't shared this with anyone.

It was too personal, too recent, and too raw. I was also, and still am, respectful of the other person's privacy. Which is why the names have been changed, although the circumstances are completely factual.

Most of the prologue can be found in Parts 1-3 of my "Disasters in Dating" series.

Disasters in Dating - Part 1

Disasters in Dating - Part 2

Disasters in Dating - Part 3

The beginning of Part 1 finds me freshly divorced from my 2nd wife and very much on the prowl.

By the end of Part 3, I am in love, happy, content and have been for a few years.
Which is where this story begins.

The Woman

I met Becky over 5 years ago. I had been divorced for a couple of years and was very active in the local online dating scene.

OK, "active" doesn't quite do it justice. That's like saying Ted Kennedy enjoyed an occasional sip of scotch in a social setting. Or saying Bill Gates is doing OK for himself and can live within his budget.

I was a full speed, pedal to the metal, balls to the wall manwhore, mkay? I can refer you to a few local bloggers and tweeters who will vouch for the depths of depravity and promiscuity into which I dived like Alvin on Ecstasy.

But after a couple of years of this, I had started to think that maybe I was beginning to be ready for something more. Maybe.

None of my attempts at "something more" lasted more than a month. It got to the point that I started thinking I could save myself a lot of time and money by just calling up women at random out of the phone book and breaking up with them.

"Hi! You don't know me, we've never met. But I really don't think we should see each other. It's not you, it's me. I know this comes as a shock. I'm so sorry! But you'll get over me. You'll find somebody else. You deserve to be happy. I still want to be friends. Let's stay in touch! Maybe we could have lunch sometime! O.K., I gotta run. Buh bye!" click buzzzzzzzzzzzz (that's a dial tone for you young fucks who have never heard one)

When I found Becky's online profile, I noticed that not only was she petite and cute and hot and funny, but her status was "separated".

I thought "This is fucking PERFECT! She isn't even divorced yet! She can't possibly be looking for anything serious, I suck at anything serious, so this is doomed from the start! Exactly what I'm looking for!"

I can help her transition to single life, we can have some laughs together, she'll realize she isn't ready for a relationship, in a couple of months we can part as friends and it will all be good.

Well fuck me running! It didn't work out that way. We fell in love. Sometimes shit just happens.

She'd been married twice. So had I.

Her first marriage was to a shiftless, abusive, druggie and only lasted a few years but resulted in her oldest son, Jerry.

Her second marriage was to a callous, misogynist, railroader, lasted 20 years and resulted in two more boys, Desmond and Sam.

The first 3 years we were together were fucking AWESOME. We talked and emailed every day, spent almost every weekend together. We never fought or argued. We shared a warped and twisted sense of humor.

[SIDE STORY - Before our first date, we were talking on the phone. I can even tell you the exact day. It was Saturday, July 3, 2004. She was in the middle of trying to find a job. As we were chatting and flirting over the phone, a Breaking News Story came on her TV. Tragically, it was the story of the disgruntled ConAgra meat plant worker who brought a couple of pistols to work, shot 7 people, killing 5 of them before killing himself. Her first reaction was "OOH! I bet they're hiring!" That was some sick and twisted shit! I was pretty much a goner right then and there.]

We had a lot in common. We were both the oldest of 4 kids. Both of our dad's worked for TWA. We ALWAYS had each other's back. We weathered some individual tough times hand in hand.

When I was out of work and filing for bankruptcy, I woke up one morning to find my jeep GONE. Repossessed in the middle of the night (due to bad advice from my lawyer). After an entire day of complete MELTDOWN PANIC, she came over after work picked me up and calmed me down. We drove to a dealership I had found that had a jeep I wanted. She had to write the check because my hands were shaking too bad. I was barely able to sign it. Then she bought me dinner at Denny's because I hadn't eaten anything all day and was about to pass out.

She called me, crying, when her transmission died at Truman and I-435. I ditched my grocery cart at Price Chopper and raced to her. We got her fucked up car towed to her house. Then I took her to KCI where I rented her a car so she could go car shopping. When she found one she wanted, she needed to borrow $1500.00 for a down payment. I met her at CarMax and wrote a check. No questions asked.

We were a great team!

This was the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.

Then about two years ago, tragically, things started to change.

Next: Chapter 2 - The Diagnosis