that
she'd just been dumped. Together, they'd polished off three huge
tubs of ice-cream and watched their favorite comedies through the
night. Abby had laughed till she cried, and cried till she laughed.
For a few hours, she didn't know if she was laughing or crying, but
she felt a whole lot better after that.
The ice-cream had been
therapeutic, and Terri's optimism and encouragement had helped
restore some of her shattered self-esteem. Terri told her that she
would find someone way better than that jerk Kenneth, someone who
would love and cherish her with all his heart. Abby had smiled at
her friend's heartfelt words, but she wasn't so sure. Of all her
doomed relationships, her relationship with Kenneth had lasted the
longest. She had always wanted to get married before thirty, and
she'd secretly harbored the hope that Kenneth would pop the question
soon.
Did she think that Kenneth
was Mr. Right? No, not really. But Abby wasn't a starry-eyed, naïve
young thing. She knew that Mr. Right was just a mythical creature,
like Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny. They didn't exist in the real
world. In the real world, there were fights and arguments, and you
had to make compromises. You had to settle for less and just try to
make things work.
Her relationship with Kenneth
hadn't been fraught with too many arguments and fights. Kenneth
hated confrontations, avoided them like the plague. If he was
unhappy about something, he would just keep a stony silence and
distance himself physically and emotionally from her until she went
to him and apologized. Sometimes she didn't even know what in hell
she was apologizing for. It had occurred to her that she was always
the one doing the apologizing and compromising, but she'd stupidly
thought that it didn't matter who lowered their pride first as long
as it kept the peace and kept the relationship going.
Abby's head sank into her
hands. Compromise couldn't keep a dead, decaying relationship going.
She knew that. But she had been so hung up on the idea of getting
married before thirty that she had stubbornly clung on to a
relationship that was way past its expiration date. Kenneth wasn't
the right fit. He wasn't the one for her. At least he had grown
some balls and taken the step to end a relationship that was going
nowhere, even if he was too chicken to talk to her about it first.
Abby snorted out a wet,
painful laugh. Nope. She wouldn't be getting married by thirty.
From the looks of it, she probably wouldn't be getting married in
this lifetime.
She had no boyfriend, no job,
no life.
That was the goddamn truth.
She had to face it, and get over it.
But first, she would put a
stop to her pity party and go throw a real party for herself. Terri
wasn't around so it would be just her and her frozen, crispy, sweet
and savory buddies.
Drying the last of her tears,
Abby got up and pulled a comfy old t-shirt and track pants from the
cupboard. With a loud huff, she marched to the kitchen and rummaged
for her hidden bags of chips. There was no need to restrict and deny
herself anymore. She could eat whatever she wanted, as much as she
wanted, any time she wanted. She didn't have to squeeze into that
ridiculous, tiny uniform ever again. Smirking, she grabbed a pizza
from the freezer and nuked it. What the heck. She would have her
chips and ice-cream first, and pizza for dessert.
After a few heavenly
spoonfuls of frozen goodness, Abby felt better. An empty belly never
did anyone any good. She would eat her fill, refuel and recharge
herself. So what if she'd lost her job? She would look for a new
one. There, the old Abby was back. She was indomitable, intrepid,
independent. Somewhere along the way, she had gotten lost. A string
of broken relationships had done some serious damage to her ego and
crushed some of her spirit. And a pressurizing, exhausting job which
didn't pay all that well had helped chip away at her self-esteem.
Abby brushed the crumbs from
her t-shirt and took another slice of
she'd just been dumped. Together, they'd polished off three huge
tubs of ice-cream and watched their favorite comedies through the
night. Abby had laughed till she cried, and cried till she laughed.
For a few hours, she didn't know if she was laughing or crying, but
she felt a whole lot better after that.
The ice-cream had been
therapeutic, and Terri's optimism and encouragement had helped
restore some of her shattered self-esteem. Terri told her that she
would find someone way better than that jerk Kenneth, someone who
would love and cherish her with all his heart. Abby had smiled at
her friend's heartfelt words, but she wasn't so sure. Of all her
doomed relationships, her relationship with Kenneth had lasted the
longest. She had always wanted to get married before thirty, and
she'd secretly harbored the hope that Kenneth would pop the question
soon.
Did she think that Kenneth
was Mr. Right? No, not really. But Abby wasn't a starry-eyed, naïve
young thing. She knew that Mr. Right was just a mythical creature,
like Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny. They didn't exist in the real
world. In the real world, there were fights and arguments, and you
had to make compromises. You had to settle for less and just try to
make things work.
Her relationship with Kenneth
hadn't been fraught with too many arguments and fights. Kenneth
hated confrontations, avoided them like the plague. If he was
unhappy about something, he would just keep a stony silence and
distance himself physically and emotionally from her until she went
to him and apologized. Sometimes she didn't even know what in hell
she was apologizing for. It had occurred to her that she was always
the one doing the apologizing and compromising, but she'd stupidly
thought that it didn't matter who lowered their pride first as long
as it kept the peace and kept the relationship going.
Abby's head sank into her
hands. Compromise couldn't keep a dead, decaying relationship going.
She knew that. But she had been so hung up on the idea of getting
married before thirty that she had stubbornly clung on to a
relationship that was way past its expiration date. Kenneth wasn't
the right fit. He wasn't the one for her. At least he had grown
some balls and taken the step to end a relationship that was going
nowhere, even if he was too chicken to talk to her about it first.
Abby snorted out a wet,
painful laugh. Nope. She wouldn't be getting married by thirty.
From the looks of it, she probably wouldn't be getting married in
this lifetime.
She had no boyfriend, no job,
no life.
That was the goddamn truth.
She had to face it, and get over it.
But first, she would put a
stop to her pity party and go throw a real party for herself. Terri
wasn't around so it would be just her and her frozen, crispy, sweet
and savory buddies.
Drying the last of her tears,
Abby got up and pulled a comfy old t-shirt and track pants from the
cupboard. With a loud huff, she marched to the kitchen and rummaged
for her hidden bags of chips. There was no need to restrict and deny
herself anymore. She could eat whatever she wanted, as much as she
wanted, any time she wanted. She didn't have to squeeze into that
ridiculous, tiny uniform ever again. Smirking, she grabbed a pizza
from the freezer and nuked it. What the heck. She would have her
chips and ice-cream first, and pizza for dessert.
After a few heavenly
spoonfuls of frozen goodness, Abby felt better. An empty belly never
did anyone any good. She would eat her fill, refuel and recharge
herself. So what if she'd lost her job? She would look for a new
one. There, the old Abby was back. She was indomitable, intrepid,
independent. Somewhere along the way, she had gotten lost. A string
of broken relationships had done some serious damage to her ego and
crushed some of her spirit. And a pressurizing, exhausting job which
didn't pay all that well had helped chip away at her self-esteem.
Abby brushed the crumbs from
her t-shirt and took another slice of
Similar Books
