Opposites Attract By Fiona Lambert
I didn’t always believe that opposites attract. I once had a boyfriend who was like me, energetic and passionate. Combine those two, though and you get hot-headed. I dumped him the day he hit me for turning up late on a date.
Then Jason came along. He was the exact opposite, carefree and laid-back. I used to call him still-waters. We moved in together after four years. I wanted it to be sooner, but he was happy to take his time. I knew he loved me; he just was never in a rush to do anything.
I tried to inject some enthusiasm into him but, unless it was in the bedroom, he just wasn’t interested. I once threw the TV remote at him, just missing his head, but he just laughed it off.
“Why can’t you be more passionate, like me,” I would complain.
“We’re just different, Lisa. Don’t worry about it, it works.” Even his reply was laid-back.
As time went by his personality rubbed off and I became more relaxed.
Looking back, I think that was where it all went wrong. Soon I noticed that we were spending less time together. When we did, we just sat and watched TV. We hugged and held hands, but it was all just habit. I started to have itchy feet. My friends told me it was the 7-year itch and I should just ride it out, things would get better.
I didn’t want to go back to throwing TV remotes, so, I started taking pottery class. The creativity helped to get the frustration out of my system. Jason didn’t seem to mind. He had recently found computer games and I would leave him staring at his PC screen shooting a zombie or an enemy soldier.
I was on my way to class one night, when I received a call. It was a fellow class-mate to tell me that night’s class was cancelled, that the tutor had fallen ill suddenly. Annoyed with the last minute change of plan, I turned the car around and headed back home.
“I’m back,” I called as I walked into the house. “Class was cancelled.”
A clambering noise came from the bedroom and I went up the stairs to see what he was doing. I didn’t expect to see a woman sat on our bed, half-dressed, with a panicked look on her face. Jason was standing by the bed, one leg in his jeans, and the other bent at the knee in suspended motion. At first, I just stared at them, unable to take in what was happening.
“Well I guess that’s another thing different about us,” I said, finally. “I’m loyal.”
I turned and ran back through the house. Luck wasn’t on my side that night, as I tripped on a discarded sock. I fell all the way down the stairs, hitting my head at the bottom. I heard Jason call my name, and then blacked out. The words still ring in my ear, “Lisa! Lise!”
Opposites attract and maybe that’s why I can’t leave. I sit here and I watch them together. They’re married now, have been for ten years. They have two kids. I think the youngest sees me sometimes. They do say kids are perceptive.
I whisper to him sometimes, but I know he can’t hear me. I loved him, even though he’s the reason my life is over. I won’t leave him.
Copyright Fiona Lambert 2012
Then Jason came along. He was the exact opposite, carefree and laid-back. I used to call him still-waters. We moved in together after four years. I wanted it to be sooner, but he was happy to take his time. I knew he loved me; he just was never in a rush to do anything.
I tried to inject some enthusiasm into him but, unless it was in the bedroom, he just wasn’t interested. I once threw the TV remote at him, just missing his head, but he just laughed it off.
“Why can’t you be more passionate, like me,” I would complain.
“We’re just different, Lisa. Don’t worry about it, it works.” Even his reply was laid-back.
As time went by his personality rubbed off and I became more relaxed.
Looking back, I think that was where it all went wrong. Soon I noticed that we were spending less time together. When we did, we just sat and watched TV. We hugged and held hands, but it was all just habit. I started to have itchy feet. My friends told me it was the 7-year itch and I should just ride it out, things would get better.
I didn’t want to go back to throwing TV remotes, so, I started taking pottery class. The creativity helped to get the frustration out of my system. Jason didn’t seem to mind. He had recently found computer games and I would leave him staring at his PC screen shooting a zombie or an enemy soldier.
I was on my way to class one night, when I received a call. It was a fellow class-mate to tell me that night’s class was cancelled, that the tutor had fallen ill suddenly. Annoyed with the last minute change of plan, I turned the car around and headed back home.
“I’m back,” I called as I walked into the house. “Class was cancelled.”
A clambering noise came from the bedroom and I went up the stairs to see what he was doing. I didn’t expect to see a woman sat on our bed, half-dressed, with a panicked look on her face. Jason was standing by the bed, one leg in his jeans, and the other bent at the knee in suspended motion. At first, I just stared at them, unable to take in what was happening.
“Well I guess that’s another thing different about us,” I said, finally. “I’m loyal.”
I turned and ran back through the house. Luck wasn’t on my side that night, as I tripped on a discarded sock. I fell all the way down the stairs, hitting my head at the bottom. I heard Jason call my name, and then blacked out. The words still ring in my ear, “Lisa! Lise!”
Opposites attract and maybe that’s why I can’t leave. I sit here and I watch them together. They’re married now, have been for ten years. They have two kids. I think the youngest sees me sometimes. They do say kids are perceptive.
I whisper to him sometimes, but I know he can’t hear me. I loved him, even though he’s the reason my life is over. I won’t leave him.
Copyright Fiona Lambert 2012