More Explaining
Well, [Ellie], I commend you for trying to see my side of this.
[Ann] was going through a very rough time with [her daughter] in August. I got to hear it first hand. Plus, at that time, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to get away or move forward.
But you’re right. I did want to be there for [Ann]. She’d been telling me how my support was helping her get by. Yes, I wanted to be kind and do the right thing. But would it have been any better if I had left her while [her daughter] was still at home, threatening her, yelling, and all the rest? Somehow, I don’t believe it would have been.
Now I’m not saying I handled things perfectly here. If I had it to do over again, I would have ended it when I had the first signs of doubt, which would have been just after the convention.
Yes, I see where [Ann] could have gotten mixed signals from me. But we talked about where the relationship was heading on at least a weekly basis. I can’t tell you how many times I told her I wasn’t ready to move forward. Yes, I called her a lot and truly enjoyed talking with her. Her sense of humor is wonderful. But unfortunately, that wasn’t enough in the end to make me fall in love again.
Yes, I agree. In hindsight, what I felt for her in the 70s was a short-lived childhood crush, which might have survived into the present if we both hadn’t changed so much. But the key word here is hindsight. None of us could have predicted back in June what the outcome of all this would have been.
I’m glad [Ann] appears to you all to be resilient. I was only concerned that she was not because of the email and calls I got from her this past weekend, that suggested that she might be in trouble psychologically. But I am happy that she’s okay.
I do realize that beauty runs much deeper than skin level. This is why I took so long to make the decision to end things with [her]. I believe you and [C] would have said this to me if I had ended things with [her] back at the convention.
Do you see, [Ellie], that there is never a good way to end a relationship unless both parties want to end it simultaneously? Someone is always going to find fault with how it was handled. I’m glad at least, that you don’t think I did this to her intentionally.
I would also ask that you remember all the good I did for [her] while with her. I spent probably more than a hundred hours on the phone, supporting her because she said she needed me. I couldn’t just turn my back on her during the crisis period in August with [her daughter]. She and I have both benefited from the experience. It’s not all gloom and doom just because it has reached its conclusion.
Yes, the timing of all this was awful, given all of [Ann's] problems with [her daughter]. I’m sorry I had end things when I did. But I could wait no longer. If I had, then I would have been guilty of stringing [her] along, which I never wanted to do.
At any rate, thanks for your understanding. By the way, I sense that the chat line crowd bias is definitely against me. Not that I feel I’m wrong. I just don’t want to have to argue this and repeatedly justify my position to deaf ears. So I will not be calling in anytime soon. Maybe once [Ann] finds someone else and is no longer angry, I’ll check in again, for I have no wish make her uncomfortable. And since you guys are a big source of support for her right now, I don’t want to interfere with that by dialing in.
Take care. I’ll see you around.
