Love Can Tear Us All Apart

Love Can Tear Us All Apart(James Sullivan) Love Can Tear Us All Apart


That Sunday was emotionally the worst day of my entire life so far. The sun did not shine, providing the opposite term for it. However, it was also a life changing day, from youth to manhood, from the past to the present. It was terrible from the moment I woke up that morning.

My wife suddenly and unexpectedly slammed the door open at five o'clock in the morning, jerking me out of a pleasant dream about my wife herself.

'Ralph?' she irritably muttered.

"Yes...what is it?" I replied blearily in a semi-conscious state.

"Get out of bed" she said angrily. "We need to have an important discussion downstairs." This alarmed me because normally she was a peaceful figure, with a calm, set face. That day her face was tightened into a grimace of pain and rage. Then she slammed the door again, heightening my worries.

I walked downstairs barely five minutes later. Through the bay windows of the kitchen cum sitting room I could see it was still dark, and rain splattered the windows like blood from what was to come.

"This morning" thundered my wife, "if you could call two A.M. morning, a certain woman called on the phone downstairs. I went to answer it, wondering who possibly would bother to call us at this unearthly time. And the caller said 'Ralph, my darling, I'm on my way already.' Who could that be, Ralph? WHO?"

I now realized that my whole life was in danger. The caller was infact my secret love-who I wish to remain unnamed, coming for our night together. Never had I expected my wife would find out.

"I...er...eheh" I fatally laughed uneasily.

"Yes, Ralph? WHO WAS IT" she bellowed, seemingly naive to the fact that our children were standing in the doorway.

The phone rang. I sobbed internally. My wife's veins, pulsing angrily in her forehead, picked up the phone and put it on the speaker system, so the children could hear.

"Ralph, lovey..." cooed the caller.

My wife slammed the phone down, grabbed an already prepared bag and stormed into the entrance hall.

"Mummy? Where are you going?" called my children.

"Away. As far away as possible" called my wife, without any sign of emotion. I heard the keys rattle outside and I rushed out into the pouring rain and the chilly wind and she said: "Goodbye, Ralph. Wish you two the very best of luck."

She pulled away. As I watched, the car disappeared in a cloud of dust. The dust was visible even in the dim light and the blinding rain-mingled with my tears that were falling, falling, onto the sidewalk below.

Just then a transition occured inside of me, at the same moment that the pre-dawn light from the tips of the sun swam down into our valley. I realized that I felt gutted-my children were now my full and complete responsibility-and I was unemployed. Yet, it was a Sunday-the day of the Lord, so this was the day to pray for a new beginning.

And then a revelation took hold of me as I led my weeping children, who were blaming it on me, back into our now seemingly unfamiliar house-that love can bind us all-as it binds our world together-it can make us happy, but like in this same incident that happened to me-it can tear us all apart.