The end of the affair

(Please note: this article is fictitious) 

I had known Miss Lucy Ryan for over 5 years. We were first introduced around Christmas time in 2005. She was a pleasant, sanguine lady; in her mid-40s I think. She was a typical ‘happy-go-lucky’ type. People loved to be around her. As did I.

She was ecstatic to see me at last, that I remember quite vividly, but not nearly as happy as she was to see me leave many years later. You see, Lucy had been expecting me that winter morning, and waiting for this day for some time. Our meeting had been pre-arranged for us so all that was left to do was for me to show up on time. And that I did, feeling like a million dollars. I wasn’t old then, you see.

We enjoyed a good many years together. We had, what you might call, the typical honeymoon period. Things were fantastic. We were inseparable. We would take day trips into town in the summer, spending money on good food in expensive restaurants. We scraped ice off of the car together in the winter to take Miss Ryan’s children out to build snowmen. We would go away for the weekend quite regularly, no matter what the season.

It was great, but it certainly was just the honeymoon period.

The honeymoon’s over

Over time, we started to lose our way a little. Lucy changed. The happy, optimistic lady that I knew when we first met no longer existed. She eventually lost her charm and became very unhappy. I would often hear her describe it to friends. She felt alone. We tried to fix her by doing the things we used to enjoy, but she felt like there was no way back to the ‘old her’, no matter how hard she tried.

Lucy stopped eating properly and, as time went on, made herself ill with worry. She took time off of work when she was diagnosed with depression. The doctor gave her medication to make herself feel better, but she still struggled to see any end to the spiral that she found herself in.

Divorce proceedings

I am not sure how she managed to get to this point, but I have a feeling that I was only making it worse. It was with this realisation that Miss Ryan decided we should separate. We had run our course and had a great time but, according to her, that was the end for us. She had to better herself and her situation. It was time for her to sort herself out and find the sparkling, charming lady that she once was.

I know that I had caused Miss Ryan a lot of problems, and for that I do apologise. We will always have those four digits that became the symbol of our affliction. I couldn’t help feel the guilt every time she swiped me, knowing that the fun we were having would catch up with us one day. It didn’t make it easier but we both knew that one day our relationship would naturally expire. She chose to change her situation on her own terms.

She got help. And she no longer needs me, a credit card, in her life.

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