28


My thoughts turned to my marriage once again as I discussed with Gilles what we could possibly do to save our situation. We had reactivated date night in an effort to spend some quality time together. The problem was that I needed three glasses of wine to feel remotely sexual. A sad truth was that breaking up with Morten meant that I missed his touch. And no one else could replace it. Not even my husband. I was going through hell but thought it was unfair to burden Gilles with it.

Gilles and Elena had had a conversation that would become known as “The Bombshell” and were yet again on a break. But they had done it so many times now that no one believed them when they said it was over.

Gilles had broken up with Elena on five separate occasions before The Bombshell.

The Bombshell, a.k.a. the sixth breakup, was different. Because this one had been initiated by Elena. There had been no warning of what I was to read in the email that Gilles had forwarded me. It was the transcript of a chat conversation that looked mundane and ordinary like every other. But as was Elena’s wont, it started bluntly:

“Gilles darling. I just wanted to let you know that I asked Morten for a divorce.”

Several seconds had passed, as denoted by the time-stamps on the chat messages. Then Gilles said, “Did you mean it?”

“Morten and I are best friends,” replied Elena. “But my romantic relationship is with you and has been for a long time. Your relationship with Louisa is crumbling. Why don’t you just admit it like I have? Louisa and I don’t seem to be able to share the same men. She has a big problem.”

“Louisa has a problem with you. But you’re the one who has a problem sharing your men. You can’t share your men with someone who has a problem with you. She has never asked me or Morten to choose even though she can’t get along with you.”

To which she replied, “We all have to choose our futures because I for one can’t live like this anymore.”

“Me either. But I still love Louisa and I am not willing to lose her just because we are having difficulties.”

“OK…But if that’s your choice then you will lose me.”

“Just to be clear — are you telling me that if I still want to be with you I have to leave Louisa?”

“Yes.”

“You are asking for an impossible choice.”

“But don’t you realise that this has been an impossible choice for me too? I love Morten as well as you. I wish we had never met. I can’t be with you anymore and I can’t be with my husband. My heart is doubly broken. Louisa has both of you and I have no one.”

“Louisa doesn’t have both of us. She gets to work on her relationship with me. She and Morten have broken up.”

“They’ll get back together if I leave though. He obviously loves me more than you do.”

“Well, I love you. I don’t know what you mean by ‘more.’”

“I mean that he is willing to leave her. But you are not. So this is goodbye.”