FAIR PLAY (4)

Three weeks later I met Chrissy. We lived together for 3 years before getting married. The funny thing was the marriage only lasted a little over a year.

We knew it was a mistake after just a few months but stuck it out hoping against hope that things would improve.

They didn't and when Chrissy got a lucrative job offer from out of state, we hired a law firm to do the paperwork for an amicable divorce. We could have saved several thousand dollars if we had just waited a little longer to get married.

After she left, things really picked up at work and I got so absorbed in the job I didn't think much about dating.

When I did think about it, I certainly never considered dating anyone as young and pretty as Rita. I had to keep reminding myself that this wasn't romance, only gratitude. The more we talked, the harder it became to make that distinction.

Rita had a wonderful sense of humor and we were still laughing and joking after she parked the car and led me to the door of her home.

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