The other side

13

las"What a beautiful couple, don't you think? Your husband already saw the truth... you are a bitch who deserves to be alone. And obviously, she is prettier than you.

Xxx" 

Meryl was perplexed, who could it be? Bullshit, Don was an amazing man and husband. She had talked to him earlier that day, they were fine. Well, she tried to stay calm and forget that message, so she came back to her flowers.

She would let that message be a burden to her marriage, so all she did was delete it. Although it was consuming her, because she had been feeling old, fat, broken - if it was the truth? Suddenly, she was feeling insufficient. She knew Don loves her, he never would cheat on her; all the body image thing, critics were supposed to stay in the past, she had learned how to deal with all those things, but sometimes everybody has their downs. She was lucky for her life, her children, her husband, though sometimes she just felt undeserved to be happy and lucky -  now she was feeling that way. She should have spent more time with her kids, she should have been a better mother, more present in her children's lives. Even if she was trying to erase those feelings and focus on her flowers, it was not working; lately, she has been a mess, emotionally. It sucks. 

>>>

Don and Sandy were in his studio. She was not feeling good, so she asked Don for a hug. They hugged and she started to cry; Don did not know what to do, he did not even know what it was about. Earlier she had received a letter, and now she was crying. 

"Don't cry, Sandy. What is it? Is that bad?" - Don asked concerned.

"I'm sorry, Don. I'm scared, this person who sent the letter reminds me of a dark time of my life. I'm sorry. It's just... there are some things we never forget" - Sandy was calming down, yet in his arms. 

Don felt weird, but he couldn't turn his back to someone who needed a hug. "my bad. If I can, tell me what to do"

Sandy was feeling better and secure; she knew that it was not right, though she was feeling a bit of attraction. Don was talented, gorgeous, and kind, he has been her friend there and it was wonderful being embraced by him. "thank you, Don. I don't think you have the time to clean this mess. I'll be ok" - she raised her head and was starting to his eyes, which made her feel goosebumps; the eye contact lasted seconds and things froze for a moment. The situation was not missed by Don, who felt the difference in her eyes; she was beautiful and talented, he needed to be honest, but he would never cheat on Meryl. 

"I hope so, Sandy" - he broke the silence. Sandy was brought back from her trance.  

"Yes, yeah" - she quickly got off him, embarrassed. They knew there was an elephant in the room.

>> 

Another week had passed, and things had grown tense either for Don and Meryl. Don had felt uncomfortable with Sandy, Meryl had drunk more than she liked; the days had been mainly bad ones for her. She had tried to let her self-doubt go, however, that time, it was impossible. Some days all she had wanted was to drink, so she could be happy, or to sleep all day. Don had been too tired and Meryl being drunk almost every day had turned the situation into an overwhelming one; sometimes he had ignored her drunken self to avoid a fight. He knew her and also knew that she had been over the limits.

>>

It was 8 in the morning, Meryl woke up and turned around to face Don, who was still sleeping. He was so supportive that made Meryl feel guilty - she has been a mess, she has been broken, she hasn't been her radiant self, she has been more insecure than the normal; he did not deserve that crisis, she was adding a lot on his plate.