(no subject)

Our little bit of excitement for the day came in the form of one of our neighbors. A young woman (I keep wanting to call her a girl, but she's married, so I can't.) came to our door to borrow the phone. It seems her husband picked her up from work this morning (she has a night shift with one of the local call centers) and dropped her off at home, then took off to "sign some paperwork" at his place of employment, also a call center. Several hours later, he still wasn't home. She had no way to call him, as the only phone they own is a cell, which he had with him. So, she called from my cell, but he didn't answer. At which point she became even more worried. Eventually, she reached her sister, who came over to help her to search for him; before she left, she promised to let me know the results, either way.

When she called later that day, she told me he'd turned up. I asked if he was okay and she said yes, then mentioned that he wouldn't tell her where he'd been all day. But, she was quick to assure me, that was okay, just so long as he was safe.

Aarggh! I'm totally steamed.

I'm really glad she's got family in town. This sounds like a messy situation and my heart just aches for her, but there's nothing I can do. Except let her borrow the phone when she needs to.

Note: I edited the original text to remove my suspicions, which are simply that and have nothing to do with anything except the story in my head, rather than what actually happened.

Love, Trust, and Betrayal

Today has been a contemplative day, as the incident yesterday, coupled with posts in a few other journals, triggered some unpleasant memories, some involving past relationships, some involving friendships that continue, but with reservations. (Strangely, it's the latter category that holds more pain for me, now.) Plus, the stories I've been working on recently involve some pretty intense family dramas.

All of this has gotten me thinking about the relationships between love and trust, and love and betrayal, and how that effects writing about characters and the ways they love those around them. Not just couples in love, but also the love that exists between parents and children, between siblings, and between friends. Even the love that some people are capable of feeling for strangers.

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