**Diary Entry A Lesson in Love and Loss**
Watching the rain drum against the windowpane, droplets sliding like tears, Evelyn listened to Vera Lynns *”Well Meet Again,”* though the lyrics cut deep*”But just remember, therell always be blue skies above”* Her own tears fell unnoticed. She couldnt bear the song; it mirrored her life too painfully.
Bitterness, undeserved and raw, sears the soul. When you cant change a thing, you cling to any comforteven a melody.
Evelyn lived in a small market town where everyone knew each other. Shed come from a village years ago to train as a nurse and never left.
*”Stay in the city after your studies, love,”* her mother had urged. *”Not that we dont want you home, but theres nothing for you here. Marry a local ladbuild a life.”*
*”I know, Mum,”* Evelyn had replied. *”Ill miss you, but its time.”*
So she stayed, working at the local hospital. Pretty, with thick chestnut hair and piercing blue eyes, she turned heads. One morning, entering the mens ward with an IV, she spotted a young bloke in a cast, staring at her with open curiosity.
*”Morning,”* she greeted the room, but James felt it was just for him.
Hed been admitted the night beforea factory accident. Fresh out of university, hed slipped on the factory floor, landing hard. Now here he was, arm broken, smitten.
Evelyn adjusted his drip, deft and quiet. He watched, already plotting how to know her better.
*”All done. Rest easy,”* she said.
*”Youll come back, wont you?”* he blurted. *”Whats your name?”*
*”Evelyn. And yesits my job.”* She left, but not before catching his grin.
*”Evelyn,”* he thought. *”Maybe this break isnt so bad.”*
She fancied him too, though shed never show it. But his lookslingering, warmtold her enough.
*”Handsome lads like him dont stay single,”* she mused.
She watched his visitors. Friends, coworkersno girlfriends. Relief flickered. James, meanwhile, dreamed of strolling with her after discharge.
They talked in the corridors, then over tea in the evenings.
*”Im not from here,”* he admitted. *”Got placed at the factory after uni. Lived in digs, but theyve given me a flat now. Needs work, but its mine.”*
*”Lucky you,”* Evelyn sighed. *”Im stuck in shared housingnoisy, cramped.”*
When James was discharged, they kept meeting. He took his time proposingtwo years, in fact. Evelyn loved him fiercely, afraid to breathe wrong in his presence. Then, one evening, he finally said:
*”Ev, weve been at this ages. Lets marry.”*
*”Yes,”* she laughed, giddy. He knew shed waited.
The wedding was simpleher mum came from the village, his sisters from up north. Friends envied her: *”Youve bagged a proper catchclever, handsome, kind!”*
They moved into his flat, fixed it up, had two girls.
*”Ev, Id love a son,”* hed say, but she refusedtwo was enough.
Life was good. James earned well; they holidayed at the seaside, visited her mum in the countryside. Years passed, uneventful.
Then the factory started calling him in on weekends. Hed grumble, return exhausted.
*”Im quitting,”* he snapped one night. *”I need proper rest.”*
His boss fought, but James left. The new job paid betterbut required travel.
*”Ev, its just a few days here and there,”* he assured her.
But over time, the trips grew longer. Worse, hed come home late, smelling of drink.
Fifteen years in, Evelyn confronted him: *”James, whats got into you? You used to hate this!”*
*”Leave off,”* hed growl. *”Lifes dull. Im livening it up.”*
Then the whispers started.
*”Evelyn,”* her coworker Martha murmured one day, *”your James isnt just working late. My mate Lisas been seeing himsaunas, weekends. He visits her first after trips.”*
*”Youre lying,”* Evelyn gasped.
But others confirmed it. They fought; he snarled: *”Sick of your nagging. Ill live as I please!”*
The final straw? He raised his hand to her.
*”I want a divorce,”* she said, numb.
As he packed his things, Vera Lynns voice floated from the telly: *”Well meet again”* James paused at the door.
*”Im leaving. The flats yours. I know its hard.”*
Then he was gone.
Time passed. The girls grew. The eldest married, moved away. The youngest vowed: *”Mum, Ill never leave you.”*
Evelyn smiled. *”Love has a way of changing minds.”*
Sure enough, soon came the news: *”Mum, you were right! Paul proposedwere moving to Manchester!”*
At the wedding, Jamesnow greypulled Paul aside. Evelyn overheard:
*”Son, learn from my mistake. Stick with one family. However tough it gets, endure it.”*
She thought: *”So hes tasted regret too.”*
Years later, the pain dulled to indifference. They cross paths now, polite strangers. The song still brings tearsbut only nostalgias sting.
**Lesson learnt:** Some wounds scar over, but never quite heal. And the ones who walk away? They carry their own regrets.
