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And for Heaven's sake: if your significant other makes the same kind of mistake? Before you walk out the door, consider looking in the mirror and asking yourself, "Why did they cheat on me? Was it me?" Especially if they are showing true remorse for their actions.
Without forgiveness, none of us will last for long, and we'll never know true happiness. I know that's going to be a tough pill for many to swallow, but you know what? Nobody ever said life would be easy, did they? It's not. But it can be worth it, if we are willing to make it worth it.
Be good to each other!
Love, Amber
- COMMENTS
Anonymous3 months agoWhat a lot of these comments tell me is that there are a lot of people with no flexibility in them. Flexibility doesn't me being a pushover, it doesn't mean you just compromise everything you are and give up everything. Flexibility is the ability to move just enough to survive the storm, and to not fail catastrophically. Flexibility means you bend a little bit, instead of breaking completely.
In this context it means acknowledging that every single person in this story is flawed and made mistakes. Every single person in this comments thread is flawed and has made mistakes. How you react to your own mistakes, and to the mistakes of those around you is a choice. It's rarely black and white, there are infinite shades of grey.
For every unforgivable cheater, there are multiple people who do deserve forgiveness, who truly regret their decisions, who want to do everything they can to rebuild their relationships.
Bottom line, try adding a little flexibility into your own construction, so you can survive the storms, and if others grant you a little grace for your mistakes, pass that along when someone wrongs you and is trying to make amends.
Anonymous3 months agoThe author has a most excellent understanding of the human condition in all its variations. Five well-earned stars
c24j3 months agoThis is a well-written tale. It does indeed have elements of tragedy, and some familiar characters. Steve was definitely controlling. Sarah really screwed up, but she had married to young, had never orgasmed with her husband, and quite possibly lacked the skills to fend off a molester who would go after a married woman.
Yes, Mark sort of got off easily (pun intended). He got what he wanted, and then disappeared. To me, marriage molesters are almost as bad as child molesters . . . not quite, mind you . . . but definitely of the same selfish mindset . . . They go after what they want, and it doesn't matter who gets hurt. And generally, destroying marriages is legal just to get one's jollies is quite legal.
Steve was indeed kind of an unforgiving, obnoxious jerk, but if he'd never gone after a married woman (other than his wife) then he is a MUCH better person than Mark will ever be. I wonder if Fred had ever gone after a married woman. Did she think to ask?
I like that the story creates a lot of mixed feelings. Nobody's a really good person, but only Mark is somewhat of a villain . . . and maybe Sarah a bit, though youth and inexperience often leads to horrendous errors in judgement, with potentially devastating consequences.
This was a good exploration of characters. I really enjoyed it!!
ForensicFossil3 months agoIn the last part after Sarah has married Fred, the author makes the serious but common editing mistake of switching the name of her second husband to "Mark", the name of the guy she cheated with. These name switches just leap out at me and completely drop me out of the story. I have to believe these errors would do the same thing to the author if they did a final careful edit reading. I conclude they did no such reading. This shows no respect for the reader, the story, or themself.
AmberSolis3 months agoAuthorAnonymous wrote: "You cheat hes ends up killing himself, and you dont blame yourself?
Unbelievable!!!"
The good news, just for you, is: in real life, nobody died. Though the real-life Steve did have a period of rapid personal growth due to some major emotional turbulence. In real life, both went on to meet others and have had good lives. The two of them are even friends, now. Years later. Shit happens. Life goes on. You can spend the rest of your life pissed off at the entire universe for subjecting you to the same trials as the other 8-billion of us are dealing with. OR, you can try and make a bad situation better. Try and learn something along the way.
Reactions like this to this story continue to amaze me. Second-highest viewed story I have posted, with the lowest rating. With, by far, the most comments. Almost like a literary version of the fabled "Howard Stern Effect": a lot of people who listen to his show hate him, and just listen for the next thing he says that will piss them off. "A lot of us are happier when we're mad," as Kenny White said. I should write a paper on this.
Anyway: "Lighten up, Francis."
