The Best Goodbye

Evenings became rather intriguing and so did mornings, afternoons, and every other moment spent with him as everyone loved him except for me. I eventually managed to gather enough courage and a few rental properties for him to choose from, but to my surprise, he had no interest in any of them and threw a fit over it. He wanted to be a part of my family. He wanted to live with us in my home where everyone was happy except for me.

He proceeded to get me countless gifts and even offered me a huge sum of money only if I would let him stay. Me being a single mom who struggles to keep up with bills and taking care of extended family, of course, there was no way I was going to say no to money. I accepted, but did explain how our relationship wasn't working; however, we could always remain good friends since we were already close to family. I continued to inform him of my future plans, which now didn't involve him.

l was going to move to Italy for six months. I had always loved the idea of Rome, Tuscany, and Sicily. I was going to learn Italian, eat a lot of pizza and pasta, and enjoy the Tuscany wine while working on my book. He was stunned. His face became ashen and he started pacing back and forth on our little balcony. I had no idea what he would do next. Clemens had a short temper and he was bipolar. And it was his bipolar and unreasonable spending amongst other things that had made me fall out with him, just as fast as I had connected with him.

In the days that followed, his moods changed, his behaviour changed, he isolated himself, and he rarely spoke to anyone. He didn’t eat at home and barely came back at night. He drank a lot more than I had seem him do in our brief three month friendship. He cursed at the kids each time they tried to get close to him. And yes, we had only known each other for a terrific three months at this point. A whirlwind sort of romance just like in the movies.

At that point, I feared for my safety, the safety of my kids, and my nephew, and I asked him to leave. To my surprise, he was quite happy to, but asked if he could leave some of his belongings. He had done more shopping for himself in two weeks than most people do in two years. The man loved shopping, not only for himself, but for me and for the kids too. I had initially thought maybe it was due to the fact that he had just moved in, but it could have been he wanted to impress me.

I helped Clemens pack up and move all his belongings into the storeroom. All was well again, I could smell freedom and peace of mind for myself, but dreaded the confusion and sadness my decision had made other people. "See ya," Clemens shouted as he walked out of the door. Walking out of my life, just as fast as he had walked in. There were no goodbyes, no hugs, and no well wishes. It was all compelling and excruciating at the same time.

And that was Clemens Duval, gone out of my life, leaving me with a smile. He had been good to my family and generous to me, had made us laugh, and made me want to kill myself at some point, but that's because I have issues. I can't stand what I don't understand.

There were a lot of things about him that didn't make sense to me. Like how he claimed to have two kids, but wouldn't call or visit them. How he went on several supposed business meetings and trips, but didn't own a laptop or a smartphone and wouldn't talk about it. The way he shopped and spent without a care in the world. The way he kept his personal documents, passport, identity card, and other things locked up in this small suitcase that he would tape around with dusk tape. Clemens had refused to disclose his income or show his bank records.

Regardless of it all, there he was leaving peacefully, leaving me to carry on with my life in peace just a day before new year. "Mistakes not to make again ever," I said to myself, silently closing the door behind him. It was over. (Or so l thought.)