Five years later -2012

Summer in New York this year was all over the place. One day it was 90, next day 60 and rainy. Today was in my favor it was a warm 75, with a slight breeze. Perfect for an outside lunch with my two best friends in the world; Trish and Tilly.

I decided to wear a floral sun dress and justput a cardigan over it.

Now Tilly and Trish are complete opposites, but we somehow just click. I met Trish 7 years ago; I had interviewed her for her design window. She had been asked to do the christmas window at Barneys. She was and still is the youngest designer ever to do it. Barneys had loved her work so much they kept her on full time.

I've known Tilly the longest. I knew her for 10 years, we had been roommates during school. After graduation we rented an apartment together. 6 years ago she got married to Rob. Now Rob was nice but a little quirky, but he balanced off Tilly's craziness. They have two amazing kids, one is my goddaughter.

I was the first one at the resturant, soon after my arrival Tilly and Trish showed up.

Trish was having problems with her boyfriend; the major problem was that he is married.

"guys he and his wife just bought a new dining room set for $3000."

"oh wow where? Rob and I are looking a new one." Tilly asked.

"Tilly focus, the real issue is I don't think he is going to leave her" Trish sighed.

Tilly scoughed "big deal, you've known that for 2 years. Ally you've been quiet, what do you think?"

"yes please another opinion from someone in a relationship" Trish said.

I look at both of them then down at my salad. "I'm not sure if I can help you."

"What are you talking about?" Trish spoke.

"Dallas and I broke up" I told them.

"oh my gosh Ally when?" Tilly asked.

"on Monday."

"why did you wait 3 days to tell us? are you ok?" Tilly asked

" I just needed time to adjust and I did and I'm fine. We just wanted different things."

Trish didn't waste anytime; she pulled out her iPhone "so you're ready."

"what are you doing?" Tilly raised her eyebrow.

"finding Ally her new boyfriend." She scrolled through her contacts "ha perfect. Now he isn't my type, but you like nerds."

"hey" I say offended. " I don't go for nerds they are just nice people. Besides I'm not ready to date. Who is it?" my curiousity got the better of me.

"keith Cooper" she smiled.

"Trish come on you set me up with him 6 years ago. The whole time he only talked about the different bones in the tree frogs feet."

"sorry; fine heres a good one Luke Ross."

Tilly spoke " Trish he's married, has been for over a year."

"married uh, how did I not catch that?" she typed a note in her phone.

"Trish I appreciate what you are trying to do, but I'm not ready to date yet." I smiled.

"well don't wait too long." Trish said.

"what are you talking about I'm only 31" I turn towards her.

"not what I mean. You don't want Mr. Right to come a long and miss him. You will have to spend the rest of your life knowing someone is else is married to your husband." Trish took a bite of her sandwich.

I looked at her in disbelief and Tilly only smiled at me.

I had decided to take my friend Dez to a Yankees game. I needed to get my mind off things. My birthday just passed and it was the worst one I ever had. Even worse then the birthday I had as a kid and my parents hired drunk clown who couldn't even make balloon animals. My wife filed for divorce and I didn't even know there was a problem.

I met Dez at the stadium, it was a chilly Sunday. Dez and I took our seats. They were good seats right behind homeplate, but I didn't even care. I begin to tell Dez what Teddy said.

"so she says to me I want a trial seperation. I've been thinking about it and I don't know if marriage is for me. I then ask her what it means for us, and she goes well can date. We will have an open relationship."

"are you serious man?" Dez asked.

"my story isn't over yet, I tell her I don't want to date other peoplei only want to be with her I love her. She then says well I don't know if I've ever loved you."

"ooo that's harsh" Dez said. "thanks."

"no I'm a writer and I know dialogue and you can't bounce back from that."

"she tells me I just need time to think. My friend is going away to Europe for a year, I can sublet his apartment. As if on cue the doorbell rings and theres moving men. I asked her when she called them, she said a week ago."

"the moving men knew you were getting a divorce before you did; that's sucks."

"that's not the worst part, its all a lie. Shes in love with someone else" I said.

"how do you know that?" Dez asked.

"I sunk to my lowest level and I followed her. She moved in with him."

"marriages don't break up due to infedility, it just means theres a symptom in the relationship" Dez tried to be consoling.

"well that symptom is fucking my wife."

A week later Trish and I decided to go over to Barnes and Noble to get some new books. it seems like she and I are the only ones who still like to read actual books and not off our iPads.

We were looking at the just ins while Trish was talking about her boyfriend again. "I saw that he bought her a new nightgown for $130."

"how do you know that?" I asked her as I flipped the pages.

"I saw the reciept in was in his briefcase."

"Trish you can't go through his things. What if he caught you." My voice raised an octave which it does when I'm nervous.

"he was shaving, but I don't think he is going to leave her" Trish said sadly.

"no one thinks he is going to leave her." Sometimes it gets annoying repeating the same thing to her, but you can't help who you love.

"I know you're right. How did I end up with a married man for 2 years."

I knew that it was a retorical question so I stayed looking at the book I had in my hands. Trish suddenly came close to me "someone is staring at you in personal growth."

I look up to the area and see Austin. " I know him, you'd like him he's married" I joked.

"ha-ha-ha, go say hi" she urged.

I shook my head "no, besides he never remembers me."

"who is he?" Trish asks.

"Austin Moon, he is a political consultant."

I look up again and Austin is walking towards me. "hi Ally."

"hello Austin." I stare and then remember my manners and begin to introduce Trish but she left. "this is…was Trish."

"how have you been?" he asked.

"good."

"hows Dallas?"

"he's good, I've heard he's good. We just broke up."

"that's a tough blow." He said.

"ya well, ya. Hows married life?" I asked.

"non-existant. I'm getting a divorce" he shrugged.

"Oh Austin I'm truly sorry." I said.

"do you want to grab lunch?" he asked.

"sure" I smiled.

"so what happened between you two?" Austin asked.

" we both wanted the same things in the beginning, neither of us wanted to get married just live together. Because when people get married it ruins the relationship, they never have sex again." I started saying.

"believe me that is true" Austin laughed.

It made me smile. "well we used to always say that we were so lucky that we could have sex anywhere in the apartment and wouldn't have to worry about kids walking in. that we could fly off to London at a moments notice. I thought everything was great until one day I took my friends daughter to the circus. We were riding in the cab and we were playing ispy, you know Ispy a lamppost, Ispy a mailman, well it was her turn and she said ispy a family. I began to cry, I just couldn't help it. I went home and I told Dallas, you know we never fly off to London on a moments notice."

"and never outside the bedroom?" Austin asked.

"no he was a traditionlist when it came to stuff like that, we didn't even do it in the shower." I sighed.

We finish lunch and go for a walk. "well at least I got the apartment."

"people say that to me too, like that is supposed to make me feel better" Austin said. "I have something to tell you, when we first met I didn't like you."

I looked at him "I didn't like you."

"ya you were so uptight then, you are much more loose now" he smirked.

"that was so a back handed compliment" I smiled. We kept walking for a while in silence when Austin spoke again.

"are we becoming friends?"

I thought for a moment "I guess we are."

"uh interesting, you know you maybe the first attractive woman I've never wanted to have sex with."

"that's wonderful Austin." And we kept walking down the street.