1979

One day Joanie entered the teacher's lounge to find Jack sitting at a table and looking as if he had just lost his best friend.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"It's really over between Karen and me now," he mumbled.

"Oh, no! I'm so sorry to hear that."

"Yeah." Jack sighed heavily. "She chose the booze over me."

"That's terrible!" Joanie knew Karen had a drinking problem but had no idea that it was that serious.

"She almost set the house on fire a few nights ago. Lit a cigarette too close to an open bottle of scotch. I told her that was the last straw, that if she didn't give up the booze, it would be over between us. She went to one Alcoholic's Anonymous meeting. Just one. She missed the next two in a row. I just found out about it."

"It breaks my heart to have to do this, Joanie, but I can't prevent her from destroying her own life. All I can do is to make sure she doesn't destroy mine in the process."

"I don't think anyone will think badly of you for leaving her after all you've been through. Actually, I'm surprised you stayed with her for as long as you did," Joanie told him.

"Did I ever tell you why we never had any children?"

"You kept saying Karen wanted to wait."

"Actually, there's a lot more to it than that. She finally agreed to start trying. Nothing happened, and after about a year I went to the doctor to find out if there was anything wrong with me medically. I went through some humiliating and expensive procedures only to have all the tests come back completely normal. Know what I found out later? Karen had gotten her tubes tied and hadn't even told me!" Jack buried his face in his hands.

"Oh, Jack, I'm so sorry." Joanie gave him a big hug.

"I'm sorry, Joanie. I didn't mean to dump all my troubles on you."

"It's all right, Jack. That's what friends are for."

"You and Chachi have been great friends to me, and I really appreciate it."

"We're just glad to be of help, Jack."

"You know, Joanie, I always dreamed of being a husband and father some day. I wanted that more than anything else in the world, and now I feel that it can just never be."

"Oh Jack, please don't give up. There are plenty of nice, decent women in the world who would treat you right and consider themselves lucky to have you."

"Yeah. Maybe," Jack said glumly.

"I swear, Joanie, when I drove away from that courthouse, I felt just like I was leaving a funeral," Jack told Joanie.

"Well, that's understandable," Joanie replied. "After all, it was the death of your marriage."

"You know, it's funny," Jack told her. "I thought that I would feel such relief after it was all over with, but instead I just feel hollow and empty inside."

Joanie could see the deep pain in Jack's eyes, and it pierced her heart. Jack had been a beloved friend for years, and she couldn't stand to see him suffering like this.

"I'm so sorry, Jack. I wish that there was something I could do to make it all better."

"That's all right, Joanie. I'll be okay."

Joanie watched with a heavy heart as he slowly walked back to the gym. She could only imagine the loneliness and despair he must be feeling.