The End of the McRugby Era

Back home, the glow of my vacation wore off quickly when I was faced with a minor medical emergency of a potential miscarriage and a diagnosis of high-risk HPV. Stressed and terrified, I turned to my friends and McRugby for emotional support. I had no friends in my new home at the time and the situation at hand wasn't anything I was ready to discuss with my mother.

Considering that McRugby was a contributing factor the the current conundrum I found myself in, I expected him to be a pillar of strength and support, despite the distance between us following what I felt was a great visit. I was wrong. Overnight, the phone calls, e-mails and instant messages were never returned. I took the hint and learned that he was off screwing other girls at college. Nice. Furthermore, he blamed me for everything that had happened and lamented on what I did to him and the consequences it would have and the havoc it would wreak on his future sex life. Ass. Why worry about my possible cancer diagnosis when you can't slut around?

McRugby, who used to be a devout Mormon, was now all about the hard-partying college lifestyle. Drinking, drugs and casual sex were the courses he was most interested in, and while I do find strict religious ways to be trying, I was completely put off by this new carefree attitude.

I made a mistake by going back down that road with McRugby. I should have known better than to let myself be swayed by his charms when I was so vulnerable. I had just moved to a new place, away from most of my family and friends and was in an unfamiliar town with a new job I couldn't stand, and none of my close friends lived less than 1500 miles away. I'd never felt more alone than I did in the weeks following the unceremonious and final split from McRugby, but that time in my life did teach me about the strength I have within myself to deal with the trials and tribulations I will face in my life.

Thankfully, despite my newfound inner strength, one of my friends, Midge (named for her short stature) was between jobs and had recently broken up with her boyfriend, so she immediately booked a flight and planned to come down and visit me. I was also starting a new job, while trying to maintain my old one (where I had just been named Employee of the Month), so in spite of the dark place I felt I was in, I aso sensed a new chapter in my life was beginning.