20 summers ago My Good friend fell in love with a woman whom everybody disliked. I personally found her contemptible on every level.
He was the youngest of a large group of friends, and all the elders took him aside for a delicate word, but all he did was dig in his heels. Had to prove everybody wrong I guess, and we all just kind of said, 'well he loves her and that's that', and pretended for his sake that we didn't despise her, and apparently we were good actors.
I'd moved away shortly after and their relationship deepened. 10 years later, despite much evidence she was incredibly unstable, and unlikeable, he married her. I was in the wedding party. Took him aside the day before, and mostly held my peace, after that didn't work.
In the Limo to the ceremony the best man made a toast, and somebody else passed a noxious cloud of gas, and that sums up his life ever since.
While a talented guy, and good in his chosen field, he was stunted by this woman. Everybody who met his wife was like: "What is wrong with this guy, that he would marry her?" She drove away all his friends, one by one. The Wives of those friends were like "No way am I hanging out with that woman, subjecting my children to that woman!" And soon after her true venomous nature was revealed.
It never took long. As a life long bachelor, every time I felt lonely, like I wanted a woman in my life, all I had to do, and still do now, is think about her.
He didn't produce the dollar signs she had expected and soon she made his life a living heck. She herself could not hold a job, kept getting fired, or "let go" as she liked to say but the truth was she is a nutbag and everybody who hired her was soon looking for an excuse to fire her, and did, as soon as they could, in some cases throwing overly generous severance packages just to be rid of her.
Still, they produced two kids and I feel so bad for them as they act like her. I find them intolerable even though they call(ed)? me uncle.
They were soon disincluded from many gatherings due to her, and the kids. He found out and told us all to eff off.
Oh well.
Now he is Finally getting a divorce. She has truly gone off the deep end with substance abuse and forays into lesbianism as well as apparently screwing any guy who will have her.
He is just a shell of the friend I once knew. I don't think we are friends anymore. I wish I could go back 20 years and not change my own mistakes, but pick him up by his hair and slap him silly. He had the world by the short and curlies then, could have had any woman he raised an eyebrow at, yet he chose a psychotic shrew. His brother calls her the biggest tragedy ever to befall out group of friends.
This woman ruined his life. Perhaps I am not a good friend now, but I certainly was not good enough of a friend then, to let him get wrapped within her evil clutches. I really wish I made more of an effort then. We all do.
What A fool.
What a shame.
So it goes.