Although my locks were never golden, I was young and naïve. My three choices were not simultaneous, but consecutive, these being my three husbands.
My first was chosen when I was at art school when I was a teenager. Umberto was my lettering teacher, seven years my senior. He made me feel special and I enjoyed absorbing his culture. He whisked me away to Italy to be his alone. As soon as I made friends we’d move. Two beautiful daughters didn’t keep him home. When he chose to move out I decided it was time to come back to Australia.
After five years of living in Tasmania with family support, I felt I needed to spread my wings. I was looking for someone to share my crazy ideas. Plus I wanted to study so that I could get a better job. I left the safety of the known. In walks temptation in the shape of Ian. Believing we shared spiritual links, totally falling in love, with veils over my eyes, we were married three months later. This was a calmer relationship than the last. Our son was born in that first year. It wasn’t until my daughters found the situation intolerable many years later that I refused to follow him with his next whim to move. I had the security of a permanent job and the children were content at school.
At this stage I believed my married days were over. Yes, I had company, but nothing permanent. Eight years later, my childhood sweetheart wrote to me. We were both in the same situation. Christopher’s wife had left him to become a lesbian. We’d been on our own for about the same length of time. The long and short of it: we linked up and married as the children were all leaving to live their adult lives. A better decision was never made. Thrice spliced may have shocked many. My father was gone, but our remaining parents were delighted. Dad, I’m sure would have been thrilled too. This allowed my mother and Chris’s father to die happily the following year. So finally the porridge bowl was just right, and we all lived happily ever after.
Daily Prompt: Hello Goldilocks! By Michelle W.
Write about a time you had a Goldilocks experience, exploring different choices and finally arriving at ‘just right.’
Barbara Pyett 