May advised me to be very careful going through my divorce. “What do you mean?” I asked curiously.
“I bet you want to go out and devour every woman you like.”
I told her I didn’t feel like that, because I was not right emotionally.
“But you will soon and when you do, be very careful.” I told May I probably would have to get a rubber suit and some cans of Lysol before I started dating again.
May laughed and said, “That’s not what I mean. I’m talking about ‘bad karma.’ You don’t want other peoples’ karma rubbing off on you, do you?” I didn’t know if I believed in karma, but May had some good points. She said, “For every woman you sleep with, you carry some part of them with you for the rest of your life.”
She went on to say, “If you go out there breaking hearts for fun, it will come back to haunt you.”
“How could I break someone’s heart when I myself have no heart to offer?” I asked.
May realized how much I still cared for Connie and we eventually became friends because we understood each other.
All the women in the group wanted to know if I had slept with her, but I told them that wasn’t important. The lesson I learned from May is, if a man plays with a woman’s heart, eventually he will be burned. I felt vindicated because this was one thing on which all the women agreed with me. I bet everyone can remember when they first got their heart broken. That is your diploma for life. I know some men who cannot get over it.
That was my class with the women and I felt like I held my own. Some would talk to me after that, while others treated me with the same indifference they had before. That’s okay; I have not tried to win any popularity contest in this life. I have found some women appreciate my honesty, while others despise me for it. My honesty is a reflection of my character. You will not start to heal unless you’re honest about what happened in your marriage. That means telling the truth to yourself and others.
