The Dating Game Read Online Free Page B

day of second
year.  Barry had been studying Metallurgy at Glasgow, but hated it, so had
changed course and university in his second year.  He decided Electrical
Engineering was more him and they had both found common ground, since Gill was
also studying Engineering.  They had chosen most of the same course modules,
were in mostly the same tutorials and lectures and quickly became inseparable. 
It came as no surprise to any of their friends when Barry proposed on the day
they sat their last finals’ exam.  Gill, in the heat of the moment, accepted. 
She wasn’t sure now, if it had been with joy and relief at the exams finally
being over, or if she genuinely had been happy at being asked to marry him. 
She loved him, of that she was quite certain, but marriage?  The big wedding
followed less than a year later, with the prerequisite amount of lace and
tulle, not Gill’s thing at all and the last time she had had formal pictures
taken of her.
    Within a year the marriage was in tatters.  They should have
tried living together first.  Even though they both worked hard and were very
successful, Gill discovered that living with Barry was not quite the same as
being with him.  He was lazy.  He never cooked.  He wanted to order in all the
time.  He was more selfish than she had realised.  It always had to be what he
wanted to watch on TV; invariably sport.  They didn’t go out as much.  The
house had cost them too much and then the housing market dipped and they found
themselves in negative equity, which only led to more arguments and ill-feeling
between them.  They were both to blame, sighed Gill.  They hadn’t appreciated
each other’s good points enough and the bottom line was they had been too young. 
A year later, they were divorced.  Thank goodness they hadn’t had any kids.  At
least that was one less thing to sort out.
    She still thought of Barry fondly sometimes.  He lived in
Brisbane now, had accepted a contract position not long after their divorce. 
She’d found out through a mutual acquaintance that he had married again and was
father to four kids.  Four!  She didn’t even have one.  It wasn’t a subject to
which she’d really given much thought; difficult to think about having kids
when she didn’t have a partner.  But who knew, maybe she would want them one
day.
    Of course there had been other guys after Barry, but nothing
serious.  Then there was Euan. They had met at a friend’s birthday do.  It was
his smile which had captivated her.  He was handsome, but nice, not like some
guys who know they are gorgeous and play on it.  He was a perfect gentleman. 
In fact she had been the one to coax him into bed.  She wanted him and she
wanted him to want her.  Finally she had found her soul mate.  They were great
friends, shared so many likes and dislikes.  They went for romantic weekend
breaks in the country, avoided the party scene and instead toured the fine
dining circuit, both being avid foodies. They visited farmers’ markets and went
to food festivals.  Euan was a pretty good cook, but then as a chef, he was
bound to be.
    Eventually after three years, they moved into a rented flat
together.  After what had happened with Barry, Gill hadn’t wanted to move too
quickly, or make such a large commitment, without a trial period first.  It had
proven to be an intelligent move.  Although they got on famously, shared the
chores and rarely argued, Gill sensed a change in Euan not long after they
started living together.  An evasiveness, a restlessness.  They stopped making
love as frequently.  His phone often went to voicemail when she called.  She
had just decided she needed to broach the problems in their relationship with
him, when he came home earlier than usual from work one night.  He looked
shattered.  He asked her to sit down and even though she knew what was coming
next, she made him say the words.  Why should she make it any easier for him? 
Her life was