Free Destroyed Dreams by Jessica Gray

to stop him when he started to answer her, she continued, “Let me finish. I can understand being hurt and not wanting to fight her over the money and things she took from your apartment. I really can. But I can’t understand why you would hide from the world and not go after your dream job. You are so talented…”
     
    This time Robert was successful in stopping her, he reached across the table, grabbed her hand, and squeezed it as he started talking, “I can see where it wouldn’t make sense to someone else. But you have to understand, after Kathryn bailed, I was so hurt and disillusioned, I wasn’t sure that anything I believed to be true, actually was true.  How could I have missed the fact that she was sleeping with so many guys? I was too trusting and believed her when she said she was with her friends.
     
    “It wasn’t a very large jump to start wondering if everything else she had told me was true. Before long I found myself questioning my drawing ability, my ability to design; I even started questioning whether I had been a good boyfriend and lover.”
     
    “But that’s silly. Why would you question anything that snake said? She’s pond scum after what she did to you. Why would you care what she said?” Melissa couldn’t understand why he couldn’t just wash his hands of his former girlfriend and everything she had done and said. It happened several years ago and he had evidently moved on, but her actions were still dictating his future.
    Robert could feel himself starting to get irritated with her again. She was like a dog with a bone; she just couldn’t let things be. “You might think it’s silly, but that’s how it was and how it is. I didn’t have the desire or energy to deal with her actions back then, and I don’t want to deal with her actions now. I just want to forget and move on with my life. As far as my dreams, well, dreams change.”
     
    Melissa shook his head as she said, “But your dreams don’t have to change. You could still get your old dream back and find the perfect job if you wanted to.”
     
    Robert held on to his temper and decided it was time to change the subject. He wanted to tell her just to mind her own business, but he also was enjoying spending time with her and didn’t want her to storm off again. “Why don’t we talk about your dreams for a change? Do you really enjoy helping people end their marriages, or are you just stuck in a job you hate?”
     
    Melissa knew what he was doing and had to give him marks for effectively turning the tables on her. Where he had been on the defensive, now, she was the one running scared. She did not want to talk about her failed dreams. She was saved from an immediate response, as the waitress appeared right then with their food.
     
    “This looks wonderful.  How about we talk about anything other than each other’s failed dreams for the rest of the evening?” Melissa offered as she took the first bit of her dinner.
     
    Robert nodded, “That sounds like a very diplomat move counselor. You’ve got it. So, follow any sports teams?”
     
    Melissa laughed and shook her head at him. Sports and politics were both areas she was very opinionated. “How about we talk about something that’s not liable to end up with us fighting again?”
     
    Robert laughed with her and agreed. They made small talk as they finished their dinner and ended up talking about places they would like to visit some time. They discovered that they both had similar tastes in vacation spots and as they left the diner, they were both laughing easily with each other.
     
    Standing outside the diner, Melissa retrieved her keys from her bag and turned to Robert, “Thank you for dinner. I didn’t expect you to pay. I intended for us each to pay for our own.”
     
    “I know you said that, but I didn’t mind. Do you want to head over to TJ’s for a while?”
     
    Melissa was tempted, but didn’t want to chance disturbing the fragile peace they had