Status: Finally complete.
Seven Date Me
The End
It’s been more than two years since I seven dated Gerard and I haven’t seen him since.
A job advert pinned to the Starbucks noticeboard told me he had left the library. When I drove by his house, there was a for sale sign out on the lawn. His name stopped appearing on the schedule for open mic nights at the local clubs.
There were no emails, not a single phone call, no friend requests on Facebook, not even an old-style homing pigeon. Just one letter, that’s all I’ve I got left of him aside from the memories and the photos I took on our last date.
It was left for me at Starbucks the day after we said goodbye. I read it in the back room with tears in my eyes, but by time I reached his name scrawled at the bottom of the page I was smiling. That letter, it gives me hope that one day we’ll meet again. Every now and then I pull it out from beneath my pillow where it’s always kept and re-read his messy handwriting. I have faith in him and his inner strength, and I’ll keep waiting for my Gerard. Because he is mine, all seven versions of him.
Dear Frankie,
I’m going away for a while, maybe forever. I don’t know how long exactly – I’ll be gone for as long as it takes – but ‘a while’ seems the most appropriate way to describe it.
I don’t love you, Frank. But I think that one day I could. That’s why I have to leave. Like I said, I can’t be with you until there’s a Thursday where I don’t want to hurt you.
I’m going to get help. There’s a clinic that deals with people like me. Can you believe it? There are more people like me. They teach you how to take control of your personalities, mainly with therapy, but they’re always trialling new medications, so I’ve read. I’m not going to tell you where it is, because I know that if I do you’ll come looking for me, and I can’t have that, not until my Thursday’s are just like yours.
This won’t be easy, but I’m determined to get better – for me, but also for you. I don’t want you to wait for me, though. Go out, go on dates, live your life carefree, sleep around, with girls, boys, transvestites – anyone. Experience life, Frank, because I’m not coming back until I’m cured and I may never be cured. Just be happy with whatever or whoever makes you happy, and if fate brings us together down the road we’ll tackle any barriers then, but for now you need to live like I never existed. I promise you, though, that I’ll always be yours. I just hope that one day you’ll get to be mine.
So until my Thursdays are fixed, this is goodbye. But I want you to know that I’ll never forget the time you asked to seven date me, because you made me feel special in seven different ways.
More future love than you could ever imagine,
Gerard.
A job advert pinned to the Starbucks noticeboard told me he had left the library. When I drove by his house, there was a for sale sign out on the lawn. His name stopped appearing on the schedule for open mic nights at the local clubs.
There were no emails, not a single phone call, no friend requests on Facebook, not even an old-style homing pigeon. Just one letter, that’s all I’ve I got left of him aside from the memories and the photos I took on our last date.
It was left for me at Starbucks the day after we said goodbye. I read it in the back room with tears in my eyes, but by time I reached his name scrawled at the bottom of the page I was smiling. That letter, it gives me hope that one day we’ll meet again. Every now and then I pull it out from beneath my pillow where it’s always kept and re-read his messy handwriting. I have faith in him and his inner strength, and I’ll keep waiting for my Gerard. Because he is mine, all seven versions of him.
Dear Frankie,
I’m going away for a while, maybe forever. I don’t know how long exactly – I’ll be gone for as long as it takes – but ‘a while’ seems the most appropriate way to describe it.
I don’t love you, Frank. But I think that one day I could. That’s why I have to leave. Like I said, I can’t be with you until there’s a Thursday where I don’t want to hurt you.
I’m going to get help. There’s a clinic that deals with people like me. Can you believe it? There are more people like me. They teach you how to take control of your personalities, mainly with therapy, but they’re always trialling new medications, so I’ve read. I’m not going to tell you where it is, because I know that if I do you’ll come looking for me, and I can’t have that, not until my Thursday’s are just like yours.
This won’t be easy, but I’m determined to get better – for me, but also for you. I don’t want you to wait for me, though. Go out, go on dates, live your life carefree, sleep around, with girls, boys, transvestites – anyone. Experience life, Frank, because I’m not coming back until I’m cured and I may never be cured. Just be happy with whatever or whoever makes you happy, and if fate brings us together down the road we’ll tackle any barriers then, but for now you need to live like I never existed. I promise you, though, that I’ll always be yours. I just hope that one day you’ll get to be mine.
So until my Thursdays are fixed, this is goodbye. But I want you to know that I’ll never forget the time you asked to seven date me, because you made me feel special in seven different ways.
More future love than you could ever imagine,
Gerard.
♠ ♠ ♠
Here we are, the last chapter.I hope you've all enjoyed this story. It was something different and I'm relatively proud of it. It was never meant to be a medically accurate thing, it was just about someone who was a little different to everyone else and a person accepting and loving them for who they are, even if it was complicated.
Thanks for joining me on this really long ride. Until next time ❤