Thankful for the Briefest Relationship of My Life

Within three days, my love life that I thought was perfect fell apart. That was how long my romance with Elvis lasted before it ended. There were no fights, no family problems, no melodrama—none of the above. The breakup reasons could be considered silly, and probably, you would even laugh if I told you. But for me, they were not at all silly; they were very painful indeed.

And I was left completely unprepared for it.

My love life was a constant ups and downs before Elvis came along. I had gone through relationships that led to nowhere but to many heartaches. And then, I met Edwin.

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With Edwin, we often had serious talks about marriage. He appeared to be the one who was ready to settle down. But it was all talk. He would disappear for days without any communication and when he eventually showed up, it was as if I had to almost beg for his attention. Because he sometimes gave me financial help, he made it seem as if I was indebted to him. He was cold and patronizing. If one could picture a red flag, it would be Edwin.

After a while, we broke up. All the dreams we had about getting married just disappeared. It was a very painful experience but at the same time, it was very educational.

I stayed single for some time, like Sleeping Beauty, waiting for her prince.

And then one day, Elvis came into my life.

The man in a suit, with the sun at his back, was perfect. Even though I’m not the kind that easily gets impressed, the king of rock and roll spread a peaceful and heavenly light around him. He was talking about God with such confidence that it was almost like he was handling life easily.

Also, I was surprised at how fast the past caught up with me. We had the same professional course. I used to sit next to him during classes, we would have some small talk and that’s it. I was so into my studies that I couldn’t care less about him and he never went for it.

Several years later, he located me on LinkedIn and contacted me. He disclosed something unanticipated: he liked me then. He with few others had wanted to date me but got scared off by my friendship with Nana. People wrongly believed that Nana and I were dating but we were just friends. Nana is one of those seldom found angels on earth—a real source of strength. I needed him around since good guys like him are rare.

To be honest, Elvis and I were to go out finally and he straight away asked me to be his girl. I replied that I needed time to contemplate the matter. We kept on texting, went out on a few more dates and I started to think that maybe he was the one.

He fulfilled all my requirements. In fact, he even formed new ones that I didn’t realize I needed and ticked them as well. He even got me a personalized necklace. A necklace with my name on it! Now, who does such a thing? It was so pleasant.

And then it came to me that I might have been deceived about his past. None of his former lovers was ever taken seriously by him, nor did he ever think of beautiful life with any of them. He considered them just time-killers.

My case? He was very insistent that I was the one to change the whole thing. He called me the one.

We went over our relationship expectations. I told him very firmly that my values do not allow for sex before marriage, that is how my faith leads me. I’ve seen too many people get into unwanted pregnancies and AIDS. I wasn’t taking that route.

He was not a virgin but he said he respected my decision and could wait.

I prayed about the guy. I did not get a definite answer from God but he appeared to be a nice guy. So, after a month's worth of thinking, I said yes.

The first day was alright, just a normal day together.

On the second day he proposed that I would live with him over the Easter holidays and we would have quality time together.

I said no. I was not going to step into a situation that would lead to breaking the very boundaries I had set for myself. I reminded him of the previous conversation where I talked about my values and the importance of waiting until my marriage.

He did not take that very well.

On the third day, I tried to call him. No response. So I tried again. Nothing at all. I felt something was not right.

When he eventually returned my call, he asked to see me. My heart was racing; I was totally taken by surprise and had no idea what was coming.

Then he told me that he felt unloved. He told me that even though it was not allowed for us to have sex, he wanted me to be with him at night. They would do all the things he had done with his exes, bathing together.

I was astonished. Had that been the reason for his neglect? Just because I wouldn’t give up on the one thing I had clearly stated from the very start?

Then he told me he was not going to be a part of my life anymore. Just like that. Over.

And after that he requested me not to let the cat out of the bag to my friends or family that he wanted sex. His image was more important to him than the fact he had just killed an innocent relationship that had hardly started.

I was just looking at him. Was that the only thing that mattered to him? His image? I took my bag and left before I could start crying in front of him.

When I told my family and friends about it, they were astounded. Everybody said he was not serious and that I should just forget about him. But the hardest part? I had already told my mom about him. She was thrilled and wanted to meet him. What was I going to tell her?

So thank you, Elvis. For three days that felt like forever and taught me all.

—Beatrice

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