There's a little old train a-coming

7 years is a long time to be in pain and my friend at work has just that deal going on.

Willow and I have shared an office for the last 5 years. Never a cross word, never a moment of tension. In her life away from work, Willow is, as Madonna has it, in trouble deep. Trapped in a loveless relationship, loathing her partner's controlling ways and staying in place because of her son. "Only one year away from GCSE's"

Except that recently, her boy (15) has taken her to one side and said "does it have to be like this Mum; cant we move away from Dad ?"

Did Willow jump, or was she pushed? Did she so engineer this situation so it would lead to the pathway out of hell and onto the road to sanity?

Who cares ?

Fact is, she's leaving the man sometime soon. Or so she says anyway. Many are the days I've come home over the last few years and talked to Thunper about the current Willow situation. My usually understanding companion becomes frustrated (as the non-involved third party often does) by the "is she-isn't she" nature of the dynamic. I say, "It'll happen one day, you'll see"

Yesterday, Willow and I sat in our little office, as we do, and did conversation rehearsal around "I'm leaving you"

The point I'm making is that it was so easy (for me) to suggest ways to make it the best possible conversation that would get the point across to her partner without being overly hurtful and avoiding words said in spite. Covering all the angles is what we do best at in my job......mostly.

As I left for home, Willow looked at me in the eye and said, "I'll always be here for you too buddy"

Don't you just know, that friends are really important at times like this

JVIP