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"I Found Out She Was Cheating… So I Disappeared Without a Word | Wistaloom
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Jun 16, 2025
#redditrelationship #aita #redditstories "I Found Out She Was Cheating… So I Disappeared Without a Word | Wistaloom This isn't a tutorial. This is my truth. In this raw and emotional story, I share how I went from being a hardworking husband and father to a man betrayed, broken, and eventually reborn. From catching my wife cheating, to leaving everything behind, to starting over in a whole new city — this journey is filled with heartbreak, growth, revenge, and unexpected redemption. If you've ever been hurt, lost, or just needed to find yourself again… this one's for you. 🔔 Subscribe for more real-life stories and heartfelt moments: @Wistloom
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0:00
hey Wistlum fam welcome back to the
0:02
channel today I'm going to take you on a
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journey a real raw story about love
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betrayal and finding my way back to
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myself it's not your typical DIY or car
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repair vid this one's personal straight
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from the heart and it's a long one so
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grab a drink maybe a snack and settle in
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if this story hits you smash that like
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button subscribe to Wistaloom and let's
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get into it picture this a small
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cluttered basement workshop my little
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slice of peace that was my haven my
0:33
escape from the world i'm Jake Turner by
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the way just a regular guy who's good
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with his hands back then my workbench
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was where I'd go to tinker build gadgets
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and just breathe
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it wasn't that my soul was broken or
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anything dramatic like that it's just
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that life wasn't exactly sunshine and
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rainbows things were falling apart slow
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and steady like a car rusting out one
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spot at a time i couldn't tell you the
1:01
exact moment it all went wrong it just
1:03
crept up on me i've always been handy
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you know the kind of guy who can fix a
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leaky faucet patch a drywall hole or get
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a lawn mower running again without
1:12
breaking a sweat calling a repair man
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nah that's not my style why pay some
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dude a day's wages for a half-ass job
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when I can do it better myself but there
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was one thing I couldn't fix no matter
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how hard I tried my marriage to Lisa
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lisa and I we go way back high school
1:30
sweethearts married right after
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graduation we were young dumb and in
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love our daughter Emma came along quick
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barely a year later complications meant
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she'd be our only kid but we were cool
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with that life was simple back then i
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worked as an auto body guy banging out
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dents and painting cars it paid the
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bills kept food on the table but it
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wasn't like I was dreaming of climbing
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some corporate ladder
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i was content lisa though she had bigger
2:01
plans lisa started taking night classes
2:04
at the community college leveling up her
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skills she was always the ambitious one
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pushing herself to be better while I was
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happy just getting by she was out there
2:13
chasing something more
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when Emma started school Lisa got a job
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first part-time then full-time working
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in insurance claims with two incomes we
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saved up enough to buy a little house in
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a decent neighborhood nothing fancy just
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a cozy spot with a big enough backyard
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for Emma to play in for a while it felt
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like we had it all figured out lisa was
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smart with money she didn't waste cash
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on designer bags or fancy vacations she
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dressed nice kept herself put together
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but never went overboard me i was the
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opposite my wardrobe was jeans flannel
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shirts and work boots i had this long
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hair usually tied back in a ponytail and
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these bushy eyebrows that probably made
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me look like a caveman
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i wasn't trying to be a hippie or some
3:00
biker dude i just liked it that way
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nobody messed with me about it either
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i'm a big guy built like I could bench
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press a truck if I had to but I could
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tell it bugged Lisa sometimes especially
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when we went out
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she never said it outright but I'd catch
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her glancing at me like she wished I'd
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clean up a bit as Emma grew up things
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started shifting lisa was killing it at
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work becoming this expert in her field
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bringing home more money than me i
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didn't mind hell I was proud of her but
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she was spending more and more time at
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the office at the gym at the salon she
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transformed into this polished
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professional woman while I stayed the
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same scruffy Jake by the time Emma was
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in high school Lisa was a full-on
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businesswoman sharp suits perfect hair
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the works i started feeling like I was
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holding her back like I was this grungy
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embarrassment she had to drag around our
3:57
time together it was shrinking fast she
4:00
was always too tired too busy i could
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feel her pulling away and deep down I
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knew I wasn't the guy she fell in love
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with anymore i grew up rough you know
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public housing projects raised by my mom
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who worked her ass off as a waitress to
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keep me and my brother Mike fed life in
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the projects wasn't easy me and Mike
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were always getting into trouble fights
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stupid pranks you name it i was a
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hotthead back then quick to throw a
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punch which landed me and juvie more
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times than I'd like to admit
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lisa knew about my past but when we got
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married I toned it down i didn't want to
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be that guy anymore i became calm I
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guess maybe too calm as Lisa and I
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drifted further apart I started spending
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more time in my basement shop it was
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this damp dimly lit hole but it was mine
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i'd mess around with electronics build
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little gadgets nothing fancy just stuff
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to keep my hands busy and my mind off
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the fact that my marriage was crumbling
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emma was my saving grace though we got
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tight closer than ever
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i'd take her to yard sales and flea
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markets on weekends hunting for retro
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clothes for her and old remote control
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toys for me to tinker with lisa usually
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stayed home doing her own thing looking
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back I should have seen the signs 2
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months before everything went to hell I
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got this sinking feeling Lisa was
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cheating call it a gut instinct
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it didn't take long to confirm it she
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was sneaking off with a coworker Greg
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Parker for lunch at his apartment every
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Tuesday and Thursday
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2-hour lunches my ass she wasn't even
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trying to hide it like she didn't care
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if I found out emma knew too she'd
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figured it out and called her mom out on
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it lisa didn't deny it just gave some
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half-assed excuse that's when it hit me
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our marriage was done you can glue a
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broken plate back together but it's
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never the same and I didn't want a
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patched up plate i decided I had to do
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something i wasn't going to sit around
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feeling sorry for myself
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emma was starting college in a few weeks
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and her first two semesters were paid
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for i figured it was time to cut the
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apron strings and let her spread her
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wings i took half our savings account
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not much but enough to start over
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somewhere else i didn't care about the
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house or the rest of it i just needed to
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get out filing for divorce felt like too
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much hassle so I had my lawyer draw up a
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power of attorney for Lisa to sell the
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house
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i also had him draft papers to sue Greg
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and their company Continental Memorial
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Insurance
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i didn't expect much to come of it but
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it felt good to stir the pot now here's
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where I got a little petty down in my
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shop I'd been working on this modified
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alarm keychain it started as a simple
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project but I turned it into something
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else a loud ass gadget with a 9V battery
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rigged to go off remotely i encased it
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in PVC plastic drilled some holes for
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sound painted it flat black with
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barbecue paint don't ask why i just had
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it lying around it was small but it
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could wake up a neighborhood i slipped
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it into the lining of Lisa's purse one
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night while she was asleep my plan cuz a
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little chaos at the right moment the
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next day I packed my truck with my body
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shop tools some clothes and a few
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personal things i spent the night on the
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couch waiting for Lisa to leave for work
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she came downstairs looking sharp as
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always and asked what I was up to i
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mumbled something about a late night
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project and needing a nap she reminded
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me to rinse my dishes classic Lisa as
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she pulled out of the driveway I
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couldn't help but notice how good she
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looked
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part of me wondered if I'd miss her
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maybe I would for a while i started
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grabbing clothes from the bedroom
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stuffing them into trash bags when Emma
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walked in "dad what the hell are you
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doing?" she asked catching me off guard
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i tried to play it cool asked why she
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wasn't at school turns out she'd already
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finished her senior requirements "smart
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kid." She pressed me again so I sat her
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down with some coffee and spilled the
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beans i told her I knew about her mom
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and Greg and I was leaving she wasn't
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shocked she'd known for 2 months and was
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pissed I hadn't done anything sooner i
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admitted I'd only just figured it out
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and didn't see a point in sticking
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around emma asked if I'd talked to her
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mom i hadn't she said she'd confronted
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Lisa a while back but Lisa didn't give
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her any real answers it was like Lisa
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wanted to get caught we sat there quiet
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just processing it all i told Emma I
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didn't know where I was going just that
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I needed a fresh start she told me about
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her college plans and I reassured her
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I'd taken care of everything I could she
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asked about my boat a little fishing
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boat I'd hoped we'd use as a family lisa
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hated it and Emma and I only took it out
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a few times
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i told her I was giving it to my buddy
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Felix along with my tools and a couple
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of guns my dad left me emma smiled like
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she knew it was the right call i hooked
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the boat up to my truck and headed to
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Felix's place felix and I go way back
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grew up in the projects together got
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into all kinds of trouble one time when
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we were 15 we broke into a golf course
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maintenance shed to steal copper
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fittings thought we'd make bank selling
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them i got caught took the fall and did
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two years of probation felix got away
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and I never ratted him out that's why
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he's my guy he's a character too talks
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like he's from the hood even though
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we're both just white dudes from the
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projects he adapted to his world and I
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can't fault him for that when I got to
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Felix's he was barely awake nursing a
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beer with his two roommates girls who
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were definitely not morning people i
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slid the boat title across his kitchen
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table and told him it was his along with
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my tools and guns he thought I was
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joking but I said it was a trade i
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needed a favor
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i wanted him to take care of Greg not
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kill him just make sure he spent some
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time in the ER maybe every 6 weeks for a
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few months
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felix grinned always down for some chaos
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i gave him a card with Greg's name
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address and license plate number told
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him to wait a couple weeks and we parted
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ways i trusted Felix a year ago I'd have
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said I trusted two people him and Lisa
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now it was just Felix that Tuesday I
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followed Lisa and Greg to his apartment
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they looked comfortable like a married
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couple which stung more than I expected
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i waited 15 minutes hit the button on my
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remote to set off the alarm in Lisa's
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purse nothing tried again still nothing
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i'm thinking what the hell did I do
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wrong
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frustrated I got out of my truck walked
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closer to the building and hit the
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button one last time finally it worked
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that alarm was so loud it probably woke
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up half the complex i could hear it
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blaring from down the street as I walked
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back to my truck grinning like an idiot
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my lawyer was serving the lawsuit papers
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that afternoon i was already gone emma
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was waiting when I got home she handed
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me a card with her college address and
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cell number even though I already had it
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she'd packed me a lunch so I wouldn't
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have to stop until I was out of state
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we laughed hugged and I left the power
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of attorney and my wedding ring on the
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kitchen table emma said she'd handle
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explaining things to her mom i hit
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Interstate 81 South didn't stop until
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Chattanooga big mistake i got drunk at a
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dive bar next to a sleazy motel and when
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I woke up my tools were gone stolen
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right out of my truck they didn't touch
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the stuff in the cab but still dumb move
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Jake i cleaned up grabbed breakfast at a
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Waffle House and headed to Nashville
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without tools a body shop job was out so
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I started scanning help wanted ads most
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were crap commission sales minimum wage
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or jobs I wasn't qualified for then I
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saw it a tiny ad for an auto damage
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appraiser at Conrad Insurance must have
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body shop experience i called got an
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interview in an hour and rolled up
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looking like I just crawled out of a
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junkyard the other guys waiting were all
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suited up clutching resumes i didn't
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even have a folder just a half-filled
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out form the guy interviewing me Tom
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Burgess wasn't what I expected he looked
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like a metal worker dressed in a suit
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that didn't quite fit his hands were
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rough calloused like mine we hit it off
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i was honest told him my tools got
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stolen after I got drunk in Chattanooga
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and I was fresh off finding out my wife
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cheated after 18 years
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tom got it he called in Marcy this
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nononsense woman in her 40s to bring us
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coffee then he canled the rest of the
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interviews said they'd found their guy
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marcy gave me a wink and I was hired the
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catch i had to clean up big time tom
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laid it out 80% of the job was dealing
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with customers so image was everything
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that meant a haircut trimmed eyebrows
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and a whole new wardrobe marcy took
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charge like I was her personal project
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she dragged me to a barber got my nose
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hairs pruned and picked out khaki pants
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white shirts and steel toe dress shoes i
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looked like a different guy they set me
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up with a company car a laptop and a
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small apartment
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marcy even kissed my cheek when she
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dropped me off joking that if Tom wasn't
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so jealous she'd jump my bones
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i laughed but it gave me the chills i
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called Emma to tell her about the job
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she was stoked said it sounded like I
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landed in the right place at the right
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time she also said Lisa was a mess just
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sitting at the kitchen table zoned out
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emma thought Lisa was expecting a big
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fight not me just leaving
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i felt a little bad but not enough to go
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back i headed to Atlanta for a week of
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training it was mostly filling out forms
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but my computer skills were rough some
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of the younger trainees helped me out
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and a few of the women were a little too
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friendly i kept it professional didn't
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need any more drama the next two years
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flew by i got good at the job earned
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raises and bonuses emma was crushing it
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at college dating living her life i was
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proud but nervous about the whole dating
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thing lisa no word from her she sold the
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house paid Emma's tuition and vanished i
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wasn't hiding so if she wanted to find
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me she could have she never filed for
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divorce and I wasn't going to make the
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first move my new look clean haircut
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sharp clothes changed how people saw me
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i wasn't looking for love but Nashville
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was full of women looking for company i
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was upfront still married not looking
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for anything serious that worked for
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most of them even a few who were married
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themselves
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i kept it casual never took anyone home
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if they were spoken for work kept me
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busy and Tom hired two more guys for me
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to train and supervise
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things were good but I could feel
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something brewing one day Tom called me
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in said we needed to talk i groaned
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those words never mean anything good he
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laughed said it wasn't bad but then
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dropped a bomb jake you've outgrown this
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job i was confused thought he was firing
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me he wasn't he said I could do better
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that I should be thinking bigger then he
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told me he'd set up an interview for me
15:51
in Houston with American Consolidated
15:54
Claims they needed someone to run their
15:56
national appraisal section he wasn't
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doing it out of the goodness of his
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heart though he was planning to sell his
16:02
business to them in a few years and me
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getting the job was part of the deal
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classic Tom i drove to Houston feeling
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ready the interviews went great until
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the third one some yepy manager started
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grilling me about my lack of formal
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training but his boss shut him down
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quick i was feeling good like I had this
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in the bag
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then at lunch in the company cafeteria I
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saw her Lisa across the room talking to
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some employees looking radiant with a
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new hairstyle i froze like I'd seen a
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ghost all the hurt the anger it all came
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rushing back i stumbled into a mail cart
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made a scene and when Lisa looked my way
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I bolted
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told the HR lady I was declining the
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offer and got the hell out of there
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i knew it was a great job but being
16:53
around Lisa everyday no way I could
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handle that back in Nashville Tom was
16:58
more sorry than mad he hadn't known Lisa
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worked there i told him it wasn't his
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fault i just didn't have the guts to
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face her he said that didn't make me
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less of a man that he'd probably have
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done the same things went back to normal
17:14
for a while i started taking night
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classes mostly to stay out of bars and
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avoid trouble
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emma graduated college got married to a
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great guy from Cleveland i showed up to
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give her away saw Lisa there still
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beautiful still hard to look at i left
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early didn't want to deal with it emma
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understood but I could tell she was
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disappointed when Tom retired he set me
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up with another interview this time in
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Chicago with Universal Amalgamated
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Insurance the pay was insane but I was
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nervous
17:47
sure enough the guy interviewing me Ed
17:50
Peak was the same exec from Houston
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who'd backed me up things were going
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great until he started asking about a
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small glass dome on Lisa's desk at their
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Chicago office
18:00
yeah Lisa was there too he asked about a
18:04
black object inside the dome my alarm
18:06
gadget i told him it was something I
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made for my wife before we split but if
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he wanted details he'd have to ask her i
18:14
was done playing games ed took me to
18:16
Lisa's office she looked older but even
18:19
more beautiful than I remembered
18:21
i'd spent years hating her focusing on
18:24
the bad stuff but seeing her I realized
18:26
I still loved her it hit me like a ton
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of bricks she was surprised to see me
18:32
said I looked good better than I did in
18:34
Houston i didn't know how to respond ed
18:38
mentioned the alarm gadget and Lisa's
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hand went to the dome then stopped
18:44
she admitted she kept it as a reminder
18:45
of her mistakes said she'd wanted to
18:48
explain things back in Houston but I was
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gone before she could i asked why she
18:52
kept the alarm she said it reminded her
18:54
of how one mistake could ruin everything
18:57
then she dropped a bomb she only slept
19:00
with Greg once it wasn't some big affair
19:03
it was a stupid plan to make me jealous
19:05
to get me to notice her to step up she'd
19:08
been trying to push me to change get a
19:11
haircut dress better be more attentive
19:14
she thought if I saw her with Greg I'd
19:16
fight for her instead I just left she
19:21
admitted she screwed up big time with me
19:23
and Emma said she and Greg didn't even
19:26
do anything until after Emma confronted
19:28
her and it was just that one drunken
19:30
night she blamed herself said she was a
19:34
mess after I left realizing how wrong
19:36
she was I didn't know what to say part
19:39
of me wanted to scream part of me wanted
19:41
to hug her i told her what I did to Greg
19:45
having Felix rough him up was cruel she
19:48
said Greg didn't deserve it that he
19:50
wasn't trying to steal her or break us
19:51
up he just went along with her plan made
19:55
some bad calls
19:57
now he walks with a cane and she felt
19:59
guilty about that too i didn't have a
20:02
clever comeback just told her to try
20:04
walking in my shoes
20:07
as I left I saw tears in her eyes heard
20:10
her sobb it broke me a little back in
20:13
Nashville Tom was disappointed but gave
20:15
me a solid severance package i called
20:18
Emma told her everything she wasn't
20:20
thrilled about reaching out to her mom
20:22
but I hoped she would someday a week
20:25
later I packed up my new pickup and
20:27
headed to Yuba City California a guy
20:30
named Merl Cohout was selling his auto
20:32
body shop to move to Hawaii i knew the
20:35
business so I bought it kept six of his
20:37
best guys and let the slackers go the
20:40
shop came with a little cottage outback
20:42
perfect for me i gave my suits to the
20:45
Salvation Army let my mustache grow back
20:47
and tied my hair in a ponytail again
20:49
jake Turner was back the shop did great
20:52
i felt like myself again like I'd
20:54
finally found my place then the week
20:58
before Christmas I got to work and found
20:59
a small wrapped package on my desk my
21:02
foreman said a lady dropped it off said
21:04
she'd be back at lunch i knew what it
21:07
was before I opened it my alarm gadget i
21:11
stared at it sipping my coffee wondering
21:14
what Lisa wanted i unwrapped it
21:16
carefully like it was something sacred
21:20
my foreman came in asked what the hell
21:22
it was i just leaned back and said "I'll
21:25
tell you after lunch." "That's my story
21:27
Walum fam it's messy full of mistakes
21:30
and regrets but it's mine life's like
21:33
that you break you rebuild you keep
21:36
going if this hit you drop a comment
21:39
share your own story hit that like
21:42
button subscribe to Wistloom and ring
21:44
the bell for more thanks for listening
21:47
and I'll catch you in the next
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