Submitted to: Contest #294

BYE-BYE-BYE

Written in response to: "Write a story in which the first and last sentence are the same."

Fiction

  “I’ve found someone new and I’m ready for a new life.” Dana puts down the book she was reading and looks at her husband, Richard. 

“I’m sorry? What did you say? Oh, and good morning to you, too.” 

Richard stands up from the couch, runs his fingers through his hair, and walks toward Dana, who had closed her book and was staring at him. “I said, ‘I’ve found someone new.’ I wasn’t looking, but it happened, and I’m glad it did. I never wanted to hurt you, but I want a divorce.”

Dana gets up from her chair and paces back and forth. “Any other cliches you want to throw in? What the Hell, Richard! I know our marriage hasn’t always been perfect, but I thought we were reasonably happy. And, we have an amazing son! What about David?”

“David’s 25-years-old. He is a great kid, but he’s been out of the house for four years. He’ll be fine. We’ve been going through the motions for years. I still care about you, and love you, but I’m not in love with you. I want something more, and I would think that you would too. ‘Reasonably happy’ isn’t enough for me anymore. You know we’re fine financially, and I’ll be fair to you. We can sell the house, and that will give you a substantial nest egg.”

Dana is incredulous. “Jesus, Richard, you really are something else. You’ve thought of everything, haven’t you? Have you divided up our books and records yet? Who gets the TV and the food processor? You want the egg poacher? How about the cat? Can I at least call dibs on Ruby?” 

Dana leaves the room and goes to their bedroom. The bedroom they shared for 25 years. The bedroom that is always immaculate, because Richard hates “a mess.” The bedroom she recently redecorated in soothing colors of teal, sage green, and soft gray, to help both of them relax at the end of the day. 

She looks in the mirror. Her hair is unkempt and in need of a cut. She’d stopped coloring her hair months ago, and now it’s half gray and half faded ash blond. She’s wearing old sweatpants with a hole in the right knee, and an even older Eagles concert t-shirt. She takes off the sweats and t-shirt, and puts on a sweater and a pair of jeans, and pulls on her favorite pair of boots. 

I’ve found someone new and I want a new life,” is on a loop in her head. “How long had this been going on? Why didn’t I notice anything different?” She looks back at her reflection in the mirror. “When did I lose myself? And why didn’t I care? I don’t even recognize myself anymore. I have to get out of here. Now.” 

Dana opens the closet and pulls down an overnight bag. She tosses in a couple of t-shirts, a hoodie, a second pair of jeans, some panties, socks, a nightshirt, and her toiletries bag. 

She takes the bag and walks back into the living room, where Richard is sitting, texting on his cell phone. He looks up and places the phone on the end table, face down. 

Dana walks past him into the kitchen, where she grabs her glasses, purse, and cell phone from the center island, and returns to the living room.

“I need to get out of here for a few days. Do what you must do, but please take care of the cat.”

“Dana, really? I’m sorry, but I wanted to be honest with you. Just sit down. Let’s talk about this. Let’s be reasonable.” Silence. Exasperated, he says the words he knows will get a reaction. “Calm down. You’re overreacting.”

“Honest? You’ve apparently been cheating on me for God knows how long, and now, after having an epiphany and falling in love, you’re trashing 25 years of marriage and jumping ship. You want me to calm down? Feed Ruby, and make sure you clean her litter box once a day. Oh, and since I’m already overreacting, SCREW YOU.”

Dana gets in the car, turns off her cell phone, pulls out of the driveway and heads toward the freeway, where she gets on Highway 126, leaving Santa Clarita and heading north to Pacific Coast Highway.

As she drives past Ventura, Carpinteria, and Santa Barbara, she plays the last 25 years over in her mind. “Why didn’t I see this coming? Why was I okay with being ‘reasonably happy?’ When and why did I stop caring about how I felt or what I really wanted, and switched to auto pilot to get through my days? What happened to the confident, sassy, vibrant woman I once was? When was the last time I felt any of those things? I cannot even remember. I’m a wife, mother, friend, successful development officer, cook, baker. But happy? I’m not sure I even know what that feels like right now.”

“I would have stayed reasonably happy for the rest of my life, ignoring the little voices in my head telling me that this wasn’t enough. There were so many things I wanted to do with my life. When did I give up on my dreams? Why did I think I didn’t deserve something better, something—or yes, even someone new?”

Three and a half hours after she walked out the door, she sees the turnoff to Highway 1 and Morro Bay. 

“Something new starts right now. I’ve never spent the night alone at a hotel, and I’ve never been to Morro Bay. Maybe the ocean air will clear my head and do me some good.”

Turning off the highway, she makes her way into town and finds a hotel off Main Street with a vacancy sign on. She checks into her room and looks at her cell phone. Six texts and three calls from Richard. She ignores them all, lays down on the bed and closes her eyes. 

“New. What would that look like? Who do I want to be? What do I really want to do? How would I re-invent myself? I’ll start small and safe. Definitely a haircut. Color? Maybe. How about a second ear piercing? A big ol’ tattoo? No. Not yet. Don’t get carried away and do something you might regret. For now, I’ll regret it if I don’t eat something.” She picks up her purse and heads out the door toward Main Street.

A few blocks from the hotel, she comes upon Baywood Books. In the window was a hand-lettered sign that read, “Find What You Love and Love What You Find.” “Well, that’s timely, isn’t it?” She thought. 

Never one to pass up a bookstore, Dana goes in. On her left are assorted scarves, earrings, bracelets, and inspirational stones and talismans. “I need bangles and a scarf,” she thinks, and within seconds grabs a rose-gold bracelet inscribed with one of her favorite sayings, “She believed she could, so she did,” a silver cuff inscribed on the inside with “Fate whispers to the warrior ‘you cannot withstand the storm’ and the warrior whispers back ‘I am the storm,’” and a thin silver bangle that, also on the inside, succinctly says, “You’ve fucking got this.” She also selects a hand-dyed silk scarf in ocean shades of deep blue, turquoise, and emerald green. Dana thinks to herself, “it’s a start!”

She smiles as she places the bracelets on the counter by the cash register, where she’s greeted by a petite woman with short, dark auburn hair, sparkling hazel eyes, and a broad smile. 

“All set? Aren’t these great? Little kicks in the butt wrapped in silver and rose gold. I love them!”

“I do, too! Time for some inspiration and reinvention.”

“I’m the owner, Estelle Donovan. Are you just visiting or thinking of reinventing yourself on the Central Coast?”

“Right now, I’m trying not to think too much at all, but you know, a change of scenery might be good. Oh, and I’m Dana Goodwin. Nice to meet you.”

“I reinvented myself here 25 years ago and haven’t regretted a single day. If you choose to make a change, let me know. I’d be glad to help a new neighbor.”

“You know, I think I’d like to start by getting a haircut and getting rid of my gray. Your cut is adorable. Any suggestions?”

“Yes! Right up the street on Morro Bay Boulevard is Catch A Wave. Denise is fantastic. If you like, I can call her and see if she has time available.”

“Oh, well, sure! I’d love that, thank you!”

Two hours later, with a short, casually tousled auburn cut with gold highlights, and her new bangles chiming on her arm, Dana walks back to the hotel and passes a slightly rundown former bed-and-breakfast with a “For Sale” sign out front.  

She hears Richard’s patronizing and dismissive voice in her head. “Oh, Dana, don’t be ridiculous. Yeah, you make good cookies, but you know nothing about running a business, much less a bed-and-breakfast.” She walks around the side of the house and looks in the windows, where she sees hardwood floors and an enormous brick fireplace in the living room. Walking around the back, she looks in the kitchen and catches her breath. Although a bit run down and dirty, the kitchen is a dream: a commercial refrigerator/freezer, a long marble-topped island in the middle, two six-burner ranges along one wall, including something that Dana has always wanted—a pot-filler faucet against the backsplash over one range. Visions of welcoming guests and serving them her food filled her head.

Dana glanced down at her new bangles. “I am the damn storm and I’ve got this. I’ve taken care of everyone else. Why not start taking care of strangers and myself in the process? I can use the money from the sale of the house as a hefty down payment. It won’t hurt to have a conversation and do some research.” She found a pen and a piece of paper in her purse, wrote the name and phone number of the Realtor, and slipped the paper into the front pocket of her jeans. 

Dana got back to her hotel room and for the first time in years liked who she saw in the mirror. 

She reached into her front jeans pocket and pulled out the slip of paper with the Realtor’s name and phone number. As she punches in the phone number on her cell phone, her hand is shaking with nerves and excitement. She shakes her head and smiles. “Maybe, just maybe, this was all meant to be. Starting right now, I’m leaving the old me behind because yes, I like this new me so much better. Finally. I’ve found someone new and I’m ready for a new life.”

Posted Mar 21, 2025
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