Paging Dr. Phil
Friday, January 27, 2006
Last night, a friend of mine broke up with her boyfriend. She thinks.

After a tense dinner and many glasses of wine, a fight was picked, and the inevitable occurred -- one stormed out, one held their ground, and then...dueling text messages. With her permission, I'm going to put the progression on this blog, for all of you to analyze. [Editor's note: The exact details of this interaction are slightly fuzzy, due to the amount of alcohol consumed]

WELCOME TO ROUND ONE OF HE SAYS, SHE SAYS!

She: If you leave now, it's over.
He: Fine with me (throws hands in air and leaves in huff)

She texts: Can we talk about this?
He texts: It's late, we're drunk, let's talk in the morning.
She texts: Fine, it's over. [passes out]

While she slumbers under a cloud of Pinot Grigio, he makes friends with his cell phone. Witness the following string of text messages, all of which were sent while she slept.

11:53p - If breaking up makes you happy, then fine.
12:05a - You win, I'll stop calling. I'm sorry.
12:08a - If I come over, will you open the door? I'm in a cab.
4:28a - I love you.
4:43a - Can you please call me when you wake up?
4:57a - RU awake?
6:03a - Can we talk today? I can't sleep.
6:12a - Let's talk after work, that's all I ask.
7:03a - Can we talk after work?

She wakes up at 7:02, well rested, and texts: You are mean. You took it too far.
He responds: So, we are done?

Are they? No one really seems to know. When it comes to relationships, can there be a logical conclusion -- or are we doomed to the merry-go-round of drama (her phrase) that is involved in a breakup? How important is it to have the upper hand in this situation? Is it her fault that he didn't sleep, or his? Why is she still asking, hours later, why he doesn't text her back? Are they just a bad combination of passive-agressive behavior, or do they really love one another?

So many questions, so little time. Thoughts?