John and Mary meet.

What happens next?

John and Mary fall in love and get married. They both have worthwhile and remunerative jobs, which keep them active and fulfilled. They buy a charming house. Real estate values go up. Eventually they liberate a woman from the Philippines and bring her to Canada where she walks their children, raises their house and cleans their dogs. Their children turn out well. John and Mary retire. They have worthwhile friends and an active and fulfilling sex life. They spend their last years together painting and sailing, feeling very fulfilled and very active. Eventually John dies, as one must. The service is lovely. Mary mourns and asks why. Without answers her friends reply, “Never mind, John is in a better place now”. Thankfully Mary has many friends and hobbies that keep her active and fulfilled.

John and Mary who are both seniors at an upstanding Ontario University fall in love and dedicate themselves to one another. After graduation they get married. Mary gets pregnant and sacrifices her aspirations of opening her own clinic to fulfill their joint dream of starting a family. John goes on to get his Masters degree and then his PhD. Mary busies herself with circle groups and PTA meetings. Her children graduate. Her husband, now a senior citizen, falls in love and dedicates himself to another senior, Amanda, who is of the collegiate variety. After graduation they get married. Amanda gets pregnant. Mary gets her Masters degree, PhD, the house, the car, and the cottage.

John and Mary fall in love. The sweethearts marry and buy a lovely house in a tidy little gated community. Everything is going as planned until it is discovered that Mary can’t produce children. Devastated and unwilling to entertain alternative options, Mary chooses to dress her pain in lots of pretty yellow jackets. John, frustrated and disenchanted with so much yellow, leaves Mary. Mary doesn’t notice for a very long time.

“No matter how you slice it, the endings are always the same. Don’t be deluded by other endings, they’re all fake, either deliberately fake, with malicious intent to deceive, or just motivated by excessive optimism if not downright sentimentality.”

(Atwood)

The only ending you can count on is this one:

Mary lives alone. Mary lives alone. Mary lives alone.

Originally published in White Wall Review 29 (2005)