**The Sting of a Man’s Tears**
“Where are you off to, all dressed up like that?” his neighbor asked, eyeing Edward in his sharp suit and tie.
“To my son’s graduation,” Edward replied.
“Blimey! Kids grow up fast, don’t they?”
“Mine certainly have,” Edward smiled.
“Right… So, soon you’ll be free of those child support payments?”
Edward’s stare turned sharp enough to make his neighbor shift uncomfortably.
“What’s that got to do with anything?”
“Come off it, mate. Sick of handing money to your ex yet?”
“No,” Edward snapped, leaving the man baffled as he walked away.
Slowly, his mood lifted. Memories flooded in…
***
The day his life turned upside down, Edward had been numb.
Free, successful, living in a posh London flat—by all accounts, he had it made. Women noticed him, his business thrived. So why did he feel so hollow? Nothing brought him joy.
Stepping out of his office, he saw the storm gathering overhead, dark clouds rolling in, the wind picking up.
He hailed a cab—no sense in getting drenched.
His car was in the shop, and Edward had never owned an umbrella.
Sinking into the backseat, he was swallowed by emptiness. The cabbie prattled on, trying to impress his clearly well-off passenger, while the radio played some mournful tune—exactly the kind Edward hated.
Then, the lyrics sliced through the fog.
*”I lived wild, careless as the breeze,
Drunk on love like heady wine.
Her heart was mine, or so it seemed,
Blind to the truth I’d left behind.
Day by day, I threw it all away,
Breaking her with every lie,
Till I lost the love I’d once called mine
In the days when she was still my wife…”*
Pain twisted inside him. A sudden, crushing ache. And then—he understood.
Emily.
Emma.
His Em.
He’d called her different names over the years.
Their schoolyard romance had become a marriage. No one believed the head prefect’s daughter would ever tie herself to the school troublemaker.
But Edward had known. He couldn’t imagine life without her.
For her, he’d studied. For her, he’d clawed his way up. For her, he’d become the man he was.
And she—
She had stood by him. Loved him. Supported him.
Given him two sons.
Always patient. Always kind. Never a word of complaint.
And somehow, Edward convinced himself it would never change. That she’d always be there, no matter what.
So he let himself slip. Money brought friends, late nights, other women…
Emily said nothing. Asked no questions. Accepted it.
Raised their boys alone.
He never apologized. Never helped.
Provided.
Foolishly believing that was enough.
It wasn’t.
One day, she said it plainly:
*”Edward, I don’t love you anymore.”*
*”Don’t be daft,”* he scoffed. *”You’re just tired. Let’s have dinner—”*
She set plates on the table. And spoke, firm and final.
*”You’re not listening. We need a divorce. I can’t do this anymore.”*
*”What about the boys?”* The words tasted cheap even as he said them.
*”They deserve love,”* she said softly. *”Not just a marriage.”*
*”Fine. Sod off, then!”* He grabbed his coat and stormed out.
Three days he stayed away. Waiting for her to call.
She didn’t.
When he returned, the hallway was lined with suitcases. Hers. The boys’.
*”What are you doing?”*
*”Packing,”* she said, calm as ever.
*”Why?”*
She looked at him, puzzled.
*”Stop this,”* he gritted out. *”I’ll go.”*
And he did.
Left her the house, the cars, everything.
After the divorce, Emily stayed single for years. So Edward visited when he pleased, showered the boys with gifts, demanded respect.
Then she remarried.
Rage consumed him. How dare she? She was the mother of his children! She should be groveling at his feet for the house, the money, the life he’d given her!
So he made her miserable.
Especially when drunk—which was often.
Calls. Texts. Threats.
Emily ignored him. Then blocked him entirely.
So he waited for her outside shops, pubs, anywhere.
Sober, he’d hate himself. But he never apologized. Couldn’t face her.
Slowly, his life became nothing but bitterness. At her. At himself. At the world.
He forgot how to feel joy.
***
And now—this song.
*”Who’s singing this?”* Edward rasped.
*”You kidding, mate? That’s Gavin Jones!”*
Edward didn’t answer. A minute later: *”Turn around. Now. Quick!”*
As they passed a market, he spotted an old woman selling peonies. Emily’s favourite.
He leaped out, bought every last stem, thrust a wad of cash at the startled woman—
Then he was at her door, heart hammering.
For the first time in years, he felt alive.
He rang the bell.
Emily answered. Shock. Fear. Then—seeing the nervous wreck of the man she’d once loved—understanding.
*”Come in,”* she said, stepping aside.
He handed her the flowers.
*”For you.”*
*”Thank you,”* she murmured, burying her face in the blooms.
*”Em, who is it?”* Her husband, Thomas, stepped out in a silly cartoon apron. His smile vanished when he saw Edward.
*”Emily,”* Edward said, voice low, eyes locked on hers, *”I get it now. I was wrong. I ruined my life. Our life. Because without you and the boys… I’ve got nothing.”*
She said nothing. Thomas squeezed her hand.
*”And Thomas… thank you. For being there for them. When I wasn’t.”*
Edward held out his hand. After a pause, Thomas took it.
*”Where are the boys?”* Edward asked suddenly. *”Can I see them?”*
*”Of course,”* Emily smiled. *”They’ve missed you.”*
Dinner. Laughter. A promise—to stay in each other’s lives.
***
Years passed.
Edward lived alone, worked hard. But he never missed a visit with his sons.
He became a fixture in Emily and Thomas’s home. Holidays. Weekends.
Even bonded with Thomas over fishing. Taught the boys, too.
No one called him *”the ex”* anymore. He was family.
And he’d never give them reason to doubt him again.
***
Lost in thought, Edward barely noticed arriving at the school.
*”Dad!”* His eldest waved through the crowd.
*”Am I late?”* Edward hugged him, shook Thomas’s hand, smiled at Emily. *”Decided to walk.”*
*”Right on time,”* Emily said softly. *”It’s just beginning.”*
*”How late we learn to be wise,
Through loss, through pain, through broken ties.
Who holds her now in the dead of night?
Who knows the warmth I threw aside?
May life be kind, may God defend
The children borne of love back then.
For once, I knew what heaven meant—
In the days when she was still my friend.”*
Edward never became a Gavin Jones fan.
But every time he heard that song, a single, stubborn tear escaped.
