Starting Anew

Ed stumbles into his house, tipsy. He throws his keys onto a nearby table and drops his coat onto the floor. He walks toward the couch, falling face-first as soon as he gets there. He doesn't know how to cope with this. How can you just date someone for over a year and feel comfortable inviting them to a restaurant to break up with them? It makes no sense to him, especially with alcohol in his system.

He can't think properly. Part of him doesn't want to think properly. He wants to fix things with her. He pulls his phone out of his pocket and texts her, telling her she's the only one for him and he can't imagine a life without her.

"I'm a mess right now, inside out."

"Please just talk to me."

"I don't want this to end."

She doesn't respond. She'll probably never respond again. How did it come to this? How could something that worked out so beautifully suddenly crash and burn in an instant? The one-night stand that turned into something more, the relationship that felt the most authentic of any of Ed's relationships, the times where they would sing together or talk about their lives or just spend the evening doing nothing, all of that is now gone. He doesn't want to believe it, but it's the only truth of his world now. He wants to tell her "Don't leave me," he wants her to knock at his door and jump back into his arms, but it's clear that his fantasies of what he wants are not what is actually going to happen. He doesn't even want to get off of the couch. He falls asleep on it, not wanting to sleep anywhere else.

Weeks pass, and Ed still can't get her off of his mind. He wants clarity. He wants to restart something, but he has no idea where to even begin. Then, one evening at a bar, as he sits there drinking a beer, he meets her. She sits right next to him as she orders herself a drink. She compliments his curly hair, and they strike up some small talk. She introduces herself as Nina, and they talk about whatever happens to cross their mind. Work, leisure, and romance, they talk about it all. Ed grabs her number at the end of the night, and they start talking more and more. She sends him a photograph of her to use as his phone background, and he does the same. They become closer and closer, and Ed feels in his bloodstream that this is the right girl for him.

After two months of back and forth conversation, Ed asks her if she wants to go out with him. She says yes. They decide to tour the city together, and they spend the night lost in the grandeur of it all. He compliments her eyes, saying they're the color of the Tenerife Sea, and she jokes about his hair again. He tells her he wants to become a runaway with her, and they run through the city in search of whatever catches their fancy. At this moment, Ed feels like the man. Thinking out loud, he can't help but say how lucky he feels to be spending the night alone with this incredible girl, and she tells him she feels the same. He feels a feeling of afire love, and as the night comes to a close, he kisses her under a skyscraper. No longer is he focused on what could have been with his ex or worried about what might happen in his future. He's simply focusing on what's happening now.