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I pressed my nose against the cold glass of my living-room window and watched her drive away in the rain. Waiting briefly for a gap in the traffic at the end of the road, before turning left and disappearing out of my life. I slumped onto the sofa and listened to the silence of my empty life. My neighbour's television was loud and I could hear the canned laughter of an early evening comedy show through the thin wall. I wondered whether I would ever laugh again. I wondered whether I could ever feel anything again.
Somehow two years passed. Of course life went on mostly as normal: long days at work, evenings drinking too much beer at the pub with friends, weekends playing tennis with Jenny and Steve from the club. I had fun, but something was missing, she was missing. I heard she had gone back to Manchester and was doing all right for herself, had found a job as a travel agent, had found a new boyfriend, had moved on from me. I wasn't jealous. In fact I was happy for her, but I just couldn't stop thinking about her. I knew I was wasting time, but just couldn't seem to forget her. The stupid thing was, we had only been together for six months and those six months had been really difficult, with constant bickering and some big disagreements.
Then one day I was in the bar at the tennis club, enjoying a beer and sharing jokes with my friends, when out of the corner of my eye I saw the most gorgeous woman. She was maybe in her late twenties, long black hair, deep brown eyes, long legs, lovely smile. I knew she was the one to help me from my depression, to help turn my life around, to bring the sunshine back into my life. My heart was pounding as I walked over to her table. She stopped talking to her friend and looked at me. 'Yes, can I help you?' she asked in a lovely Mediterranean accent. 'Yes, I think you can,' I replied with a smile.
That was one year ago, and tomorrow, I will load my old Renault with my summer clothes and most precious possessions and drive down to Dover. There, I will put my car onto the ferry for the crossing to France, and then begin the long drive down to San Sebastian in northern Spain. She will be waiting for me at the lobby of her family's hotel. I will try out my newly learned Spanish. We will be happy. My new life will begin, my past will fade, grey clouds replaced by blue sky.
Adjectives
empty:
Nothing inside.
loud:
Making a lot of noise.
jealous:
Angry and unhappy because someone has something you want.
constant:
Staying the same, not changing, happening all the time.
gorgeous:
Extremely beautiful or attractive.
precious:
important, special, rare or valuable.
Verbs
slump:
Suddenly sit down or fall down because you feel weak.
wonder:
Think about something and try to guess what is true, or what will
happen.
pass
(time): If time passes, it goes by.
go on:
Continue happening.
move on:
Develop in your life, to forget the past.
waste
(time): Not use time in the best way, do very little, or the wrong
thing.
bicker:
Quarrel with someone about something which is not important.
pound
(heart): When your heart beats very quickly and strongly.
load:
Put many things, such as suitcases, work things or lots of shopping
into a car or truck.
fade:
Slowly disappear.
replace:
Put something new in the place of something old.
Nouns
silence:
No sound, everything is quiet.
comedy:
A play, film or TV show that is funny and makes people laugh.
a disagreement:
A situation when people have different opinions and may quarrel.
depression:
A feeling of sadness and no hope for the future.
an accent:
The way someone sounds when they speak that shows were they come from.
a possession:
Something that belongs to you.
a ferry:
A boat that takes people, and sometimes cars, from one place to another.
a crossing:
A special place where people usually move over land or sea.
a lobby:
The entrance of a hotel or other big building.
Adverbs
briefly:
For a very short time.
somehow:
In some way, by some method, but you don't know how.
newly:
Very recently.
Expressions
"canned laughter":
The laughter that TV companies add to funny shows, but it is on a tape,
it is not real.
"the corner of my eye":
When you notice something by chance, without looking at it.
"turn my life around":
Make my life better after it was bad.
"late twenties":
Between they ages of 27 and 29.