Breaking up after all those years

He was late arriving at my house. I had made leftovers for dinner, but he said he wasn't hungry. We went to a Valentine's Day concert featuring a jazz singer. He was quiet during intermission, which was typical of his mood lately.

When we got home, he sat across the dining room table from me. When he started to speak, his speech came quickly. He described how he needed not to be in a relationship with me. I was shocked and couldn't believe what he was saying. After 22 years of being together weekends, talking during the week, and being soul mates, I thought I knew him better than he knew himself. I thought he must be under terrible stress and couldn't possibly mean what he was saying. But he did.