A Book & Anniversary Photo

 

  A guy in our writers' group said people either read to remember or read to forget.  i must be one of the remember ones, since i can't even read something light like this without taking notes and finding lessons.

Tara Road: The Book & i

     Tara Road is a book i probably wouldn't have chosen to read if i weren't in book club - but that's why we join book clubs, right?
  And i did enjoy it.  The main protagonists, Ria and Marilyn, were very enjoyable, especially in their growth arcs, though i kinda wanted to hit Ria over the head with the notion, "Can't you see what's happening with your man?  With your marriage?"
  She was the only person who couldn't see that Danny wasn't the wonderful husband he seemed.

 Rewriting Danny & Ria's Relationship

 Thing is, if they had talked to each other, they might have been able to stay together. *
  Or not have married in the first place.
  All she wanted was him.  Not his expensive dreams.  She definitely was uncomfortable with his means, but she just "stuffed," ignored, her misgivings, in the name of his happiness.
  Not a good idea.
  Later, like so many couples, Ria thought everything was wonderful.  Well, there isn't enough time for just we two, but that will be better, after this crisis.
   He felt stifled in his own home, the showplace he had created, because she was having constant open house.
  Ria thought he enjoyed that too.  Why else would he want a big, expensively furnished place?
  The ultimate irony was when Danny left her sanding their wood floors, to improve the resale value, while he enjoyed his girlfriend's company on a Sunday, leaving Ria to think he was out on business.

Cconversation:  Me: "Boom, please take an anniversary picture of us."  i came to sit on the couch.  MyGuy continued watching TV.  Snap!  MyGuy: "Why didn't you say you wanted a picture?

*Of course, Danny still might  have left Ria.  He said his new relationship had nothing to do with the new lady being 22.  The girlfriend's age was less releevant than everyone else thought, but far more relevant than HE thought.