Page 82 - Gilbert & Me_Neat

Sumburgh Cub Scout Pack to clean. In the process, I discovered this photo was affixed to the
back of another photo, picturing me with a young lady, called Sophie, I had once had hopes of
marrying. The photo was taken in 2001, at the Devils Causeway in Northern Ireland. The young
lady, who worked for Microsoft at the time, was visiting their Dublin offices, but came to visit
with me (I was married at the time). We had been in touch, but had not met in person for about
ten years.

The last time we were together was in 1992, in Montreal, Canada, when I went to visit her with
her then boyfriend (who was a friend of mine I had met during my sojourn in Maine, USA a few
years previously). Anyway, I took her on a site-seeing tour including Newgrange, Tara Hill,
Devils Causeway and Dublin Castle. The picture is cute, I have to say, so I decided to frame that
one, and reframe the Cub Scout photo into the new frame.

Many years later, a few weeks after my ten-year marriage to Maria ended in my divorce was
granted, I got back in touch with Sophie and flew off to see her in her Toronto home. We got on
ok, I thought things were going well, but the spark was gone. Too many years had passed, and
we both now wanted different things from life. Plus it was her home; Sophie was fixed in her
career and hometown, while I still wasn’t completely sure about what I wanted. So, we went
separate ways. I returned to Ireland.

I still love Sophie, although we haven’t spoken since we parted, and I blame myself for letting
that happen. I can’t explain why it did, perhaps it was too soon after a bitter divorce and I was
mentally struggling with trust issues and confused about my life. I don’t know. I do know that I
regret letting her slip though my fingers so easily and without much of a fight.

Now, the photo of Sophie and me has taken its place on the feature wall and the Cub Scout photo
sits on a shelf in the new frame. And all is right with the world.

Number of cases: 18
Number of deaths: 2