So my ex, Brian, didn't leave Seattle.

I ran into Brian's best friend. Previously he hinted to me that Brian moved away. We talked for a while. It was clear that he wanted to talk about Brian. I said "I know Brian doesn't want me to know where he's moved, so I'm not going to ask questions about him." The friend replied "I didn't tell you that Brian moved, you just assumed that."

We chit-chatted some more; not about Brian. Then I felt in my gut what happend. I asked "He's not in jail again, is he?"

The friend said "You didn't hear it from me... You didn't hear it from me... Let me hear you say it Barry, you didn't hear it from me."

"I didn't hear it from you. I read it in the newspaper or looked it up on the internet. What happened?"

Over Thanksgiving, Brian brought home a trick . Something happend and Brian lost his temper. He took a gun to the trick. He didn't shoot the guy, but has been charged with some flavor of attempted murder.

I feel kind of cold right now. I know I could have made a difference. At the end of our relationship, instead of ending it with him, I thought about saying "Let's both stop drinking, and you need counseling."

He was never violent with me. Only outsiders caused him to loose his temper. On the other hand his temper was getting worse. That's why I ended it with him. Maybe if we stayed together, the gun would have been pointed at me .