by Katrina Robinson
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24 Jul, 2024
I am writing this in the members' lounge of a flying club. Sprawled around on the leather Chesterfields are men — mostly — of varying ages who are either in the process of acquiring a pilot's licence, or training others to acquire one. I don't fit either of these categories so what am I doing here? This is one of the things I'm choosing to do differently in Part 2 Of My (Love?) Life. What happened in Part 1 I was married first to a man who, several years after we got married, developed a passion for sailing. Not the gentle cruising type, but full-on ocean-racing, requiring yacht-master training and qualifications. I, on the other hand, couldn't swim, was not surprisingly fearful of deep water, prone to seasickness, and am miserable when cold and wet. So sailing wasn't for me but I had no problem with him taking time out to pursue his new interest at a sailing club on the coast. It didn't occur to me not to trust him and I knew if I tagged along with a brave face I would simply be a drag on him. Whenever he was off for a few days' sailing I got busy with my own interests, and loved hearing about his experiences when he came home. Unfortunately some of these experiences included ones he wasn’t telling me about: he began an affair with a woman, also married, at the yacht club and ultimately left me for her. Making Part 2 different Fast forward all these years and now that I am in a new marriage, I find myself handling my husband's individual interests slightly differently. He is learning to fly and I go with him regularly to the flying club, making myself at home in the clubhouse while he's up in the skies.