information

What do I do with this information?  How do I proceed?  Or do I just need to let it all go and be free of whatever this is?

But honestly, it feels like someone ripped off the scab of a decade old scar and now it won't stop bleeding.

And I hurt.  Have I mentioned that?  Yeah, pretty sure I have, but nothing's changed in the past 12 hours, so yup, still hurting.  Ugh, so sucky.

I thought about going to the gym, but after not really eating a whole bunch recently, I'm feeling pretty weak, so I just took a long walk around a local pond, it IS a beautiful day out there and part of me at least can still see that measure of beauty, so that's good, right?

Ok, back to the information at hand.  I think part of me just needs to put this all down somewhere, so that I have it out of my head and onto the page.  I'm thinking that will help me process, so here goes. But if you are reading this, remember, this post is for me, not you.  So my apologies in advance for any blabber and general lack of storyline.

About a year and a half ago, a man came back into my life.  I had known him before, as a colleague and kinda a friend, but that was about it.  He was going through some stuff in his life with his health and his relationships, so I just tried to be a supportive person that was there.  He left about 2 years into his working with us for health reasons (or so I have believed).  When he returned, about a year later, he seemed different, but nonetheless still the same, generally happy and always smart-assy person that I knew before.  Let's just call him "O" to make the story easier.

As O and I continued to work together again, there was a spark and an interest and conversation about life and sex and many other things.  But basically, the gist that I got was that he was no longer with his ex, he had moved out and was living on his own, and still had the dog.  I'm not one to pry all the time, so I just let him tell me what he needed to in his own time.  Part of this uncovered his desire for a D/s relationship on top of a "normal" relationship.  Through much flirting and conversing, we at least recognized a desire to explore this with each other.  But work.  Yup work was in the way.  So we did our best to keep our hands off each other, but yeah, we all know how that goes.  And soon enough we were talking dirty, acting filthy and generally making each other feel pretty fucking good.  And while we were still acknowledging that "this" was a bad idea while working together, we did manage to grow close.  I let him in, I felt safe enough to trust him, and he seemed like he was starting to trust me (which is an admittedly hard thing for him to do). Everything seemed good.
And then about 7 months ago, he just pulled away.  Like gone.  Nothing.  I pushed back, confused and stunned and he just told me he needed some space. So he got it.
I don't really know for how long, but the space he asked for seemed to do the trick.  He re-engaged, and things started to get pretty interesting in all those lovely ways.  We talked of a future, we talked of joining forces in our profession, we talked and talked.
But let me be clear here, with O I knew I was taking a risk.  He is 7 years younger than me, and has had some shit in his life.  I knew he had trust issues, but I was willing to open myself up, willing to hope, willing to trust him to never, ever hurt me like I have been hurt in the past.  I had even gone so far as to frequently remind him that if he wasn't in "this" for the long haul, then we should just stop right now. O assured me at every turn that as long as I was patient, all will be well. He promised me that he would always take care of me. And I believed him.
From here, I will cut to the chase. O gives notice at work, a fairly lengthy notice, but that was the right thing to do.  So based on emails and conversations with O, my thought was that once he was no longer working there, we would be free to explore a deeper relationship.  One with shared experiences, with openness and love.
So he leaves.  And I have not seen him in 5 1/2 weeks.  Yes, we've talked.  It's been pretty bumpy at times.  And I had even suggested that maybe I just need to let him go.  But until this past Sunday, we've been able to work through whatever we are feeling (or really, whatever I am feeling). He did tell me that he just had a lot going on, was feeling pulled in a 100 different directions, and that while there would come a "time for us," now was not that time.   Ok. Fine. Got it.  Don't like it, but I've got it.
Sunday rolls around, and I'm on FB getting ready to message my aunt about borrowing her condo, when I see a name on her friends page that seems familiar to me.  Out of curiosity I click on that friend.  And lo and behold, I find this friend holding an tiny baby in her arms.  And then it clicks.  This friend is the mother of O's ex. And like in some really bad slow-motion scene of a shitty movie, I scroll down the comments to read all the congratulations for O and his ex.  I see all the glowing well wishes for the happy family. And I start to shake.
I have no idea what I am looking at, but I know it's not making any sense in my head.  Until I start doing the math.  I text O.  I tell him I've just stumbled across this very confusing thing and need some help understanding.  He asks me if it can wait.  No, it can't wait.  I need a yes or a no answer to 2 questions:
Are you back with your ex?
and
Are you a new father?
His reply, was as follows: ha, not quite let's talk about it tomorrow.
Um......not quite??? What the fuck?

It's now Wednesday, I've asked him to call me.  I've told him I'm not mad, just need some help in understanding. And I haven't heard a word.  Sometimes silence says more than words ever can.

I won't call him again.  The ball is now in his court. I'm sad and confused and hurt.  But I'm not angry.  Because all I have ever wanted for him is joy.  And maybe now he has it.  I just wish I did too.