Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience. 1 ...and in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make... The End You have to accept, first of all, that I never intended for any of the things that happened, to actually happen. I know I'm still to blame, because I allowed myself to have the thoughts in the first place, and then even more so for allowing those thoughts to become actions. But I swear to you, I started out normally enough. My tastes, my preferences, my sensibilities, were as well-adjusted as the next man, I'm certain of it. The only excuse, the only reason I can even approach, is that the loneliness drove me insane. I mean that in it's most literal sense. I was out of my head with longing and desire, ready to end it all in the cleanest, least painful way I could find. The cure that presented itself, the love I found, did so much to warm the frozen wasteland my heart had become, that I can only think of it as good, as vital and necessary, even as I recognize that I need to be punished for it. I was 38 and unemployed. I'd really rather not go into detail about how I came to be in that spot. The point is, after eight years of divorce, bitter bitter loneliness, jobs I hated, and other general kicks in the crotch from life, I was at the bottom of the barrel.rj_chapter01