MJ had returned from the dead for the sixth time since the beginning of their pseudo relationship. Many of Sheila's male friends had told her a long time ago this man was a bad news and the sooner she tossed him out of her life, the better off she'd be. He girlfriends warned her nothing good would ever come out of this outrageously stupid situation she was subjecting herself too - if she had an iota of common sense she should run like the wind. Yet, she found herself relenting to his 53rd email spread over a period of two years. The man was relentless - he just did not know how to give up, how to stop or move on. She wrote him back hoping this ghost from the past would finally be exorcised.
The communication followed the ever so familiar pattern - flirtation, the instant spark of connection between two really good friends, the rekindled hope of how special this could be. While MJ followed his time-tested mo, Sheila tried something radically different - she gave him an ultimatum. They had to get married by a certain date or they would never be in touch again. MJ treated this as an interesting variation of their old cat and mouse game. The off and on pattern of their relationship had lasted for years without anything changing on either side.
There was a sense of finality about their status quo and he was comfortable knowing Sheila was there, still single and "technically" available for a hypothetical relationship and marriage in the distant future. He wanted her to wait until he got ready to take the plunge, he asked for six more months, she offered six more days. On day six, she stopped responding to him - just as she had promised. He persisted for several months after and then fell silent.
That might have been the finale of the Sheila and MJ story except that it was not.
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