"Peanut Brittle" or "How Does It Relate?"

It’s not easy to be vague and still make a valid point. So why be vague? Easy, to protect the guilty. Therefore the names have been changed (or have they?). For those of you who leave more confused and frustrated than you arrived, I sincerely apologize. I’m only writing this for my benefit, therefore the mystery of origins for this story will remain just that, a mystery. Not even my lovely wife will ever know for sure who/what this is about. Then again, it could be a complete work of fiction. I am a closet aspiring writer, you know. Like a Tootsie Pop, the world may never know…

Charlie was the kind of guy most people liked to hang out with. He was charismatic, good looking, and made friends easily. He was raised in a great household environment with two parents who loved him, and a couple of siblings. Nothing out of the ordinary here. He was raised to know right from wrong, and taught the important family values many children these days are raised without. Suffice it to say, Charlie was given a strong foundation on which to grow and become a respectable member of society.

In his early adult years, Charlie met a nice young girl, Lucy. She was raised in much of the same manner as Charlie, and the two seemed to be made for each other. They grew to love each other unconditionally, and it appeared they would be lifelong partners. They were a very social couple, and did everything together. They had a wide network of friends and were always busy on the weekends.

Things went well for a couple of years for Charlie and Lucy. They got a place of their own, and seemed to be on their way to building a life together. They both made individual career advancements, and started planning for their future together. Wedding plans were made, as were plans for a child, a house, and maybe even a little dog (“A Beagle?” Lucy would suggest). While this may seem to be a storybook scenario, it was what was happening behind the scenes that was decaying this relationship from the inside.

Lucy’s new job was requiring her to work long hours, and sometimes even weekends. She didn’t mind, however, because they were finally financially comfortable. Charlie’s new job was good too, but Lucy was the breadwinner. His job was more supplemental than anything else. Now please don’t think that the extra hours were the direct root of the problems here. The hours didn’t create the strain. In fact, Charlie didn’t mind the extra hours Lucy was putting in. He enjoyed it. Allow me to elaborate.

Charlie, being the charismatic guy he was, quickly made new friends at his new job. Linus fast became his best friend. They hung out at work, after work and on the weekends. Linus was a nice enough guy, but kind of a womanizer. He was the stereotypical college jock type that would go home with a different girl every weekend. He wasn’t the best looking guy in the world, but he had a charm and confidence about him. Charlie didn’t just like hanging out with Linus, he actually started to look up to him. It was becoming obvious that Linus was starting to become a bad influence. You see, Linus had a girlfriend too. That, of course, didn’t stop him from taking girls home from the bar. Personally, I think it was because Linus had security issues and his father wasn’t around when he was a kid. I could be wrong though.

It didn’t take long before Linus' behavior became intriguing to Charlie. Linus was very successful at cheating, and he never got caught. It seemed like an exciting lifestyle. Besides, Linus justified it by saying “I don’t have a ring on my finger”. It seemed like reasonable logic to Charlie. Linus was always trying to set Charlie up on dates, and kept urging him to stop being so “whipped”. Eventually, Linus succeeded in breaking Charlie down. He convinced Charlie to hook up with a girl, Marci, at a party they went to one weekend (while Lucy was working).

Charlie loved Lucy and all, but there was something about the thrill of sneaking around. Before long, Charlie had “hooked up” with quite a few girls while Lucy was at work. Of course, Lucy never had a clue. It was almost like a drug to Charlie. He became addicted to the feeling of meeting someone new.

So what happened? How does the story end? Did they get a beagle and name it Snoopy?

All valid questions, but unfortunately, this story doesn’t really have a definite “end”. Nothing dramatic, and no twists or turns. Charlie finally decided to end the relationship because he wanted to be free to date, and Lucy moved on with her life (I hear she ended up marrying some guy named Schroeder). Charlie turned into that creepy older guy at high school parties that poached 16 and 17 year old drunk girls.

So what’s the freaking point?

Charlie was a good guy. We’ve established that. However, it was through the influence of Linus that he became a rotten apple. He saw an exciting lifestyle that he wanted to pursue. Though he had a loving girlfriend at home, living vicariously through Linus was not enough. He had to feel, and experience the excitement himself. He had to feel the rush of being secretly promiscuous while maintaining the facade of a faithful boyfriend.

Frustrated yet? Me too…