Leave Like a Slammed Door or a Whisper?

Ghosting someone after a four-year relationship is NOT a valid choice... or is it?

"Either way, the room changes, Paul. The air shifts. That draft vanishes. What a graceful ghost. A takedown of accountability disguised as emotional depth."

My good buddy, FrankeeZee, was talking in a way I would rarely hear — unless he was hammered. And he was.

Last Saturday, we sat soaking in his hot tub, drinks in hand, bubbles bubbling, steam rising. I listened. He'd been dumped last week by his girlfriend of four years. I was his faithful ear.

"It's a gift, really. Disappear and call it growth. Weaponize silence and call it peace. Erase someone while smiling politely and quoting some fucking author. Very healing. Very evolved."

I remained quiet.

"She faked a stylized exit, masking plain avoidance in self-help jargon. The trick? Leave before they ask why. Leave loud — but with just enough poetic mist to make it seem quiet. That's the sweet spot."

I nodded.

"They don't owe you a goodbye. Just something about boundaries or healing — wrapped in enough vagueness to keep you guessing. You know what I mean?"

Frankee's eyes — glazed from multiple vodka slushies — locked on mine.

"You don't know how betrayed I feel, Paul."

It's tough to console a friend limping through a breakup; harder, when you don't know what happened — or why.

I smelled those burgers sizzling on the grill and got out of our jacuzzi to flip them, just as the doorbell rang.

"Paul. Ya wanna get that? I invited Gina and a bunch of her friends."

I smiled. Yeah, Frankee would be alright. My good friend would be just fine.

He needed time... and perhaps, Gina and her friends.