My mom had what I like to call a “perpetual ex.” They went out a couple of times in the 70s, but then broke up. She moved on, got married, and had me. Still, he kept calling her, constantly proposing. When my mom moved, she made it clear that no one was to give him her new number. But for 20 years, he kept calling her friend instead.
Thirty years later, by sheer coincidence, my mom bumped into him. She got flustered and ended up giving him her phone number again. That opened the door for him to start calling, inviting her out, and proposing marriage—again. This went on for another six years.
Eventually, she grew tired of it and blocked him on her cell phone, though she left the home phone unblocked. That’s when he started calling me. I blocked him too.
In total, this strange cycle lasted 45 years.
