From Prince Rotten To Prince Charming
The Meeting on the Turret Stairs, 1864
Frederic William Burton
Buy The Meeting on the Turret Stairs
From Prince Rotten to Prince Charming
By:Kathleen A. Cyr
In late March of 1994, I believed I was worthless as a human being. I was living with my boyfriend. At first I believed he was my Prince Charming. He was the one that was supposed to provide me with the picture perfect life, a resemblance of a Norman Rockwell painting.
We moved into a tiny basement apartment and my Prince Charming turned out to be Prince Rotten. The change in him started with fierce mood swings. While making dinner the mood would be light hearted. In a flash he would become furious. The cause? Perhaps it was the way I stood at the stove or the amount of spice I put into the meal. I did not understand the true reason for the outbursts, only feared them.
Put downs and degrading comments followed the mood swings. To him, I was never good enough, even at the simplest tasks.
I had no confidence or self-esteem left. Several times I contemplated suicide. But I didn’t even have enough courage for that.
I invested two years of my life into this man. He said he would change. He said he loved me. My Prince Charming and the house with the white picket fence would be a reality. I was kidding myself.
I did not realize my situation was quite evident to other people. I never mentioned my home life or what was happening to me.
It was at my job that my eyes began to open. I was sitting outside on my half hour break when I noticed someone who looked quite familiar. Sitting across from me was my very first crush. His name was Rey Cyr. I met him as a child one summer. We became instant friends as children. I would look forward to seeing him each afternoon. He was sweet and polite. He saved my life when I was thirteen. A memory my heart has never forgotten.
We were at the local pool. I was about to jump off the diving board. Someone jumped on the board behind me. Before I knew what was happening, I was rolling sideways into the water. I felt no pain but knew I was in trouble. I couldn’t breath, couldn’t get to the surface. Hands grabbed me and pulled me to the surface. It was Rey. He had saved me from drowning. When I reached the side of the pool my right leg was covered in blood. I was scraped and bruised from thigh to toe. Rey sat with me while the lifeguards tended to my wounds. Each day for three weeks he stayed by my side until my leg was healed enough to go back into the water.
This is what I remembered as I stared at the grown man who slightly resembled the little boy I once knew. He had a mustache and wavy, light brown hair that reached the tops of his shoulders. But it was in his eyes that I saw the little boy from years past.
For the first time since I began dating Prince Rotten, I felt alive. Rey and I picked up where we left off. Our friendship grew to a new level. He helped me to see that I was special, that I did not have to take another degrading comment. I left Prince Rotten and never looked back.
I have been married to Rey for over four years now and we have two beautiful children. I do not have the white picket fence or the big house. But I do have respect, friendship, and the love of my first crush. That means far more to me than a Norman Rockwell painting.
Kathleen Cyr is a freelance write, wife and mother of two. Her personal essays have appeared in several online publications. She is a member of RWA and CTRWA, the Editor of The Writer's Gallery-and the Emotional Abuse Coordinator and Teen Editor/Advisor for A Peace Of Life. In her spare time she enjoys reading and spending time with her family. To learn more, visit: Kathleen Cyr.
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