The Timetable

When I was in college, I met two law students. They have been sweethearts for five years at that time. They looked so good together that I believed that they’d end up in marriage.

Julia* was a sweet girl, smart and very compassionate and Dante* was goal oriented and organized. Julia believed in fate and chances and coincidences while Dante believed in planning, alternatives and schedules. When Julia was young, she wanted to be a princess, then a doctor, then a nun but decided on being a lawyer when she grew up. Dante, on the other hand, had his life mapped out when he was in high school. He would graduate from high school at 16, finish prelaw at 20, graduate from Law school at 24, pass the bar exam and become a lawyer at 25, work for the government for 2 years, get married and enter politics at 27 and be a congressman in the long run.

It was such a nicely, laid-out plan. And it seems like he was right on schedule. But when he failed the bar exam on his first take, we thought he would realize that a person’s life can never be planned out that neatly. He was, however, undaunted, he took the exam the following year and passed.

So, his career as a public servant began with the next goal in mind, to get married with another lawyer and pave his way to politics. But a person may plan for his life but he could never do that to someone else’s. Julia failed the bar on first take.. and on second.

Dante was running out of time. He had to get married with another lawyer at 27 years of age. So, when he met another lawyer at work, he broke up with Julia and married a woman he barely knew.

Beverly seems to be the perfect wife for Dante. She was pretty and smart. But she lacked Julia’s natural compassion and spontaneity. What more, he started to realize how warm hearted Julia was compared to Beverly. Consequently, he became distant from his wife who seemed to hardly notice.

Then, in one of their reunions, Dante came across Julia who, by then, already passed the bar and was a lawyer herself. As they talked, Dante thought of how perfect Julia would be as a politician’s wife. She was witty, attentive and naturally caring.

That night, Dante went home with a heavy heart. He looked back at his timetable which he dedicatedly followed and came out as the sad, discontented man he was.

 *not real names