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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Lifestyle
Rob, as told to Katie Cunningham

The kindness of strangers: After a tearful breakup dinner, another patron paid our bill

A man and woman eat at a table, rendered in black-and-white with colourful illustrated clothing and swirls
‘We will always remember how a stranger gave us a very sweet ending to a very sad evening.’ Composite: Victoria Hart/Guardian Design/Alamy

The breakup came out of the blue. My then girlfriend and I had shared an intense and fast-moving relationship for two years, then one day she ended things over the phone. I’d thought we would spend the rest of our lives together and have children. I was wrong.

I was quite upset to have been dumped over the phone, and managed to get her to agree to meet me for dinner a couple of weeks later. At a restaurant, we shared a very tearful and intimate conversation about what we meant to each other. She didn’t reconsider her decision, though – that was it.

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