The ObservatorySimon and the contact rules
The first weeks after a breakup, and what actually helped.
Simon moved out on a Tuesday, with three boxes and a plant he didn't know if he was allowed to keep. The first few days didn't hurt in any particular way — everything was too unreal for that, like walking around numb after a dental appointment you don't quite remember. The pain came later, in waves he couldn't predict: in the middle of a checkout queue, at three in the morning, at the sight of a coffee cup in the wrong colour to be his own.
He and his ex-partner agreed on something they called the contact rules, mostly because a mutual friend had suggested it and neither of them thought it was really needed. No contact the first four weeks, except for what had to be sorted out practically — the removal company, the shared cat, the post that kept arriving at the wrong address. Simon thought the rules sounded excessively strict for two grown adults. He understood why they existed after just three days.
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