best for REAL LIFE
Heartbroken Soulla Christodoulou had no idea that the man with ladders and a bucket of warm soapy water would have such an impact on her life…
When people ask me how I met my partner, I always smile. ‘He’s my window cleaner,’ I say, and they’re shocked. It had surprised me too, because if you’d told the old me years ago that I’d be shacked up with the bloke who cleans my windows, I probably would’ve laughed. But you never know when love will find you…
I’d first met Alan in 2005, he was cleaning my neighbour’s windows and I asked him if he could do mine, too. He was kind, seemed sweet and, as the months rolled by, he’d stop for a chat on the doorstep when he collected money from me.
He’d always ask how I was and what my three boys – then aged five, seven and 10 – were up to. It was just small talk and besides, I was happily married at the time – or so I thought.
I was devastated when I found out my husband was leaving me. I was an old-fashioned kind of girl and believed marriage was for life. So when we split up in 2006, I didn’t tell many people outside my immediate circle. I couldn’t face sharing the bad news with them and seeing all the pitiful looks.
Not long after the break-up, I was having a really bad day, grieving for my marriage and getting my head around being a single mum. Alan had come over to do his monthly clean of the windows, and when he came to collect his money, I burst into tears on the doorstep.
‘What’s wrong? Is it the boys?’ he asked, looking concerned.
‘I’ve split up with my husband,’ I confessed, prompting a fresh burst of tears.
‘I’m so sorry,’ he said, shocked. ‘If
there’s anything I can do...’
To be honest, I couldn’t shut the door quick enough. I was embarrassed to have broken down in front of the window cleaner.
We got over it and went back to our friendly but polite ‘we don’t really know each other’ interactions.
About 16 months later, I was feeling better, when I noticed he seemed a bit… down?
‘Is something wrong?’ I ventured. Nervous of being too friendly again. It’s my wife,’ he said. ‘She wants a divorce.’
My heart went out to him, let’s face it, I knew the feeling.
After that encounter, we were more familiar during our monthly doorstep chats.
Then out of the blue, Alan asked me out to dinner. But things were still raw after my break-up, so I turned him down. That didn’t deter him though, as over the next six months he asked me out on another t
