Trophic interactions

ell, I'd guess that we all know that a food chain is the sequence of the organisms of an ecological community in which individuals feed on the members of the level below. In other words, they use them as a primary source of energy. Positioned at the top of any sequence is the super predator ~ a member that consumes others below it, but is, itself, neither consumed nor prey. I'm neither a biologist nor an ecologist, but I do know that single predator/single prey relationships are rare. Most prey are consumed by more than one predator, and the relationships between organisms are influenced by various environmental factors.

So how does this relate to the story line so far? Simply put, the sequence of events that occurred in the course of the next 2 years would demonstrate to me that "human relationships" were nothing more than one individual, me, being a vital source of energy for others. Two individual episodes, in rapid succession will clearly show how the terms prey, intraspecific competition and super predators played a key role in my life.

I'm not sure how DF got home that day. Nor did I care. Intuitively, or perhaps having been forewarned by KMC, he knew of her phone call to me. However, being the artful charismatic character that he was, he offered some explanation that was maybe intended to cast his former lover in a bad light in order to exonerate himself. I wasn't sure whom to believe, really. Her intrusion into our marriage for the purposes of splitting us up permanently was entirely plausible and surely not out of character, given what I knew of her. However, he was spending inordinate amounts of time away from the house, so I couldn't rule out the possibility that there was something between them, despite DF's assurance that they were simply friends and engaged in a business contract at the time.

Either way, in my role as his wife, I couldn't conscion undertaking scrutiny of his every move from that point on ~ that's inhuman and totally disrespectful, in my opinion. I know I'd resent it if I had given my word and someone would not accept it as truth, especially my life's partner. On the other hand, I'd never betray him. I have too much respect for relationships to be dishonest, whatever the cost.

I wanted to offer DF that which I'd expect from him and since trust is integral in restoring a marriage and I thought ours deserved a second chance, and he'd asked me to trust him. However, rather than go on blind faith, I chose to be more aware of my surroundings, circumstances and more observant of his behaviour and mannerisms. Taking this posture with DF also caused me to process similar data and information that I received from all persons with whom I had contact. I became a pensive reservoir of information, soaking up data and exuding little before it was thoroughly analysed. Perhaps not the most dynamic position to be in, but one necessary for survival.