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Divorce Made It Too Painful to Return to the Jersey Shore

But my ‘Bestie Sister’ was still waiting for me 10 years later

Colleen Sheehy Orme
ILLUMINATION
7 min readNov 25, 2023

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Photo: Author’s Own

“Come visit me,” she says. “I miss you.”

“I miss you too,” I say. “But I can’t.”

“Why not?” she says.

“I can’t afford it,” I say. “And I have too much on my plate. I have to get through this never-ending divorce.”

“Don’t you miss the shore?” she asks.

“Yes,” I say.

I’m talking to my ‘bestie sister.’

Technically, my ex-husband should have gotten her in our divorce.

We met when we were 23 and 24 on a New Year’s Eve weekend in Eagles Mere. A historic resort town in the Pennsylvania mountains. She had just begun dating one of my then boyfriend’s friends.

I remember arriving that night.

She was sitting on the couch.

She barely looked up while swiping her red nail polish back and forth. Okay, I thought no warm greeting from this girl. I’m not sure if I’m going to like her.

But then she realized I had a little FU in me too.

I can thank my Brooklyn parents for that.

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Colleen Sheehy Orme
Colleen Sheehy Orme

Written by Colleen Sheehy Orme

National Relationship Columnist, Journalist & Former Business Columnist. I cover love, life, & relationships— #WomanResurrected colleen.sheehy.orme@gmail.com

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