Everyone knows an “and couple”. They’re that pair who are so inextricably linked that even their names meld into one. Shaunandmichelle, Onieandmoe... but when they break up, Paige Nick’s the one left heartbrokenThey finish each other's sentences, know each other's passwords and, in my mind, when they travel they share a suitcase. I respect it, but the thought of being part of an "and couple" gives me hives.A few weeks ago, on a weekend away, we were at a bar when one of my favourite "and couples" told me they'd broken up. They were all smiles and dismissed it as "fine" and "not such a big deal". It was a mutual decision, they'd both moved on, were better off for it and were now even better friends, they said, as half the "and" went to the bar to top up her ex's drink.I was more upset about their break-up than they were. Later they went back to their hotel room in fits of laughter, where the other half of the "and" was going to (happily) sleep on the couch.story_article_left1I tried to explain to them what it meant to be broken up. I felt like they were getting it all wrong. I remember being destroyed at reports of a recent ex-boyfriend spotted at The Function the night after we'd broken up, dancing like it was 1999 (which it was) and snogging some girl with a side ponytail (I just said it was 1999).It felt so cruel. How could he have gotten over our five-month relationship so quickly and be out there already, with a smile and a blonde on his face, while I still needed to be scraped off the floor with a spatula?I couldn't figure it out. Were Rebeccaandjeanine the worst broken-up couple ever, or so evolved that they'd overtaken the rest of humanity?When important relationships end, some people lose themselves in life. They get really busy, usually boning someone else. It gets their mind off the break-up and helps them move on. While others, like me, wallow and churn, incapable of moving on without closure, time and solutions.It's one of the reasons I don't like soccer. I don't know how fans can stand all those games that end in a low-scoring tie. If I'm going to commit to watching a game for a whole 90 minutes, I have to know who won in the end. Where's the closure in a draw?This clamour for closure doesn't always end well. After she was surprise-dumped, a woman I know got her best friend to call the guy (while she listened on speakerphone) and tell him she had died. He was shocked and even had a small cry. My friend felt good for the first time since he'd dumped her. Until three days later when she bumped into him in Pick n Pay. It was only two weeks after their break-up, but I suspect that was all the closure he needed.Paige Nick's novel, 'Dutch Courage', a strip-club comedy, published by Penguin Random House (R220), is in bookstoresE-mail the author of this article, Paige Nick, at amillionmilesfromnormal@gmail.com or find her on twitter @paigen..