Monday, January 28, 2008

Ode to Gabriel García Márquez


Where to begin on the weekend?

Richard and I have known each other since 1980 when I was a Freshman in college. He's a year older. We were inseparable. We finally dated casually after he graduated; there was some new attraction for me to the idea of him being a bread winner out on his own, particularly when he barely graduated with his 2.000000000001 GPA. The first time we had sex, Breakfast at Wimbledon was on. He's always been such a prep and played collegiate tennis, making me an avid fan. Now we both love Wimbledon just a little more.

Around the time I graduated a year later, he moved to a more exciting town and I would visit him sometimes on the weekends. We never dated exclusively and I think we were both chicken to take the plunge. When ex suddenly asked me to marry him in 1986 and we got married only two weeks later, Richard was stunned. He could not make it to the wedding. We entered a period of silence, which was supported by ex as he hated the thought of me having exes. I finally saw Richard again in 1999 and again in 2004. We keep in touch via phone and email.

Richard and I are huge temptations to each other. We give each other goosebumps. It is visceral. I tingle all over. My goal, however, was to remain platonic this weekend and we were successful. I just wanted to cavort with this married man, not co-mingle. I had seven, oops, nine drinks Saturday, which I know would stymie lots of people, but for me that's just about right. I don't know why I have such a high tolerance. I drink infrequently.

In a funny moment, we entered a bar and he asked what I wanted to drink. Although I'd been drinking beer, I wanted a shooter, but couldn't think of one, so he suggested a Lemon Drop. So Lemon Drop it was. He asked me what I wanted to chase it with, some beer or water. I thought it was an absurd question and replied, "Another Lemon Drop." So that's what I heard the rest of the evening. "Another Lemon Drop." Okay, location joke. You had to be there.

Although I drank what I wanted, I behaved food-wise with a steak salad Saturday night and a fish dish the next day. In weighing myself today, I was down another half pound for a total of two lost last week! I am 55% of my way to my goal in 44% of the time.

We even watched part of Miss America Saturday night; he was watching the time holding it as an even bigger goal than I was. We missed the beginning and I was shocked at Miss Michigan at the end. Where did she come from?

All in all, it was such a good weekend. I felt like an adult and was with someone who really loves and appreciates me and vv. It was rejuvenating. He is truly my best friend and I feel like I'll say that in another 28 years.

We have a dose of Love in the Time of Cholera to us. Maybe our day will come. Just not yet.

6 comments:

laura b. said...

I love that story and I have always loved the idea of supercharged platonic love affairs. Very cool post.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like all kinds of good things are abound out here in blog-world tonight. Nice post, glad that things went well this past weekend. Many more to you.

jess said...

what a great story.

after 13 years, a failed marriage and two kids, i'm finally marrying my high school love...

if you want to read about it, i think i've written about it on my blog. i'll try to dig up the link for you.

if i haven't, i'll write about it just for you.

:)

Anonymous said...

So good to have friends like that, and so glad you had a nice weekend.

dmarks said...

I loved "100 Years of Solitude". Is "Cholera" as good?

Cricket said...

dmarks,
I am ashamed to say that I have finished neither. 100 Years was part of a summer graduate class, almost a novel a day for a month and it was the last novel, the only I could not read. Cholera I have tried to read twice and can't make it past 1/3. Márquez writes so densely that I cannot keep up with the details. It's like I know it's good, but it's apparently not for me. I'd been so excited at the prospect of the Cholera movie, then the reviews were awful, so I didn't see it.