washwords

Day 3 of  X365: the EX edition, special, all this week in honor of Valentines’ Day.

23/365: $50: we went out. talked about you. you walked me home (was it safe?) wanted to come in. called me from the street asking for bus fare, because you “spent your last 50 bucks on drinks.”

24/365: Narc: a- lepsy. You missed date 2. Called me out of breath, confused, flustered. You’d overslept! Begged apologies, tearful sorries. We tried again. And you missed date 3, too. or rather, all dates after 2.

25/365: Artiste: I liked the drop cloths on the floor, the  half-done canvasses, splashes of color everywhere, your spiritual soul.  loved the complete and total magical storybook randomness of your life. loved it. and hated it, too.

26/365: Mess: You wouldn’t let me see your house, but finally relented. You’d spent the day scrubbing, taking apart appliances, moving pieces, blocking rooms off limit. furniture on top of boxes atop paper. but the sink sparkled.

27/365:  Found III: We take turns. Needing and reassuring each other that we are loved, that it is okay, that all is well. I marvel at the power of it: to support and lean in perfect harmony.

You may remember X365 [1. The idea  of X 365 is simple : write X number of words on ONE person who’s touched your life for each day of the year. My X was 35 (the age I was when I started); now it’s 36. The “micro-essays” as I liked to call them are random, or they were anyway – one day a relative or longheld close friend; the next, a stranger encountered on the Metro.]

But this time, in preparation for relaunching efforts to finish that book I’ve been threatening to write (Red Line to Dumpsville: my year of dating in Washington, DC (C), in celebration of building  a home and a life with my love, and in honor of Valentines’ Day,  I’m dredging up “the dating files.” Some of these stories are mine, some were told to me, and a few are compilations (anyone who’s dated in wash, dc knows that it isn’t long before you start dating the SAME person again and again. You can be the judge of which are which. or not.

I’m breaking from the rules for this one and won’t be using real names (to protect the not-so innocent). They’re still presented in random order. So no swelled heads anyone!