Jun. 6th, 2003 09:04 am
One in every rose
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muckefuck10:19 last night. I'm naked in bed reading ch. 25 of RTK in the hopes that the Mare Upstairs will settle down soon. (I figure she has until 10:30 before I ask her to TURN DOWN HER GODDAMN STEREO.) The phone rings. Who the fuck would call me at 10:19 p.m. on a school night?
Despina, that's who.
She's one of those people who disappears for years at a time and then suddenly wants to pick up right where you left off. On the phone, I likened her to a comet: Not a reliable ancient comet, like Halley's, but one of those newly-captured ones that hasn't yet settled down into a regular elliptical orbit. Sometimes it appears thrice in a year, then nothing for three years. It could be the show of your life or it could be a fizzle. But somehow you know that it hasn't burnt out and it will be back, maybe when you least expect it.
Like now. She wanted to hear all about who I was with, where I was at, how our mutual friends were. I tried to ask about her and the response was, "This isn't about me!" But by the end of the call, she was regaling me with tales of her recent sexual conquests. She seems to be on a steady diet of (reasonably safe) one-night stands at this point. All I can reasonably predict about Despina is that, if I let a few years go by without seeing her, then she's guaranteed to have reinvented herself. She's gone from being pleasingly plump to a gaunt, taut gym bunny; her business is toys again--sounds like the publishing house let her go.
Are we friends? I'd have to say yes, though our friendship has characteristics none of my other relationships do. Generally, with people in the Friends For Life category (those who can drift in and out of your life without diminishing the strength of the friendship), I feel totally open and comfortable when we sit and talk. With Despina, I'm always guarded. She's a schemer (and if you call her on it, she'll protest too much). Most of the plans she spins never come to anything and she's got a long history of coming up with plans for me. (The most recent is for me to spend a week with her in NYC. "We'll get your hair styled, go out. You'll need a vacation from the vacation!") But I always hear her out, smiling demurely and enjoying the entertainment. Maybe that's why she keeps coming back?
Despina, that's who.
She's one of those people who disappears for years at a time and then suddenly wants to pick up right where you left off. On the phone, I likened her to a comet: Not a reliable ancient comet, like Halley's, but one of those newly-captured ones that hasn't yet settled down into a regular elliptical orbit. Sometimes it appears thrice in a year, then nothing for three years. It could be the show of your life or it could be a fizzle. But somehow you know that it hasn't burnt out and it will be back, maybe when you least expect it.
Like now. She wanted to hear all about who I was with, where I was at, how our mutual friends were. I tried to ask about her and the response was, "This isn't about me!" But by the end of the call, she was regaling me with tales of her recent sexual conquests. She seems to be on a steady diet of (reasonably safe) one-night stands at this point. All I can reasonably predict about Despina is that, if I let a few years go by without seeing her, then she's guaranteed to have reinvented herself. She's gone from being pleasingly plump to a gaunt, taut gym bunny; her business is toys again--sounds like the publishing house let her go.
Are we friends? I'd have to say yes, though our friendship has characteristics none of my other relationships do. Generally, with people in the Friends For Life category (those who can drift in and out of your life without diminishing the strength of the friendship), I feel totally open and comfortable when we sit and talk. With Despina, I'm always guarded. She's a schemer (and if you call her on it, she'll protest too much). Most of the plans she spins never come to anything and she's got a long history of coming up with plans for me. (The most recent is for me to spend a week with her in NYC. "We'll get your hair styled, go out. You'll need a vacation from the vacation!") But I always hear her out, smiling demurely and enjoying the entertainment. Maybe that's why she keeps coming back?