Friday, May 12, 2006

total eclipse of the heart

So I had this great trip to Bloomington, Indiana -- well, at least it was great once I got off the plane; my journey was delayed at every possible junction and ended with hysterical toddlers kicking me in the back of the head at 1:00 AM as we finally began our very late descent -- followed by a great time in Kentuckiana, which is what the pleasant folks down near Louisville call their lush, Ohio River Valley home. I had stories about my cousin's graduation from IU, what it made me think about becoming a college professor after all, playing cards, drinking mint juleps, and planting tomatoes.

I had a story about the most ironic couple I've ever met: a woman who's been married three times, with a child and child support payments to show for each marriage; and a man who spent the first 15 years of his life in a religious cult. And what do they do? The woman teaches Marriage and Family classes, and the man is a therapist!

I had stories! I meant to tell them as I stumbled upstairs at 2:30 in the morning from my 13 hour car ride home, covered in dog hair, bespectacled and frizzy, not to mention exhausted. Instead, my charmingest of boyfriends, who had cleaned the apartment from top to bottom and bought beautiful, abundant purple flowers, knocked all other stories out of my head, although not the lyrics to that Nellie McKay song. He said, "I was sure when you were here, but I was even more sure when you were gone."

No real talk of the wedding yet or any of those weighty issues. He said he doesn't want to have kids for a long time, and I said I'm keeping my name, and we shook on it. Aside from soliciting congratulations (and in some cases, free food!) that's all we've done so far.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Congratulations complete stranger!!

:) :) :) :) :)

I'm the first and it doesn't feel right.
Don't let marital bliss change your writing either, as long as you're not changing your name!

ester said...

ha :-) thanks nate! don't worry, i've gotten phone calls & emails from the people who know me in real life. i don't feel too slighted.

Anonymous said...

and now, comments. next time i see you, the drinks are on me! <3 <3 <3

Anonymous said...

Congratulations! Who's the guy?

ester said...

don't you mean, who's the LUCKY guy?

Anonymous said...

yes, of course, lucky lucky lucky.

Anonymous said...

ohmygodohmygodohmygod.

congrats!!!!! (:

- sorelle

Anonymous said...

What Sorelle said.

But seriously, Congratulations x3 :)

Who is the lucky guy?

Anonymous said...

hey, congratulations!

and uh, where have you gone? you didn't go back to bloomington, did you? are you coming over tonight to watch the sopranos?

Anonymous said...

Mazel tov! I'm so happy for you my dear... it makes me nostalgic: I'm remembering when we were little girls playing in my backyard and making up stories or saving my teddy bear from Sheba. I wish you all the best Esther!