We'll Always Have Newport: Chapter 1- Reunited and It Feels So...Unexpected

We'll Always Have Newport: Chapter 1 Postcard by Bougie Girl

(November 2009)

His  Facebook friend request arrives out of the blue. In fact, it takes me a moment to recall exactly who he is. I click on his photo and it reveals an older version of the tatted up skateboarder whom I had  known all those years ago.

A cursory glance at his profile conveys that the former punk rocker has traded in his skateboard for a successful career in the Navy. 

 I think back on my own path since college and shake my head in amazement.  Since graduating from college, I have worked as a singer, administrative assistant, paralegal, contract administrator, and as a part-time restaurant host. I know all too well the way in which life can take you down unexpected alleyways.

Almost immediately after accepting his friend request, he sends over an introductory email which

sparks off a flurry of emails between us which culminates in the exchange of telephone numbers. 

I have recently extricated myself from what can best be described as an unhealthy situation. I am ready to take my life into a different direction. A light long distance flirtation seemed to be just the thing to kick off a celebration of my new life.

We spend the next couple of weeks texting up a storm. Each morning around 5 am Mountain Time     he greets me with a Good Morning text. I am an early riser and so I don’t find it strange to be cooking and cleaning  and trading texts with him. My co-workers  notice a significant change in my disposition. Not, that I am a particularly sullen person but, my overall mood has definitely improved.

 He feels so close to me and sometimes I have to remind myself that he is on the other side of the country. Especially, since we talk on the phone every other day for hours at a time.  

A thousand miles and a 2 hour time difference separate us,we never seem to run out of things to say to one another.  We spend the first couple of weeks getting up to speed on each other's lives.

During the day,  I text him trivia about the Navy. Of course, I am not telling him anything that he doesn’t already know about the Navy. I am just so geeked up about learning new things.

 I envision him smirking at my awkward attempts to show off my new found knowledge about the Navy.  A few weeks into  our virtual courtship, he  asks me about my future plans.

“Do you see marriage and children in your future plans?”

“Yes,” I reply without hesitation.

“Do you think that you could handle being a military spouse and the constant relocation plus the long separations?”

“Yes,” I say again without a trace of hesitation.

I hear him take a huge breath over the phone.

I feel as though things between us are rocketing  too quickly but, isn’t that how life goes sometimes?

Especially, when one is dating over the age of 35. At this age, you get a feel for what you want in a relationship. For me, I was looking for a man whom would appreciate the fact that I love to travel and yet, I also love to be surrounded by family and friends.

Alas, this has turned out to be more challenging than I had ever imagined.

In fact, before the Sailor came along, I was researching life as a single mother by choice.

 I had planned on going to a sperm bank and if for some reason, I was unable to carry a child, then I would adopt two siblings.

However, life is flipping the script on me,  and now  I am smack dab in a long distance courtship with the Sailor which seems to grow stronger by the day.

to be continued...