The Lady and a boy named Dex: The long haul.

4/27/2012 The Lady 10 Comments

Once upon a time, The Lady fell in love. Honest to goodness love. This is the story of her journey in and out of it and back into it again.



The month that followed "The Blip" was blissful, but it was Dex's turn to become uneasy. (A wishy-washy couple we must have been). Dating a coquette was not easy for Dex, and his jealousies finally got the best of him.

One warm October weekend, we threw a bonfire to send off a friend who had just joined the military, and everyone who was anyone was invited. Including Mr. Tennis. Despite our past, Mr. Tennis and I had remained friends--I have the unique ability to keep friendships lasting long past their due date--and we remained flirty friends at that. Dex ran off with a group of friends and I remained near the fire, comfortable in my solitude. Taking advantage of Dex's absence, the dashing Mr. Tennis dragged his camp-chair through the dirt and plopped down next to me. When Dex returned, what was a friendly conversation to to Mr. Tennis and me, appeared to Dex to be a full-out flirting session. He stormed back into the dark without a word and I watched his retreat with an angry defense igniting within. I will never remember the words that passed between Mr. Tennis and myself, I just remember the resentment I harbored for Dex that night. He was childish. Jealous. A fool.

My bitterness must have reached Dex via some cosmic, metaphysical tidal wave emanating from my aura because no sooner had he stormed off than he was storming towards me from the dark. He pulled me up from my chair. "I have to talk to you," he muttered as he led me off into the dark beyond the warmth of the fire. Visions of Dex slapping me or yelling at me flitted through my mind. In that moment I was as scared of him as I was of Mr. Cowboy when he had broken his windshield. And all of this over the same man. The irony couldn't have been more palpable. My phone vibrated in my pocket. It was a text from Mr. Tennis. Something stupid about guarding my chastity.

We could see the campfire, but no one could see us. He heaved a sigh, and I looked up at him. No, he would never hurt me. He would never yell. He sat, and so did I. "Lady, my dad thinks we're in over our heads." This wasn't about what his dad thought of our relationship. We both knew that. It was about Mr. Tennis. Of what had occurred in a mere ten minutes. This was about jealousy. This was about The Coquette.

"So do you want to break up?" I offered. My fear had quickly been replaced with my previous fury.

"I suppose so."

"Okay."

We got up and headed towards the fire, Dex went to his car and left me behind. Mr. Tennis had saved my seat.



"I feel as though I made the worst mistake of my life," Dex admitted to my sister. "I have to have her back."

The details of when or how Dex and I got back together are vague. It seems as though we simply were apart and then together again. But we did decide that that was the last time we would break up. No more blips. No more wishy-washy jealousies. We were together for the long haul. We had discussed marriage before, but only casually. This time was different. We were determined. A fall wedding. Med school for him. Babies for me. Six, or seven, or eight of them. A house with big windows and a monstrous library. It was all flawless.

I never doubted then, and I have never doubted since that Dex was the man I wanted to marry.


Con Amor,
The Lady


"Who can be in doubt of what followed? When any two young people take it into their heads to marry, they are pretty sure by perseverance to carry their point, be they ever so poor, or ever so imprudent, or ever so little likely to be necessary to each other's ultimate comfort." -Persuasion