On Friday, when I took Adam to OKC for his visitation with AJ, I didn't feel apprehensive. There wasn’t any need to; AJ and I were learning how to be civil each other and doing a fine job at it. (It only took us six years.) With the car engine off, I looked in the mirror and saw Adam totally passed out in the backseat. I got out of the car, and AJ spotted me immediately from across the parking lot. Before I even had time to say hello, he walked over and scooped me up into his arms and bear hugged me; "It's good to see you babe!”
The hug took me by surprise, firstly, because my feet were no longer touching the ground. Secondly; because I couldn't recall the last time AJ hugged me. “It’s good to see you too AJ”, and I laughed a little as I said that. He set me back on the ground. I noticed the sun glistening off his newly shaven head and immediately wanted to know; "Why did you shave your head?!?!" He rubbed his head where platinum blonde spikes once stood. We both suddenly remembered what the texture of his hair felt like, coarse and abrasive, all gone.
"A new start...A new life,” he explained.
“New hair…or rather NO hair,” I replied.
He shot me the cheesiest of grins; payment for the wittiest joke he'd heard all day.
He shot me the cheesiest of grins; payment for the wittiest joke he'd heard all day.
Since January 2010, I noticed he started cutting people, destructive vices, (and now hair, apparently) from his life. He was making progress in his quest to get his life reorganized; sincere and genuine progress. Every time I had talked to him on the phone in the past few months, he was positive about the future. Now that we were face-to-face, I had to give him credit. He was sticking to the plans he made for himself. I was proud of him.
Our life paths; once intertwined then took separate exits; re-intersected that Friday, in the parking lot of a McDonald’s restaurant near Interstate 44. I never dreamed our life paths would meet at the same place, at the same time, ever again.
I used to tell people that AJ and I didn’t work out because what we had wasn’t love. Maybe it was? Maybe it wasn’t? I’m still not completely sure. The only thing I knew for sure, from this moment our paths intersected the second time around; I loved him now.
Does that mean we’re getting back together?
No.
The journey we shared in our past is scattered throughout photographs.
Though our paths intersected again; today, we're different people.
Though our paths intersected again; today, we're different people.
The hug he gave me felt like being reunited with long lost family.
I have to be honest. As a man, I can't help but want to hug him too. And not in any kind of gay way. It makes me proud of a fellow man that truly wants to do better and taking drastic steps to do it.
ReplyDeleteWe get beat up a lot. Most of it well deserved. But some of us do want to do better, though at times, we still fall back to old habits.
Thank you for sharing. Much respect to your ex.