Wriggly Fish

I don't know if you could call him "The one that got away..."

Willie was more like "The one impossible to get a grip on..."

But he was so much fun to be with. He moved at the beginning of this year, and last week I got to see him for the first time in months.

I had just returned from the softball tournament the night before, and I had about 20 minutes to spare before I left for a business trip to Seattle. He called me on my cell and asked if I could meet him somewhere - anywhere - just to say hello.

I was in such a hurry, and I told him all about my crazy schedule for the morning. Had to drop off my rent check and take a couple things to my new apartment and go pick up Juju. He asked again if we could meet. Even for a couple minutes.

There's something about him that draws me to him and makes me want to be in his presence. Willie was very popular with my friends during the time we were - doing whatever it was we were doing. They all liked him a lot and said he was so much fun. But sometimes he frustrated me so much, and there have been more than a few times that I've pissed him off so much he couldn't talk to me.

We even argued a little bit on the phone before I went to pick him up last week. He asked me if I liked this one guy, and I said I was waiting to see what would happen rather than forcing anything. Then he said he felt like punching me in the face when I said "stuff like that", but he couldn't figure out quite why. Then I got frustrated because he wanted me to meet him at the light rail station even though I told him how busy I was and why couldn't he just come to my apartment instead of making me even more late....

Then we just stopped fighting, and I told him I'd meet him halfway. And that's what we did.

I saw him a couple blocks up the street. I pulled up in my truck and he hopped in. We hugged and held hands for a couple minutes. I loved feeling his warm body again, and he made me laugh right away with some goofy comment. I don't even remember what it was. Sometimes he talks so fast I feel like my head is swimming.

I took him to see my new apartment, which took about five minutes. Then we went to get a quick cup of coffee, and he took pictures of me as I paid for our drinks. (I told the barista that Willie was my publicist.)

He makes me laugh. He frustrates the hell out of me. He drives me nuts. He acts crazy. I like him. He's unpredictable and fun. He's sweet and beautiful. He has great shoulders and sexy tattoos.

As he told me before we said goodbye last week, "We do so much better this way..."

Living far apart has been good for us. I feel like I appreciate him more, and I think he feels the same way. I have never known a more complicated person than Willie, and I guess I like him just the way he is.