Both were wrong.
Over bar food and whiskey, they discussed their flaws, best friends, fears, joys, loves, memories--how they wanted to change for the better. And that evening, he gave her heart back to her.
He vowed to quit cigarettes when he drank. She warned him of her temper. He complimented her pearls. To him, they were adorable. She confessed she had a picture of him from years ago.
Both of them knew the underlying attraction was attributed to time. After all, it was fleeting: he would easily be moving on and she, she was moving...away. From him. They merrily toasted their flaws and let the brown liquor work its twisted magic.
It was at Forget Me Not, a place he grew to call home, that they decided the night would be best finished running through the rain back to his apartment. Theirs was a gorgeously doomed pairing from the start and neither of them seemed to care. Kurt Vonnegut's apt description of being trapped in a moment with no explanation as to why could have been penned for this precise evening.
May I ask a small favor of you? Try and remember a sliver of who I was while we were together. Me being one of many was never my concern--but it would be wonderful knowing that for the brief time we shared, your life became a little more colorful--more alive.
You gave me so much and have made me a better version of the person I hope to be. Thank you for giving me tough love. For being a teacher. For being thunderous, desperate, angry and crass. For being compassionate, gentle, kind and caring.
When we do run into each other again, my greeting will be warm and affectionate. It will be a joy to learn of your new adventures and current trysts.Ours was an ephemeral romance, my Sleepless City--yet it was the kind of affair which will be remembered always--with a smirk and not a single regret. Thank you for giving me my heart back--while it was yours only for a short while, it was yours wholly and completely.
