New Friends (and Their Sweeties)

I met two of Fuego’s friends today. I liked both of them, but I wanted to steal their girlfriends.

First I met Edmund and his sweetheart. Edmund is American, and a poet, and likes deconstructing shit. His appearance is striking; his shaved head and long, long (no, longer that what you’re thinking) grey beard get him roles in film and television productions. His girlfriend was dazzling and charmingly shy. He was taking her for granted.

Now, I have made a long career of taking people for granted. It’s a lesson I have not learned and probably never will learn, though I’m working on it. All I can say in my defense in the matter is that I can see the error that others make, even if I’m blind to my own callousness. So tonight I watched a beautiful woman swallow her own hopes for the day in deference to her man. She did it gracefully.

Later I met Jardo. We rode way the hell out to his place to hang out. He had a surprise to show Fuego, and what a surprise it was. Jardo had a new, amazingly gorgeous girlfriend. We joined up with her and after a couple of near misses we landed in a bar. “Pepsi Disco” the sign outside said. Fuego quickly made friends with the DJ (there weren’t many others besides us, but pL had the guy’s life story in minutes).

She is crazy for him. Jardo’s girlfriend, I mean. She’s crazy for Jardo. The little things he did for her made her world. Which made it really frustrating for me to watch him not do the little things. All night long she wanted to dance, and finally I agreed to accompany the couple to the floor just to get them going. When the dancing was done they sat together, her hand looped under his upper arm, and she snuggled up against him. She was tired, but the looks she sent him were adoring. Jardo couldn’t see it so well from close up, but he is the luckiest man in the whole friggin’ Universe. The devotion in her eyes said more than words or symbols could ever show.

Jardo didn’t see most of that, I don’t think. I wonder how many things I haven’t seen. I’m pretty sure I don’t want to know; if I did it would only lead to deeper regret. I wish Jardo well. By then end of the evening I was adjusting my actions to maximize their togetherness. She was, as far as I got to know her, everything I could ever want in a girlfriend, but just seeing the way she looked at him made me hope that he saw it too, and he would make her happy.

Edmund, though, you better watch out, buddy. I got better glances from your sweetie than you did, and I wouldn’t make her feel like the unwashed heathen. Realistically, it will not be me you lose her to (more’s the pity), but sooner or later she will decide to go with someone who listens to her. Maybe one day I’ll learn that skill myself. But then again, probably not.

16 thoughts on “New Friends (and Their Sweeties)

  1. You too could have an adoring girlfriend. The first step is actually talking to beautiful women that aren’t out with another man.

  2. I have yet to figure out why so many women fall for men who treat them like dirt. It’s a pattern I’ve seen among friends and co-workers, and it usually goes like this:

    He meets her, charms her, sweeps her off her feet with gifts and attention.

    Her friends see fakeness, and sometimes try to warn her, but she doesn’t listen, and so the friends give up, or at least tone down their warnings rather than lose the friendship.

    He gets more distant, but she doesn’t see it that way — she makes excuses for him — she pays more attention to what he says than to what he does.

    At some point, usually when she’s sure the relationship is permanent, and sometimes even after a wedding has been planned, he runs away. (One friend of mine has had two weddings cancelled by the groom less than two weeks before the scheduled date.)

    Her friends try very hard to be supportive and not say “I told you so.” They hope this time she’ll learn.

    Two months later, another guy comes along, with flowers and jewelry and all the rest, and despite the friends’ warning about “rebound,” she’s in love again.

    Supposedly, because I am a woman, I am supposed to be able to understand these women’s behavior. Instead, I’m baffled. I guess part of the problem is that I haven’t been out in the meat market, since I found the right man way long ago. But I am astonished at how willing some women are to overlook a man’s defects, or to hope the man will change. Fat chance.

    Jer, keep being yourself. And next time you’re in Albuquerque, I can try to divert a friend who really needs diverting in your direction. She doesn’t deserve the meat market.

  3. Wow. I guess I’ve never really known what “smooth” means, if it describes Jer’s dancing. The International was apparently the smoothest-riding motor vehicle I’ve ever owned.

  4. A moment for a threadjack here. Just in from the very laid back CR…

    Prague Mayor, Disguised as Tourist, Overcharged by Cabbie

    PRAGUE, Czech Republic (AP) – At least Prague’s overcharging taxi drivers don’t discriminate. Just ask the mayor.

    Mayor Pavel Bem promised on Friday to intensify crackdowns on the city’s greedy cabbies after getting his own tourist experience: a two-mile ride and a $34 bill.

    Wearing dark glasses, a fake goatee and a mustache and posing as a tourist, Bem got a cab on Thursday that took him from the Old Town Square to the Prague Castle – two major attractions for several million tourists visiting Prague every year.

    When he asked for a receipt for his overpriced trip, he got one with a fake taxi firm and a fake telephone number on it. The mayor’s trip was in cooperation with journalists from the Mlada Fronta Dnes daily.

    “This is such a fundamental and flagrant violation of the rules that the driver deserves the most severe punishment,” the mayor said in Friday’s edition of the newspaper.

    Police officials and legislators have so far been unable to tame the Prague cabbies, but Bem claimed Friday the situation was improving, with 20 percent of taxi drivers who were checked in 2004 found to be cheating, compared with 40 percent two years earlier.

    And that drive that overcharged the mayor? He faces a fine of up to $54,440.

    Brian says,,, $54K mmmm holy crap!

  5. I too have seen those “men” who assume that their gals will be with them no matter what transpires and ignore them when out on the town. I stare at the lovers and wonder how to steal her away. Of course he never sees why she would leave him for a guy who doesn’t promise any material possessions

  6. Interesting thing I read once about U.S. cabdrivers, especially those who try to jack up the fares by taking the long way around …

    The cabbies least likely to use that tactic are those in Las Vegas — it’s essentially impossible to take a long way around when the airport is practically ON the Strip.

    In Dallas, the best way to keep cabbies from taking the long way around is to pretend to be a Cowboys fan — the shortest route from DFW to the main part of the city goes by Texas Stadium, so what you do is beg the driver to go past it, no matter how much the driver wants to take another route. I wonder how much that will change once the Cowboys have their new stadium in Arlington.

    In other cities, somewhere between 40% and 80% of cabbies will take the long way to get somewhere. If I remember correctly, those in Atlanta, of all places, were the worst. Maybe Atlanta should initiate $54K fines!

  7. Au contraire Carol Anne. I was taken for a ride from the airport all the way around to North of Downtown and thence to my hotel on the strip. Needless to say I did not pay the full fare. $34 my pale, droopy ass!

    Moral of the story: When in Vegas, always tell the cabbie to go up Paradise Rd.

  8. Yikes. Of course, in Vegas, there are also always limos. The cabbies probably hate them, since the limos are paid primarily by the hotels. I got a limo from the airport to the Luxor (about a half-mile) for $4. Probably the Luxor paid more than I did for my transport. And there’s a certain degree of fantasy in arriving where you’re going in a limo — even if it IS Las Vegas, where everything is fantasy anyway.

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