I have eaten lobster that I can not get at home. I have had a break spent at my favorite retreat with cherished people. There's been dinner with Robin*, and a visit from my partner in VT.
I have listened for days on end to my loved god-mother's health issues. I have talked to my sister about a faster process, but we're still doing the same slow method. I have sciatic pain, shoulder pain and neck pain. I have run out of money, gotten more, run out again, and have eaten the same Chinese leftovers for four days straight. I have slept on the couch of my god parents, in one hotel, then another, then another. I have had a combined total of 40 minutes of alone time in the past weeks. I have found not only a folded piece of paper with $179 in it, but also my mother's bag of adult items plus naked pictures of her with the family dog.
I am ready to go home.
* * * * * * *
I arrive later than desired at my hotel by the airport. It's 7:30 and although I consider going to bed right away, it's still light out and I decide it might be nice to do something. Robin has been texting to see if we can get together again before I leave, so I tell her to come by.
"Take me somewhere with alcohol or ice cream" I instruct her when she arrives; "I don't care which."
After ice cream, we sit in the parking lot of my hotel. I've asked to be dropped off. She is persistent. We go inside together.
Two different agendas, and had I realized, had I given it more import ... well... maybe I would, maybe she would not, maybe maybe.
| She worries if I want her there | I worry that I've made the wrong decision |
| I try to do what I want | She tries to do what she wants |
| I don't want that | She wants to know if it's her body |
| I say no, please don't | She is ashamed of how she looks |
| I offer alternatives | She tries again, in a different way |
| I realize... | She wants... |
| I tell her I won't let her use me like that | She is horrified |
| I am afraid and sad and want to protect her | She leaves |
People see issues of assault, rape and violence in black and white. We break it down that way to make judgment easier. It is not wrong, there are things that are black and white. But in the world of actions, it can be fuzzy, confused, distressing and wrought with messages softer than necessary because we care for her, and harder than necessary because we are selfish. There are lines of difference between saying, showing, coercing, pushing. There can be shades of confusion in how we say no, I don't want that, I'm scared.
It doesn't take much to retrigger old wounds. Trauma, whether recognized or not, comes back to claim us. I am seeing this scene over and over. Intellectual chewing gum. I try to figure out where I went wrong, what I should have done, why did it happen? It's not helpful.
| I wish, it hadn't been like that | |
| I wish we hadn't assumed the wrong things | |
| I wish I had been more clear | |
| I wish she had heard | |
| I wish she had been able to explain | |
| I wish I had understood | |
| It's not your fault | |
| It's not mine either |
I lay and a tear, hot with chemicals, rolls and drops into my left ear. We have to move. We just have to keep moving. I am weary.
* Name changed as usual. Robin and I met in March 2013, had a fun time at an event where neither of us knew many people and shared some kissing at the end of the evening.
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