Geeky Turn On!

Breakfast at Tiffany's by Deep Blue Something

 "How has your life been lately?" Asked Tenko.

"Well," I began. "I've been going to the gym every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday since I last came here. And I've kept my room clean."

"That's very good!" Tenko said, nodding. "Keeping your living space clean is a good way to clear your mind and help improve your mood! Anything else?"

"I dated this girl for a while, but we broke it off," I said. "It was never gonna work long term, and we both knew it."

"Good on you to recognize that," said Tenko. "In life we need to recognize when a relationship can work long term, and when it's impossible. Some people refuse to acknowledge that they're investing too heavily into a doomed relationship. Tell me, how did you know it wouldn't work long term?"

"Well, we liked way different things," I said, shrugging. "She was into fitness, I was into video games, we didn't like the same movies or anything...we had nothing to share, really."

"Good on you both to recognize incompatibility nice and early," said Tenko, nodding her head. "Some people latch onto the smallest commonality for the sake of trying to make it work, but it hardly ever does."

"Hehe, you know what?" I asked. "That reminds of that 90′s song, Breakfast at Tiffany's. You know, the one that goes I said what about, Breakfast at Tiffany's? I forgot the rest of the lyrics, but it's a banger."

"I know which song you mean," said Tenko. "The singer is trying desperately to hang onto his failing relationship, so when she says the two have nothing in common, he points out to that one movie. But the thing is, neither of them is particularly passionate about it; they both only kind of liked it. A movie that is only partially liked by both parties is hardly a solid foundation for a relationship."

"So, what is?" I asked.

"Mind if Doctor Martin tells you?" She asked, and I nodded. Doc then took the Tenko puppet and set her on his desk.

"Any good relationship is founded on six basic principles," said Doc Martin. "The first is TRUST; you trust your partner and they trust you. Without trust, there can be no relationship, because you're always either going to suspect your partner of something, or they'll suspect you, and soon the relationship becomes a battle for control. This can never, ever happen."

"The second principle is HONESTY," said Doc Martin. "And this leads to trust. Honesty means you hide nothing from your partner, and they hide nothing from you. Honesty feeds trust, and trust in turn makes honesty easier. Even if the truth is hurtful, it is better to be honest than to deceive. Without honesty, trust dies."

"Honesty is made easier with the third principle, COMMUNICATION," he continued. "Talking to your partner, about what they like, what you like, what you two think and feel, and what's going on in your lives. Honest communication is the key to building trust in a relationship."

"Then there's MUTUAL RESPECT," said Doctor Martin. "Honestly, if one partner doesn't respect the other, then there's no relationship. Period. You can't communicate properly and honestly without respect, and that damages trust."

"Then there's SUPPORT," he continued. "It's simple, really; you two support each other. You're each other's greatest fan, help each other reach your goals, and pick each other up when you fall."

"And finally," said Doctor Martin. "There's FORGIVENESS. Simply put, we make mistakes. That's human. But a healthy relationship can't survive if a grudge is held, if one party resents the other. When a mistake is made, when one of you unintentionally hurts the other, only forgiveness can help heal the relationship. Now that's not to say there can't be boundaries, because those are important for us as people, too. Infidelity, for example, is a pretty common boundary in a relationship. But always be aware of what you can forgive and can't, and be open and honest about it always."

"That's pretty smart, Doc," I said, nodding. "There's this girl that I really liked, but she rejected me..."

"Oh?"

"I thought she liked me back, so I flew to Delaware just to, I don't even know," I said. "Told her I liked her, but..."

"What did she say?"

"Nothing," I said. "She didn't respond."

"I see," he said, rubbing his chin. "Tell me more about her."

I told Doc Martin everything; how Paige and I met, how we grew to be friends, about Asshole and what he did, and about me going to Delaware.

"In my opinion," he said. "Your friend, Paige, was under heavy emotional stress, and was in no position to respond positively to your confession. She had only just recently gotten out of what was AT LEAST an emotionally abusive relationship, after all, and as per your own words, went home to heal."

"Uhuh?"

"You could have waited, you know," he said. "A few weeks, at least. Going after her to make sure she was OK was a good idea; confessing so early? Not so much. We need time to heal, Daisy. Nobody's invincible."

"I didn't think of it that way," I said, suddenly feeling like the biggest witch in the world. "I screwed up, didn't I?"

"You made a mistake," Doctor Martin said. "But from my understanding, not a fatal one; at least not yet. Send her an email, and ask her how she's doing. Show her that you still care about her."

"OK," I said, getting up. Our session was up; we said our goodbyes to each other, and I left. As I walked to the bus stop, I noticed the sky was getting darker; it was gonna rain soon. As I waited for the bus, I thought about sending Paige that email. I decided to get it over with...

Dear Paige:

I'm sorry I didn't write to you sooner, I've been busy.

No, no, that's a half-truth. That's not the real reason I haven't kept communication with her. I deleted that sentence and started a new one.

I'm sorry I didn't write to you sooner; I was scared. I was scared that you hated me because I did something stupid and creepy. I didn't mean to do it; I really did miss you. And I really was scared that I was never gonna see you again. That's why I did what I did. And I really do like you, you know? And who wouldn't? I could list hundreds of reasons for why I like you! But I'm on my phone now, and that's kinda not why I wrote this email. Truth is, I just want to know that you're OK. I totally understand if you'd rather stay away from me, though. Just let me know, OK?

And then I hit send. I held my breath, thinking the email would be bounced back because Paige maybe blocked me or something, but she hadn't. The email had been sent, and that was a relief.

"Hey, when's the Number 45 bus coming?" I asked.

"You just missed it," said the lady sitting next to me.

DAMMIT, I MISSED THE BUS AS I WAS WRITING THE EMAIL! I really gotta pay more attention to my surroundings! I sighed; guess I'll wait for the next bus, which will arrive in an HOUR!

Boring. Boring boring. Super duper boring. Super duper boring boring zoring. It's been a half hour and the bus ain't here yet. Drip. Drip drop. Drippity drip; dangit, it's starting to rain! Why didn't I wait till I was HOME to write that email? WHY!?

I checked my watch; twelve PM. Lunch time. I COULD go home, or I could hit the mall, grab myself a lunch, maybe be a mallrat. Yeah, that sounds like fun; think I'll do that! And lucky for me, the bus to the mall had just arrived! Good thing, too; it was starting to rain harder!