Randy

Okay, I have had serious relationships in the past fifteen years.  Exactly two.  Randy was #1.

January, 2003, visiting Donna at her winter condo in Delray Beach, Florida.  She and I had owned a 3-family house in New England years before two women did that sort of thing; the assumption being we were lesbians.  Trust me, not true.  She happened to mention that Randy and his wife had divorced.

BOING!!!!!  OMG!!  My hair stands on end.  Twenty five years ago, he had been The Mayor and I was a puny politician leading a grassroots parent-teacher coalition to stave off the collapse of urban schools.  We were in each other's orbit constantly.

I was sitting in the front row of an auditorium where he was giving a speech and, afterwards, he came over and whispered in my ear, "Please, don't sit in front of me again.  I can't concentrate."  Is that a helluva of a line or what???!!

So, of course, I caved and we had a brief, albeit, torrid affair.  The chemistry was something I had never felt before or since.  He was married, I got married, we moved on.

You hear those too-good-to-be-true stories about people returning to their first loves and living, oh so happily ever after.  Hello?!  That's what I was fantasizing so I started exercising twice a day, took off 10 pounds and called him at his law office.

He had just ended his engagement to someone he described as an alcoholic, although a gorgeous one.  "Come up right away," he implored.  I did.  He looked amazing...same beautiful smile (I confess I still had a news clip with his photo hidden in my bathroom), same tight, athletic body (he was a gymnast in high school), same deep, mellow voice that mesmerized me all over again.

Thus, began our commuter relationship.  Three weekends a month on Southwest back and forth.  He begged me to quit my job and move to his Victorian home in the West End.  I love old houses and this one was no exception.  It was tempting...I still had great friends there I missed terribly.

But, the more I was around him, the more he was living in the glory days of when he was the mayor at 32 years old.  He had this vision of running for governor and me being his wife, making the courageous move of being the first biracial couple in a race for major political office.  Did I mention I'm the white one?

The sex was constant and needy.  It was a poor substitute for conversation.  We just didn't have that much in common....definitely no soul connection.

Eventually, deep in my heart I sensed he wouldn't end up being The One...no matter what the chemistry had been.  He was missing a sense of humor..he was a Scorpio with a sting, although certainly easy on the eyes and that body....mmmm.  No laughs, though, and God knows, I have to laugh.

It ended after two years.  TWO MONTHS LATER, his law practice went under, he lost his house, and found a woman in New Mexico to marry and support him!  I guess he was busy that one weekend a month we weren't seeing each other...lol.

The way I see it, I dodged a bullet.  But, was I ready for the firestorm that awaited me???!!