Mission: Opposite

Well, I did it: I did "The Opposite Thing." And it turned out well.

I emailed Bill and told him I missed him. Yes, pretty much just like that.

He wrote back, saying it was good to hear and so sweet. He was gutted. He wanted to hear more. He asked me how I was.

I hemmed and hawed and decided to keep things simple. So I said I really appreciated how we had so much in common. (Not very sexy, I know--but wait, this is a good thing!) Then I gave a quick, airy-fairy rundown on the latest. I asked him how he was.

(Now remember, we had exchanged several emails on Sunday before I even let "I miss you" out of the bag.)

He let me know how he was with work, hobbies and ... love life! Yes, he is dating someone he called "wonderful." And of course I felt a wee bit numb at his revelation--numb but not surprised. And I was glad (so glad) that I kept my Declaration of Missing simple. Because really, it is simple. I miss his friendship, at the very bottom of it. He wouldn't have wanted to hear that.

(And did I really want to try again with him? No. I know it now. I feel nostalgic, but it's nostalgia for the friendship, not the romance.)

Oh, and he said he would tell me about his someone wonderful over drinks.

Um, no. I'm not going there. With his rapid-fire responses to my emails and his not telling me about this for (I suspect) months, I don't exactly think he's ready for plain, ol' friendship. Plus, if I were her, I wouldn't want my guy hanging out with the woman who broke his heart. (Plus-plus, the NV is so, so small. And their town has a population of 5,000 or so. No way. Bad mojo for future men I may want to meet in said teeny town.)

So I just wrote back and said how great it all was and that Ms. Wonderful must truly be wonderful because he had good taste. I didn't even touch on the subject of drinks.

I'm glad I stepped out and did the Opposite because it gave me the reality check--and answers--I needed. I gotta keep rolling on this Opposite track!

News:

1. There's someone sexy at work--good for a long-distance, fun crush.

2. I'm writing a guy on OKCupid. I have no expectations, which makes this zero pressure. (If it weren't for this correspondence, I'd quit the site. Online dating makes me break out in hives.)