Tales of past lives

I met her in Marietta, GA while on a TDY assignment from the west coast sometime in the late 80s.

I was in Marietta long enough to start dating of sorts but when the assignment ended, I headed back to California. Shortly thereafter, I changed jobs and ended up in Seattle. We had kept in touch and she eventually came out and stayed with me.

Was it going any further? Perhaps – she did move kitty-korner across the country – but for now, it was what it was and we were both OK with that.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing …

We took the Alaska state ferry from Bellingham to Juneau where she had a friend we could stay with. Didn’t know it was a guy; he didn’t know she was bringing me along. He was gracious, let us stay at his place for a week or so. I was still under the impression we were a “couple”; I was old enough I should have known better.

But I didn’t at the time.

Trip ended, we returned to Seattle.

One day I came home from work and she was gone. No note, no nothing.

Not long after but long enough, she called and asked if she could come back; she missed me and wanted to work things out. I told her OK.

I was old enough I should have known better.
But I didn’t at the time.

A few weeks later, I came home from work and she was gone. No note, no nothing.

And I never heard from her again.
Funny – I liked her quite a bit … but I never missed her either.

She never did become a “What if?“