Date Night

Julian took care of the kids and left for work, I stayed lazing next to Lady Miss Friday. Tim called, I caught him up on the move and divorce plans, he invited me to Tootie's for coffee and Pupple walks. I did laundry while I waited for him to finish up boat work, then talked to Julian, who came home for an early lunch. He asked our status. I updated my FB relationship status a while ago, and even though I thought about setting it to "Complicated," left it at the default of Single instead. FB hid it, though, so people can see it if they go looking, but it didn't appear on my news feed or anything, and it might even be hidden? Not sure. I remembered that I did agree to still go to counseling with him and work on things, and the reality of the flaming train wreck he's riding at the moment seems to be hitting him, so I reinforced that I will still be here for him, no matter what title our relationship ends up with, and put my ring back on. It's a gorgeous ring anyway, and I was bummed to have to take it off. I like opals.

I found Tootie's place okay, tried to give a brief synopsis of things when Tootie asked. It was good to see Pupple again, of course, and Kela, though she's ancient now, and doesn't remember me. It happens. We took them for a walk, appreciating the floral and architectural variety on display in the neighborhood. It feels like many neighborhoods have these hidden little pockets of wonder tucked away just out of sight of the main roads, making them all the more fun to find.

Finished the laundry, then took care of the litter boxes, vacuuming, dishes, trash, and recycling before Julian got home from work. We talked more, though I don't remember all the details. I remember that both of us seemed intensely, almost insanely, open. He apologized for everything, said his actions throughout the whole Raphael debacle were horrid, even though he didn't list it all individually. I don't know. Maybe it's important for him to actually say "I planned to cheat, lied and gaslit when caught," or maybe that would just be sadistic to demand. He did state how grateful he is to all of us for getting him out here, even let me ramble on about things without saying anything. I managed to catch hold of all my various side discussions, if barely. I'm dreaming. We almost fucked, but my anxiety got the better of me. All night long, I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, for him to explode in a tantrum over nothing, but he was all gratitude, all night. When fucking didn't happen, he said no problem, he's delighted to just lay next to me, holding each other. I really started to wonder if he'd been replaced by a changeling or similar. I suggested we go out to dinner, since neither of us had been eating much lately, and settled on Loving Hut. I figured they've got a huge variety and comparatively minuscule prices. He wanted sangria, though I'm also hoping to move him away from booze. Loving Hut no longer has servers, you just order at the counter, take your food, and sit wherever, there or home. I think. We kept talking, and when I finally got around to ordering an appetizer, it was 8pm. They close at 8:30, which felt weird for a Saturday, but it's their business. Since Julian was so intent on sangria, he suggested La Fuente. He was concerned about my options there, but I figured I could just get some potato rolled tacos. They didn't have sangria and were out of potatoes, but I laughed about it, ordered some cinnamon sugar bites, and figured I could eat something substantial at home. The important part was us talking. We both joked about it being our first date. I am still going through with the divorce, he's obviously still moving out, but I'm hopeful that we will end up in a good place in our relation to one another at the end of this.