Fortha Jew Lie

Well, here we are, the first year in years that I didn't spend last night blowing up a lot of cheap South Carolina fireworks. The reason Nancy and I started doing Fifth of July was because that was the day we closed on this house. I suppose I could continue celebrating it, but realistically, it was February 8th that I bought her out of the house, and nobody wants to party on... February 8.

I met someone last night, and it was really remarkable. Yes, I am pretty well dedicated to seeing Penny, but it's still not an exclusive thing. And I have been emailing this woman since before I ever met Penny, and we had always talked about meeting, but never got around to it.

Her name is Mary, and she is, among other things, an actress and singer. For a day job, she works at a local arts program and lives in Frederick. We talked on the phone for the first time last week, and after an hour or two of talking, she suggested maybe I could come out and see the closing performance of a show she's in, They're Playing Our Song, and while I didn't initially think I'd do it, I ended up calling the box office last week and getting a ticket.

She was terrific. She can really sing, she can act, she has... a presence. We met backstage after the performance and ended up staying up almost all night talking in the green room downstairs of the theatre. It being closing night, there was something of a cast party, and I was introduced around to all of her cohorts and friends, some of whom had already heard about me from Mary.

Mary also got rather... drunk, so rather than have her stay there, or try to drive home herself, I drove her back to Frederick and stayed over on her couch. No, we did NOT have sex, though we were rather affectionate at the cast party. She's 38, with dark eyes and straight dark hair, and she refers to herself as "the old maid" of the theatre company. Almost everyone else is in their 20s or early 30s. And here I am, 40. In the morning, I drove her back over to the theatre to get her car, and we agreed to talk and email this week.

She connects really strongly to the part of me that's done theatre and music all these years. I have a fatal fascination with a woman with whom I might be able to sing. I don't know what it is, but I think that Mary might be that woman. Even if something Big And Romantic(tm) doesn't happen, I could still see us being friends for years. And I could see being really passionate with her sometimes.

The possibilities always seem amazing when you first meet someone. Then, you narrow down all the things that might happen into what... does happen.