Chapter 830:
With my new key in hand and the parking code memorized we went up to the ladyās apartment. She changed into comfy clothes, did what ladies do after work, and joined me in the living room. After telling me over and over how much she loved the flowers and how her co-workers loved them too, we started that old debate men and women have been having since the Garden of Eden; what to have for dinner. Fortunately there were no snakes here to offer up an apple or worse yet, a weird pasta salad containing tuna and peas. Something she was apparently very fond of. I may have pushed it a bit far making fun of the horrible sounding meal but not far enough to get my head bitten off the way I did. She went from happy to ballistic faster than a Dodge Demon can run the Ā¼ mile, and her bark has some bite. I could feel the temperature in the room rising as my mind wondered how things got so heated. I made the conscious decision not to lash back out at her; I just sat there and didnāt say a thing as my cognitive recorder tried to backtrack and analyze. She has had some irascible moments before, often involving a dirty look, but not like this.
After a few minutes she calmed down, looked sort of dejected and sat down next to me. After another minute or two, she told me it was hard to explain but she sometimes got very upset over little things that should not result in her losing her temper. In those moments she existed like an uninvolved party inside her own head watching the situation unfold, feeling bad about it but continuing just the same. It was a direct result of her ADHD, a condition she has known about for a long time but very infrequently discussed with others. āWhat am I supposed to do when that happens?ā I asked. She replied āJust hug me, reassure me and donāt take it personally.ā I said āI can do that, but Iām not eating that nasty tuna saladā. She punched me in the arm and managed to laugh instead of biting my head off. She seemed really happy that her condition, which wasnāt that big of deal to me, was out in the open.
We settled on ordering Thai food, turned on some music, and talked about ADHD and all the things she had to do to overcome it until the food arrived. Other than moments of having an unpredictable temper, and some random forgetfulness, she sometimes has problems with organization or messiness; like having a sink full of dirty dishes that just becomes too overwhelming for her to deal with mentally. She told me that she had it pretty much under control until our relationship started to ramp up. āI am so comfortable around you that I just let go, relaxed and stopped holding back so much. I guess that wasnāt a good idea, I will have to work harder.ā I quickly responded, ā********, not for me. I donāt mind doing dishes, I donāt mind searching for a missing car keys, and I donāt mind getting yelled at as long as I know itās coming from the ADHD and not you.ā I then suggested that maybe we should set up a danger word, like ādynamiteā so I know when she is actually pissed off at me versus acting on an instinct she might not be able to control. The lady came over, wrapped her arms around me, placed her head on my chest and just held onto me, refusing to let go for some time. She thanked me and said she felt very āseen, heard andā¦ lovedā.
We relocated to the kitchen island where our Thai food was sitting just as her daughter came home and asked what the lady ordered for her. She was thrilled with her spicy basil chicken and jasmine rice. She asked what was going on, possibly sensing the moment we just had, and her mother informed her that we were just talking about ADHD. She let out a snort like laugh, walked over to me, climbed up on a stool while putting her arm around my neck and said āWell buddy that makes two us, good luckā before she laughed again, collected her food and started to eat. It seems I am outnumbered. Itās a good thing I have the innate ability to control my thoughts and my temper the majority of the time. I wonāt be perfect, but I will do my best which is pretty damn good. The more I learned about this lady, the more I wonder if we arenāt the natural yin to the otherās yang. We seem to complement each other in just the right ways. I was just happy that I finally brought something to the table other than enhanced personal security, a fast car and lots of ammunition.
After some random dinner time discussion and some tumultuous talk about chocolate chocolate-chip pancakes being the best thing ever, the daughter retired to her bedroom and the lady and I returned to the sofa for more music, a glass of wine for her and some laptop time for me. Time I spent reading all about her condition and how I could best help her with it. We talked a little more about the condos we toured and she reiterated her desire for me to keep my options open. She just renewed her lease on the 1st of July and seemed a little displeased about it, presuming if I correctly interpreted her woman-speak. I made the comment, āGood that gives me a year of freedom before I have to worry about it.ā She did not shout out the danger word, but I did get a look that felt like a warning that it might be coming. I confessed it was nice being here and sleeping in bed with her, but it was too soon for cohabitation anyway and she agreed. For now we are just going to keep having fun and let things happen as they happen. Like being invited to stay over again, making it my second sleep over in a row. I knew for a fact that in an hour or two we would both forget all about ADHD, living together or anything else as we would be quite busy focusing on other things; wonderful things involving titillation and bliss, the perfect cure for any condition.