|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I had come to Douala for a quickie with my husband, Brian. We'd spent much of the past three years separated, because of his work on a project in Cameroon for an Arlington-based energy company. Squeezing in a booty call between our home in northern Virginia and his work in West Africa, we experienced something explosive: the new quickie of the twenty-first century. For a lot of today's lovers, staying connected is more complicated than carving out five minutes alone in the bedroom. Separating from our loved ones defies traditional logic, but our grandparents' stories of never spending more than one night apart have yellowed in the archives of relationship history. In today's flaccid economy, lovers have no choice but to follow their jobs, rather than their hearts. In 2008, 3.4 million married couples lived apart for reasons other than unhappiness, up from 2.7 million married couples in 2000, according to the most recent U.S. Census data. While many couples like us live, love and work across multiple time zones, our quickies have kept us together over the long haul.
Trust me. I'm a veteran. In 2001, before married life, Brian and I dated long distance while he worked in Hong Kong and I lived in Atlanta. We met in Atlanta while working for the same company, but his career took him away from headquarters. Fighting the naysayers drew us closer, and quickies from Madrid to Manila made us high on love. Every time felt like the first time, and after more than four years of dating, two of which were long distance, we wed in 2005. The quickie, however, made a comeback in our relationship when Brian accepted a temporary gig in Cameroon. Each time he left for Africa, sometime for weeks, I dropped him off at Washington's Dulles airport. We perfected our hellos and goodbyes hugging and kissing on the curb outside Dulles. In the fall of 2006, and with me seven months pregnant, we reconstituted the quickie in London, and our hugs and kisses got tighter and hotter every time one of us stepped on a plane. As his assignment dragged on, passing the year marker, Brian's passport proved that we spent more time apart than together. Going on family trips and visiting friends kept me busy back at home. But showing up alone too many times got people talking. Constantly defending our living arrangement exhausted me. "Brian left you again," one of my neighbors loved to joke. After the birth of our daughter in December 2006, friends and family would say, "You're raising that kid alone." 13 CommentsJCF commented on 08/31 pur commented on 08/31 drg commented on 08/31 PGC commented on 08/31 RB commented on 08/31 dj commented on 08/31 JFR commented on 08/31 DT commented on 08/31 RST commented on 08/31 SD commented on 09/01 jbko commented on 09/01 CG commented on 09/04
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Dating Confessions by You "My ex is noticeably crazier than my current girlfriend, who is noticeably less good in bed than my ex." |
About Last Night . . .The Boyfriend by Carrie Hill Wilner On finding something you never thought was missing. |
The Color of Feeling by Joanna Drazek Self-portraits — and more — by a 19-year-old prodigy. |
Sex Advice From . . . Burning Man Attendees by Bianca Merbaum Q: What's a good pickup line to use at Burning Man? A: "Hi, nice boots" is about as much as you need. /advice/ |
New Releases: Film by Scott Von Doviak Extract plus three. /entertainment/ |
True Stories: Thailand Gets Lonely by Jordan Smith He was a she, I was... confused. |
Fall TV Preview by AJ Stanton 10 hot couplings we hope to see this season. /entertainment/ |
New Releases: DVD by Scott Von Doviak State of Play plus three. /entertainment/ |