The Story of Us

Picture this - In 2005 I was a 22 year old, fresh out of college and diving head-first into a new job as an aide to a State Senator.  I divided my time between the senator's district office in Central Florida and the state capital, Tallahassee.  The office of a State Senator is a busy place - constituents and lobbyists come in and out all. day. long.  It is easy to gloss over the people and just concentrate on the work that needs to get done but every now and then you are fortunate enough to develop a relationship outside the confines of the Capitol. 

Mr. B was essentially just another lobbyist.  At the time he worked for a firm that did contract work so he had a lot of clients.  He was in and out of our office quite a bit and we started to develop a friendship.  Eventually we would have lunch on days I could break away and I even met his wife and kids one Saturday after a triathlon we both completed.  Mr. B and the kids came with me to breakfast with some friends, where his daughter proceeded to play Rock, Paper, Scissors with us - waiting until we threw our symbol before throwing hers, letting the other person win.  It was seriously adorable. 

This friendship continued for a few years and it was so nice having a friend who could give me advice on politics and life.  Without realizing it, he (and another friend of his if we are being honest) became the last person I would have lunch with in Tallahassee before going back to the district for the summer. 

Personal photo.

Flash forward to the fall of 2010 - my boss moved up the ranks and I was promoted to a position that required me to move to Tallahassee permanently.  Mr. B and I kept trying to make plans to catch up but life was busy and it took a few months for us to really connect.  One night we finally made it work - we grabbed some pizza and beer while watching the end of a Saints playoff game (and I think the end of their season that year...).  I will never forget the beer he drank that night - Smuttynose Old Brown Dog Ale.  We talked for a while about my new job, about his new job, about life...  And about the fact that he and his wife were getting a divorce.  This wasn't a surprise to me - things hadn't been great for a while and I had a feeling it was only a matter of time. 

We ended up meeting up with some friends later that night and it was the first time we really hung out with our guards down.  It was wonderful and I spent the next few days wondering if this was really going to happen.  Did I really want it to happen?  A 45 year old man in the middle of a divorce?  With two kids? 

(Spoiler alert: it did happen.  But you'll have to stay tuned to hear how!)