Deb and I had a ... not a spat ... an issue last night. We'd had family dinner next door, Jake and Deb sat on the couch, Sara took a chair and, after we'd finished eating and were watching The Tick, I sat on the floor at Sara's feet and said things like, "Crush my head with your thighs of justice!" Heh.

Anyway, it was time to go home because we hadn't given Angel her long walk after I got home from work, so we had planned to do an early late-night walk. But that's beside the point.

Okay, so I hadn't seen Sara since Sunday. Not at all. And I wanted to have a couple minutes alone with her because we're not supposed to be touchy-feely intimate in front of Jake and Deb. Just one of the rules. And I was dying to kiss her. So I asked if I could borrow her for a minute for some novel feedback (she got to read the last section that I didn't post). But my subtle effort to get her in a different room was a little too subtle, and she gave me her feedback right there in the living room. Then we were doing our round of goodbye kisses, and Deb and Sara and I ended up in the craft room, getting a couple books and hearing about Sara's latest book sale coups.

Deb kissed Sara goodbye and then stood there waiting for me to give a little goodbye peck. But dammit, I didn't want a peck. So I tried to give Deb a meaningful look that said, "Can you give me a minute?" That didn't work, so I said "Shoo, shoo" and "can I just have a couple minutes?" Deb rolled her eyes and said if I was going to do that (meaning make out with Sara) she might as well get settled back on the couch.

And that sort of ticked me off. Sara and I have successfully broken our tendency to be "too" affectionate during family times, but we still have to endure the ragging about it every damn time we try to have a moment alone. 'Kay, I'm getting defensive.

So I kissed Sara and we whispered for about 20 seconds about what we hoped to do on our date tomorrow night, and in less than a minute I was ready to go.

But Deb wasn't in the living room or anywhere else in sight. I was feeling very petulant, so I headed out the door and told Jake to tell Deb that I was leaving her ass. Meaning going back home next door, not leaving leaving. Jake says, "She's not going to like that." And I just left anyway, thinking so what, she thought I was going to take 20 minutes, I took one, she's not here, so what.

Well, she didn't like it. In fact, I hurt her feelings, and all during our walk with the dog, Deb was on the verge of tears and had her arms crossed across her chest. I felt like a stupid shitheel. She said that she was feeling like the ugly stepsister of the group. And it was one of those feelings where I couldn't say anything to make it better or fix it. I just had to shut-up and listen.

Toward the end of the walk, she related some stuff that had gone on at her job that day that also touched off her insecurities about her future. We reached home and Angel hadn't pooped yet, so I had to go walk her slowly around the back yard until she did. Deb declined my offer for her to join us, irresistible as it was, what fun walking the dog around and around until she decides to relieve herself.

By the time I got back into the house, Deb was sobbing. Oh, man. We'd talked through the stuff about us enough that I knew it wasn't just my behavior and we'd reached a sort of peace on the walk. But that doesn't make a bit of difference when your baby is crying.

She sucked down a carton of soy milk, and that plus a little time and some holding seemed to make her feel a little better. I went out and had a final smoke for the night and then came to bed. And that's how we spent last night. With me acting like an ass on a night that Deb was extra hormonal. Good timing, Bad.

Everything's pretty much back to normal this morning.

Don't forget to place your calendar order. Send a name and address to [email protected].

Moving on - 12:11 p.m. , 2007-08-14

Where the hell have I been? - 12:10 p.m. , 2007-02-19

Holy shit! - 2:24 p.m. , 2006-01-11

Stuffing recipe - 6:17 p.m. , 2005-12-13

Good Life Update - 10:22 a.m. , 2005-11-11