spoiler alert! don't read if you haven't read the one below

so i am trying to fall asleep, and i can't. i was going to wait a day or two to keep everyone in suspense about the continuing saga of R.M. and M.B., but i realize that tomorrow i'm going to sweden for the day and then spending the evening with my friend S's parents, so it would be now or late saturday. and since i can't sleep & this would mark the beginning of my first time of actually being caught up in days of blogging, i am going to go for it. it might not be as scintillating as my usual drivel. i'm tired. i fell asleep earlier on S's couch watching the tour de france (and that is not a statement about the program! who doesn't want to see a pack of guys wearing spandex over their muscular, hairless bodies? i do. sign me up. me too please. yes, yes, yes.)

ok, so where did i leave off? right. i drift to sleep thinking of M.B.

i awake. very early. realizing that i have to go to the airport for my flight to copenhagen on weird budget danish airline, sterling. i get up wayyyy early (which should have worked in my favour, but wait for it later...) and decide to do another posting to get myself as caught up as i can. i post. i'm all packed. i check email.

6 new messages. 4 are spammy-list-servy-crap. 2 are from M.B. YES, that M.B. yes, the M.B. that might have stood me up or might have waited like prince charming for me to come bounding down to where he thought we were meeting.

the earlier email goes something like this (it is in reply to my message about waiting and not seeing him): "Sorry! I thought we were meeting at Kottbusser Tor station. I waited for an hour. What are we going to do now. You leaf (which I think means leave) soon."

But then the later email goes "Oh you are here until August 30. Let's make another date for tomorrow."

his confusion due to my automatic reply message telling everyone that i am away. M.B. thinks i'm staying in berlin for another 6 weeks.

my mind goes: 1) he didn't stand me up! 2) he waited for an hour! 3) he wants to see me again! 4) he was worried about what we would do to meet! and 5) he asked me out to meet again!

ahhhh, so THIS is what bittersweet tastes like.

i write him back and tell him how disappointed i was that we didn't get to meet up. and that if he would like to, we could be email friends and practice our german and english with one another in email. i haven't heard back. but i also told him that when (if) he comes to new york, to get in touch with me, so i can show him around my town.

well M.B., we'll always have cafe einstein on prostitute alley. so much romance, so little time. actually a lot of time, just waiting around at the wrong place.