Why does this keep happening to me?

Damn, it seems like I just went through this a couple weeks ago but here I am again. It’s time to say my goodbyes. Actually I’m basically the last one of our little group left. Kay and Pavani headed back to Australia, I wonder if their friendship is still intact. Yorst is back in Amsterdamn showing off all the moves he learned no doubt. Bill is back in the US but I suspect that won’t last too long.

But the hardest one is left, saying goodbye to Yanet. I gave her that book of Pablo Neruda poems in the original Spanish I picked up last year in Buenos Aires. She had told me earlier how much she loves his poetry, and of course she lives in Cuba so it’s not like she can buy a copy anywhere. I packed my bags as Yanet translated verses for me. I couldn’t imagine a more perfect scene.

In two short weeks we got to know each other far better than most people I’ve met. I think that’s something that just happens with relationships on vacation. Everything is in fast-forward. There’s so much less time to play games and you’re almost forced to open yourself when you can’t hide behind the nuance and subtlety of a shared language.

She’s still convinced I’m insane and at this point I’m inclined to agree with her. Trying to explain what I was doing with my life actually forced me to start looking at it with a critical eye. "So explain to me again why you quit a well-paying job that was pretty good to you and what you’re going to do next?" "Um…I want to find myself"

But she told me if that I need help realizing that plan of mine to sell juice down at the beach drop her a line. I told her I’d be waiting for her breakthrough single to hit the charts. She even finally sang to me like I’d been asking. Somehow I managed to avoid proposing to her on the spot, I’m still not sure why.

When we walked to that big yellow taxi the next day she told me that she doesn’t like to say goodbye. I struggled with my Spanish and said, "neither do I, but sometimes…" and like she likes to do, she finished my thought "there’s nothing else to say"