With tomorrow being Bunny Day and most everything probably being shut, Nils & I arranged to meet at the bistro at 2pm.

I had steak; I forget what he had, but probably steak, too - filthy carnivores that we are, yeah.

Can't remember anything worth reporting except that I was deprived of breath for a short while.

My steak was a little too rare and I was having trouble chewing it. I'd been working on the same mouthful for ages, so I thought stuff it... and tried swallowing ... except it got stuck. I took a swig of my drink (lime Breezer) to wash it down but that didn't work and I tried to spit it all back up again, but couldn't. A little of my drink dribbled out of my mouth and onto the plate and I attempted to convey to Nils that he really should come round to my side of the table and whack me on the back some.

He got the idea eventually but hit me too low and so hard I bit my lip. I was trying to indicate that he should hit higher (and fuck, NOT on my spine!!!) and meantimes choking... which wasn't a whole lot of fun.

I haven't choked on my food in years.

So there I was, choking on my food, everyone looking, while Nils ineffectively patted and thumped me everywhere but where I needed it, til finally he hit the right spot and I was able to hawk up the lump of meat...

Ugh.

So then he was nagging me all through the rest of the meal: "Don't take such big bites... Chew more slowly..." and so on.

Fuck.

Remind me never to drown in his presence (he can't swim).

So that was encounter #1 - a none-too-thrilling close encounter with death (or at least, unconsciousness and possibly a little brain damage).

After finishing our meals we decided to go for one drink at "the gay pub" (there are actually two gay pubs in the vicinity of the bistro but when Nils says "the gay pub" he means the one where they have real cabaret, as opposed to the one where they only have drag shows).

Ah... that reminds me. Lawdy, I have a brain like a... you know... um, a whatsit.

The other thing that Nils said, which should have gone in that entry, or at least in the previous one... but... ummm... my brain don't work...

So, Sunday the 13th and we were at Clay's. Somehow the matter of homophobia came up. "I don't know how you can say I'm homophobic when I've kissed other men," he said.

I was momentarily floored. Yes, I knew he'd said he was bi some years ago (when we first met but before we were dating), but never having seen any proof of that, and having seen only rampant homophobia when we were dating, I had assumed that his saying he was bi was either harmless fantasy, general experimentation, or a load of bollox designed to shock everyone within cooee. ;)

(Well, he was an Angry Young Man at the time. Go figure, heh.)

So while I wasn't sitting there with my jaw hanging open I was at a loss for words. Eventually I said: "Yeah? When did that happen?" He said something like "around the time we met" but refused to elaborate, saying he didn't want to talk about that stuff.

So why the fuck did he mention it at all??

Grrrr.

Anyway, back to the here and now (and my second close encounter).

From the bistro we walked down "the back way", which means past the high school, the ugly-as-fuck new townhouse development, the un-beautified part of the rail line, the bowling club car park and several very nice art deco houses (*sigh*).

We got there, he bought me a beer and fed the jukebox. Then we sat at a table... Uh, no, that's not how it happened.

We got there and could hear music coming from the cabaret room - not cabaret-type music, though, some kind of rock band. He said we should go see if it was any good. I got halfway down the corridor when my mostly-malfunctional sixth sense said "do. not. go. in. there." I sat down abruptly and waited for Nils to notice that I wasn't following.

"You can go in if you want, just I have a feeling there's someone in there I don't want to see." I said. So he said he wouldn't go in either.

Then we went to the front bar, he bought me a beer, fed the jukebox, and we sat at a table and talked about whatever it was we talked about that I now can't remember because I have a whatsit for a brain.

The music from the back room, which was vaguely audible in the front bar, eventually stopped, and several people, mostly women, drifted in and bought drinks. The bar was still only a quarter full, though, and I was glad it wasn't crowded because I was feeling so awkward with Nils (and still being half-crazy over the weirdness of the situation with H) that I couldn't have handled being looked at by lots of people.

Suddenly there's someone at my elbow saying hello.

It was Des, the drummer from H's former band.

My upbringing kicked in and I smiled and said hi and all that...

"You guys aren't playing, are you?" I asked, hoping to hell they weren't because I didn't want Nils knowing what they all look like, much less having a conversation with them and perhaps finding out more than he has any business knowing.

"Oh, no, it's blahblahblah..." (I can't remember the name of the band).

We exchanged pleasantries for a few minutes and I was reassured that nobody hated me for not wanting to do their website any more.

After Des had gone to the bar Nils asked me if he was gay.

"Actually, Des is a girl." I said, hoping Des (who was technically within earshot) hadn't heard. "But, yes, she's gay. Why do you ask?"

"That's a girl??"

"Yes, that is a girl. Keep your damn voice down, d'you mind?!!?"

Close encounter #2.

And now I need to cut my toenails and go to bed, preferably in that order.