swingers

Several days after my encounter with Nerdy Doctor* at the bad movie fundraiser (Horror Remix), he called me at work. I fear his timing wasn't good, as we were testing all the new policy changes and kept encountering mysteriously buggy links. So I rather hastily accepted a lunch invitation from him the following Sunday.

It didn't go particularly well. At least, I didn't think so. I was late, I was tired, I didn't care for the venue. It was miserably hot. But at least we had a couple of things in common to talk about; cars, mostly. Recently he swapped his Cadillac XLR -a car I'd rather fancied - for a squarish and unattractive Dodge Charger. 

I didn't ask him about his private life, and he didn't ask about mine.

A few days later, I was invited to one of Nerdy Doctor's movie nights, although not by him (a girlfriend with a ticket decided not to go, and said "just pretend you're me").  Occasionally N.D. would buy up a large portion of tickets for a new movie and invite a lot of people. A few times, he bought up the entire showing. He would never take any money for this largesse.

I arrived late and never even saw Nerdy Doctor until the movie was over. He wasn't alone; he was with Kelly, for whom he had allegedly left my friend Elizabeth. They weren't acting particularly interested in each other.

This led me to think that his motives were as follows: being someone always needing to be in a relationship of some sort, he would quietly line up a replacement before calling the current relationship quits. 

These types always remind me of jungle animals swinging from vine to vine. The next vine is always in view and waiting for them. Before they let go of one vine, they have a grip on the next one. I don't know if this is a sign of neediness, a fear of loneliness, or both.

Being a symbolic vine doesn't interest me, even if the vine-grabber is single and bringing home seven figures a year. Even if he got rid of that dog-ugly Charger.

* See Key to Characters at right.