Stuck with Each Other

When Pukka and I first met, we fought horribly and constantly. One of those first fights has legendary status in our relationship.

To be honest, I don't even remember what it was about, but I know I was upset and angry. We had been out on a date, and Pukka had brought me to the place where we had left my car. My plan was to get in it, drive away, and refuse to see him again.

Problem was, my car wouldn't start.

I'd turn the key in the ignition and nothing happened. Not even the little baby Grr, grr, grr you get when the battery's dying. We tried jumping it anyway, but no luck. This meant Pukka not only drove me home, but came to get me the next morning to give me a ride to work. It kept us talking.

The next morning, I planned to call AAA for a tow. Pukka says, "Why don't you try and start it before you call?" I thought he was nuts and told him so. The car had been dead as a doornail the night before, and I didn't expect sitting for eight hours had changed much. But sure enough, when I went down and tried my key, she started like a champ.

Fast forward to last week. We're married now, and we still fight constantly, but it's in a different way and about different things. According to the plan, I was to leave for our main corporate office on Thursday, spend two days there, then fly out to Virginia to be with my family for a week.

Tuesday I hear from my boss. The project I'm working on is behind, and he doesn't want me spending eight hours of my week on the road. The trip to corporate is cancelled. Pukka gets me for two more days.

Friday night, we drive to the airport. O'Hare's shut down because of bad thunderstorms, and there's no flights leaving the airport for the rest of the evening. Pukka gets me for another night.

Saturday morning we drive to the airport again. My flight's been delayed. Pukka gets me for another couple of hours.

It's a damned good thing I love the man, because apparently I can't leave him when I try!