With friends like these...

In the past eight weeks I have spent large amounts of time with the ever-so-attractive AtP. Our activities have spanned everything from the spiritual (attending General Conference and a singles' ward church service--okay, we weren't exactly spiritual, but we would have been if that were possible, and I was very well-behaved when By a Single Thread was teaching the Sunday School lesson, and I didn't pretend I was socially retarded and follow AtP to Priesthood meeting even though they made us take off one shoe in Relief Society and my foot got cold) to the profane (AtP took me to shop at Ghetto Walmart twice, and we drank double shots of wheatgrass--which we should never do again, but now our systems are CLEAN). I have to admit that when the two of us are together, that alone is a little odd (given the age difference, if nothing else), but unusual things seem to happen, as well. I'm guessing that's just par for the course for AtP. He seems like the type of person who always has encounters in life that are stranger than fiction, but for me it's atypical. My life is fairly boring.

Case in point: One afternoon AtP and I were having lunch with our moms (don't ask) at my favorite place to eat in Utah. A young man in his early twenties entered the restaurant with a person whom I believe to be his father. The young man had a mohawk, sides of head shorn, remaining hair braided down the back of his head (I'm certain AtP will correct me if I'm remembering the hair incorrectly--he's much more observant of that type of thing than I). The braided hair had been dyed two different colors--white and a lovely lavender hue. It looked very soft. He also had pierced lips. I didn't notice this until we were leaving and he held the door for me as we smiled and chatted a bit, remarking on the beautiful day. I had two very strong compulsions toward this young man, whom AtP and I decided must be named "My Little Pony" (seriously, the hair looked like the tails on those toys). First, I really wanted to pet his hair. Second, I also wanted to kiss him. I've never kissed anyone with pierced lips before and I'm guessing it feels weird. All this is certainly going nowhere, but the point is, things like this only happen to me when I'm with AtP. He's a weird situation magnet. And the last weird thing: I honestly believe that if I'd have asked My Little Pony to let me play with his hair and kiss him, he would have said, "Okay." And it would be all AtP's fault.

It also astounds me how we talk about the oddest things. We were sitting in God's Bookstore one day, eating cookies with toffee in them, our copies of In Quiet Desperation sitting beside us, talking about how to improve AtP's lesbian-dar (I wouldn't say he's hopeless, but neither is he a natural), whether or not his cologne was still working, which paintings I should learn to like (not one of my strong points), and whether or not one should wear flip-flops or heels with capri's--oh, wait, that might have been the going-into-the-store dialogue. Regardless, when I reflect on our conversations, I'm sort of grateful that no one else speaks the same language we do, because even if someone could understand the words we're saying, I'm not sure the full meaning would translate. There's a lot of body language and weird facial expressions involved and I think you sort of have to be born knowing what everything means or you just don't get it (sometimes I don't think AtP and I get it either, but then we just laugh and it doesn't matter).

I don't know why I'm thinking about this today. And I can't decide whom I miss more, AtP or My Little Pony.