Debrief #7
And a debrief I'm not sure what to think about.
I mentioned a guy in my last post. A cute, charming Etiopian guy named Girma. Well, not so charming, as it turned out.
Yesterday, we exchanged text messages and agreed to go for a coffee at the square at the town I work in, so that I could just pop by when I finished work. So far, so good.
Then I get home, rustle up dinner and start to wait for Annika. She usually goes to her boyfriend after work (she finishes at 4pm) and takes the nine bus home, so I sent her a text asking when she was coming home so I would know whether or not to watch a DVD or wait for her.
She sent a message back that said that she would be back soon and that there was an update in her lovelife, or whatever you should call it (her words, not mine). I asked her what kind of update. She told me that she liked another guy than her boyfriend.
Now, Annika has been hanging with two people besides us Swedes, and I was fairly confident she wasn't into Ludde or Jocke, or that I'd turned her gay. That left her boyfriend and Girma.
Oh boy. I sent her a message back and asked who it was, and if she'd broken up with the boyfriend, but she didn't reply.
I wait and wait and finally she comes home, so I start pumping her for information. You know who it is, she says, so of course it's Girma. She hasn't told her boyfriend yet. I ask her if the feeling is mutual, and she tells me yes. I should probably have said something there and then, but to be honest, I was pretty shocked, and I didn't wanna blurt out something that would end up being a disaster (as things I blurt out tend to be).
So, I kept my mouth shut, we watched a DVD and went to bed.
Next morning, Romina picks me up and I fill her in (she was fully up to date with the date: she was the one who suggested the town square as a meeting place ;) ). She assures me there's no way I could have misread what he meant in the messages, which was a relief. She suggests that I should send Annika a text and tell her, and while it did feel like a little bit of a coward's solution, I do think that it was a better way, because I think Annika is more comfortable with text messages than face to face talk.
I told her that she was my friend and I hoped she knew that I would never say this to hurt her, but that Girma had asked me out yesterday. I told her I wasn't interested in him, but if she still was, she should know that he's not completely honest and that she should be careful.
She took it well, as far as I can tell with a text message, anyway. I'll know for sure when I see her tonight.
She sent him a text saying he couldn't meet her since he'd asked me out too (you go, girl) and got a reply where he asked for a chance to meet her and explain. I told her that she should tell him that he could reply by text or not at all, and that she shouldn't pay any mind to what he says. And that's as far as the soap has gotten so far... ;)
Right now, I can kind of see the humor of it (how did he ever expect to get away with it? Annika and I *live* together), but last night was no fun. I was so worried how Annika would react, because she's really opened up these last few weeks and I didn't want some asshole to ruin that. I hope she's as okay as her text messages suggest. As for Girma, well, he sent me a text this morning. I haven't decided if I should ignore it or tell him to fuck off. Decisions...
I mentioned a guy in my last post. A cute, charming Etiopian guy named Girma. Well, not so charming, as it turned out.
Yesterday, we exchanged text messages and agreed to go for a coffee at the square at the town I work in, so that I could just pop by when I finished work. So far, so good.
Then I get home, rustle up dinner and start to wait for Annika. She usually goes to her boyfriend after work (she finishes at 4pm) and takes the nine bus home, so I sent her a text asking when she was coming home so I would know whether or not to watch a DVD or wait for her.
She sent a message back that said that she would be back soon and that there was an update in her lovelife, or whatever you should call it (her words, not mine). I asked her what kind of update. She told me that she liked another guy than her boyfriend.
Now, Annika has been hanging with two people besides us Swedes, and I was fairly confident she wasn't into Ludde or Jocke, or that I'd turned her gay. That left her boyfriend and Girma.
Oh boy. I sent her a message back and asked who it was, and if she'd broken up with the boyfriend, but she didn't reply.
I wait and wait and finally she comes home, so I start pumping her for information. You know who it is, she says, so of course it's Girma. She hasn't told her boyfriend yet. I ask her if the feeling is mutual, and she tells me yes. I should probably have said something there and then, but to be honest, I was pretty shocked, and I didn't wanna blurt out something that would end up being a disaster (as things I blurt out tend to be).
So, I kept my mouth shut, we watched a DVD and went to bed.
Next morning, Romina picks me up and I fill her in (she was fully up to date with the date: she was the one who suggested the town square as a meeting place ;) ). She assures me there's no way I could have misread what he meant in the messages, which was a relief. She suggests that I should send Annika a text and tell her, and while it did feel like a little bit of a coward's solution, I do think that it was a better way, because I think Annika is more comfortable with text messages than face to face talk.
I told her that she was my friend and I hoped she knew that I would never say this to hurt her, but that Girma had asked me out yesterday. I told her I wasn't interested in him, but if she still was, she should know that he's not completely honest and that she should be careful.
She took it well, as far as I can tell with a text message, anyway. I'll know for sure when I see her tonight.
She sent him a text saying he couldn't meet her since he'd asked me out too (you go, girl) and got a reply where he asked for a chance to meet her and explain. I told her that she should tell him that he could reply by text or not at all, and that she shouldn't pay any mind to what he says. And that's as far as the soap has gotten so far... ;)
Right now, I can kind of see the humor of it (how did he ever expect to get away with it? Annika and I *live* together), but last night was no fun. I was so worried how Annika would react, because she's really opened up these last few weeks and I didn't want some asshole to ruin that. I hope she's as okay as her text messages suggest. As for Girma, well, he sent me a text this morning. I haven't decided if I should ignore it or tell him to fuck off. Decisions...