Introducing P.I.C.
We’re on the train, the new boyfriend and I, heading downtown from his apartment in the suburbs. I’m writing a blog post on my phone and he’s reading Time Magazine.
“You need a name,” I tell him.
He looks up.
“For my blog. It’s been almost three months. I need a nickname for you.”
I toss a couple of ideas into the air but they’re all lame or to obvious or too cumbersome.
He suggests “The One” (sort of in jest but not really… more on that later) and finally it hits me.
“I’ve got it,” I tell him. “You can read about it tomorrow.”
So here it is: PIC, which stands for (obviously) Partner in Crime.
And that, quite truthfully, is exactly what he has become, whether we’re scrubbing rose petal stains out of a fancy hotel duvet or painting the spare bedrooms in my house.
A woman walks onto the train with a bedazzled ski hat.
“Look at that,” I whisper, “that is ridiculous. I’m all about rhinestones but you have to know your limits.”
“I know,” he replies. “She looks like she got glass caught in her head.”
He goes back to his magazine and I go back to my phone, punching away at the keyboard with my thumbs.
It’s so new but so lovely, this relaxed quasi-routine we’ve got going on, these newly minted domestic habits, these cups of coffee in the morning followed by cups of tea before bed. I’ve never had these things before, with anyone, and between the coffee and the tea are the emails, the errands, the dinners, the kisses in the snow, the inside jokes, the shoveling steps, the concert tickets and the many, many bottles of wine.
I was always afraid I would lose myself in this sort of thing, this sort of normal, healthy, grown up relationship, but I don’t feel that way at all because he’s there reading his magazine, handing it to me when he comes across a good column, and I’m at his side writing on my phone, not lost at all but perfectly content.
Fieldwork in Stilettos 
16 Responses to “Introducing P.I.C.”
This makes me so happy for you 🙂
I love that feeling and had a mere taste of it two weekends ago with Tony (isn’t picking names for them fun!?) and hope I can have more.
Has he read your blog? I am having this debate (tell vs. don’t tell) and while I am pretty sure I don’t want him reading it, I feel I should let him know about it.
Oh yes! Our first fight was actually about my blog. Although it wasn’t really a fight… It was a break up that last liked 4 hours, lol! My two cents is you should tell Tony. Especially if you are writing about him. Better he find out from you than someone else, right? Although I can’t promise it will be the easiest conversation… It certainly wasn’t for us but we got through it.
Did you give him the link?
I feel like I should tell him I write (because it’s an important part of my life) but that it’s my journal and anonymous and therefore I want to keep it private. But if it was me in reverse, I would be pretty darn curious.
Hmmm… yeah the anonymity factor does complicate things a bit, especially if it’s quite personal. I told him about my blog on our first date and encouraged him to read it because it’s part of what I do and I need for anyone I’m in a relationship with to be comfortable with it… that took some time though in our case.
Well mine is the epitome of personal so would have to be extraordinarily comfortable with someone (and they would have to be very self confident) to share what I’ve actually written.
It’s one of the reasons why my relationship with a fellow blogger was so liberating…we had each read everything on each others blogs, and still liked one other 🙂
Yeah, confidence is key. I think you have to be very sure of yourself to be okay with reading about your significant other in less-than-ideal situations. Sometimes it’s easier to pretend that they never had a life before you 🙂
I think the thing is, it could feel to the guy a little like having just made his entrance on a reality show. (I know P.I.C. isn’t an English teacher, but did he use that “simile” by chance?)
Haha! No, he did not. Interestingly he was more concerned with what I had already written than what I might potentially write about him. I think I’ll have to say more about this in Wednesday’s post 🙂
Love this! 🙂
I’m so happy for you! Sometimes the best times I have with FH is when we just are sitting next to each other doing our own thing. Me with my nose in a book, him watching UFC for the zillionth time. Don’t get me wrong, I love getting dressed up and going on dates… but I think when it’s really going to last you need to find that person you can just veg with.
Sounds like your PIC is a good fit for you. And awesome nickname. 🙂
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This makes me so happy for you. Finding someone who makes you the best version of yourself is the dream. It sounds like PIC is your person. 🙂
Yep, I think so 🙂
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