my taffy experience

Talking to you is like pulling taffy, I think. My taffy experience is minimal.

Kevin and I drove to Florida in February of 2004. He was homeless at the time, sleeping in his buddy's storage locker. He did odd jobs, and had saved enough money to "follow the sun," as he liked to say.

On the road, we slept at rest stops and ate at a different Cracker Barrel every night. The further south we got, the more hushed our voices became when discussing the war and our views on George W. Bush. It was an election year.

Kevin and I stayed in my uncle's condo in Miami. He wasn't going down that year because work was being done on the balconies and 'jackhammers just don't sound like a vacation.'

(Did I mention I had just been hired at a real estate office? I had just been hired at a real estate office. I was to start work on the Monday after arriving back in Toronto.)

Kevin and I spent our days at the least expensive places. Mostly we hung out at the beach, buying 'cold tea' at Bean Dream on the Broadwalk when we were thirsty. A guy named Brian who worked there gave us free muffins because his mother used to live in Hamilton, Ontario. Kevin and I also liked to go to the Port of Miami to watch the cruise ships arrive and depart.

(Did I mention we were in love? In the northern hemisphere the constellation Orion is only visible in winter. It's warm enough in Florida in February to stargaze for hours. When I see Orion, in Toronto, in the cold, I always think of Kevin.)

Here's where the taffy comes in: On our last day in Miami, at the Port, I bought a box of saltwater taffy to share with my new coworkers back in Toronto. There was a cartoon map of Florida on the box, and the pieces of taffy were small and round and pastel-coloured. I worried about them melting until West Virginia.

This is what happened next: The condo balconies were fixed and painted white. Kevin and I considered getting married, but he ended up moving to Sacramento, California. When my assistant manager ate a piece of yellow taffy, it dislodged a filling and she never really liked me after that. George W. Bush won the election.

I met you, and talking to you is like pulling taffy. I think.