El Dulce Sabor de Una Mujer Exquisita

So if you all recall one of my past posts titled "past haunts", the ending of that story was pretty ... hmmmmm .... open ended. Anyways if you refer back to that post (or click on the title link) it will take you to the email that he sent me. I don't think I ever posted my reply but here it is:


"Hi, how are you doing? I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you but I had some thinking of my own to do. First off, let me say that I really do appreciate your writing to me. It means a lot to me that you came back and apologized so many years after the fact. Additionally, I want you to know that I have definitely forgiven you and that I don't hold/harbor anything against you. I ended our friendship because I felt like you didn't respect me and that hurt me deeply. I felt I couldn't continue to engage in an emotionally abusive friendship any longer.
I'm glad that you decided to open up and let me know how you feel. Thanks! Out of curiosity, what prompted you to write the letter? Hope you're doing well."


It took me 3 weeks to figure out what I wanted to say and that's what I finally came up with. I thought it was brief, to the point, but didn't elaborate too much. I was happy with it. I struggled mostly with how much detailed information I should provide but at the same time I felt like he didn't really deserve that from me. His reply to my email was;


"Well I guess the reason why i wrote that letter to you was because during the holiday season I did a lot of thinking. After my dad passed away I realized that many of the times we just let people fly through our lives without giving them the attention they need and deserve and honestly I didn't like the way things ended with us. Well, I hope you're also doing well. Take care of yourself."


Sounds like a good and solid close to that chapter of my life, right? Well I thought so too until I recently received an email from him that enclosed a poem;


EL DULCE SABOR DE UNA MUJER EXQUISITA
(Gabriel García Márquez)
'Una mujer exquisita no es aquella que más hombres tiene a sus pies, si no aquella que tiene uno solo que la hace realmente feliz. Una mujer hermosa no es la más joven, ni la más flaca, ni la que tiene el cutis más terso o el cabello más llamativo, es aquella que con tan sólo una franca y abierta sonrisa y un buen consejo puede alegrarte la vida. Una mujer valiosa no es aquella que tiene más títulos, ni más cargos académicos, es aquella que sacrifica su sueño temporalmente por hacer felices a los demás. Una mujer exquisita no es la más ardiente (aunque si me preguntan a mí, todas las mujeres son muy ardientes...Los que estamos fuera de foco somos los hombres) sino la que vibra al hacer el amor solamente con el hombre que ama. Una mujer interesante no es aquella que se siente halagada al ser admirada por su belleza y elegancia, es aquella mujer firme de carácter que puede decir NO. Y un HOMBRE........UN HOMBRE EXQUISITO es aquel que valora a una mujer así...............Que se siente orgulloso de tenerla como compañera.... Que sabe tocarla como un músico virtuosísimo toca su amado instrumento..... Que lucha a su lado compartiendo todos sus roles, desde lavar platos y atender tripones, hasta devolverle los masajes y cuidados que ella le prodigó antes...La verdad, compañeros hombres, es que las mujeres en eso de ser 'Muy machas' nos llevan gran recorrido...¡Qué tontos hemos sido -y somos- cuando valoramos el regalo solamente por la vistosidad de su empaque... ¡Tonto y mil veces tonto el hombre que come mierda en la calle, teniendo un exquisitito manjar en casa'

I don't think you need to speak spanish to get the gist of what the poem is about. It's pretty easy to figure out what the title says. Anyways, I wasn't the only person on the email list. So i'm not going to read too much into this, but it is strange that he would PUT me on mailing list with all of his other female friends. He hasn't emailed me since February ... weirdness. It gets me to think though, what does he feel about me now that we are speaking again. He seems so different via email ... if I were to see him in person, would he be any different, would he treat me differently? But then again, would I want to see him? Would I want to know him again after the history that we had and all that I suffered? I know I'm supposed to forgive him completely, but does that mean I should forget? But if I don't forget, have I really forgiven him? What a pickle.