Drama Time
2006-09-10 @ 8:05 p.m.

Steve broke up with Helene just after we got back from vacation. The thing had run its course. She became tired of being a second-stringer, got flippy on him and Steve called it off. So far so good.

Last week Helene somehow gets the silly notion that I might be someone she can call. A classic blunder on her part(not unlike starting a ground war in southeast Asia: see, Bride, Princess).

Helene called me on Tuesday night. I'm not sure exactly when he dumped her. When Steve told me I avoided any details. She started out by saying she needed someone to talk to, someone that understood.....Obviously, I do not understand what it's like to be dumped by Steve. We did break-up once, a few years back but that was mutual and caused by a cross-country transfer. Here's the Cliff Notes version:

Helene: I just needed someone to talk to.

Me: I might not be the most appropriate person to call. Maybe a friend...

Helene: He's such a pig. God, he'll fuck anything.

Do I say, "obviously?" No, I'm many things but I'm not deliberately cruel.

Me: I think you should call someone else. Someone who knows you better. Um, someone who may be more understanding.

Helene: You know, he told me he fucked your friend, Kit. I think he told me so I'd break-up with him.

So, now I am pissed. That's just manipulative.

Me: Helene, you can't expect a man like Steve to be bound by the same silly notions of bourgeois morality that lesser man are bound by. He's not a slave to his women. Steve takes what he can and offers no apologies. That's what makes him a man.

Now, frankly, I have no clue what that means. I certainly have the utmost respect for men and women who are monogamous. I just wanted to shock her. Not deliberately cruel, but insensitive and childish.

Helene: Your as bad as he is.

Click.

I saw Steve on Wednesday night. I told him about the call. He admitted she was getting 'stalkerish.' All I could say was, "Talk with her and take care of it."

"Maybe if you hadn't been so nice to her, she wouldn't have called you," Steve snapped. By the look on his face I knew he regretted it the moment he said it.

"Maybe," I replied, "if she calls again, I'll have Chris stop by, in uniform, and he can have a talk with her."

It wasn't very nice of me, to use Chris like that, but I couldn't help myself. Not after Steve snapped at me.

Anyway, it was a momentary thing. He immediately apologized and no harm done. One of our few fights, if you can call it that.

I haven't heard from Helene since that night.

There's some more news you may find interesting, but I'll save that for the next post.

Now, a question for everyone or anyone. I've dated a number of people. All, with one exception, were born and raised in New England. The exception was a native New Yorker. He wasn't from New York City though, he was from the Hudson Valley area, near Albany. They have much more in common, it would seem, with New England, than New York City.

My question, for those of you with experience is: Is there a general difference in the attitudes of woman or men from different regions of the country in terms of sex, relationships etc. I bring this up because someone mentioned that, in his experience, New England girls came off all prim and proper but were actually hellcats in bed, willing to go the extra mile, so to speak. Meanwhile, he said southern girls acted all flirtatious and then were usually cold and dull in the sack.

That was his comment, not mine, by the way. He was generalizing, obviously, from his limited experience. But, the idea intrigued me. Are there difference between "Southern Gals" and "California Girls" when it comes to sex and sexuality. At the very least, I thought it would be fun to hear about your experiences, if any.

I know, get a life, Piper.