I am not sure how I am Babe The Pig. I have a Grand Trine in earth if you include Ceres. Could that be it?

‘So anyway, after you left and before I got that team, I would go watch rugby sometimes. But never the way I did when I was with you. I would stay way back from the game. And I mean waaaay back. I used to tell my customers about it. I told them I had to watch from afar otherwise I might get pregnant.”

He laughed.

“What are you doing this weekend, Elsa? Oh, I’m going to go see some testosterone in the park, I’d say. You trying to meet one of those guys, they’d ask? No, no. That’ll never happen. I’m just going to see the sights. And that’s exactly what I’d do. I’d grab some bagels and go sit on this picnic table that was way off from the game and just sort absorb I guess. I would think of you sometimes but I knew it was pure fantasy. Because this was a couple years after you left and I figured you had left town by then.”

“Yep,”

“Yeah, I figured. But I still liked rugby. I got a good feeling around it so I would go to the park and see the games maybe once a month. And always by myself. People also wanted to go with me but I always said no. It was private thing. I was communing, I guess. And then I got that team. I was 22, then. My 22nd birthday.”

“22!”

“Yeah. So you’d have been gone 3 years. And I actually kept that team for about a year. I kept them and they kept me. Sort of like a mascot. I was Babe the Pig for them, I guess. Rub my head for luck! And it was just understood I was not available. I was not going to sleep with any of them and I have no idea why this was accepted but it was. They were all pretty protective of me… that or uninvolved. You know. I knew half the team better than the other half of the team and I actually went Christmas caroling with them one year if you can believe that.”

“Christmas caroling?”

“Yeah. They called me up to go. Let’s call Elsa! I have no idea why. I must have been fun, or funny or something. I really don’t remember what my appeal was to tell you the truth. But they did call me and hey? Christmas caroling with a rugby team? Why not? It sounded like an experience so I showed up and we all went out singing. It was like 25 men and me. I don’t think there were any women there besides me. It was boys night out, but I was invited because I was no one’s girlfriend, see. I wasn’t going to cramp anyone’s style because I was Babe the Pig, their mascot.”

He was listening. I think he was transfixed.

“So anyway, I used to see them now and then. At games but also personally. I would visit them at their houses, I mean. Some of them became friends.”

“I see.”

“Yeah, well it was a little strange. They were supposed to be my birthday present for a joke. They were supposed to parade in there and embarrass the hell out of me and that was it. Big joke, it was a good joke but they wound up liking me for some reason. And adopting me. Yeah, that’s it. I got adopted by them and anyway there was one other time and I thought if I was ever going to run into you ever again it was going to be at this place.”

“Where?”

“Big rugby tournament. International. Thousands of rugby players from all over the world. So my team called me up of course. To let me know where they were going to meet, informally before the tournament. What bar they were all going to be at. Lots of men, they said. A few hundred ought to be there at least and they all play rugby. So of course I had to go to that. How can you know about something like that and not go?’

“Can’t if you’re you.”

“Right. So I showed up but the first thing I did… well the bar was 3 stories high and the first thing I did was check each floor to make sure you weren’t there and guess what?”

“I wasn’t there.”

“Right. So although the men were plentiful and tasty I didn’t stay long. I looked around and there were just men everywhere. And there were some women too, each of them acting like banshees and I don’t know. I could just see I didn’t belong. I really didn’t belong there so I went home and that was that. I never went to another rugby game or looked for you again.”

“Until now.”

“Er… you’re right. I didn’t look for you for 20 some years, I should say. And when I did look for you I found in 4 seconds. How about that? Oh my God, I guess he’s not dead. How come he’s not dead? I wonder what happened to him so I think I’ll write him and see if he’ll tell me.”

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