Imitation

I had a boyfriend with an ad agency and a shirt business once, who, when people copied his ideas, shrugged it off with ‘imitation is the sincerest form of flattery’. He had such generosity and grace. Meeting him again at a friend's book launch recently was still awkward. Even if once I wanted that, there’s no going back, even to friendship. That’s not to say I haven’t got back occasionally with exes, and it’s been terrifically wonderful knowing it was a one-off. The familiarity of our bodies outweighing the bad idea, the ease of undressing each other, the pile of clothes scattered around the floor as in days long past, and the familiar sexy magnetism. Even writing about it brings back a wistfulness for those good bad ideas.