My beloved is mine and I am his

And thus a month in Thomas' company comes to an end with his leaving again, this time for around three months (save for a week back here in early February). His initial month's absence, back in October, had its frustrations, but these proved so beneficial to us that I can face the winter with confidence. Put it this way, being apart for nearly four weeks right at the beginning meant we were able to build a relationship rather than give in to physical attraction before anything more had been established and have it all fizzle out in no time.

By last weekend, it was pretty clear we were on to a good thing, but the opinion of a really close friend such as Luke was always going to be welcome. He and Thomas didn't meet until the party on Saturday (at which, incidentally, we served 20 bottles' worth of mulled wine) and got on beautifully. The fact they went out for a coffee next morning while I was at church says it all.

It's not very often I'll use an old-fashioned expression without some measure of irony, but this is an exception. No matter how optimistic I feel about Thomas being away for the next three months, I'm still going to miss him like the dickens.