Relationships, Relocation, and Synchronicity

     My partner and I had been together for just under three years when friends of ours moved to Dallas, TX. We were invited down for a visit. My partner couldn't go, so plans were made for me to go on my own.
     At the time I was working as a Charles of the Ritz beauty adviser. At the semi-annual training seminar, Barbara, the regional training director announced that if any of us happened to be going to the Dallas area on vacation, to be sure to let her know. She lived in a Dallas suburb and would be happy to show us around. Of course, my hand went up. We later made plans to meet one day of my visit.
     Barbara and I met  for lunch and she drove me around to a few of the key Charles of the Ritz accounts. The last store we visited happened to have an opening for a Counter Manager. "This is where I'd like for you to come work," she told me. She introduced me to the various managers and I ended up in the Human Resource office with a job offer. I accepted the position and spent the 550-mile drive back home rehearsing what I would say to my partner. A sick feeling in the pit of my stomach was telling me synchronicity was getting me into trouble.
     The Easter before this we had traveled to Atlanta to visit a college friend of his and fell in love with the city. We had also met some people we both really liked and planned to remain in contact with them. We knew my partner's work in Kansas City might be ending soon and that Atlanta might be a possible re-location destination. Now I had a new job beginning in a few weeks in Dallas, not exactly in the plan.
     I arrived at our apartment before he got home from work. I needed more rehearsal so of course he came home early. "We need to talk," we said simultaneously. "Okay," he said. "You go first."
     "No, you go. How was work today?"
     "Well, that's what we need to talk about. You know the office here is being closed, but we have a couple of options. First, tell me how you liked Dallas."
     "Dallas was great! I loved it, even though you weren't there."
     "Did you like it as well as Atlanta?"
     "I think so. Why?"
     "That's one of the options. I was offered a choice today between transferring to Atlanta or to Dallas. So where do you think we should move?"
     "Dallas," I quickly answered with relief.
     "Okay. That's fine, but tell me why when you were so enthralled with Atlanta."
     "Because I was offered a job there."
     "Really? And you accepted it without discussing it with me? What would you have done if this hadn't worked out like this?"
     "You know, honey, I have really missed you this week so I think we should take ourselves to another room, don't you? I need to get out of these clothes and into a shower. Besides, everything has worked out so we don't need to worry about any what-ifs."
     We lived in Dallas for fourteen years. In that time I learned a lot of local colloquialisms  As a result, I can tell you here and now that in moment synchronicity saved my bacon!
     Fourteen years later, we traveled to New York for an extended Easter weekend. That's another story for another time. Suffice it to say, there was more bacon in the Big Apple waiting on my plate.