Sunrise, Sunset.

It really could have been so awkward. A vacation to San Diego with the Now Ex-Lady Friend®.

Over the last year and a half, we had been on again/off again, but last month we became full-blown off again.

But by then the trip to sunny San Diego had already been booked.

I could have canceled it. But I didn't.

I truthfully was a little worried the trip would be full of odd moments and strange silence.

Enter Comet and Sparky™. Comet™ was to be our host in San Diego. He is my lost twin. My brother from another mother. My dream bromance guy.

And I had never actually met him in person before this week (I'll explain that soon).

Comet™ had dated Sparky™ during most of 2010.

Sparky™ and I went to college together. She is one of the most brilliant people I know, whether she's writing, performing in a play, or simply having a conversation sitting around a kitchen table. And I consider her to be one of my dearest friends on this planet, even though we haven't seen each other for nearly 20 years.

The Comet and Sparky™ fireworks were amazing to watch from afar.

Somehow they managed to make a cross-country relationship work - Comet™ in San Diego, and Sparky™ in Massachusetts.

And not only did they make it work, they made it awesome.

The smiles on their faces said it all when they were together. Best Friends. Lovers. All those things I have heard they cover on the Lifetime Network.

And then something happened. In Iceland. (No, really, it was in Iceland).

The Comet and Sparky™ Show was canceled.

And then the whole interwebz haz a sad.

Fast forward to the San Diego trip with the Now Ex-Lady Friend®.

When Comet™ learned I was heading his way, he offered up his home as a place to stay, and his time as a tour guide.

Comet™ and I had gotten to know each other even more this past year, when he was going through the very. effing. difficult. time. I told him that he could call me anytime he needed to vent, get each other to laugh, or share a cry to Adele's Someone Like You. As I said earlier, true bromance.

So I didn't bat an eye at letting someone I'd never met in person offer up shelter and limousine service, and accepting. Thankfully I waited until we were on the plane to tell Now Ex-Lady Friend® that I had never met Comet™ before.

About a week before the trip, Sparky™ had caught wind that I'd be staying with Comet™ on the trip. Comet and Sparky™ had not talked in over a year. I was more than a little leery of how she would react to the news.

"He will be such a good host to you! You'll have so much fun," she wrote on my Facebook wall.

Ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss...

A few days later... "Now I'm going to have to become Facebook friends with Comet™ again so I don't miss out on the fun you guys will have!"

Sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss...

The next day..."I SOOOOO wish I was there to be the official photojournalist for this epic meeting."

Sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss...

My reply to her: "Sparky™, just grab your camera and hop on a plane. Problem solved."

Sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss...

The next day the flight was booked for Sparky™ to come to San Diego.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM.

The last four days were amazing to watch them reconnect and realize what everyone around them had already seen. Neither one of them was as happy in their lives as when they were together.

The weekend turned from what I feared would originally be "This was not a good idea," to "LO-EFFING L."

I ate some incredible food, drank some downright orgasmic beers, and saw some amazing things in San Diego.

But my favorite memories will be the four of us sitting around the table, telling our stories about life as a divorced parent, our exes, how difficult relationships are, but most of all laughing and smiling like I haven't for literally years.

Now Ex-Lady Friend® and I got to have a nice time away from the winter weather of Iowa and Minnesota, and we both enjoyed the distraction of watching as the Comet and Sparky™ Show came back on the air.

Four people going in very different directions, enjoying great times together in paradise.

As I watched the sunset from the Hotel Del Coronado, I couldn't help but wonder if the sun wasn't rising in Reykjavik.