David is Deirdre’s ex-boyfriend, who she has talked about occasionally on her blog.
Personality
David is a world-class photojournalist, a fact which made Deirdre uncomfortable using a camera since their breakup. David’s unreliableness appeared to be a major factor in their breakup, with him constantly being away for photoshoots. Although he is extremely skilled in photography, Deirdre found him not particularly interesting as a person, suspecting that his blandness was the reason he pointed his camera at interesting things.
Biography
David was first brought up in Deirdre’s post “On Not Belonging” in which she mentioned living in “the bricks and mortar of Dave’s beige flat.” In “Unsatisfying Endings,” Deirdre elaborated on her relationship with David, noting that they had broken up by letter. At the time of Deirdre’s post, David was abroad, taking photographs, while she remained in his apartment.
After leaving London, David was mentioned a few times in Deirdre’s blog. In “A slight spiral and bad coffee,” Deirdre visited a Danny Lyons exhibit that reminded her of David’s photographs. In “Paranoia and Cupcakes,” Deirdre mentioned that David always used to call her a sponge. “I always thought he meant I absorbed the personalities and drama of other people because I was too banal to have my own. Perhaps I’m just an empathetic, sensitive person, and a sponge looks soft to a brick wall.”
In “The Recent Past Comes Calling,” David sent Deirdre a WhatsApp message, asking her if she’d like to grab a pint while he was in town. After meeting him for lunch, Deirdre realized that she was no longer interested in him, calling him a bit beige. Thinking on it further, Deirdre wondered if “maybe that’s why he points his camera at such diverse and interesting things, because he isn’t that interesting. Nice, just not that interesting.” After the lunch, Deirdre realized that she never really had much of a connection with David and had finally moved on.