My Instead: My ex-fiancé George and I went to dinner and then we visited my mom and watched the World Series' final game.
Over forty years ago, I met George. He
was an airman and I was a waitress…a match made in heaven. Maybe not so much.
We dated, broke up, dated, broke up, dated, got engaged, broke up. There will
be no sequel to that saga; however, we have remained friends. He has visited me
periodically during his travels from his home in Washington State to his property
in Tennessee. We usually have dinner and visit a spell. Then we part ways...he’ll go back to his life
and I to mine.
Tonight was time for another one of
those visits from my boy George. We enjoyed a dinner at the Tavern on Main in Belleville and
talked about what’s going on in each of our lives. George is having a little
harder time growing older than I am. I didn’t understand why until he said that
everyone has disappointed him except his grandma and his current wife. I
thought to myself and, of course, finally verbalized to him, "You may have to get over yourself! Do you think
all these people are concerned that they haven't met your expectations. Remember, it’s THEIR
life they’re living and you are the last thing they're worried about disappointing." Of
course, all this rhetoric erupted in the most kind and compassionate way.
When we had finished our dinner and
bounced our opinions back and forth without killing each other, I asked George
if he wanted to go see my mom and watch some of the last game of the World Series. He
wasn’t as interested in the game as I was, but he did want to visit with my
mom. Mom was surprised and happy to see him. I watched as the two of them chatted
and reminisced, just like in the old days when I brought my beau home to meet the folks.
We sat like two teenagers in my mom’s
living room, staying until the end of the game. The team I was rooting for lost…I
got over it. It was late so we said our good-byes to Mom, he took me home, we
hugged on my doorstep and the evening became a part of our history.
During the course of our dinner,
George asked me if I ever thought about “what if”, saying that he does quite
often. I said “It’s been 40 years! I’m
just glad I still have a friend that I meet when I was 19.”
Life happened and I let go.
No comments:
Post a Comment