At Last, We Meet Again...

I went to an engagement party as someone's date a few weeks ago. As I checked to make sure I'd locked the car doors, I glanced over to see a silver Honda Accord parked next to us. Shit, I swore.

My date must have heard. "What's wrong? Everything okay?"

I paused. Yes. Everything was okay. That was all a long time ago. "You bet! Let's go."

We walked into the house full of people and I immediately recognized folks from my past, from a different life. I was swept up in talking and catching up with everyone, but could not avoid the obvious. My Ex was standing only a few yards away.

It had been years since I'd seen Max. I'd played out over and over in my mind what I would do when I finally ran into him. Throw a martini on him? Slap him judiciously across the face? Breeze airily by and ignore him, as he insisted on ignoring me the entire year after we'd broken up? All of these were brilliant possibilities... particularly the last one, as it was IMPOSSIBLE that he hadn't seen me, and yet he was determinedly avoiding my gaze.

At that moment, I was reborn. And why not? I was wearing red lipstick and a long flowing dress. I was there with my handsome boyfriend, whom he knew. What did I have to lose? Because of him, I'd already broken my heart, racked up my medical bills, lost my home, and forsaken my church and friends. It had been more than 3 years since he decided he didn't want to marry me. If he still thought he could ignore me and I would go away, he had another thing coming!

"Max!" I cried in jubilation, clapping my hands and flashing him a blinding white smile. "It's so wonderful to see you again! How are you? I heard you started working at the church! What are you doing there?"

Thus confronted with his --admittedly unstable -- past, Max had no choice but to smile equally wide and engage in mature adult conversation.

It was my finest hour. I talked to Max for a good 15 minutes, and when he left, he made sure to tell me goodbye.

As my date and I left the dwindling party some time later, he said, "Wow. I was really impressed by you tonight. You were fantastic."

"I KNOW!!!!!!" I yelled, "I WAS THE BIGGER PERSON!!!! DON'T FORGET THAT PART! I WAS THE BIGGER PERSON!!!" My magnanimity may have slightly decreased upon my announcing this to the neighborhood at large, but I was extremely excited.

"Yeah, you did great! Good job."

"I didn't know Max was married," I said, conversationally, as we climbed into the car. "He made sure to rub his head in such a way as to display a very obvious wedding ring to me."

"What!? Max's married??" D. exclaimed. "I don't think so. I mean, I know he was dating a girl 10 years younger than him for awhile, but I'm pretty sure he's not married."

"Well, whatever," I said breezily. "Then he's one of those idiots who wears a wedding ring just to make a statement. And I'm still the bigger person."