Not long after saying that Le Terrible had left my life forever, he returned. This afternoon, in fact.
I hadn't seen him in months, but everyone else had. Today, though, I managed to run into him 3 times in the space of an hour. Twice I could avoid eye contact and duck through doors. The third time though, I confronted the wolf. My stomach was twisted in knots, and my head felt full of blood and air. The way I gave myself strength to approach him was my ol' tried and true method of asking myself: WWND? Or, What Would Nolan Do?( Nolan being the first breaker of my heart when I was 20 years old, but he had extraordinary social skills that I still sometimes find myself emulating today.)
So I walked up to where he was sitting, and said Hey, how's it going?
He didn't speak for two seconds, and I thought he was going to ignore me completely, and I felt myself dying of embarrassment. Then he said
I saw you sitting up there, in Skyview.
And then I was out of control motor-mouthing:
Oh yeah, it's a good place to sit, to perch like a vulture, you know, just watch people and prey? Hahaha, but the seats are so uncomfortable, I don't know why I still sit up there, the chairs are bolted to the ground and don't move, and there is no leg room, haha, you know...
He half smiled, his eyes never leaving my face.
Look, I've got to go practice my Italian script, I said, probably blushing furiously by now.
Ok, he said.
Ok, bye, see ya, and I waved as I walked off.
I'm just glad I got it over with. It made me feel mature, the whole polite saying hi thing. It had to happen some time, we do run in the same circles.
I always feel shy about commenting on these posts (because you know, hey, these are your own personal relationships you're laying bare here, and far be it from me to pass judgment or pass comment on them with such superficial knowledge). But I must say this: sometimes I'm not sure whether you're drafting a novel on your blog or really, truly telling us about how you interact with your friends and acquaintances. Because this reads like a novel. I'm on the edge of my seat when I read this stuff (inasmuch as I can be on the edge of my seat when I'm prostrate on my bedspread). It's vivid. Alluring. Compelling. Evocative. Dramatic. And highly, highly relate-able. All the angst of living, breathing, and dying inside is revealed in your posts. And that's something that some poor hacks struggle lifetimes to be able to do.
ReplyDeleteHope you and Le Terrible work it out. You've made the first overture (bravo!). The ball's in his court now. Hang tough.
I'm going to go sit in the corner and sip my drink and mind my own business now.
Hahaha honestly I am giggling out loud now, picturing you almost falling off your bed. No, it's all real life. Something about Le Terrible and me though, it's just, well, so dramatic. Normally I can laugh at my everyday encounters, and they are pretty ordinary, but with him everything is charged and heightened. We even talk like we are in a movie. Or a novel, I guess.
ReplyDeleteHope you enjoyed your drink.