“You know what I always liked about you?”
“What’s that?”
“That I could count on you in any situation. I could bring you anywhere and introduce you to anyone and I knew you could handle yourself.”
“Yeah.”
“I knew I didn’t have to worry about you saying or doing something that would compromise me or embarrass me. I never worried.”
He called me. A blast from the past. Except less blast. I’m not sure why he called, really. He used the excuse of “just wanted to say hi” but that just seems fake. Does anyone seriously just want to say hi? I don’t. If I’m curious, I’m curious. Just say it.
But no. Instead we talk for twenty minutes about nothing only for the conversation to lead to us. What once was. Apparently, there are things he misses. Things that he liked. I can’t say I’m completely shocked, there are things I miss too. So I reminded him.
“That’s good. But that wasn’t all there was to it, you know?”
“Yeah, I know. But it was just so easy, wasn’t it?”
“What? Bringing me places?”
“Just going places together. I didn’t have to hold your hand… you know I’m not a hand-holder.”
“I know.” And then it hit me. “You’re having a problem with someone you’re dating, aren’t you?”
“Well…”
“Well nothing. You’re dating a girl who you makes you worry about being embarrassed or humiliated by something she says. You’re afraid you can’t leave her to her own devices for fear of your own ego.”
“Woah, that’s harsh.”
“Yeah, but is it true?”
“It’s just different, you know?”
“Yeah, I do know. Listen, you have to tell her. Telling me is doing nothing but annoying me. And if I remember right, this is not a new problem. You never confront the person you’re having the problem with. You always go elsewhere.”
“What?”
“Think about it.”
So we spent the next ten minutes in a telephone counseling session going over it before saying goodbye.
“You were always right,” he said.
“Not always.”
“Well you were always right about me.”
Some things happen to take you back and remind you of what once was. Some things happen to simply serve as a reminder of just how far you’ve come.