Awkward Moments

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I was among the first to arrive for lunch. I played well but I wasn’t entertaining any thoughts of winning anything. Maybe the lucky draw. Us backpeddlars always look forward to the lucky draw.

I saw him first. At least I think I saw him first. He came from the back, walked past me and was walking away from me. I still remember that gait.

Shoot, he plays golf? We were pretty even at rugby by my dummies were better than him, his were non-existent. I wonder if he's better than me at golf.

Then he turned. Then he saw me. Did he see me when he was walking from the back, pretending not to see me, turned around and pretending only to se me then? Maybe not, I have changed quite a bit over the years. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. You very rarely do that to your nemesis. Always thinking that they are so cunning, twisted and manipulative.

Should I smile, should I smile or what?

I smiled.

He did too. Thank goodness he did too.

He’s coming to my table. Why is he coming to my table? I’m sitting down, he’ll have an advantage over me. I’m sitting down. He’s right next to me. It’s OK, if he tries anything funny, I could knee him where it hurts.

Should I say something first?

He said hi. I said hi. Well, I did smile first and it’s only fair for him to speak first. We changed the standard pleasantries of two people who have not seen each other in a long time.

Him is someone from the past. A long time ago, nearly twenty years or so ago. We were vying for the attention of someone else. Well, he was her ex and I was her current. Then. You know how complicated situations of exes and currents could be. He looked good, put on a few pounds, like me, maybe less. That hair, that smile, that gait. That laid back gait. All were still there. She used to hate that gait. She used to love it before that though.

Neither of us mentioned her. I know that she have not met him in about nineteen years. She told me that herself.

And oh, I didn’t win anything that day. I even bombed out on the lucky draw.

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