So
a girl I used to know when we were kids got engaged, and there was a
reception/
party last night. I was urged to go by family, not sure why, but I had another
party too, another friend’s engagement, so I went once I was out.
Six long cold blocks, 10 o’clock at night. I don’t know why I went. I haven’t seen her since we were in 5th grade, and we didn’t like each other much back then. But my mum couldn’t make it into Brooklyn for this, and she knows the girl’s mum, and for some reason I thought I needed to go to this affair to represent her. Misguided sense of propriety? Confused sense of duty? God. Mom said to go; I live pretty close, I went.
Right, like I expected to know anyone there. I considered approaching the happy girl, only I didn’t know which one was her, I worked it out based on the way people approached and congratulated her. And I sure as hell wasn’t going to ask around till someone pointed out the mother. Sorry Mum, I’m leaving.
I don’t know what I expected. Something other than what I found, though. Because I didn’t see anyone I knew. What was I looking for? Maybe some of the other classmates, some I’ve seen since then, so I’d recognize. Maybe I just went because she’s Australian and I haven’t seen any of them since we moved to the U.S. But I didn’t see anyone I knew, I felt dumb as hell, so I turned real quick and left.
Mom’s going to laugh at me, Once you’d walked all the way, why didn’t you take a minute to find the mother and extend congratulations? You could have gone over to the girl.
No, mom. you could’ve. I wouldn’t ever, ever do that. I don’t believe in friendly strangers introducing themselves, I never know what to do when people do it to me. And yes, I don’t know why I forgot that that’s all I was to her, just a stranger whose name she remembered but nothing else. I mean, come on. We were 10. This wasn’t meeting someone in a different context. This was meeting her for the first time. And that’s not why I went. I don’t want to meet anyone new right now, not at their own engagement celebration, not on a cold cold night because my mother said so.