I just saw a ghost at the corner market: X, my former dear friend and business partner.
We looked right at each other as I turned a corner with a box of cascade in my hand. We ignored each other and headed for different parts of the market. I grabbed my package of peanuts, and he fled into the wine section.
It is so bizarre. My heart was pounding with anxiety and I had to overcome my stress to carry on a light conversation with the cashier who has a wee crush on me.
The best part: I am fully made up and dressed to hang out with W tonight. He was just off the trail.
It is possible he did not recognize me immediately: I weigh at least 30 pounds less than the last time he saw me. I have long hair now. But I feel quite confident he was as freaked about it as I was given how he purposefully left the water section to duck around the corner.
I had no idea he still lived here in the neighborhood. I don’t know anything about his life at all now. We have a very good friend in common, but I do not discuss him with the friend. Anything the friend would say about me is very, very good.
This man was an enormous part of my life for nearly a year and I have known him for years. Yet, seeing him in a market, I said nothing.