After the meeting, they sat outside on the curb—shoulder to shoulder.
The man started. “We didn’t go to church or school together. You weren’t the girl next door where we grew up or the little sister of my big brother’s best friend.
“No, I wasn’t. So what? We’ve met here at this meeting. I’ve seen you four or five times now and I think we might have a chance.”
“Yes, but we wouldn’t be starting out under the best circumstances. We both know before going any farther that the other has considerable emotional baggage to drag around.”
“So you regret how we met?”
“Not really. If we hadn’t ended up here we might have walked by one another on the sidewalk without looking. What then?”
“Yeah, what then?”
“How should I know what then? We probably wouldn’t have met at all.”
“Well, we still wouldn’t have met except that you ‘shushed’ me in there. Something you had no right to do.”
“No right? You shouldn’t have made fun of that guy while he poured his heart out. That was cold—really harsh for a woman.”
“So, you think that takes courage—to tell a bunch of strangers about your poor damaged soul, the mistakes you’ve made, and how bad and guilty you feel about all the crappy things you’ve done to people who didn’t deserve it?”
“For me, yes, it would take courage. I can’t do it yet and I doubt you can either.”
“So where do we end up tonight?”
“I’m not sure yet. Just drink your coffee and shut up while I think about it.”
The man started. “We didn’t go to church or school together. You weren’t the girl next door where we grew up or the little sister of my big brother’s best friend.
“No, I wasn’t. So what? We’ve met here at this meeting. I’ve seen you four or five times now and I think we might have a chance.”
“Yes, but we wouldn’t be starting out under the best circumstances. We both know before going any farther that the other has considerable emotional baggage to drag around.”
“So you regret how we met?”
“Not really. If we hadn’t ended up here we might have walked by one another on the sidewalk without looking. What then?”
“Yeah, what then?”
“How should I know what then? We probably wouldn’t have met at all.”
“Well, we still wouldn’t have met except that you ‘shushed’ me in there. Something you had no right to do.”
“No right? You shouldn’t have made fun of that guy while he poured his heart out. That was cold—really harsh for a woman.”
“So, you think that takes courage—to tell a bunch of strangers about your poor damaged soul, the mistakes you’ve made, and how bad and guilty you feel about all the crappy things you’ve done to people who didn’t deserve it?”
“For me, yes, it would take courage. I can’t do it yet and I doubt you can either.”
“So where do we end up tonight?”
“I’m not sure yet. Just drink your coffee and shut up while I think about it.”
