Isn't it nice when you get to see old acquaintances? Well, sometimes. More often then not, it seems awkward. Especially if it is unexpected. Expected reunions are much easier to handle for obvious reasons. You can prepare yourself for the meeting; put on your happy face and recall all the important details of the past ten years of your life in order to eloquently relay them when the other person asks (which they will) and you can imagine the acknowledgments that you will give to the similar questions that they will ask of you ("that's nice," "oh, that's wonderful," "good for you," and "that's life.") Then there's that uneasy moment when you see someone from your past who you were not expecting to see. Maybe you're at the pharmacy picking up a prescription for your embarrassing aliment. Maybe you're walking out of the DMV after dealing with the mean clerk who takes the worst license photos. You might even see someone from your church at the local bar while you're catching up with the bartender who you know on a first-name basis. Of course you're not wondering why they are out on a Tuesday night. You're wondering if they recognize you and if they can tell that you are sloshed at eleven P.M. on a weekday. The first line of defense is to hide your face with your hand and start up a conversation with someone next to you. Thankfully, the lights are dim and the music is loud and distracting (it is the local dive, after all) and you can usually spend about five minutes "hiding." A pep talk to yourself has definitely begun and it can be organized by the odds. Odds are they don't recognize me. Odds are they are just as embarrassed and won't come over to say "hi." Odds are they will soon see how sleazy this place is and they will leave before any of those other possibilities even come into play. And, speaking of play, there's a game on TV. Yes. You came out to watch the game.
So maybe you've successfully avoided the not-so-stranger. If not, your best bet is to be friendly. And you will be because you can't very easily hide once they have recognized you. Even if they do remember your name, they introduce themselves as if you don't remember them. (At this point, it's obvious that you have been avoiding them.) So there's the usual. "How are you." "Fine, and you?" "I'm good, thanks." "What are you up to these days?" ... And the pleasantries will likely lead into some sort of normalcy. You've succeeded in holding it together, and for the rest of the night, you can smile if you pass them on the way out and say "goodnight" and all will be well.
But then again, maybe it is also obvious that you are sitting alone at the bar, and your rekindled familiarity will open the door to a game of pool, or darts, or the offer of a free drink. The free drink is the worst. A game of pool is your best option. See, pool tables were created to be just the size they are because two people standing on either side of one can observe their opponent without being so far away as to be considered a germophobe. There is usually a convenient light above the table that will deflect unwanted direct eye contact. It's the perfect alternative to simply making small talk all night. And in the absence of conversation, there's an opportunity for a little introspection (although it may be frowned upon to do so while tipsy.) He is probably scanning you as well, gathering tidbits of information from a question here and there, analyzing the shots you take and the shots you don't attempt. Sure, you've had your bit of adolescent fun, some crazy nights, some close calls, but when you start picking up on where he has been for the past few years (or decades)... you are bound to come across some shockers. Maybe he's served a stint in jail, or has a few kids and you're subtracting numbers to figure out how old he was then... but whatever comes up, you can't help but compare your life to theirs.
How is it that two people can cross paths so long ago, and have grown up in such similar environments, and veer so far from each other in a short period of time? Or possibly you aren't as different as it first appears. Circumstances can affect everyone in different ways, or perhaps the in the same way with different consequences. Each person's experience may be different, but I'm sure that at least a brief moment of your time will be spent comparing (if you will) yourself to them. Just like any other meeting, you're looking for similarities to find common ground. But you also notice the differences. It's hard not too, with your previous memory of this person as someone like you. Someone so similar. And yet now... seeming so different.
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