I had one (no, two) of those “meetings” with a stranger.

I met someone about 3 weeks back.  I wanted to write about it but I wasn’t sure what to do, so I didn’t.  Yesterday, I saw him again.  I’m still not sure what to do about it but I’m going to write the story anyway.

I first met him at Caribou near my office.  We were joking about the Caribou question of the day.  We got to talking about our kids and how they would just google the answer in line before they bought their “coffee.”  We, of course, wouldn’t think of doing that! He told me he has 5 kids and that he and his wife had been married 25 years (I think – I can’t recall exactly).

Then, as we were waiting for the actual drinks, he said that his wife had just told him that she’d cheated on him and he was trying to decide what to do next (At first I wanted to run.  I was just there for a sparkling tea!).  He loved her but thought maybe it was time to move on.  He worried about his kids, he still loved his wife … but he was very angry about what she did.  (At one point, I again looked around for the Candid Camera, camera … what the heck!?).

I shared a bit of my own experiences and said that he should only leave if he was sure he wouldn’t look back and wonder if he gave it his all at repairing.  His wife wanted to stay together.  We had our drinks by now and as we were leaving, I said I would send my positive thoughts his way.  He apologized for saying so much and thanked me for listening.

I debated writing about it but decided it was a freak thing and what was I going to write anyway?  That I met a stranger who told me a sad story?

Yesterday, at a different coffee shop, I ran into him again.  He walked up and asked if I was Jessica (he remembered my name and I could not remember his).   I realized who it was and asked how things were going.  He said that he left the coffee shop that day, called his wife, asked her to lunch, they talked all afternoon and decided to get into counseling.  He said it’s a struggle for him but he’s trying.  He also said that the day we met, he was planning on meeting someone else – he was feeling spiteful.  But after we talked, he cancelled and called his wife.

I wonder why life is so crazy?  Why is it easier to talk with strangers than other people?   (What kind of vibes am I sending out!?)  I have no conclusions here.  Only that relationships are hard work, but worth it with the right person — and talking to strangers must be easier!  I’ll have to keep getting coffee to see how this one plays out.  Fingers crossed!

Have a great day!