Strange happenings...

In high school I did have girlfriends, but I really related more the boys in my class. The person who I was the closest with from my sophomore year in high school through half way through college was a boy. He knew everything about me. There was a topic off limits to talk about and I loved him very much. I actually told him that as often as I could remember. There was a time during college when I couldn’t get in touch with him. I tried calling, emailing, IMing for months. I grew concerned and contacted his mother who I was friends with and still got no reply. Finally, he called me. He told me we could no longer be friends and asked me to leave him alone. I held it together while we were on the phone but as soon as I hug up I was in hysterics. I had lost my best friend and had no idea why. There was not explanation. No closure. It haunted me for years.

Yesterday afternoon I headed to the airport to catch a flight. Per usual my gate was the last in the concourse. When I finally reached it there was not a soul in sight. The gate was moved to the opposite end of the concourse and when I got there I found my flight delayed for an hour.

I texted my travel companion about the delay and gate change, got some coffee and started some serious people watching. It is my favorite thing to do in public places. I have this game I play where I look at the shoes the people are wearing and decide in a split second whether I would wear them or not. It started in Catholic church when I was a kid. I would kneel during communion and I could only see the feet on the people passing me in the pew. It was a way to distract me from the icky waffer stuck to the roof of my mouth.

As I was people wathcing who should walk by me but my long lost best friend? I hadn’t seen his face in over 6 years. I froze wanting nothing more than to be invisible. Luckily, he didn’t see me and I felt a sense of relief.

I continued watching stranger’s feet when I saw my travel companion walk past the gate. I called after her but she couldn’t hear me so I picked up my bags and tried to catch her.

While I was chasing her I called one of my best high school friends in NYC to tell her who I saw. As I was hanging up after leaving a voicemail I physically ran into someone. I looked up and it was him – the only person who had ever really broken my heart.

Awkward doesn’t even begin to describe the encounter. I was certain he hated me and would have something cruel to say. To my surprise he smiled.

We caught up. We shared where we lived, what we were doing, who we seeing. The whole thing lasted about 3 minutes and then he said, “see you in four years”, turned around and left.

I found my work friend back the gate where I started and told her the story. She asked why I didn’t give him my number. I guess I didn’t because he never asked for it. I don’t think this experience happened for us to regain what we had lost. It was for me to get closure about a painful situation - a way for me to see him one last time and feel good about where we stood.

Everything that lead to the encounter was fateful. This was the reason my gate changed. If I was at the end of the terminal I would have never seen him. This was the reason my flight was delayed. I should have been half way to Jacksonville. This was the reason my work friend forgot the gate had changed even though I told her. Had I just stayed where I was I would not have run into him.

It is amazing how the universe helps you find peace.