Two weeks ago I made plans with someone I knew from High School to go out for coffee. He comes through my office periodically as he is a detective for our local City government. Since High School, I had not truly spoken to him one on one outside of small talk and the only personal information I truly knew about him was that he had a daughter from small talk regarding our kids.
Prior to Halloween our paths crossed at a community Emergency Responders meet and greet trick or treat event; we nodded in recognition of one another, but continued on with our children without speaking.
Upon making plans to meet for coffee, his daughter fell ill and he cancelled plans tentatively due to her needing him. We joked about it and that was that. Until he text me later that night asking if I still wanted to go out.
Within the hour we were on our way. We joked about complex coffee orders and rattling my thermos of iced coffee at him, stated he was not allowed to have a more complex order than my own.
I had an iced espresso with toffee syrup and he took his coffee black with a splash of cream.
We drove around the county talking about different places we passed. We spoke of skip days and the lack of entertainment available to us as teenagers. We talked about our kids with stars in our eyes and pride in our voices.
The moon was begging to fill the sky and we got out and stared at the stars. The creek alongside the old dirt road roared loud enough to deafen any other sounds. His hands cupped around mine to warm them and he offered his jacket. His fingers around my wrists were unfamiliar; his mouth a stranger. He assisted me back into his truck where my nose and feet tingled their way back to warmth. I would joke about needing to dress more appropriately next time, he joked about there being a next time. Red flag. He requested I not speak of this to our mutual friend he worked with. Red flag.
The next day I asked if he made it home ok knowing he lived 45 minutes away. Hours later he replied with an apology for being unobtainable, explaining he'd been busy with yard work. Nothing sat right. Nothing felt right. I did my research. He had felt safe because I'd known of him since we were kids. He had felt safe because he was an officer and if I couldn't trust his word, who's could I trust?
He is married.
I text him that I knew and promptly blocked his number and erased any trace of him.
We had spoken of how our relationships had crumbled. He mentioned knowing of my ex and his wife. He knew the betrayal and of the devastation that followed. How DARE he do this to his own wife, to his daughter.
I will never understand how a human can destroy another human's ultimate trust in them. How they can willingly set this example for their children as to how a man should treat a woman. How anyone can so easily lie about something they swore to God and vowed to their spouse breaks me.
This week blog post is written off of Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop prompt: lie.
Prior to Halloween our paths crossed at a community Emergency Responders meet and greet trick or treat event; we nodded in recognition of one another, but continued on with our children without speaking.
Upon making plans to meet for coffee, his daughter fell ill and he cancelled plans tentatively due to her needing him. We joked about it and that was that. Until he text me later that night asking if I still wanted to go out.
Within the hour we were on our way. We joked about complex coffee orders and rattling my thermos of iced coffee at him, stated he was not allowed to have a more complex order than my own.
I had an iced espresso with toffee syrup and he took his coffee black with a splash of cream.
We drove around the county talking about different places we passed. We spoke of skip days and the lack of entertainment available to us as teenagers. We talked about our kids with stars in our eyes and pride in our voices.
The moon was begging to fill the sky and we got out and stared at the stars. The creek alongside the old dirt road roared loud enough to deafen any other sounds. His hands cupped around mine to warm them and he offered his jacket. His fingers around my wrists were unfamiliar; his mouth a stranger. He assisted me back into his truck where my nose and feet tingled their way back to warmth. I would joke about needing to dress more appropriately next time, he joked about there being a next time. Red flag. He requested I not speak of this to our mutual friend he worked with. Red flag.
The next day I asked if he made it home ok knowing he lived 45 minutes away. Hours later he replied with an apology for being unobtainable, explaining he'd been busy with yard work. Nothing sat right. Nothing felt right. I did my research. He had felt safe because I'd known of him since we were kids. He had felt safe because he was an officer and if I couldn't trust his word, who's could I trust?
He is married.
I text him that I knew and promptly blocked his number and erased any trace of him.
We had spoken of how our relationships had crumbled. He mentioned knowing of my ex and his wife. He knew the betrayal and of the devastation that followed. How DARE he do this to his own wife, to his daughter.
I will never understand how a human can destroy another human's ultimate trust in them. How they can willingly set this example for their children as to how a man should treat a woman. How anyone can so easily lie about something they swore to God and vowed to their spouse breaks me.
This week blog post is written off of Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop prompt: lie.
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