12:42 a.m. - 2004-09-30
The Nicest Thing
I was driving to work today and a strange thing happened. I got all weepy about something that happened 15 or so years ago.
It has to do with the nicest thing anyone ever did for me.
It was 1989 and I had taken off spur of the moment to Boston because I was depressed, having just had another awful, abusive, relationship end in a most icky way.
I was on one of those "Spirit of..." dinner cruises, even more horribly depressed because I realized that all around me were couples or huge groups of people having a great time and celebrating some occasion or another.
There I was, at a table by myself, and not less than an hour before had placed a frantic, depressing call to my brother about the state of my life. My whole life was wrong and there was nothing I could do to fix it.
At the table next to me, there was a *huge* group of people celebrating this guy's 40th birthday party. They were laughing and having a good time. A cake was brought out and Happy Birthday was sung, followed by much cheering. I smiled and clapped too...trying to look happy. After all, it was *his* birthday, and it wasn't his fault that my life was so fucked up.
Anyway...the birthday boy came up to me with a piece of cake, handed it to me and said, "I'd like you to celebrate my birthday with me." I barely had time to smile and thank him before he walked away to join his group.
I will always remember that.
And my eyes always tear up when I think of it.
I wonder if he remembers?
