Member-only story
A Stranger Confessed To Me
Some pain is too abrupt, too devastating to wait to share. It has to come out, even to a stranger.
On Christmas Eve my prescheduled Uber never showed up, then charged a $30 fee because I canceled.
When my family and I got to the restaurant it was a mob scene. Overbooked, no place to wait without being in bustling servers’ way. Our reservations at 7pm were pushed to almost 8.
Minor first world annoyances. But I was pissed. Finally the host came over and told us our table was ready.
As I sat down he whispered something like “It’s been a hard night.”
I said, “Yeah I bet, it’s CRAZY busy!”
He said “No, I mean my marriage, it’s on the rocks. I just found out over the phone it’s over. I don’t know what to do”
I told him awkwardly, “Oh I’m so so sorry. That’s horrible.”
He smiled sadly, turned and went back to work.
My daughter, husband and stepmom were a few steps behind. When I told them what happened my daughter said, “Wow, a little TMI but how sad. Poor guy.”
Normally I would have thought the same, TMI, confession from a stranger I met for less than a minute.