Friends, like family, are important to have. I am SO exhausted from dealing with Vince and exhausted of talking about him to my family and friends. I’m sure that they’re as tired as I am when he is mentioned and eventually discussed.
As previously mentioned, C and I have reconciled - yet again - as friends. This time around, we aired our shit with the other, talked about it and fought a bit over it but we were able to fix our friendship; we’re able to discuss more shit than we’ve ever been before. For that, I am grateful and appreciative that we’re better friends than before and that he’s in my life again.
I’d reached out to C the other day to see if we could meet up for drinks and an appetizer. He said yes before I could finish the question. We decided on a place that was the midpoint between our homes. He arrived a few minutes prior to me and found the most quiet table he could find….it was literally a table for 4 to 6 people and located near the kitchen; I was happy to see that he had a few drinks and a few appetizers at the table already. When C saw me, he stood up, came to me and greeted me with a bear hug.
After we sat down and had a few shots, I explained to him that a few days ago - in further detail - about Vince coming over, his BS, me calling him out and me “officially” kicking him out of my life….I was tired of Vince, his lies and his drama….I needed him out of my life ASAP. C was thrilled that I “evicted” Vince out of my life and that I was on my way to heal.
We’d been there for about an hour when I hear someone say my name. I look up and it’s V. Of ALL the restaurants near both C & I, we both - unknowingly - agreed on a restaurant where my former lover worked. After the past month or so that I’ve been having, V was NOT the person I wanted to see. C had noticed I’d turned as white as a ghost…..which is hard because I’m already pale as fuck; I’m neon white.
“Yo, Deppgrl….is this V?” C whispered. “Want me to get rid of him? Just say the word.”
“Yeah. It’s him,” I said. “It’s fine. I’ll talk to him; I’ll be back in a few.”
I stood up, grabbed my phone, walked over to V and gave him a hug, it was kind of a half assed hug because I was still shocked to see him. Thought that I wouldn’t see him ever again. I did notice that he looked older, he looked tired and still looked as sexy as ever; I was still drawn to him physically but I don’t leave a friend on their own to have sex with a man. Or woman.
“Deppgrl. You look beautiful as always. How are you?” V asked me. “I’m surprised to see you. Thought I’d never see you again!”
“Thanks, V. I’m fine; just here with a friend of mine to catch up. I’m shocked as fuck to see you. Didn’t realize that you work here. He and I can get our food wrapped up to go if you’d like.” I offered. “We can leave if my being here makes you feel uncomfortable. How’s the wife?”
“Stay. Sit down and relax. I’ll cook for the both of you. Please let me do this for you,” V said. “It’d be my honor to cook for you again. My wife is is here. She’s fine; we’ve had 2 more kids since you and I last saw each other. She’s helped me so much when I left your brother’s restaurant; she knows about you and I. We worked everything out though it was hard but it made our marriage that much better. Since you, I’ve had zero mistresses. My wife knows how in love with you I was, that I still love you and that I always will; she has been doing great by not showing any anger or jealousy but sometimes she unknowingly says something out of jealousy.”
“Wow,” I said. I was a bit surprised that he told her anything at all let alone telling her everything. “I’m so glad that y’all reconciled, became closer to each other and had more kids. You seem more happy than the last time we saw each other.”
V nodded his head in agreement. I knew he was curious with what’s going on with me but 1. It’s not his business 2. I don’t need to cause his marriage any more strain. I’m more likely to AVOID this restaurant in the future now that I know he’s here……nothing against him but I don’t need to relieve the past. V and I hugged again and departed. So happy that conversation over as it was awkward and it was also rude of me to leave C alone for so long.
“Sorry about that, C,” I said. “He wanted to catch up a little bit; he’s still married to the wife, had several more kids, she knows about he and I. Oh! He said that we’re welcome to stay as long as we want to and that he’s cooking for us. I tried to decline and he said something like it was an honor to cook for me again or something like that!”
C asked if I felt anything for V anymore; I said not so much but seeing him again it made me remember why I fell in love with him in the first place but those days are over….he’s happy with his wife and that after tonight, there’s no need for me to be in his life. C nodded.
C and I stayed for a long while; we were eating, drinking and talking about anything and everything under the sun. V came out a few times to see how everything was; we told him that we loved everything and appreciate his cooking for us and sending out ALL this food for us.
Eventually C and I noticed that the restaurant was closing so we paid for everything; V wanted to pay for everything but we declined but we did agree to pay a discounted rate for the food BUT we would pay the full price for the alcoholic drinks we had (alcohol sales are usually what makes the bills higher and brings in more revenue for the restaurant). Both V and the manager agreed.
When the manager came back with my card, she asked if I recognized her. I looked at her again and studied her face. I was honest with her and said that she looked familiar but I just couldn’t place her name nor how I know her; she told us her name and that she’s V’s wife. Fuck fuck fuck fuckity fuck. This was embarrassing; the former mistress meeting the wife.
I opened my mouth to apologize like crazy to her but she waved her hand to signal that she didn’t want nor need the apology. Instead, she grabbed my hands to get me out of the chair and gave me the biggest and tightest bear hug. I was utterly shocked and surprised by this. Clearly, V was with the best woman ever.
Wifey was whispering that she’s forgiven me a long time ago, she now has a better version of her husband and that she tries so incredibly hard to not be angry at me or jealous of me but sometimes it happens because it still stings on occasion. She said she has nothing but love for me - the other woman who loved her husband as much as she does - and that I helped change his life for the better.
We let go of the other and looked for the guys; they were both passed out sitting on the chairs. We giggled and went over to wake them up. V and his wife were concerned that both C and I had a very long ways to go to our homes AND because we’ve had too much to drink. I told them that earlier in the night - because C and I drank too much - I ended up booking a room at the hotel across the street and that we'd order a vehicle to drive us over. V and his wife offered to drive us there; we agreed as it was cold, windy and raining.
It took only a few minutes to get to the hotel. They parked their car, they said that they knew the owner (a relative of theirs) and they knew the entire staff so they’d come in with us to check in to say hi to the staff. Both C and I wanted to roll our eyes but decided against it so we just followed them in.
By the time we got in and caught up with them at check in desk, I provided my ID and credit card. The gentlemen working said that since C and I are friends of V and the wife, that we’re both more than welcome to stay at any time; when we did and had our identities verified by ID, we’d automatically get upgraded to a better room and we’d only pay half the cost of a regular room. We were so shocked and so thankful, we didn’t know what to say or do.
When we were finally able to pick up our jaws from the floor and thanked everyone, we were told that this would apply to ALL of the company’s hotels as well as the sister hotels…..world wide. Again, we were floored by the kindness of the hotel; I made a mental note to check my credit card balance in a few days to see what the final charge was.
We said good night to V and his wife, the gentleman at the check in counter gave us toothbrushes, toothpaste, contact lens supplies, deodorant and thick, fuzzy robes for the room and phone chargers; we looked at each other, thanked him and accepted the room card from him. We took the elevator up to the 15th floor where the suites were; the room was AMAZING! It was slightly larger than my apartment, great views out of the windows and super comfortable bedding…there was even a small washer/dryer set in the room. I did notice that there was only ONE bed in the room…at least there was a couch near the bed.
I stripped, put my stuff in the washer, put the food in the fridge, took a shower & put on the robe, took my contacts out, brushed my teeth, grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and went to the bed. I climbed up, took the robe off and slid into bed. C followed my process and when he slid into the bed, I asked if he wanted to share the bed - zero hanky panky - or if he wanted me to sleep on the couch; he looked at me weird and I reminded him that he has a girlfriend. He laughed and said that they’re at the very end of their relationship so it didn’t matter that we shared the bed.
I turned my back to him and immediately fell asleep. He went back to put our things in the small dryer before getting into bed. Sometime during the night, C rolled over and pulled me closer to him so he could be the big spoon; I fell back asleep.
We slept until 10:30 am, showered again, brushed our teeth and got on with finishing getting ready for the day. We went down to check out. As we were leaving, we were reminded that we’ll always get a larger room - either individually or separately - in any of the company’s hotels and in any of the sister hotels world wide. We thanked the staff and headed out, walking across the street to get to our cars.
When we got to our cars, we said good bye and promised that we’d let the other know when we got home….but I never did. When I got home, I put my clothes in a “real” washer and “real” dryer, washed my hands, took out my contacts and went to bed for a nap.
I was woken up by a text from C letting me know he got home and asked if I had as well; I said yes. I thanked him for every from last night and we got off the phone
