Most people I know don’t like having unpleasant and unfinished or bad vibes with other people. Perhaps I am lucky because I seldom have them. I do have one. It has been ongoing since 2000. The details aren’t important,and for privacy reasons, names and details won’t be mentioned. I apologized for what happened even though I am not sure that I owe an apology, given my intentions. The apology was not enough for this friend who seemed not be able to forgive. The friendship ended.
I have seen her twice in the last sixteen years. Recently, I found myself wishing for some healing between us. Not necessarily hoping for a rekindling of the friendship, I wished for a clearing, a forgiving. Understanding that it was not up to me, I had no idea if this were even possible.
Airport in Portland
Then it happened. I was at the airport in Portland waiting to take a flight to Los Angeles. I arrived in plenty of time to make my Southwest Airlines flight on time. It seems like many people were taking the same flight as it was hard to find a place to sit down. So, I stood up. The gate next to mine was also packed and I noticed people standing.
Then I saw a woman standing in the gate next to mine. Was that her? I looked away and looked back and realized that I hadn’t seen her more than once in seven and maybe as many as ten years. It seems interesting that we live only two miles from each other and shop at similar stores and yet our paths have not crossed. And here I was at the airport where I seldom see anyone I know personally.
Shocked and Relieved
Still I wasn’t sure. The woman moved in my direction and smiled. It was her. My friend was flying to New York which she did once or twice a year. We hugged. I felt both shock and relief. I have been wanting this for so long and here it was. We talked for a few minutes until it was time for me to board my plane. It was just like old times. There was an understanding, common ideas and ideals. I realized that I had missed her all these years. Yes, we still had chemistry after all these years. She hugged me and told me to “take care.” I didn’t make any attempt to get together with her. As I boarded the airplane, I found myself wondering if whatever brought us together would do so again.
Perhaps more than the “reunion” and hopefully the erasing of hard feelings, was the utter amazement of getting what I wished for just shortly before the “meeting.” Do I need to trust more? Do I need to believe that the seemingly impossible is possible even when I have no idea which path will lead to the outcome?
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