They lock eyes.
There’s a feeling of familiarity here.
His eyes start to fall.
Her eyes enlarge.
Who wronged who?
There was a time when they couldn’t last more than 60 seconds without embracing a loving touch.
Whether it was holding hands,
A kiss on the forehead,
Or better yet her hand placed on his thigh to stop the anxious leg bouncing.
But now, everything is different.
This was the first time they’d seen one another in a while.
It had been over a year.
And as she watches his head droop due to shame,
Her head raises due to a newfound confidence.
Oh, how the roles have changed.
Onlookers believe he must have cheated on her.
Hell even she believes it was another woman, or perhaps multiple women.
But the truth was complex.
His shame came from a feeling of inadequacy.
Feelings of not being enough.
And while his fake macho persona fooled the masses,
For her, she called his bluff.
She knew him intimately.
She knew he was enough.
And while she watched him flip deal after deal and become quite lucrative over the years,
She soon realized no matter how many encouraging words she would say,
He would only replay the little three-minute conversation in his own head.
I need more was constantly present.
I want more was the only belief.
I’ll have more was the motivation.
More was never going to be enough.
So, she overstayed her welcome.
She believed if she kept becoming more, he would keep desiring her more.
Loving her more.
Needing her more.
But the more he was searching for would never be found in her.
Would never be found in him.
Would never come to fruition.
For more was merely a fake finish line,
Drawn in pencil that could easily be erased.
She became cold for a long time after they ended.
He became more after the breakup.
So, evidently, he won.
She wanted to see another woman on his arm for the closure she still desperately desired.
He wanted to see another man beside her for the security he needed.
For her, if it was another woman it would all make sense.
For him, if there was another man that stepped up, then the shame he held could be released.
But they both attended this wedding alone.
They both decided there would be no plus-one.
They both looked each other in the eyes with confusion.
And her confidence left.
Her head began to droop.
And his macho persona took over.
His head began to rise.
And as tears started to fill her eyes,
How to become more was the only thought in his head.
She wondered if he ever really loved her.
He wondered if he would ever stop loving her.
She sat at her assigned seat at the reception.
She laughed loudly to hide her insecurities.
She kept looking in his direction, wondering how they got here.
And across the room, he boasted about his more.
He flashed his more.
He kept looking in her direction, wondering what life would be if he allowed her to be his more.
And as the night came to an end.
And there was only one door you could exit from.
They shared one last look with no words.
She told herself “It was another woman.”
He screamed loudly in his head “There was never another woman.”
And they never saw one another again.
