Photo by Joshua Hoehne on Unsplash
Dear Monica,
I received your friend request on Facebook this morning. I have to admit, I was surprised to see it, being that I’m your husband’s former girlfriend and he no longer acknowledges me because of the cowardly and cruel way I introduced the end of our 5-year relationship in an email.
I truly am sorry for that and I wish I’d done things differently. He didn’t deserve that. I have issues, for sure, and I’ve always been lacking skills in the social niceties. Confrontation is like torture for me. But I should have put on big-girl panties and done it face-to-face like any decent person would have. There’s no excuse for me.
I was also surprised by your request because when I’ve seen you at events or around the neighborhood, you seemed never to notice me, although you must know who I am.
Maybe you hold no grudge because if I hadn’t ended it with him, he wouldn’t have been available to you. The two of you seem happy together and I’m glad. He’s a good person from a wonderful family, as you know, and he deserves someone better than me.
Of course, it’s possible that you sent me the request because you don’t know who I am and just friended me because of all the friends we have in common.
Or perhaps you friended me so you can stalk my page for malicious purposes. If I were you, I might do that, too – for curiosity’s sake, if nothing else.
If you really did mean to send the request, I’ll happily accept, and I’ll smile at you when I see you around and I’ll “like” your posts from time to time, and occasionally, I may even think, “That could have been my life.” If only I’d been able to connect with him in a deeper way, as you must have.
Forgive me if I don’t come talk to you next time I see you. It’s not because I don’t want to, it’s because I don’t know how—wouldn’t know what to say, or how to behave. Approach me, if you like, even though I seem unapproachable. Maybe we could even be actual friends one day.
If you didn’t send the friend request—as I suspect is the case—I guess I’m the bearer of the bad news that your account has been hacked and you can disregard this note.
Warmest Regards,
Mary
Mary Senter writes in a cabin in the woods on the shores of Puget Sound. She earned certificates in literary fiction writing from the University of Washington and an M.A. in strategic communication from WSU. Her work can be found or is forthcoming in North American Review, Sheepshead Review, Ponder Review, Cleaver, and elsewhere. She is the graphic designer for Crab Creek Review. Visit her at www.marysenter.com.