A Perfect Time to Let Go

"Will you come?"

"Honestly, Maria. We're not exactly friends. I mean, I am your would-be husband's ex-girlfriend. And we didn't exactly separate nicely. You know that."

"Yes. I know that perfectly well. He knows that, too."

"Then why are you doing this? Why do you want me there?"

"Because every single one of our past loves will come--Emmanuel, Davies, Bryan, Jill, Pauline. You see, we want to start our new life together knowing that we have at the very least said goodbye to our past selves. We want everyone to know that we don't hold grudges against them. We want you all to be there because you were--are--parts of our lives. We owe you what we've become. And frankly, we've been this good together because of every one of you who's ever left us and told us bad things."

Then she handed me the envelope. I could not believe my eyes and my ears. That had to be the most ridiculous of reasons I had ever heard.

She turned around and walked to the door, leaving me at the counter with rags on my hands and a slightly-open mouth. Before she went out, she turned back to me and smiled.

"And besides, that would be a perfect time to let go, don't you think so?"

That was when I knew what she knew all along.

Photo by: Jimmy Cheng