Crystal

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I used to know this girl named Crystal, who was a friend of a girlfriend back in the day. For some reason she crossed my mind recently. On Fridays and Saturdays we’d hang out with my girlfriend at the time’s circle of friends, and Crystal appeared in that group near the end of our relationship. Kind of like when a new character is introduced in the last season of a TV show, she just sort of showed up near the end.

Crystal didn’t like me and was pretty open about it. She’d say to my girlfriend, right in front of me, “You can do so much better than him.” I’m not sure why she disliked me so much, and as for doing better, granted, I was no Brad Pitt, but I was a decent enough guy, albeit with faults. Crystal had a boyfriend, and he too was no Brad Pitt, so I don’t know who she was to judge. And as for him being a decent enough guy: pin in that.

Even though she was always openly critical of me, I never said anything about it, and just rolled with it. I’m not really sure why. I was always nice to her despite it all. One day, my girlfriend, Crystal, and Crystal’s boyfriend had plans to go to an amusement park. I wondered how much time would be spent enjoying rides versus Crystal telling my girlfriend to find someone better than me.

Not too long after that, she did indeed break up with me, though I don’t know how much, if any, of what Crystal was saying had any affect on that decision, and it doesn’t matter anyway. I moved on, met someone new, and had a kid.

Three years after the breakup, I ran into Crystal early one Sunday morning while doing my grocery shopping. I’d been married a little over a year at that point. Again, for whatever reason, despite how she’d treated me, I was nice, and I said hello and asked her how she was doing. She was visibly unhappy. She explained that she’d married that boyfriend of hers, had a baby with him, and then he cheated on her and left her. I felt bad for her. Remembering it all now, I still do. She looked so sad, borderline upset. I expressed my sympathies for what she’d been through.

At this point, some people would gloat, or talk about karma, or whatever, but I never felt like doing any of that — back then or now — just like I never felt the need to defend myself against her criticism. In hindsight, the former is good, the latter not so much.

I’m not sure why she crossed my mind recently. As I mentioned in a recent post, I’ve been very reflective lately. I’m not sure I ever knew Crystal’s last name and wouldn’t know how to even do a Google search for her. But I hope she’s doing well. Hopefully she met someone better. Hopefully that was the worst things ever got for her and she’s had a happier life since then.

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