This is a story that I’m embarrassed to share, as it is not something that I have done or accomplished myself. It isn’t even something I should feel rewarded about. Yet, for some reason, when I reflect through my life, this is the only moment that stands out.
Quite frankly, I’m hesitant to even tell the story, because it’s just so negative; it makes me look evil. But then again, I wrote about all these other embarrassing things in my life, so I suppose I may as well just share this as well.
Earlier this year, in between February and March, my ex had called me one night at 1:00 am while I was deep asleep. I woke up to the ring of my phone, grabbed it and answered. She told me to pick her up in Downtown. She told me she wanted to come over.
I stumbled out of bed, grabbing any articles of clothing I could find, drove over to around where the Edison Lounge is, and picked her up.
After twenty minutes, she finally came to where I was parked.
She was wasted. I was completely sober. She made fun of how I was dressed. I told her I just woke up not too long ago. She told me how she was so grateful that she could rely on me for anything, that whenever she called, I would always be there. Eventually, we arrived at my house. She came upstairs with me.
We entered my apartment and chatted for a while in the living room. Eventually, we made out. She got on top of me and started bouncing up and down, indicating she wanted to do more than just that. So, I lifted her straight up and carried her over to my bed. After I laid her down, I started to remove her pants. I was pretty excited. It was like a dream come true. I was getting my ex back and I would have everything I ever wanted.
Then, out of nowhere… She started bawling like a little girl who was crying for the first time in her life. She started whining about how she loves this guy who she hasn’t been in a relationship with for that long and how hurt she was that he just left her. She cried and cried some more. She repeated how much she loved him.
I’m not even sure why she cried so much over this guy. She just left a relationship with her ex of five years and didn’t shed a tear for him. She didn’t even shed a tear when she left me. I mean, she almost did, but she held it back. But, I guess none of that really mattered, since at this moment, she just cried away. So, I did what any other guy would do in an awkward situation. I kind of just pet her and wiped away her mascara. Then, she eventually passed out.
So, I didn’t have a clue what I was going to do. I was now wide awake, and this woman was dead asleep in my bed. So, I just took my laptop into the living room and watched The Walking Dead. The best way to get your mind off everything, right?
While I was watching TV, I really thought things over. Seeing her be in love, seeing her be so heartbroken… It was like she was finally able to understand what I had felt, for all those years I had tried to get her back. It was like she was able to understand the pain, the heartbreak, the regret, the suffering, everything I had gone through. Even though it was just, for what I know, one night of crying for her, she was able to feel all my agony. That agony she felt, that pain, that heartbreak…
That moment there… That was definitely the most rewarding experience of my life.
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Originally posted on Quora.
Leonard Kim consults startups and writes books like The Etiquette of Social Media: How to Connect and Respond to Others in the World of Social Media