Urban Legend

I was late. 
So, of course, this meant my ex-boyfriend Ben was there. 
My friends had texted earlier, asking if I was interested in going bowling.  I'm an okay bowler, but the only time I ever go is when this group of friends calls me.  So I said yes. 
I wasn't expecting to be late, but, among other things, it took me longer to get ready.  At the last minute, I decided to put some makeup on.  And now, standing in front of my ex-boyfriend, I was grateful I had. 
Ben and I dated what seems like a Millennium ago, but was really more like seven or eight years ago.  We had both gone on to separate schools and he had recently gotten married. Shannon, his new wife, was there too. 
Ben and I talked.  He was amicable, which was not always true in my memory.  He asked where I had gone to school.  He asked if I had dated a particular school mate.  I had, but it had ended three and a half years ago, and I told him so.  I was surprised that anyone had heard about it. 
"Well, everyone talked about it."
My stomach fell a little.  I didn't really want everyone to be talking about it.  Part of me wanted to forget about, and I certainly didn't like the idea of everyone else talking about it. 
Since I had seen Adam about a month ago, I knew that Ben was living in North Carolina, working as a teacher.  He said he was just up for a visit. 
"You're teaching history then?" I said.  He had always loved history. 
"Well, more like social studies.  I'm teaching fourth grade."
Oh.  I was surprised to hear that, as Ben had never really liked children.  He had once told me that he knew the two of us were going to be teachers, but that he would teach high school and I would be a professor.  Sometimes I think the predication is going to turn out right, other times I think it's going to be wrong.  I didn't voice my surprise. 
I congratulated him on getting married to Shannon, and was about to turn to greet her, but she went off to bowl.  She looked the same as she always had.  I was grateful that I looked passable. 
And then I ended the conversation.  I figured that Ben and Shannon wanted to get back to what they were doing, and they didn't want to interrupted by me.  
I sat down with my friends.  We got talking about a conversation we had the night before, about a man that was an urban legend, but that I was certain was very real.  One of Madison's college friends has an encounter with him, and I told her all about the stories I had heard over the years. 
"I want to find this guy," Madison said.
"I don't.  This guy apparently used a shotgun on himself and missed.  I don't want to know what kind of damage he could do if he was aiming it at someone else," I said.
Tori asked after my Grandma, which was very sweet.  I asked her about her cousin, who is coming all the way from Italy to visit her and her family.  (We are thinking of hanging out with him a little, just so he can hang with some people closer to his age.)  
We got talking about other things.  Eventually, Ben and Shannon and the rest of their party left. 

Mauled

My Dad has this thing were he likes to go and walk around the Mall.  As someone who likes walks, this appeals to me.  As someone who doesn't like shopping, it's location does not.  But I decided I needed to get out today, so I went. 
It's been a really long time since I've been to the Mall.  I've been living elsewhere and when I am around, I'm usually too busy to even think about something like this.  The place hasn't changed much, honestly, but in the bad economy, a lot of stores have closed down.  It was kind of sad.  There were whole blocks of nothing. 
While we were walking about, my Dad noticed a sign advertising new aluminum-free deodorant at the Body Shop.  I've mentioned before that I'm on the hunt for aluminum-free products, the first one being deodorant.  Jennifer already pointed me to a place that sells some, and I like it so far.  It's good to know there are other options out there.  The guy was really shocked to see me so enthusiastic about the stuff.  Once you've read the research, you will be too, trust me.
I also hit up my favorite store at the Mall: Hot Topic.
I know that a lot of people like to hate on Hot Topic.  I can understand that, on the outside, it might look like a terrible thing.  But when I was a young girl and discovering my Goth-i-ness, Hot Topic was the only store I could go to for the things that were close to what I wanted for self-expression.  When you're only going to be able to buy stuff you save your allowance for and don't have your own car, a place like Hot Topic, which is accessible and relatively cheap, is a Godsend.  And really, most of the stores in Malls across America sell the same basic looks, and they always change based on "what's in" in mainstream fashion.  If you want something different, Hot Topic is one of the few distinctly differently places. 
I also went in to check on one of my friends, who I haven't seen in four years.  He's changed so much.  He has a beard that reminds me of Daniel's.  He's still super hot.  (Why did I not date him when I had the chance?  He's clearly perfect for me.)
He was giving me the scoop on some mutual friends.  Emily graduated.  Jack is awesome and amazing, as I already knew since I saw him six weeks ago.
What surprised me was what he said about Ben and Shannon.  Ben is my ex-boyfriend who I haven't seen in years either.  Not because we had a fight or anything, we just grew apart, and, strangely, not even over our breakup.  (We were really good friends in the two years after the breakup.)  I knew that Ben and Shannon got married this past December. 
What I didn't know was that they had packed up and moved last week for South Carolina.  They both got teaching jobs.  Ben once told me that I would probably end of teaching at the college level and he would probably teach high school.  Now, at the very least, the last part has become completely true.  And of course, I would be happy to teach at a college, but I don't know if that's ever going to work out.  There are no guarantees in life. 
I have mixed feelings about them moving.  On one hand, I'm sad there's no chance of me running into them, since I like them so much.  On the other hand, Ben had this fatalist thing going on when I was younger about how he would never leave our hometown, and he would live here forever, just like countless generations of his family before him.  I'm glad to hear he actually got out of here, even if it's before me.