Congratulations are in order.

I ran across Mike the other day. We went to high school together and I think we got along okay. He was more of a friend of a friend but we pretty much in the same circle. He’s a good guy and I was disappointed to learn that he dropped out three months before we graduated. Three damn months! All he had to do was show up and he would have been good to go. Although, can I really bitch about that fact when he’s currently making good money and has a steady job and I don’t? Good for him on that but that’s not what I want to give congrats for. Actually, he told me that he had just gotten married. Mike? Married? Finally! Okay, okay, that’s sounds totally wrong considering that I’m almost at a loss for words when I hear that fellow classmates are getting married and even having kids. Yet, in his case… “finally” is exactly what comes to mind. See, he had been seeing another Galien student named Sheila. Most of us saw that there was something between those two even when they wouldn’t admit it. When we graduated, we heard that she had pretty much been disowned by her mother for accepting a marriage proposal from Mike. When I left for college, the last thing I heard was that she had moved in with Mike and that the marriage was still on. Then a little while latter, I heard that the wedding was postponed. Then a little while after that, I heard that they split up. When I finally came home last December, I asked Sara if she knew how Mike was doing. I came to believe that Mike and Sheila had gone their separate ways… at least until I saw them.

Just completely out of the blue, Mike says, “I got married today.”

I probably looked like a fish. Imagine mouth open and eyes popped out. I actually did not believe him.

“Are you serious?” I asked. It was an extraordinary coincidence that I would see him on the day of his wedding. Also add the fact that I didn’t see a ring on his finger. “Where’s your ring?” I asked.

“Oh, I don’t wear it. I can’t with my job so it’s at home.”

He said it in such a deadpan way that I still had trouble believing him. Still it was a believable story. He does do mechanical work which does require the removal of jewelry.

“So shouldn’t you be on your honeymoon now?” What the hell was he doing in Niles?

“In about a month…” Apparently, Sheila’s work required her to stick around before she and Mike could go off and enjoy themselves.

“Well then, congratulations to you both.”

When I said that, it probably didn’t seem to be genuine and perhaps it wasn’t. After all, I still couldn’t really believe that they had just gotten married. But really, I do mean it now. Congratulations to you, Mike and Sheila. You have my best wishes for you and your future together.