A Jolly Happy Divorce

It was one of those mornings when, whether I wished it nor not, a mere acquaintance decided to sit at my table in the cafe even when there were several other tables available. "let's have a little chat. We haven't done that for a while, have we?" She cheerfully announced and already sitting down. For the next 3 quarters or so of an hour she was the one that did most of the talking, mainly to inform me that a young couple we both knew had divorced, less than a year after the happy wedding. I made the right noises of surprise and commiseration, while trying hard to recall who that young couple were. Another few minutes later I was enlightened by my table companion that they were introduced to me one day when all of them were sitting at a table in the terraza of the cafe last summer. This was several months ago.

I was therefore mighty surprised this morning to see this couple sitting again in the terraza, by themselves, while I looked on from indoors of the same cafe. Their heads were practically glued together; his one hand round her shoulder and the other was holding hers on her lap. They were chattering, smiling, occasionally gazing into each other's eyes, a typical image of lovebirds in their honeymoon than having been divorced for the good part of a year.

On my way out and passing their table - well okay, I did take a bit of a round about way to just 'happen' to pass their table - and I nodded, smiled, and said "hello". They recognised me at once (always easier for others to remember me, being the only Chinese round here, although most people knowing me for the first time would insist I don't at all look Chinese) and invited me to have a coffee with them. I gladly accepted. All right, you guessed it. You know I would.

I was again surprised that they are still married, not remarried, nor had ever been divorced. At least that's how I deducted from the way they talked about their happy life together, all sounded like smoothy sailing in blessed fine weather. Naturally I never mentioned or even hinted what I had heard. .

Why this other acquaintance of mine would have told me such a silly tale? It beats me. The only likely conclusion would be that, like most rumours, when it's passed on to a third or fourth person, the true version of whatever story would have become a totally different one. It might have started by someone saying the husband was away (on business) and the wife had gone to stay with her mother (rather than being alone), which would have been enough for the story of a break-up.

On the next and the third round the whole sequence would have become a proper tragedy in the mouths and imaginations of those who thrive on juicy or sensational gossips, each retelling the story would have added just a tiny little bit of his or her version, you know, like Add-0ns, to create yet more sensation.

You know the type of people I talk about, right? Bet you even know a few of them yourself.

Tags:gossip,divorce,lovebirds

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