This past Saturday morning I decided that I would spend the day as Monica, having no commitments scheduled. After some shopping in a nearby town, I called a friend who is an occasional partner in crime when going out dressed. Turns out she was in a nearby market food court having lunch. We agreed to meet there and soon I was sitting down to join her. We were enjoying a great conversation when, suddenly, out of the corner of my eye I saw a coworker at a nearby check out line. I have known this coworker for at least a decade and we get along very well. That said, she knows nothing about Monica. I tried to remain cool and collected despite the fact that coworker woman was about 15 feet away from our table. I tried not to look at her directly but was honestly terrified that she would either recognize me or just happen to know my friend at the table. After about two minutes that felt like an hour,.my coworker pushed her cart right past our table, nodded and smiled at us and walked out the door completely oblivious to me. Now, I am a big proponent of the theory that people are so self-absorbed that they will not notice you 9.9 out of 10 times. I have proven this theory in the past. However, I have to admit that when you're living it in real time, it is terrifying. The relief I felt afterwards was quite a rush. This morning I saw her at the office and she told me all about her fabulous weekend, none the wiser.
