i ran into a friend. he shared something with me. it changed everything.

[mopinko]

funny how things happen sometimes. i went to a baseball game tonight with lots of the local politicos. good people, all. i was surprised to see someone from back in the day, when my kids were little. we got caught up, and we talked and joked. it was good to see him. it was getting late, and he said he had to leave. i have to be in court tomorrow, he said. bummer. court for what. i have been battling a scumsucking pedophile for the last 7 years, and hope the judge will award me a half million dollars tomorrow.
what do you say to that, spoken softly, straight at your face, so others do not really hear.
omg. omg. what a mess for you. will you be ok? i have to go home and gather up some bills so that i have proof.
omg seemed to be all i could find.

i think that he accepted my shocked but sorry faces, my understanding, my sorrow for him.

he had to leave. a handshake turned into a hug turned into a kiss on the cheek turned into a hard hug.
oh, dear, please call if there is anything i can do.
but what could that be? nothing, really. maybe just another hug. or maybe just a nod and wink. a secret shared but once.

[Angel]

1. You say the best thing a person can hear

in that situation. I will be available if you want to talk about anything. Give them your number and you hug them. So many go through a situation like that and have no one to talk to.

[jobycom]

2. Just sympathize. Doesn't matter what you say.

He's had to deal with it, he's got help from where he needs it, and if not, he'll let you know. You'd probably just add stress by pushing him for more information or even asking questions about what you can do. That's probably what your instincts were saying, anyway, so you hugged, and nodded, and communicated that way. If he had needed more than the normalcy of the conversation you had, he'd have already turned the conversation that way. Maybe normalcy was exactly what he wanted and needed from you.

Just random thoughts.

[mopinko]

3. that seems about right.

maybe he just to talk about it in a crowded room.
i mostly didn't really say much but holy shit. god damn.
but we were not the hugging kind of friends before, and a hug and a kiss seemed very welcome.