Divorcing Viva

Viva called me to say "hi" while I was "multitasking": watching TV series "The romance of three kingdom", booking the shuttle ticket online for Hao's trip to MN next week, and at the same time, racking my brains to figure out what I should be wearing for my lady's get-together on the coming Sunday.

Coincidentally, it has been exactly a week since Viva's last phone call, when she told me she's getting a divorce out of a blue--it was only 6 months after she got married. (For a second, I thought "does that I mean I don't have to worry about driving 4 hours to her wedding reception any more"). I am not sure whether I was the first one she told this about, but I was touched when she chose to show up in front of my door the next evening, asking me whether she could sleep over. (I felt impressed of myself--thinking of the fact that Viva has tons of friends in town, most of whom are her Childhood buddies, yet she came to me. There must be something about me, I am still wondering:~ ). She looked a little tired and disappointed, but absolutely no desperation or fear in her eyes. I could tell that she even made sure she looked better than usual: black lace top, with black fish-tail skirt and of course her brown high-heeled party shoes. No matter what reason she is getting divorce for, I am very happy to know that my friend is not a coward: however sad something is, once it happened, the best thing to do is to accept it, hold your chin up and look into the future.

As soon as I told her I could spare my sofa as well as a pillow and a blanket for her for the night, she wasted no time to put on her sleeping wear and sank into the sofa --the way she made herself at home in my apartment.

In the three hours after I fed her with my special spicy chowmein, the incompatibility of my life style and her personality became evident. Whatever reason that brought her to me clearly couldn't last her to bedtime. while I was absorbed into the Internet and my books, she made dozens of phone calls to friends --not crying out for help though, on the contrary, she begged to help prepare for a friend's wedding shower (again, I like that about her, she doesn't overly focus on her own sadness to make other people uncomfortable). At end of 2 hours' efforts, a friend of her came to my building and picked her up.

That was the end of that night, and I was thinking hard to find appropriate things to say to her on the other end of the phone. Before I said anything, she asked "have you decided whether you are coming to my wedding reception next week?" --the last question I expected from her at this moment. and now I do have to feel bad again for not being able to make it to her wedding reception (I am really sorry, but it is 4 hours drive away! ). But I am happy that she and her marriage are happy again.