like we've opened up the door

She could feel the aloneness in her gut like a punch. She sat back in her chair, and the room felt empty even though her indifferent husband was seated nearby.

She realized that her days had become a series of mundane activities, centered around keeping the house tidy and stocked with food.  She hardly ever went anywhere except to the grocery store, and she couldn't quite figure out where the rest of her time went each day.

But who was she kidding.  She knew she wasted hours on facebook, lurking through overused memes, political rants, and gossip - rarely engaging in any of it herself, just spectating. This is what her life had become, and she accepted that it was her own fault.

Then one day, a private message. She didn't even know what the feature was at first and it scared her a little. 

"Am I being hacked?!", she wondered. 

Reluctantly, she clicked the message open. It claimed to be Bill, a boy she'd grown up with, who was now a facebook friend. She hadn't seen  him since high school in the 1960's, he being a couple years older.

All the girls had crushed on Bill. He was attractive, outgoing, and athletic and subsequently very popular. She herself was quite shy and tended to blend in to the background. But she knew Bill from her time spent working with him at the local Dairy Queen during summer breaks.  

Her friends back then would tell her how lucky she was to know and work with Bill.  She would blush and say how he just treated her like a little sister, that was all.  But it was better than nothing.

Many years later, social media became a thing and Bill showed up as a friend "suggestion". She'd nervously sent the request, and to her delight and relief, he accepted. 

But they never really engaged much one-on-one. She would often see photos of Bill on lavish vacations with his pretty wife or updates regarding his successful adult children. His profile listed him as retired from a prestigious financial firm. None of it was surprising, she knew Bill would achieve whatever he attempted.

What could this message be?  Probably a mistake... or more likely, a scam praying on an naive elderly woman.

"Hey there, Sadie", the message began. "I've been meaning to get in touch with you..."

And that's how it started.  Over the next couple of weeks, Bill and Sadie messaged each other back and forth. Bill told of his wife's sad decline and eventual death from a massive stroke about a year prior.  He hadn't shared any of that on social media, always wanting to project a happy fulfilled life.

But in truth, he was a sad man in his retirement. True, he had wonderful relationships with his children, but they had their own families now and lived spread far and wide.  Always so outgoing and friendly, he struggled with so much isolated free time.

And then, the clincher. He confessed to having a bit of a crush on Sadie in their Dairy Queen days. He didn't pursue it since they worked together, plus he knew he'd move away from their hometown to attend university while she was still in high school.  It wouldn't have worked out.

He was so happy to receive Sadie's friend request on facebook, but since she was married, he didn't want to make any waves.  It was one particularly lonely night when he'd sent the private message...

Long story short, Sadie saw the light. Over the course of a few months, she divorced  her  ungrateful husband and settled the assets - much of which she'd inherited from her parents, who'd never particularly liked her husband.  She got a beauty makeover that included a whole new wardrobe and new hairstyle and dye job.

Lastly, she got herself a sporty little Miata convertible. And her transformation was complete.

She and Bill currently reside happily just around the corner from me

...or something kind of like that or not at all. 

_________________________________________________________________________

Yeah, so yesterday, on my way to work, I rode past a cute little Miata convertible that I'm quite sure is the Miata convertible that nearly ran me over a couple of weeks ago during the intersection incident.

Same color scheme, same temporary plates.

Coming home later, I saw this smiling olderish couple, hand-in-hand, out enjoying an early evening stroll.  

They headed toward the Miata house, and I realized the woman was likely Miata woman of the intersection incident.

Clearly she was overly giddy that day, rushing to her first in-person meet up with Bill after all those years.  Stop signs and traffic lanes be damned!

I honestly have no idea who these people are, but I'm going with "Bill and Sadie around the corner". 

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Linking up this week with Mama Kat for the prompt:

2. Write a blog post inspired by the word: time.