Saturday, February 8^th, 2020

Honestly

“You don’t like me very much,” Rudy said to me.

How to answer? On the one hand, I didn’t like him. People who talk too much without listening, and drama kings/queens tended to be my least favorite people. Rudy was both.

On the other hand, I was gaining a new respect for him. He was trying to stand up for himself. He’d given up alcohol, the one thing he had turned to for comfort. I admired his loyalty to MaryJo.  Knowing his father and stepbrother had made his life miserable, I understood his pufferfish defensiveness.

Before I could answer he said, “It’s Ok. I don’t like me very much either.”  It was like watching the pufferfish deflate, not back to normal size, but to a flattened, lifeless, sad version of itself.

Twelve Step programs stress rigorous honesty. Lie about little things and before long you’ll be lying to yourself about big things, like why you’re holding onto the painkillers from a surgery you had two years ago. I didn’t want to lie to Rudy.

“There are things I’m learning to like about you,” I said, “but I’m not sure you should worry about my opinion.”

Today I will try to find something to like about someone I don’t.

2020 Vision ©2017 by Ken Montrose

2020 Vision is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and anyone you might know is purely coincidental.

Other works by Ken Montrose are available at: www.greenbriartraining.com https://www.pinterest.com/kenmontrose/mt-rose/