It wasn’t even a double-take. Maybe a triple- or quadruple-take. It took a few minutes to convince myself I was actually seeing you.
When you first left I would think I saw you constantly, everywhere. Even though I knew you’d moved a ways away, my cruel brain would trick me into thinking I saw you. Over time it dwindled to once or twice a day, then a couple times a week, then once a month or so.
Now it had been years since we’d been together, and while I’d still see you all the time, I’d gotten it down to where it was mostly just when I closed my eyes.
But this time it was you. Really you. You were sitting not 20 feet away at a table near the bar. Even if I wouldn’t believe my eyes, I could hear your laugh. I’d recognize your laugh anywhere.
You were sitting with some friends, drinking and talking. I guess you’d come in town to catch up, or maybe one of them was having a baby shower or something. I recognized a couple of them, definitely old friends of yours. If I tried I’d probably remember their names, but to be honest I didn’t give a fuck about them. I couldn’t take my eyes off you.