Sean: so what did you tell him?
Me: well, I told him, “I don’t want you to get the wrong idea and think I still like you. ‘Cause I don’t.”
Sean: ouch!
Me: what?
Sean: that’s mean!
Me: but it’s true.
Sean: still, no one wants to hear that, even if he doesn’t like you anymore either.
Me: oh, I didn’t realize that.
Sean: you need to be nicer.
Me: I guess.

***

Sean: so how was Texas?
Me: quite fun! I visited family in Dallas, went to a conference and spent time with friends in Austin and then visited more family in Houston. I went to a rodeo!
Sean: fun.
Me: yeah, I wish I could’ve spent more time in Austin. But you know what I noticed?
Sean: what?
Me: there weren’t too many attractive guys there. At least guys I found attractive. I told that to my friend, John, while we were in a club.
Sean: you said that to him?
Me: yeah, and he pretended to be all hurt.
Sean: Cindy, have you ever heard the phrase, “present company excluded”?
Me: yeah.
Sean: that’s when you use it!
Me: I know, I was gonna say that, but I just forgot.
Sean: you need to be nicer.
Me: okay.

***

Later that evening we watched The Big Bang Theory a show about physics graduate students. The more sociable of the two roommates scolds the other on being nice and not bluntly telling their cute neighbor that she can’t sing.

Sean turns to me and says, “Cindy, that’s you. And I’m the roommate trying to teach him how to behave.”

“Ouch.”

***

Happy 31st birthday, Sean!