Who does that?!?!

When Walter didn't show up to Anna's birthday party, I was annoyed.  Annoyed the point where I felt that I should just be the bigger person, bring him a slice of cake and tell him to grow up.  So, I did.

Unfortunately for me, that turned into a 9 hour conversation, rehashing every detail of the relationship.  I was going around in circles and am not sure why I didn't just walk out.  What was I thinking?  Who rehashes the entire relationship, down to every detail?

Walter and I were back on speaking terms after that, and eventually he wanted to get back together with me.  No chance.  He wasn't happy with my decision, but that was too bad.  I was fine with being friends, but I was in no place to start dating him again.  And looking back, I'm so glad that I made that decision.  Here are a few snippets from the months that followed...

I made him and his family some Shrikhand (that yoghurt dessert that he likes so much) for Diwali.  Diwali weekend happened to be the weekend we were supposed to have our Indian engagement.  The dessert was a tradition for me to give to friends, and I knew he loved it.  On our way back to Halifax (we were in Toronto for the weekend), he thanked me for the dessert and asked if he could provide some feedback.  Um...sure, I guess... "Well, it was good and we enjoyed it.  But, for me, I felt as though there were too many pistachios and almonds.  Too much on top, for my personal taste", he said.  Who says stuff like that?

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Anna and Peter had started going to weekly trivia night at a local pub. I joined them and Walter graced us with his presence the first week we went.  It wasn't the most amazing trivia, but it was nice to have everyone out together.  Our team was tied with another after the second round and in order to break the tie, a game of rock/paper/scissors was to be played.  As we decided who was going to play for us, Walter had already gotten out of his seat and was off to represent us.  Okay, no problem - it was just rock/paper/scissors, how wrong could it go?  Walter and his opponent discussed whether to show their preferred choice on 3 or after 3.  This took a few minutes and it was decided that it would be after 3 and not on 3.  So off they went.  1..... 2.....Walter shows his sign.   "I thought we were going after 3," his opponent argued.  "Oh ya...okay, ya, after 3," Walter replies.  So they go again.  1...... 2...... Walter shows his sign.  "Oh, sorry - right, after 3," Walter apologizes.  Third time was lucky, thank goodness.  Walter not only got it right and showed his sign after 3, but also won.  Phew.  As we giggled at our table, he came back and issued evil glares to anyone who dared to make fun of him or smile at the situation.  *roll eyes*

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Every opportunity he had, Walter provided me with 'feedback'.  Whether it was too many nuts on the yoghurt dessert dish, too much garlic in another dish, or the preference of jeans over leggings, etc, Walter always had feedback to provide.  He never saw any fault in it and maybe I should have just grown thicker skin.  It's how he was raised - continuous corrections.  It was in his blood.  He was in the military - the lifestyle suited him.  I never figured out if he actually believed it, but he came across as being superior to everyone else.  There was the military protocol, and then everything else.  It was funny.

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After having walked the streets of Paris for the day, we stopped for a bite to eat.  Walter asked if I'd like some hand sanitizer.  "I'd love some," I said, holding my hand out.  He opened the bottle and meticulously placed a drop of hand sanitizer on each of my fingers and thumb, before placing a slightly bigger drop on the palm of my hand.  I couldn't help laughing.  He didn't take kindly to the laughing.  "Why would you use hand sanitizer like that and not just put a blob in the middle of your palm and spread it around," I asked, thinking in my head that that's what most normal people do.
"Because it's more efficient this way," he said.
"And how is this more efficient?" I asked.
"This way you get the sanitizer on the places you use the most when eating - the tips of your fingers," he continued.
"That's not efficiency - you're a lawyer, surely you can come up with a better argument," I joked.
He was not happy and barely spoke to me for the next hour.

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We were walking in the park one day, he was in uniform.  One of the park 'guards' saluted him.  I asked about the protocol behind this and he explained that anyone of a lower rank had to salute someone of a higher rank.  "But," I asked, "what if the person doesn't realize that you are of higher rank or see?"
"I would quietly point it out that I was higher rank," he replied.
"But, what if you're out in a public park such as this one?  I mean, I guess it's fine to point it out for military things, but in a public park like this when you're just walking around?" I continued.
"It's protocol. I would point it out," he said.
Chill out, dude!

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I think the funniest story was one that came to me about a month after I left Halifax.  Walter plays dodgeball.  The team has t-shirts, just like every other community league team out there.  Rumour has it, that Walter took his t-shirt to the tailor to get hemmed because it was too long!  Apparently Walter was endlessly razzed by his team...I have heard a lot of stories, but this last one definitely takes the cake for "Who Does That?????"

Case Closed.  End of story.  Good riddance!