One of my routes to work takes me past a laundromat that has a large, ever changing sign.
It's often used for birthday greetings, apparent inside jokes (Don't fall while bowling, Margaret), and whatnot.
The bagger at Kroger who put her butternut squash on top of the hot dog buns?
Today, it read:
Sarah, please forgive me.
(forgive me for not getting a photo, but I was driving)
So, now I, and anyone else on Lebanon Pike has to wonder - who is the "me" in this equation?
Is it Sarah's mother, who abandoned her at birth?
Sarah's father who was cold and distant during her formative years?
A sibling who was cruel or dismissive?
Her band teacher who said she made the clarinet sound like an "instrument of torture"?
A cheerleading coach who dropped her from the team because she'd heard a rumor that Sarah and one of the tight ends had gotten "in trouble"?
A friend turned enemy who betrayed Sarah in 11th grade by telling anyone who would listen that Sarah didn't know what a BJ was (she didn't, but not the point)?
An ex who should have remembered her birthday?
A doctor who made her wait an hour while she was clad in a paper gown?
A cousin who forced her to go to a Haunted House, causing her murderclown nightmares for years?
Her sorority sister who accidentally caught feelings for Sarah's crush, subsequently causing them to fall in love, marry and produce three beautiful babies?
The professor who gave her essay a zero, believing she had copied it from the internet?
The waitress at IHOP who gave her decaf when she wanted caf?
The barista at Starbucks who gave her caf when she requested decaf?
The woman at the groomer who painted her dog's toenails with glitter polish?
The One Hour Plumber who took three hours past time to call and reschedule?
Trader Joe's, for discontinuing wasabi mayonnaise?
The cute guy she met on Hinge who went out with her once then ghosted her?
The bagger at Kroger who put her butternut squash on top of the hot dog buns?
The colleague who keeps calling her Tara?
The other colleague who leaves the H off her name in most emails?
The rando at Home Depot whose stray cart accidentally hit and dented her car?
The woman at the potluck that assured her that the casserole didn't have sesame seeds in it, but it totally did and Sarah got a rash?
The radio station for playing Wonderful Tonight and getting it stuck in her head for days?
Her lifelong bestie who chose bridesmaid dresses in a very unforgiving gray, making everyone, but especially Sarah look listless and pale?
Her college roommate who ate the last piece of the cake Sarah's grandmother had made for her 21st birthday?
The bank for losing the check she deposited, causing a chain of overdrafts that took a month to fix?
Sonic, for discontinuing the $1 morning drink stop?
The saleslady who asked if Sarah and her mother were sisters?
The saleslady who reminded Sarah she was shopping in the petites section (Sarah herself not being petite)?
The blind date who burst into tears because Sarah ordered a Cobb salad, and his ex grew up in Cobb County?
Her husband who cheated on her at a conference in Milwaukee, contracting chlamydia and then infecting her with it?
The laundromat owner who lost her load of whites?
We may never know why, and we may never know the outcome.
But Sarah, if you're reading this - forgiveness is healing. Cleansing even. Extra rinse cycle.
ae
Comments
And for all we know Sarah's the one who caused Margaret to fall while bowling.