When the first messages came through, on Facebook, in private, it had been 23 years since we’d spoken.

He had a reputation then. Had even flirted with me while dating my roommate. But still, people change, don’t they?

The first few messages were innocent enough. Something about a long-time crush.

Then so sympathetic about my dead dog. There could have been no softer spot for entry. He remembered the way I blushed during a critique of my work as an 18-year-old art student showing her raw and angry paintings for the first time. 

~

I Should Have Known was published in The Seven Secrets to the Perfect Personal Essay.