Company outing.

So I was at the bookstore on Friday, the day before I found out that I did get my pay raise, and I was talking with this new bookseller named Erica, who went to UGA. It was the first time I'd ever met her.

Erica told me that she went to Dacula High School.

"Oh, I had a friend who went to Dacula," I said.

"Really, who was it?" she asked.

"Ryan ...," I said. "Oh my God, I've forgotten his last name. How could I forget his last name? It's something simple. Simple like Smith, but it's not Smith. It's like Morris, but not that ..."

She told me the name of her friend Ryan, and that Ryan's name and my Ryan's name were the same name.

"Really???" Erica said. "He was one of my best friends in high school."

"Yeah, he was my ex-boyfriend," I said. "I dated him last year."

"I've not seen him in years," she said, then her eyes got huge. "Wait ... RYAN'S GAY???????????????"

"Oh God," I said. "Umm..."

"Ryan's GAY???" she asked me. "We must not be talking about the same guy."

"Oh my God," I said.

She looked sorta baffled.

"Cute kid, he was blond," I said. "He went to Valdosta State. He was studying education. He'd be about 21 now. I dated him when he was 19, and I was 25. I've not seen him in over a year, but I have photos of him."

"I never even thought about it," she said. "I mean, I almost asked him to prom. Are you sure it was him?"

"His birthday was February 2," I said. "Groundhog Day."

"Oh my God," she said. "It is the same guy."

"I know," I said.

So, in my first conversation with my new co-worker, I managed to out myself and out her best friend from high school, a boy she had a crush on.

"I'm sorry," I kept saying. "This is so weird. I'm sorry."