Open Letter To The Heartbroken Guy Behind Me At A Rockford Walgreens

Never in my life did I think I'd be writing something like this.  Certain people come into our lives when we least expect it, this happens to be one of those moments.

This past weekend my new keyboard got delivered to my house and I really wanted to play it right when I got home.  Unfortunately, it took 6 AA batteries and I only had 4.  So, that meant a trip to the Walgreens on 9th Street and E State St in Downtown Rockford.

Little did I know, this ordinary Walgreens visit would be an experience a Rockford stranger would never forget.

I'm standing at the register waiting for the cashier to ring up my batteries and all the snacks I decided to splurge on - that included some MoonPies for my boyfriend.

Behind me, a customer we'll call "Dax", says, "Man, I used to love MoonPies."  With such sadness in his voice, I knew something was up. I tell him they're a nice surprise for my boyfriend and that's when this interaction took a wild turn.

Dax confides in me and says he's 35 and his fiancé just dumped him after 4 amazing years.  He showed me the ring he gave her... it literally looked like a Superbowl Championship ring.

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He wanted to smash it with a hammer because he was so upset, but I told him to keep it or resell it (I mean why not make some money off of it).

I looked down at the counter and noticed Dax was buying a pint of Twix ice cream, a pint of Butterfinger ice cream, and a bunch of candy to drown his sorrows.  At this point, I KNEW he wasn't exaggerating about the breakup.

So, I decided to buy his snacks to make his day a little better.

Then, he gave me the biggest hug ever.  I felt the hurt in that hug.

To Dax, the brokenhearted man in line at Walgreens who let me write this piece, this letter sums up all the things I didn't get to say in the Walgreens parking lot:

I really feel like we were meant to cross paths.

I don't know the reasons your breakup happened, but I'm glad you felt comfortable enough to be vulnerable with me.  That's difficult to do with strangers.

I'm also SO HAPPY you chose to buy ice cream over alcohol.  You could've grabbed the vodka just a few aisles over from the candy and ice cream, but you didn't. 

You'll figure out where to go from here even if you feel sorta lost right now, it's a fresh start - the start of something new!

And that friend you spoke extremely highly of from high school?  She might be a great relationship to pursue, just don't forget to take time for yourself, too!  Self care matters in times like this.

After Dax thanked me for the free snacks and I learned the short version of his love life, I realized this encounter never would've happened if I had all 6 AA batteries at home.  Unfortunately, the cashier forgot to bag my batteries, so maybe the trip was solely to run into Dax?  Life works in very weird ways!