Girls’ Night Out Gone No-Contact

A few months ago, my colleagues as well as our senior boss went out for a bite to eat to celebrate the promotion of one of said colleagues. As it happens, the day out just happened to fall on my birthday. I’m in my mid-forties, long divorced, and remarried, with children in their early twenties, so it’s not a big celebratory thing. But my boss jokingly asks if I am going to “hit the rooftop clubs” for my day.

Me: “I haven’t gone to a club in twenty years. The last time I went was a situation I’m still reeling from.”

Boss: “Oh? How so?”

Me: “It was supposed to be a girls’ night out. All of us had shown up but one, but she arrived just before we went in… with her brother in tow. The poor man was embarrassed as she had said she was taking him out for an evening of fun since he had moved back to town, and now he’d essentially ‘barged in’ on the girls’ night. He offered to leave, but his sister pitched such a fit that he stayed. We were annoyed but decided to let it go. Since I was not driving that night, I rather enjoyed my alcohol — so much so that I got really, really chummy with the brother. It was embarrassing, really. After the night was over and I was sobering up the next day, one of the other girls told me that the brother and sister had had quite an argument about the whole thing, with my behavior at the top of the gripe list. I felt terrible, but what could I do? As it turns out, the brother and sister went no-contact a few weeks later as she became controlling and bossy.”

Boss: “Okay… That does seem a bit off-putting.”

Me: “I’m not done. Things got really awkward. The sister and I both remained part of the friend group, and she always looked daggers at me. That was awkward enough. But even more awkward is that I ran into the brother afterward, too.”

Boss: “Are you still in touch?”

Me: “Not with the sister. But the brother was a different story.”

Boss: “How?”

Me: “Well… I’m currently raising his daughters.”

Boss: “Wha… I totally did not see that coming.”

It’s a good story, I’ll say. My former husband and I are only moderately in touch since our children are grown now (we both were/are no-contact with his sister), but my husband and I occasionally chat with him and his wife and plan to spend time together when our children enjoy life events. We had a very short and quiet divorce and never had issues in raising our children. He would often joke, though, about how he traded a crazy sister for a good wife.