I was recently talking to an acquaintance who was on her way to meet a friend for lunch. This woman and her friend were close in high school around twenty years ago but only see each other every couple of years now, even though they live less than thirty miles apart. The woman I was chatting with was giving me a few reasons why she thought the lunch was going to be a chore: her old friend has some undesirable qualities–what they are isn’t important to the story–that tainted their get-togethers. I asked her, “Why are you meeting this woman for lunch? She sounds completely annoying and rude.” She answered,…
