Many moons ago, when I was a young, hard partying and naive girl living in New York City, I made a mistake…a big one. I got married. I was only twenty three years old, and far from being in true love, let alone mature enough to get married. But my mind was made up, and anyone that knows me, knows when I want to do something, I do it.

I had a big beautiful wedding on Fifth Avenue in NYC. Family and friends flew in from all over the country and I got hitched. My parents had begged me not to get married, and even offered me a very large sum of money to call it off…Boy, would it be nice to have that money now! I remember my Dad begging me minutes before he walked me down the aisle not to get married. He pleaded with me, he told me what a mistake I was making, and that he would personally tell all 300 guests that the wedding was off. Did I listen? No. Like so many times in my rebellious youth, I didn’t listen. And like so many times before, my parents were right. Very soon after tying the knot, I realized I had made a very BIG mistake. So, I swallowed my pride, called my parents and burst into tears. I admitted to my very costly mistake and begged them to help me. My parents being the wonderful and loving parents they are, hired a great Attorney and worked hard to erase this nightmare from our lives. However, in New York state annulments are far from easy to obtain, so I had to settle for a divorce.

I will be honest, I swept that part of my life under a rug. I didn’t tell people I had been married. In my mind, I convinced myself that my very brief marriage was a mere hiccup, and I had put it behind me. I moved on, and over the next twelve years, I enjoyed life, had a few boyfriends, enjoyed Los Angeles, moved to Miami, fell in true love and had my amazing daughter. Life went on, and I never thought of that nightmare in my life. Unless of course, my Dad was visiting. My Dad, a comedian at heart will never let me live that down. I believe he enjoys torturing me with his reminders as a form of emotional repayment for what I put he and my mother through that year.

So recently, when my family encountered some identity fraud, my sister and I took to the internet for research. We signed up for Beenverified.com, which is a background check website, as part of our “research”. As my sister was running potential names of criminals, I was typing in ex boyfriend’s names. While running through the names, I typed in my ex husband’s name…just for kicks. Don’t judge me…I am sure you have checked out your ex on Facebook or Google. Well, did I get the surprise of a lifetime! My “ex husband” (I cringe to even call him that) had also moved to Miami. Even worse, he lived only a few blocks away, in the same building and on the same floor as my Boss! I kid you not. What are the chances of an ex moving only mere feet from you and basically living next door to your Boss? In my case, it seems the odds are quite good.

After catching my breath, calling my family and having a good laugh with my husband, my mind began to race. What if I run into him? I can guarantee you, the “run-in” would be far from pleasant, very uncomfortable at the least. Do I now need to disguise myself when visiting my Boss and his wife? Must I scan my surroundings when dining on Lincoln Road or shopping with my Lola? My answer is YES. So, for now, I will definitely keep my eyes open, and will be ready to head the other way, should I be so unlucky to run into my past. Whoever said your past doesn’t followed you…Lied!