The applause died down, the toast were complete, the couple was seated. I started to make my rounds. in the room, a lot of people I did not know and a lot of people I hadn’t seen in some time. So I made my way through the sea of people, toward the island of familiar faces. Hugs were exchanged, kisses on the cheek, handshakes. The friendships renewed, the relationships intact. I made my way around the table touching all who reached out. Upon completion, I spotted a second table, with an equal amount of familiar faces. I paused, standing with my back to the wall/doors, Anne Marie seated in front of me, I looked down.

I saw not what I expected, instead I saw the skin of my legs. Odd at the time considering that I was wearing pants just one second earlier. But no more. My world entered “bullet time”. Quicker than anyone could have noticed, my arms shot down, my pants were gripped and raised to a comfortable level above my crotch. I was silent, my eyes scanned the room. Had that really happened? Did this tree fall in the woods and if it made a sound, had anybody heard it?

Anne Marie. She had seen it. She starred at me for what felt like a day. She sat silent. Then, an attempt to quantify the fast few seconds, “Did you pants just fall down? They did. Dude!” She laughed, I laughed, both of us more nervous than humored. As far as I know, it was an inside joke that only the two of us experienced. At least I hope so.