Last night, I returned from an exhausting and extremely quick Thanksgiving break. On the drive back, my brother took me to Jimmy John's for lunch, an abnormal sub station that makes the sandwich fresh but you do not get to instruct the workers how to make the sandwich as you would in Subway. So, while Ben and I were waiting, patiently, I glanced over to see an easy and absent smile spreading across his face. Ben has three smiles: the polite smile, the I-think-I'm-funny-smile and lastly, the natural smile. The smile softly moving across his face was the natural smile, the most rare of all, and certainly an accomplishment to receive, so I knew this was not just an average text message he was reading.
Nosy as ever, I glanced over at Ben's phone, which he was grasping as if it contained food and water for a lifetime and he was stranded in the wilderness. As I stole a glance, I saw his girlfriend's name in the recipients box. Then I recognized the familiar smile, one that people had accused me of before.
Just days before, I had toured the war memorials in Washington DC with select members of my family but had been wholly involved in my cellular device. My dad noted this and told me to put it down. My uncle recognized it and was frustrated that I was texting rather than listening to his spiels about various futile and frankly, boring information. In that evening, I abandoned my interest in U.S. History, perhaps my favorite subject, disobeyed my dad, disrespected my uncle, and ignored some of those who I have the privilege of seeing only once every few months. And instead of savoring such time, I disposed of it by texting the one guy that is set apart from the rest in my mind, the one that would be titled as a long-running crush.
In films, one sees the actor or actress abdicate all they know to be with their love interest. In The Notebook, we see Allie leave the umbrella she has been raised beneath to be with Noah. Allie deserts her lifestyle of summer mansions for a man who could not afford two pairs of shoes.
The evening I toured the war memorials, a night I would have still enjoyed completely had my phone been left at home, I discarded treasured time with people and exploration of history. Yesterday, as Ben was consumed by his phone, he ignored one of his largest interests, food, giving all his attention to his girlfriend. We resign from what we enjoy involuntarily to our lovers. The oblivious smile and withdrawn happiness are testaments that we are victims of our beloved. You have no clue what you do to me, those in movies and reality feel similarly.
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