Visit with Manny

I got a call from my cousin's ex-husband Manny, telling me he and his girlfriend were going to be in my area for the weekend, and wanting to know if Spouse & I would like to meet them for dinner on Sat.

My cousin and I were very close until our mid-20s.  That's when she fell in love with Manny, who was not a Jehovah's Witness like us, got pregnant, and was disfellowshipped/ex-communicated.  JWs in good standing are not permitted to associate with those who are disfellowshipped, even if they are family, so I had to shun my cousin.  Some time later my cousin was reinstated and I was happy to once again spend time with her and her new husband, Manny.  But just a few years later is when I decided to 'come out' and leave the JW religion, which resulted in my being disfellowshipped.  That pretty much ended my ability to associate with my cousin.

A couple of years ago my cousin and Manny split up, and I ran into him at a wedding.  He seemed genuinely happy to see me, and I was happy to see him as well.  I always thought of him as a very nice guy; gentle and very laid back.  Pretty much the opposite of my cousin.  We friended each other on facebook.

So it was a pleasant surprise to hear that he was going to be in town over the weekend, and I readily accepted the invitation to join him for dinner.  The conversation flowed easily for the 4 of us.  Since we'd only met his girlfriend once, we learned more about her.  She is a yoga instructor and has her own studio.  Manny is a mechanic who specializes in German cars like Audi, BMW, Mercedes Benz, and Porshe.  They are both in a band that plays local gigs in their area, and since Manny had seen my "Legends" postings on facebook, we talked a lot about music and performing.  We also discussed family, pets, travel, cars, and Spouse's work.

We had a really nice time and I was genuinely surprised to find that 3 hours had elapsed.  Spouse & I invited them to come back and stay with us anytime they wanted a get-away, and they said they would.