The Homecoming Disaster

It was supposed to be a huge celebration, my big welcome-back bash after finishing my PhD abroad.

My girlfriend of five years, Sarah, waltzed in fashionably late with some college kid in tow.

The kid, Chad, gave me this smug, sideways grin:

“Dude, you’ve been in grad school forever, right? You gotta be, like, ancient.”

“Aren’t you, like, super old to still be single? Don’t your parents get on your case?”

Then, with a little chuckle, “Oh, wait, I forgot, they, um… they passed away, didn’t they?”

My blood ran cold.

Sarah, usually so sensitive to my feelings, just smiled indulgently, ruffled Chad’s hair, and said, “He’s just a kid, Mark, don’t take it so hard.”

Later, tucked away in a corner of the patio, I saw Chad grab her and kiss her hard, like he owned her:

“Don’t even think about marrying him, babe!”

Sarah, slightly breathless, whispered back, “Ugh, I would never marry that jinx. I just want to be your girl.”

And so I did leave her, as she wished. I married someone else.

Then she flew across the ocean a few days later, hysterical, begging me on her knees:

"Marry me! Please!"

...

At the welcome-back party, Sarah texted saying she’d be a little late.

My buddies all started ribbing me, “She’s probably got some special surprise planned for ya!”

I had a goofy grin plastered on my face, just picturing running to hug her. Three years of long-distance, I was practically losing my mind with missing her.

Two hours later, as the party was winding down, Sarah finally showed.

And she wasn’t alone. Some underclassman was with her.

I froze in my tracks.

Because I saw it then, the ring, my engagement ring, glinting on the college kid’s finger.

My buddies’ eyes popped. They crowded around her, whispering, “What the hell, Sarah? What's he doing here?”

Sarah just shrugged like it was no big deal, “Chad wanted to come, so I brought him.”

Noticing my stare, her face flashed with panic for a second, but then she played it off, “Your ring’s just sitting at home, so I let Chad wear it for a bit. No biggie, right, Mark?”

I just stood there, stunned.

That ring, she used to freak out if anyone even touched it.

Now…

Looking at my girlfriend, it was like I was looking at a total stranger.

Where did the sweet, goofy Sarah go?

Chad took one look at me and tossed the ring on the ground with a sneer:

“I don’t want some old guy’s leftovers!”

The ring bounced a few times and then ended up right in the bonfire.

Sarah didn’t even glance at the ring, she was too busy taking Chad’s hand, “Are you okay? Did you get hurt?”

I felt this knee-jerk reaction to pick it up.

It was like I could hear Sarah, back when I proposed: "Mark, I love you, I swear I’ll love you forever, until the end of time."

My buddies were all watching, so I just stood still.

Didn’t want to look too pathetic.

My face must have looked like crap.

One of my friends hurried over to Chad, “Dude, that’s not cool! You need to apologize to Mark.”

Chad scoffed, “He’s the one who got ...