Coworker by Frozen Peas as Doors Opened Into Kitchen

Coworker by Frozen Peas as Doors Opened Into Kitchen

I was at the grocery store near work, still in my office polo, looking for pasta. The aisles kept looping back to produce. I turned a corner and my old coworker from the last job was there, the one I used to get coffee with. He felt like my partner too, same laugh, wrong face. We started talking like it was normal, standing too close by the frozen peas. I kept thinking I needed to text home that I’d be late, but my phone was my house keys. Then my actual partner walked in with a cart, waving, and I panicked and pretended I was just asking about a sale. He smiled like he already knew. I tried to leave through the front doors but they opened into our kitchen. I woke up guilty and weirdly sad.