Smile Love it May Never Happen

A man once made the mistake of saying this to me.

I’d left work for the day. Walking up a quiet city street, a youngish man wearing nondescript clothing stopped me. “Smile love, it may never happen.” He grinned.

I’d heard this a few times before. For whatever reason, that day, I decided to teach him a lesson.

“How do you know it hasn’t already happened?”

“Eh?”

“How do you know something really bad didn’t happen to me, and I don’t want to smile?”

“Erm…”

“How do you know my best friend didn’t just have an accident? How do you know someone I love, didn’t just die? How do you know my cat, dog, gerbil, rabbit, budgie has run off and I can’t find him/her? How do you know I didn’t just fail an important exam, or been turned down for a job I really wanted? How do you know my girlfriend or boyfriend didn’t just break up with me? How do you know I don’t have depression? How do you know the doctor didn’t just tell me I have a serious illness? How do you know what may have already happened in my life. You are a stranger on the street, telling me to do something I may not feel like doing.”

“Oh heck, I’m sorry.”

“If I felt like smiling, I’d be smiling. That’s for me to decide, not something for you to tell me to do.” I didn’t say it unkindly, but he shifted uncomfortably on his feet, and I felt I might have gone too far.

But no.

“So I don’t suppose you’d like to go for a coffee then?”