The 3-hour lunch that felt like a lie I couldnt keep up anymore

Last Tuesday my sister flew in from Denver and we grabbed tacos at that place on 5th. I laughed at her jokes, asked about her kid, even ordered the same horchata she liked. But inside I was counting down the minutes to when I could go home and just stare at the ceiling. She kept saying I seemed 'lighter' and I almost corrected her but instead I just smiled harder. Has anyone else had a good time they were faking so hard it drained them for two days after?

2 comments

2 Comments

ryan_shah381mo ago

Dreading the part where you have to keep the mask on so nobody worries about you. I read somewhere that emotional masking takes way more energy than people realize, like your brain is running a full background process just to keep the smile in place. Two days of recovery sounds about right, honestly. That horchata detail hit me because it's those tiny performative things that make it worse, you know? Next time maybe just tell her you're tired and let the silence sit there. It won't kill the relationship, but pretending it's fine might.

daniel1401mo ago

...wait, horchata? Like the rice drink? She brought you horchata and you still had to fake it through that whole conversation? Ngl that would break me too, that's such a specific little act of caring and you're just sitting there dying inside.