Pancakes

We'd been living in Rutherford, NJ for a little over a year when a pancake house opened on Park Ave ..  Great news for a stay at home mom. Even if she was already well aware that she was married to a dead beat that was heavily entrenched in the gambling world of the upper east side mob of manhattan. It meant something to do on weekday mornings, woooooopeeee!
We decided to give it a week or two before heading down there for breakfast- give them time to work out the kinks. 
We were well versed at the kinks of a new business, and didn't want to judge this potentially new "regualar" place of ours too soon.
So, one Sunday, we head out for pancakes.
All good in the hood. The pancakes are just that.. pancakes. The bacon could be crispier, but couldn't it always be?  So we pack up the strollers and head back up Park Ave for a stroll to the homestead....
Out of the blue, a couple stopped us outside another restaurant in town and asked us if we just ate at the pancake house, and asked what we thought of it...
They introduced themselves as a couple that had just moved here from Manhattan (JUST. LIKE. US.)
They were still on the hunt for decent places to go, now that they had a son of their own.

Off the bat, She asks for my cell number-- we could do playdates and/or coffee... He strikes up a conversation w the hubby.   Call me socially anxious, but I threw a flag.

I immedeately feel like they must be working with the mob, and are trying to infultrate.  No joke. This is where my brain was at this point in the game. I was all, "yeah, sure here's my cell phone, you lunatic!!" what was I just born yesterday?" Sure, I just rolled in off the first flight from Ohio... what else do ya wanna know about me? please.

Soooo, I didn't give her my number. I was extrememly guarded at all times about me and my kids and our identities.

Close to Christmas time this year, I had gotten in touch with my childhood bff, A on facebook.  We had lost touch at some point during highschool, and then her family moved to Florida.
It was great to get back in touch with A. 

She was back in the tri-state, and looking to get back in touch.

It sucked when I had to send her an email that said something to the effect of:

Dear A,    I am so happy to have gotten back in touch with you after all these years!  Your family is beautiful, and your boys actually look like they could be my guys' brothers! 
In reguards to your invite to get together, I am sorry to say, I am going through a really crazy time in my life right now.  I am preparing to leave my husband, who is involved with some dangerous people. Because of this, I am just trying to avoid friendships with anyone I care about... in order to keep myself from having to worry about anyone more than just me and the boys at this time. I hope we meet up again someday, and I hope you're not too freaked out by this letter :/  Love, JT.