Well, THAT was a weird experience
My phone just rang, and the voice on the other end said, "This is [Joe]." I said, "Joe...?" "Joe [Smith]." It was the 22 y/o son of my last ex (who wasn't an alcoholic, but was a compulsive liar and emotionally manipulative/abusive). My ex had a lot of health problems, and I was kinda bracing myself for the news that he had died or something.
I last heard from the ex himself in a nasty phone message where he was unhappy with the amount of money he got for his share of the property we owned together--a property division he had agreed to, BTW. I had broken up with him back in 2005 (though we dated briefly later that year) but I haven't heard a peep from him since 2006. He had two teenaged kids, whom I hadn't seen since we split up. After the nasty phone message I told him I didn't want to hear from him unless it was through my lawyer. He sent one letter to my lawyer "demanding" more money, which she politely refused and we haven't heard a thing from him since. It's been quite peaceful that way.
Anyway, it turns out the son (now 22) got himself into a minor legal scrape (accused of DV, though it sounds as if he is the one who was attacked, he has witnesses, and the kid was never prone to lying). He called me because he wasn't sure what to do or how to proceed. He knew I couldn't give him legal advice, but I talked it through with him, told him to get a lawyer (he's got a lot to lose with even a minor DV conviction on his record). Assuming he's telling me the truth, he should be OK. We chatted a bit afterward, and he asked how I was doing. I was as vague as possible, told him I was doing fine, told him my kids (with whom he spent a few vacations) were doing good, he told me how his sister was doing. I didn't ask about his dad, and he didn't volunteer any information.
So I'm pretty pleased with how I handled it, but lemme tell ya, it took a few minutes for my heart to slow down once I realized who was on the phone.
So weird that just a minor reminder like that can get our emotions going.
I just needed to share this with somebody.