As the only one who spoke English, I hovered near the guy at
the end of the bar, despite his near silence. Then, finally, he spoke.
“What’s German for ‘Inverse’?”
“Umgekehrt.”
“Umgekehrt-schadenfreude
a word?”
“Not really…”
“Well, is there a word
then, when the perfect girl, a woman who you could love forever, is getting
married…”
He paused to drink.
“To a jerk?” I offered.
“No, to your best
friend, who you love, and they love each other, and you are happy for them and
thus you can’t really be upset…”
Twenty-five years
later, we still haven’t found a word.
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