u and me

I was already a little nervous about my new job. I was sure I would meet new people and make friends I'd likely keep for a while. I picked a table in the lunch room and said hello to the person sitting there. As we made small-talk I mentioned that I had gotten married the previous year. "Oh congratulations!" he said, "What does your wife do?" I corrected him immediately—it was a harmless mistake. We said more about our families, where we lived; over the years we often stopped to chat whenever our paths crossed. I guess I could have considered it a microaggression then, but I don't. It was an assumption, a mistake. People make those and recover. But for whatever all that's worth, it's still a small moment I remember from my first day. Sometimes small moments foreshadow problems ahead. Thankfully, this time (and in this way), it didn't.Change one fact about me—who I had married (not a choice I'd make, happy anniversary honey!)—and this story could be different. My new coworker knew I…