I kept our friends' dinner invitation from someone I was annoyed with
Confessions'Can you tell Leena? She never checks this chat,' our friend wrote while arranging a dinner. I replied, 'Of course.' I didn't tell her.
Leena and I had argued a few days earlier because she'd made a joke about me arriving late. The joke wasn't especially cruel. I was embarrassed, and I thought she was enjoying having the whole table laugh. I didn't tell her that either.
When the dinner invitation came, I let myself think she probably wouldn't want to see me. I also liked the idea of an evening where I wasn't worrying about her next joke. Everyone at dinner assumed she'd been invited and couldn't come. When someone asked, I said, 'I haven't heard from her.' That was literally true in the most dishonest possible way.
Leena has now asked another friend why nobody told her. The friend messaged me: 'You did pass it on, didn't you?'
I need to answer that. I'm also tempted to explain the earlier joke so I don't look pointlessly nasty. But I can already hear how 'I excluded you because you hurt my feelings' might make the apology sound conditional. How do I admit what I did without pretending the resentment has vanished?