Pouring Him A Scold One

I recently texted a girl I used to date about a year ago. I was going to be in her town, so I wrote something to the effect of "Hey, cutie...will be in your neighborhood Saturday. Want to get together for a drink?" I didn't realize she had a new boyfriend, whom she was with when I texted. He saw the text and flipped out, as did she, calling me and accusing me of almost breaking up her relationship. I apologized, but she kept going on about it and made me feel really guilty. In retrospect, I'd like to know what I did that was so wrong.

--Space Invader

It's not like you said, "Hey, cutie, let's get freaky...and if this is being read by a boyfriend, I'm just her grandma, and Freaky is my cat we need to pick up from the vet." The fact that her current boyfriend went all apey over your friendly drinks invitation isn't reason to treat you like you waited till Game 7 of the World Series and sexted her on the Jumbotron. As for your apology, when a woman starts shrieking at you, it's tempting to say you're sorry first and then figure out what, if anything, you did wrong. But think about it: What could possibly be your error here? Failure to install the latest OS on your crystal ball? Ignoring that "check engine" light in your third eye? If your text did "almost" break up her relationship, that's on her -- for making her personal electronic device a public one and for lacking the verbal chops to put an entirely clean message from you into perspective. As for putting her little explosion into perspective, think of it the way you would a conversation with the wild-eyed guy at the bus stop who claims he's getting messages from the aliens in his dental work. (I'm guessing your response wouldn't be running home to clear your lawn so they can use it as a landing pad.) Perhaps just view this incident as a cautionary tale -- a reminder that your next girlfriend should have not only the capacity for reason but an interest in using her brain as more than a sort of highway rest area for her hair.