I Waved Back at a Stranger for a Full Block

I am a friendly person, which is the root of most of my problems. I was walking to work down the main street of our small town, and across the road a man raised his arm and waved at me, big and cheerful.

I did not recognize him, but I did not want to be rude, so I waved back. He kept waving. So I kept waving. We waved at each other, warmly, for most of a block, me growing more and more certain that this was someone I should absolutely remember and increasingly panicked that I did not.

I was composing a friendly "great to see you!" that would cover the fact that I had no idea who he was, when a bus pulled up to the stop just behind my shoulder and its doors hissed open. The man jogged across the street, past me, without a glance, and threw his arms around a woman stepping off the bus. His wife, home from a trip, judging by the suitcase and the way he spun her around.