So, this coworker of mine ends every conversation with laughter. It’s always about work so there really is no reason to laugh. I’m just standing there feeling uncomfortable, so I laugh too. And there we are, both laughing, having no idea why. Good times right?

We are in a meeting today with the whole team and I crack a joke. It’s a funny joke and everyone laughs…except miss inappropriate laughing girl. She sits there in stone faced silence disregarding all the work I’ve put into this relationship.

After the meeting I ask her why she didn’t laugh at my joke. She said she was sorry but she wasn’t really paying attention. Long silence and it gets uncomfortable…so she starts to laugh explaining that her cat was dying. So there we are, uncomfortable and laughing and sharing worry about her cat’s demise.

It’s then that I realize, we have a complicated relationship, and it makes me laugh a little.