Prompt: “A Friend”
Again with “one?”
OK, I do have one friend who feels like home, who I’ve known since we were 14, since the summer between 8th and 9th grades.
We had both been cheerleaders at different middle schools and had been selected to cheer together on the freshman squad at the high school. Even though the city wasn’t that big, we didn’t know each other. Kids’ social circles are larger now because of social media. Back then, you could talk on the phone, or you had to physically cross invisible town lines and meet face to face to get to know each other.
One day, I got a call from this stranger that went something like this: “Hi! This is Kris (last name). I was thinking that since we’re going to be cheering together this year, we might want to get to know each other a little bit.” We chatted a long time and found out we had lots in common, including church-going, which wasn’t all that common. The more we talked, the more her sweet personality came across, and the safer I began to feel about this new friend. Before long, we were visiting each other’s homes, “laying out” in the sun, getting lunch together. She had a pool that I was blessed to enjoy. When she came to my house, she often fell asleep on my mom’s couch with a frequency that caused it to become a joke. I was so glad she felt comfortable around me and my house, my parents!
We were physical opposites, almost. She was a beautiful brunette with big dark eyes and the whitest teeth. She smiled easily and despite her beauty, she was very down to earth, maybe even a little insecure about the beauty that everyone else saw. We shared secrets, shared feelings about people and events, shared apprehensions about the year ahead, shared feelings about certain boys. We hit it off completely.
I have always loved her with all my heart and been 100% on her side whatever the circumstance. I don’t have a biological sister, but I have her still. I also have a full box of notes she passed to me in high school between classes. They are priceless to me.
I named one of my daughters after her.
We are both 60 years old now. We text frequently, meet every few weeks for lunch that lasts a couple of hours. She was there for me when my mom had dementia. Well, there hasn’t been a time she wasn’t there for me. We’ve never had an argument or falling out. Never. To know her is to know why.
She’s in Florida right now on vacation. I’m so happy she’s getting away with family and enjoying the sun. But I’ll be glad when she returns. We’ll have a bunch to catch up on.
Grateful? I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve whispered, “Thank You for Kris,” “Please bless Kris,” “Please watch over Kris,” over the last 46 years. Her constancy, loyalty, understanding and encouragement have gotten me through very tough times. She’s heard things from me I’ve never shared with anyone else. I said she feels like home. We started out as children together, I’d say, even at 14. I can’t bear the thought of losing her.
I don’t know when/if she will ever read this, but none of this is new to to her. She knows it all. Only now I have it written down, this solid friendship, so that there’s always a record of it–a note or story about a phone call that impacted both of us for life. Yes, I am so grateful for that phone call and the hundreds that followed. For every hour I’ve spent with my best friend, I am inexpressibly beyond grateful. I love you, Kris!
*Sophomore year
One Hoosier Life 