We met when we were in grade 9. Two 14 year
olds, with so much in common; including our first names. Yes Kathleen and I
quickly became best friends and dubbed ourselves KathleenSquared. We shared a
lot of life experiences and we shared a social group for most of high school.
We did a lot of typical high school best friend things. We went shopping,
bought matching shirts, took selfies, played the piano and karaoke’d songs. We
went bowling, went to fairs, had sleepovers and attended one another’s parties.
We talked about boys; we coached each other about boys and were there for each
other over MSN, the phone or in person when life threw knocks to our teenage
selves.
A few years ago she went away to a Catholic
University which was quite a distance from where our homes are. That was no
obstacle; we moved from MSN and the land line to cell phones and Facebook. In her second year she started dating a guy
she had met at school. I was more than happy for her, thankful that she had
found a good guy after some of the iffy guys she had been involved with in high
school. In the winter semester of my second year which was the end of her third
and final year she called me one day at 2am to tell me that she was engaged. I
was overjoyed.
A couple months later while she was sleeping
over for a few days she asked me to be a bridesmaid. Naturally I said yes. It
was the very first time I had been asked to be in a wedding. We got to planning
and the date was set for the following summer.
Around the same time she announced that she was going back to school but
this time she was going to BC. Yes, she was going even further away then she
had been before and was also planning a wedding.
Over the course of that year from Ontario to BC
we talked often, with her wedding being a major topic. Being so far away from
each other I think we only saw each other once on Christmas break. If I had
been with her I think I would have known or at least sensed “it”.
“It” did not come to light until May, a few
months before her wedding. I got a phone call one afternoon; it was Kathleen. I
wasn’t expecting her to call. She was crying and the next thing I knew she was
telling me she had broken off her engagement and called off the wedding. I
hadn’t seen it coming. I wished I had. I wished we lived closer together. I
tried to hug her with my words over the phone. I told her I would support her
no matter what happened and I stuck to that.
Life went on, people were really hard on her but
I honestly believe(d) she had made the right decision. Marrying that guy was
not the right thing for her to do. Better to call it off and discover later it
was the right thing rather than go ahead and do it and discover it wasn’t
right. That summer she was back home in Ancaster and I was in Burlington and so
we were able to spend some time together.
During the summer she introduced me to a male
friend of hers. The first day we spent all together we went to Canada’s
Wonderland. I watched them together and I wondered to myself in my all knowing
best friend way if this guy was actually the right one.
Early last fall she called me and told me that
she was dating that guy: I was in no way surprised to hear this and once again
I threw my support behind her as others scoffed at her for dating a guy so soon
after breaking her engagement and wedding. But I just knew it was the right
thing.
At Christmas I saw both of them and became more
assured that this guy was indeed the right guy. As the semester got rolling I had
the itch to travel and spent hours looking at all inclusive vacations, cruises
and Groupon’s. 11 days before Reading Week began I was suddenly struck by the idea
of going to BC to visit Kathleen. I called her and found out she could make it
work for the week so the next thing I knew I was booking flights. I was going
to BC to visit my best friend for Reading Week.
Reading Week is now drawing to a close and I am
back in Ontario. I spent a joyous and beautiful few days with Kathleen and her
hilarious gentleman boyfriend who is skilled in opening two car doors for two
ladies at one time. I made the right decision. It was the best Reading Week I
could have imagined. BC is beautiful, it was 9 degrees Celsius which felt warm
compared to the Ontario winter we have had.
I have been learning over the past couple of
years that friendships can very
quickly change for a variety of reasons and if you have a friendship that
remains strong and you are still close, even across the kilometers; THAT is a friendship you should hold onto.
I am never letting go of her. I am so excited to see what happens in the
future; for our friendship and for her relationship with the right guy; the sun
is shining bright on us.
Love you Kath, Thanks for being so loyal and
steadfast in this ever changing world.
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