Trickle Down

We were friends for 15 straight years. Then, there was seven years of nothing.  Complete silence.

I was certain he was fine.  In the back of my mind, I wondered if he was finally happy.  He has an infectious laugh.  A laugh I had truly missed.

One day.
Out of the blue.
He called.  He reentered my life.

Just like that, that conversation seemed like we were finishing a conversation we had minutes earlier.  But the truth is, it was a new conversation seven years later.

It's hard to explain.

Unless you've lost a friend that you truly never lost, you can't understand.

Some people are meant to be a part of your life for a moment.  Others, they remain with you forever.

He was that forever friend; regardless how often we spoke or speak.

I am glad I answered the phone that day.

He called because he was drunk.  The truth is, he was lonely.  He missed me.  He missed the good old days.  Actually, he missed his friends.  All of us.

We spoke for 6 hours that night.  Then, everyday from that day forward until he met his soon to be wife.  It was to be a relationship I helped form.  When he asked for her hand in marriage, my fingerprints were all over their vows. 

I take a lot of pride in that.

I know he was glad he picked up the phone that day.

The miracle of that one simple phone call was written in the Book of Life centuries ago.  I believe that.

Because of him and that phone call, it led me to the woman I now refer to as the love of my life.

It was a trickle down effect.  He knew someone who knew someone and that someone introduced me to someone.  Then that someone and I fell in love.

I could talk about all the hurdles we have jumped, the mountains we have climbed or I could talk about the sweet taste of her lips.  I could mention my moments of despair and the new gray that sprouted in between my dark Elvis like hair.  I could write how I learned the true meaning of anxiety and the real definition of being heartbroken.  I could toss out cliches that seem to never bring comfort when you are believing you are destined to always be alone. 

I could talk about how the last four years have been the best years of my life despite everything we have gone through.

I could talk for days about how that one simple phone call from a lost friend led me to the only woman I have ever loved.

I am glad I chose to be his friend in 1985.

He was a large kid for his age.  Hell, he was a large kid for any age.  But that laugh... it was so infectious.  How could I not make friends with a fat, awkward kid with a laugh like that?

I didn't know at the time that 25 years later he was going to be responsible for introducing me to her. 

Maybe, if I had, I would have been a better friend.  And maybe, we would still be talking today.

I miss him.

I am thankful to him for her.

I am glad I answered my phone that day....

Four years ago.