Friend is moving to Orange County. Has moved, I should say; he closed his apartment this evening. He’ll be back for visits, of course, and there’s always e-mail*, but it still means the end of such a lot of things. And last night, I finished reading a very sad, poignant, moving book.
So between the two, I spent most of today either on the verge of tears, or weeping openly. I didn’t know which would be better: to let it all out at once, or suck it up. Finally, I decided that it wasn’t my eyes that were the problem: my heart just couldn’t take such a beating any longer. So I had some chocolate mousse, and played the Chicken Run game Mr. Rilch gave me for my birthday, and I think it’s passed.
I still wish I’d never read that book, though.
*He may join the Straight Dope. I’ll give him an introduction if he does.
Sorry to hear that Rilch! Change is always hard to deal with, especially when it affects a friendship. One of my good friends just got married, and another who was already married is about to have her first child. Besides being further evidence that life is passing me by, both of these events are going to change my friendships with these two women. What book did you read? I want to make sure I avoid it. My life is poignant enough right now.
P.S. IIRC, you don’t live that far from OC. I know it’s not the same thing, but you will see your friend again!
Yes, he’ll be coming up for visits, and we’ll go down there. In a way, this could be a good thing, because that will mean our time together will be more concentrated: none of us will want to waste travel time just to sit around with our teeth in our mouth. For quite a while, I had a friend who lived in Ventura County, and my weekend visits to her place are still among my fondest memories.
What’s worrying me, though, is that he won’t be motivated to come back to the Valley very often. Or that our visits to him will be less than convivial. He’ll be sharing with two other guys, and I know his track record for picking roommates. He always seems to end up living with people with whom he has nothing in common except the same monthly income and a passion for video games. So instead of making two extra friends, we may find ourselves searching for a clean spot on the couch and huddling in it while trying not to listen to loud arguments.
Now, about the book. It’s called The Silver Link, The Silken Tie, and I read it for the first time when I was a teenager. Didn’t make much of an impression on me then, but when I saw a copy for fifty cents in a used bookstore, I thought, what the hey, and snagged it.
What a difference twenty years makes. I hadn’t realized how touching the friendship was between the two main characters. My heart broke along with theirs when they had their misunderstanding, and then swelled with joy when their relationship deepened. They were high school kids, and I never had a friendship like that when I was in high school, though I did in college. Which led me to remembering the person with whom it was like that for me, and thence to the fact that we have utterly lost contact. Which I’m hoping doesn’t happen with Friend.
“Sitting around with our teeth in our mouths.” I’ve never heard that expression, but I like it. Very vivid! Well, you won’t always have to sit around his apartment with his stinky roommates, will you? I can suggest any number of good Vietnamese restaurants in the area. (Ironically, after nine months of living in “Big” Saigon, I still miss the food in Little Saigon.) Also, there’s a pretty nice stretch of beach on the west side of the county. On the other hand, you could just pick him up and drive all the way down to San Diego, thus both escaping to a really nice place! I hope it works out for you.