Old Friends
As the rain fell out of the sky, I sat and tinkered with the brand new computer components splayed before me. Working at a steady pace, I was supposed to be building a new machine for a client. Wrapped up in the comfort of something familiar, yet new; I almost failed to notice the phone on the ground next to me, silently humming with the vibrations of an incoming call. Jarring me from my focused concentration, I looked at it without even registering the fact that someone was trying to reach me. Oh yeah, that’s what phones are for right?
Wiping my hand against my jeans, I picked up the still vibrating phone and flipped it open with a slight flick of the my thumb and wrist. It was a well practiced motion that was used so often that it barely registered in my senses. Not even with a glance at the caller ID, I shouldered the phone and looked back down into the computer case, totally engrossed in the work at hand.
“Hello?”
“Hey man, long time no talk…how’re you doing?”
The voice that came through the receiver from the other side, sent my mind drifting backward through time.
He seemed a bit out of place. Looking around with curious eyes and a small slip of paper in his hand, he gazed up at the glossy white numbers that were painted onto each door that lined the hallway. I had seen him around before. He played football and we had practiced together as teammates but I barely knew who he was. I went to say hi and thought that I’d see if he needed any help finding what he was looking for.
That one decision I made that fateful day was how it all started.
It has been almost a year now since he was last near enough in distance to go hang out with. In the time that we’ve known each other, we’ve gone through a great many things. Some of these situations have been good, some have been bad and some situations were so ridiculously funny that it would be a lie to say that I didn’t hurt myself laughing. But none of these events in my life would have felt the same if I hadn’t known him.
The ropes that tie our friendship together has crossed a great many borders and spanned distances that some people have a hard time understanding. The boundaries and barriers that we have crossed are difficult for people to overcome as we all grow up, mature and grow apart. The three and a half years that I spent on the east coast didn’t diminish the strength of our connection. It only tested the bonds that held us together. Our personalities clash, and our backgrounds are so different that if you were to look at us, you’d see night and day. Guess which one I am?
We’ve seen each other at our worst moments and been there for each other when we triumphed over our own personal obstacles. When my family fell apart he was around to keep me sane. When his family fell apart some years later, I was there as well. Our brotherhood has lasted through girlfriends, injuries and even some major mistakes that cost us dearly. To see another person at his/her lowest point and still be there is something truly special. I will always remember the crazy things that we did. All the times where we helped cover up for each other’s mistakes and always watched the other guy’s back in a fight. The memories that were created when we were together, could span several lifetimes.
A dozen years later, as we talk over a distance of 2800+ miles that separates the two of us, its as if nothing has changed. We pick up where we left off and continue on in our steadfast friendship with each other. He bought a house and now lives in Florida with his girlfriend, while I still live in the Bay Area, the area that we grew up in. The time and distance that sits between us only confirms that the moors that attach us are strong enough to withstand anything.
The various events in our lives not only makes us the best of friends, but it makes us family. That’s what we are. We’re family.
