When My Friend Became My Man

My best friend wanted more; I did not. He smothered me, made me mad. Wanted us to go to the same college. I did not feel that way about him. I wanted to give myself a chance to be exotic, and neurotic. I wanted a bohemian, free-life-style, devil-may-care life. He wanted a wife. I was striving for a career. I encouraged him to go out and find a dear, I loved him, but not in that way. I wanted to have fun. He begged to go to the same college as me. I told him if he did that, we could no longer be friends. His eagerness toward matrimony turned me off, and made me irritated. It seemed to never end. We were best friends. We had the same sense of humor, same ideas, but we wanted a different thing. He wanted to tie me down, to make me into something I never wanted to be – a wife. His whining was taking all of my energy. I began to find his faults, and wondered if he fit into my life? His hopefulness made me sad, his pushiness made me mad. I wanted what something new could bring. I dated that year, and nothing clicked. They did not get my jokes, and I did not get any of their weird ways. I began pining for my boy, my man, my used-to-be-best friend, to my unbelievable wonder. During Christmas break everything changed. It is true what they say about absence making the heart grow fonder. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him now, but this would never have entered in…. If he had not given me the break that I needed, so I could see what life was like without him. Everything changed on that Christmas break. The second I saw him, I knew, and I think he knew too. I did not go back to college, for it was not what I wanted any more. Everything had changed. We started up, different, completely new, fresh. Me wanting to be his wife, and him thrilled about it. That has never changed. Written Jan 24, 2019 Contest: My friend, My Love Sponsor: Julie Leigh Rodeheaver