Whenever I’m catching up with my married friends, it feels like I’m the only one talking. I felt really self-centered, until I realized I’m the only one with any updates. Aside from some construction or new furniture, they don’t have any news, much less, drama.
I wonder if I’ll ever be settled like them. If my life will ever be drama-free, without all the instability in my relationships, both good and bad.
A good wingman says “no problem bro” when you ask him to go with you, and takes it as an opportunity to hang out.
He listens and commiserates and backs you up on your feelings when you’re catching him up.
He even pays for dinner when he’s the one doing you a favour.
He keeps a lookout in the sea of people so he can be aware of the situation and warn you.
He stands facing the door so you can have your back to it when talking to him, and won’t be caught off guard.
He teases you about the cute ones, just like the good old days, when you went drinking in places too loud to talk.
He leads when you’re too nervous or self-conscious to do anything, and he follows without question when you take action.
He has a great time, and thanks you for the night.
Bronwen and I agreed to a marriage pact, where we would marry each other if we weren’t in a relationship by a certain age. The thing is, she’s six years younger than me, so we decided that her expiration date is 35, and mine 41, because it’s easier for men to date/marry than women, at an older age.
Note how I didn’t say “easy”. Heaven knows I had a hard enough time with dating in my teens. And twenties. And probably 30s.
According to her, we also have a suicide pact, even though I have no recollection of this. The only reason I can think of agreeing to that is if large parts of the world were destroyed by meteors, leading to the collapse of the economic system, creating anarchy, and reducing everyone to hunter-gatherers.
Bronwen and I are most certainly not hunter-gatherers, and we’d probably suffer unbearably just trying to survive, or be killed soon after because we’re too naive or compassionate for a dog-eat-dog world. The thing is, if that happened I’d try to join forces with Pat and Jen, because they always have everything together1. So maybe if they were also killed by this cosmic hailstorm, then it would still be an option.
They’re in France now, and I feel like a part of me is missing. I know they aren’t gone forever, but they’re so far away that I can’t just drive over to their house on a whim to talk anymore. They were people who really understood me, who introduced me to so much of the world, who inspired me, who gave me confidence.
Before getting on the bus to Montreal, Frédéric told me that we’ll go on lots of adventures together. I hope it’s sooner rather than later.