Best Friends

Best Friends



By: Sweet Honesty

Friendship to a woman is so much more than being a friend. It takes on a life of it's own when two people are the right combination chemically and emotionally. Ronnie and Barbara found this out on their first day of high school all those years ago. There was something special between these two that could only improve with the passage of time.

Ronnie who was tall, 5’7”, with dark brown hair, walked into her freshmen homeroom and her eyes scanned the unfamiliar landscape in search of what and who was to be a part of her first year of high school. This day brought a mix of emotions, least of all fear. Immediately she spotted the tall attractive blond girl at the front of the room and thought,
" Thank God I am not the tallest".
They managed to find a way toward one another that day. The first conversation being easy and a spirit of sameness prevailed. It was as though they had known each other forever.

“Hi, I’m Ronnie welcome to our new home room. “

“Hi, I’m Barbara are you as nervous as I am?”

“I guess, but how bad can it be. At least we got in, now all we have to do is stay here.”

“What school did you come from? “

“Samuel Johnson, how about you?”

“John Winthrop.”

“Public school, right?” I guess we are going to work our asses off to catch up to all the kids from Catholic School.”

“Yea, that’s what I hear.

And that was the start to their first day in a new school and their new friendship.

All through high school they shared their families. Barbara being an only child loved the noisy house, which Ronnie lived in with her mom dad brother and sister. There was never a moment of silence in that home. There was always conversation; something was always cooking on the stove, and never a shortage of laughter.

Ronnie loved the quiet atmosphere that encircled Barb’s house. She would go there just to be able to think without the interruption of brother and sister. She loved sitting in Barb’s kitchen just having a soda and talking about anything that came up. She always felt comfortable with Barb's mom because she was so much like her mother.

Between these two girls there was never a shortage of interest in the opposite sex. . Barb was currently taken with a neighbor boy, Skinny, who her mom hated, providing a great deal of conversation between these two divas about how they managed the affairs of their young hearts. Ronnie was still tied to her first boyfriend who she was with for the past two years but was finally outgrowing.

The girls would take long walks on the weekend. Each setting out from their home and walking toward one another, meet after about a mile walk, then move on to one or the other’s neighborhood. They would decide who needed what the most. Did Barb need to be with the crazies, or was Ronnie desperate for a quiet talk? They never had any problem deciding. They just did.

They shared secrets with one another that nobody in the world knew about and never for one moment questioned the trust. They each knew that they could tell each other anything and would never be judged or that their confidence would be betrayed. They shared clothing, jewelry, makeup, perfume and books, and the best part being that neither of them had to be reminded to return anything.

They went together to record-hops; football games, parties and bowling weekly and never grew tired of one another. They each brought other friends into their circle but remained forever the twosome to beat. Friendship only grew stronger. At one point Barb ended up with one of Ronnie’s ex boyfriends causing a temporary pause in this friendship but that too passed without any damage to this relationship.

At sixteen years of age these two carefree girls would take a train trip to New York City by train to see the movie “Ben Hur” and have a steak dinner at Tad’s Steak House. It was a day filled with excitement, an abundance of new smells and good food. Ronnie did this without her parents’ permission and there was a month of being grounded to her house as punishment; but she always felt that it was worth it.

Years would go by and both of these girls grew into womanhood. Each of them married and fate would bring Ronnie one single daughter while Barb would have three children a boy and two girls. Even then it was clear what each of them needed and chose as adults. Their husbands were nothing alike and had very little in common but they did not let that stand it their way. They just moved forward enjoying what each brought to this special relationship.

There was a short spread of years in which these two friends would loose contact completely. Then fate stepped in and Ronnie bought a house right next door to Barbara’s cousin. When they discovered this, they set up a coffee meeting to catch up on the lost years. The meeting went on for hours. They sat in a corner booth of the local restaurant and drank coffee after coffee and talked and talked. They discussed their marriages, their children, their parents, their past, their jobs, their friends and it was like going home. Tears came easily that day for all they had missed in that absence of their friend.

That was fifteen years ago and now they are as close as they were on that first day for freshmen year. They have shared in their children’s weddings, they have cried over each other’s problems and sicknesses. There have been hundreds of discussions about the wonder and the disenchantment of all their children. They discuss their parents and families with complete comfort and understanding. They once again solve one another’s biggest dilemmas and always come through when the clinches get tough. They can cry together and they can laugh till it hurts.

This is a friendship that has weathered the years and only grows stronger as time passes. It has become a place of total appreciation for the contentment and complete comfort it brings to both Barbara and Ronnie. They are forever grateful for what this friendship brings to each of them and for the value of a gift they were fortunate enough to share.

1086 words