A Happy Coincidence

When I was in 5th grade, I met a girl named Misty who became my BFF, as they say now. We were inseparable and spent every waking minute we could together. In my past experience, I had friends who liked me better than I liked them, or more frequently, I liked better than they liked me. Misty and I felt the same way about each other and we knew that we thought about things the same way and we both had the same sense of humor. Transvestites and small, furry animals seemed to make us laugh hardest. Fifth graders are easily amused, but small, furry animals will still make me howl with delight, even at age 42.

My mom worked for her dad at his insurance agency and she was also friends with Misty's mom. I liked Misty's sister Robin too. The whole family always made me feel so welcome when I visited for sleepovers. I was devastated when Misty's parents decided to move back to their hometown of Lubbock right after 6th grade ended. I had other female friends in school after that, but nobody as close to me as Misty was. She was the female equivalent of my husband (whom I consider to be my soulmate), without the "fringe benefits", of course.

Misty and I kept in touch until after high school graduation. She had found her fella and had married earlier than I. We got back in touch right before my mom died, then again, we lost track of each other. She had kids and I had health problems; it's too easy to let go of people you should keep close to your heart.

Last week during my visit to the shrink, the subject of having female friends came up again. I had mentioned that I really didn't have close friends here in town; just a few who still lived in Dallas. Then there was one.......I hadn't heard from her in a while, but she had kids, etc. The shrink told me that I really should try to contact her, because I need some support now that my husband cannot provide. Women friends have that special connection...

This morning, there was an email: "Is this still L.S.? Why did we lost track of each other? Email me!" I did and also sent her my phone number. I just got off the phone with Misty and she told me that she had a dream about me, and the last thing I said in the dream was "please call me!". After all these years, we still inhabit the same mental wavelength and I'm not going to let her go this time.